o.k., so i have an AMD XP Mobile 2500... now what?

[colinear]

what motherboard should i get to achieve optimal overclockage?

what is the best RAM (is it really that important to get 2-2-2-5?)

how would you cool it? air? water?

thanks!!!

 

[loafbred]

Abit NF7 (or the NF7-S, which has Soundstorm and SATA/RAID) revision 2 is very stable and reliable, but mine wouldn't do much better than 210 fsb. I have a 2600m in mine, and it will run stable at 2.6 GHz if I blow a big fan in the side of the case. I run it at 12*200. It makes a LOT of heat at 2.5 GHz and above, so expect to water cool it above 2.4 GHz.

If you're starting from scratch with new parts, it would be more sensible to buy a low-clocked Athlon 64, as it will give you comparable performance without the need for water cooling. The XP cpu is still very fast, but not fast enough to warrant investing in a water block, IMO.

 

[11427]

You may also want to check out the DFI NFII Ultra Infinity and the Asus A7N8X deluxe rev 2.

 

[djspl]

my m2600/NF7 setup runs cool as a cucumber at 2.4 (12 x 200) ghz, it only needs 1.625 volts (bios).

For 2.5 ghz (12.5 x 200) it needs 1.675 volts which still runs cool, it barely breaks 52C after 4 hours of Prime95. I've been running 2.5 ghz for 12 months straight now, without a problem. 52C is about as hot as it gets, nowhere near my 60C limit.

On cooler days (when my room temps aren't too hot) I have no problem running 2.6 ghz with 1.775 volts.

I'm using a Thermalright SP-97 heatsink and enermax 60cfm/92mm fan. Heatsink choice is everything, and the fan you use makes a big difference.

 

[colinear]

Originally posted by: djspl
my m2600/NF7 setup runs cool as a cucumber at 2.4 (12 x 200) ghz, it only needs 1.625 volts (bios).

For 2.5 ghz (12.5 x 200) it needs 1.675 volts which still runs cool, it barely breaks 52C after 4 hours of Prime95. I've been running 2.5 ghz for 12 months straight now, without a problem. 52C is about as hot as it gets, nowhere near my 60C limit.

On cooler days (when my room temps aren't too hot) I have no problem running 2.6 ghz with 1.775 volts.

I'm using a Thermalright SP-97 heatsink and enermax 60cfm/92mm fan. Heatsink choice is everything, and the fan you use makes a big difference.

what RAM would you recommend?

 

[loafbred]

Originally posted by: djspl
my m2600/NF7 setup runs cool as a cucumber at 2.4 (12 x 200) ghz, it only needs 1.625 volts (bios).

For 2.5 ghz (12.5 x 200) it needs 1.675 volts which still runs cool, it barely breaks 52C after 4 hours of Prime95. I've been running 2.5 ghz for 12 months straight now, without a problem. 52C is about as hot as it gets, nowhere near my 60C limit.

On cooler days (when my room temps aren't too hot) I have no problem running 2.6 ghz with 1.775 volts.

I'm using a Thermalright SP-97 heatsink and enermax 60cfm/92mm fan. Heatsink choice is everything, and the fan you use makes a big difference.

Mine needs 1.7v at 2.4 GHz, and about 1.775 at 2.5. I think it took 1.85 at 2.6 GHz. I have an SI 97 cooler with a 92mm Vantec Tornado wired for 7v, which makes it sound like a hairdyer, as opposed to a vacuum cleaner at 12v. At 2.4 GHz, it gets up to around 55*C running Prime95 "in place large FTT's".