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[bokster]

Hi everyone, just wanted to know what you think the overclocking potential of this rig is. I'm not going for extreme overclocking or anything, just whatever the stock cpu heatsink can handle for now.

Motherboard: DFI Lanparty NF4 UT Ultra-D
Cpu: Athlon x2 3800 or x2 4200
Video: eVGA geforce 7800gt CO
Memory: OCZ PC4000 2GB Gold Gamer Extreme Dual Channel
PSU: Enermax 535watt FMA
Case: Antec p180

First off, I can't decide wether I should spend the extra $60 on the 4200+. How does it overclock compared to the 3800+? Secondly, I'm never planning to SLI or anything so would my enermax 350W FMA suffice? I actually have an Acepower 400w PSU but I don't trust it though, so any advice would be appreciated. And lastly, I'm actually new to overclocking so just wanted to know what the average life of an overclocked component is compared to components at stock speeds. Thanks.

 

[imported_fx]

If I were you, I would go with X2 3800+.. not worth to spend $60 extra for 4200+ but the rest look great. 3800+ can overclock and reach to 2.8ghz max on air. :thumbsup:

 

[imported_Tick]

Or go with the 4400+ for the extra cache.

 

[alimoalem]

welcome to the forums bokster and thank you for not asking "how's my rig" as your first thread.

the reduced lifespan of the cpu won't matter cause you'll upgrade before it dies...at least i hope so

you can try this to see how many watts you need for your power supply. i'm not sure 350w would suffice, especially with you OCing.

your system looks like it good overclock pretty well. depending on your stepping, i'd stay you can probably hit 2.6 pretty easily

 

[bokster]

Thanks for the quick response guys. But I'm still unsure on the CPU. Just looking at the stock specs, it seems like the 4200 can OC much higher than the 3800. I've read a lot of reviews on the net and it seems like the 3800 is better than the 4200 at OCing. Can someone please explain. I'm getting pretty confused.

 

[fire400]

just get the 3800, it's cheaper, and it will be nearly the same as the 4400.

what we're actually looking at are just standard clock specs and cache, you just put in good RAM and the system will run smooth, no questions asked.

 

[leigh6]

Hi Boxster,

I feel your confusion. Been there, done that.

On many processor lines what is giving the chip its stock speed is the multiplier on the processor. So a venice 3000 has a locked multiplier at 9 so at stock it will run at 9x200 (1.8gh). A venice 3200 has a locked multiiplier of 10 and will run stock speeds at 10x200 (2.0gh) BUT now comes the overclocking part. IF YOU RAISE THE HTT (What used to be called the FSB) you can then increase the speed of the processor. So for example: AND I AM MAKING THIS UP!!!

We take the Venice 3000 and raise the HTT to as high as we can until it crashed. We find it can run at 9x300 before it crashes. We now know that the chip can actually run at 2.7 ghz.

We take the Venice 3200 Raise the HTT to 270 (so 10x270) and it will not boot. We discover that the 3200 can only go to 10x255. So the Venice 3200 can OVERCLOCK to 2.55ghz but the 3000 can OVERCLOCK to 2.7ghz.

There is, of course, a whole slew of other factors but just wanted to give you the jist.

Component quality, when the chip was made, etc. can change the overclocking ability of a certain processor. What weeka particular processors was made will often determine how good a processor overclocks.

 

[bokster]

Thanks for the explanation leigh6! That made perfect sense. The only thing left is memory. I could save a lot more cash if I get the pc3200 rather than the pc4000. Some people say good pc3200 memory can run at pc4000 ratings which make spening the extra cash useless. So would it be better to go for cheap pc4000 or expensive pc3200?

 

[leigh6]

Better to go for cheap 3200. You will not see a huge performance increase buying high end memory. There will be some, but probably not enough for you to spend the extra cash.

There is something called a memory divider. It is an option in the bios. It tells the system to run the memory at a percentage of the system speed.

So lets say you buy pc3200 value ram. Lets say you have your HTT set at 240 after you overclock the processor. With high end performance ram you will be able to run the ram at that speed. The value ram will probably not be able to run at that speed. NOW HERE COMES THE DIVIDER. We tell the system to run the ram at 5/6th of the speed of the HTT. Voila. The value memory will now be running at 200mhz just like it was supposed to.

The memory controller on A64 systems is built in to the processor. So using the memory divider will only slightly minimize performance. If you have the cash to spend on high end memory go for it. The performance increase is in single digit percentages. My guess is value ram will be just fine for you.

 

[leigh6]

Just a question that nobody asked. What are you using the system for? What applications are you mostly doing? Video, gaming? This is important in terms of what processor to get.

 

[jimbob200521]

3800+, it seems like most of them hit 2.6ghz on either air or liquid. i dont see too many beyond that speed, though

 

[bokster]

I'm using it mostly for gaming, but I do lots of video & audio encoding as well. I multitask like crazy, which is why I'm going for the dual core. Your advice on memory is very informative, but I got the cash so I'm actually going for the mushkin xp4000 black series, I just saw it and it costs $30 less than the ocz!

 

[WildHorse]

Instead of spending the extra $60 on the 4200+, put some of that toward buying a better-than-stock cpu heaatsink & fan.

Suggested: Thermalright XP-90 ...............http://www.thermalright.com/default.htm

 

[GamerExpress]

Originally posted by: jimbob200521
3800+, it seems like most of them hit 2.6ghz on either air or liquid. i dont see too many beyond that speed, though

I don't think 2.6 is an easy overclock for the 3800+, maybe the Opteron 165 but not the 3800+. I think 2.4 is more of a reasonable number.