Overclocker Project w/Sempron 3100+

[wwu4life]

I'm building my first PC - with hopes of overclocking. How do my components look - really not sure what memory to get. Ballistix was suggested for socket 939s, seems like I'd be paying for high end RAM that my system really wont fully need...Also - might as well pay for 2X512? This system will cost ~$1,000 but I can easily afford some upgrades - So anyone have suggestions?

CPU Sempron 3100+
MOBO DFI LanParty UT NF3 250Gb
CASE Thermaltake VA3000 Black w/Transparent Panel
MEM Crucial Ballistix 512x1 DDR400 PC-3200
PSU Antec True480
HD Seagate 200GB 7200 IDE
SC Sound Blaster Audigy 2 zs
VC ATI AIW Radion 9800Pro

This will be a media center PC (hence the AIW) along with some gaming & Macromedia web Applications.
Thinking of replacing retail HSF with Thermalright XP-90

 

[o1die]

I would wait a few days for the athlon 64 price drop, and go with the athlon 64 2800 instead. The difference is only a few bucks, and you'll get 64 bit support.

 

[scaryclownsarefun]

yeah, i really like the newcaste core, all of my friends got one and they overclocked really well. 64 bit games will be cool too... i think it would be worth the exta $20. i was considering getting the sempron because of it's price too, but in truth it's no better of an overclocker than the newcastle 2800, and for your $20 you would be buying an extra 256K of cache. Also, the DFI lanparty UT is a great motherboard and all, but from what i've heard the chaintech VNF-250 is just a small nitch down. the DFI can reach 300MH FSB, while the VNF-250 can reach 275MHZ FSB. for a little more than half the cost, the chaintec is a good buy. either of these boards will work, however.
you might consider buying the powercolor Radeon 9800SE and then softmodding it to the pro card, if you get the C3 model from powercolor its pretty much a sure bet.

 

[scaryclownsarefun]

oh, and also, i doubt you would need that full 480W of power, even with an overclock. The antec True 430W would work fine, or even better the Fortron 400W.
with the athon 64 platform memory speed really doesn't make that much of a difforence, save your money, and buy a couple 512 MB sticks of corsair value ram.

 

[wwu4life]

The money isnt the issue, ~20-50 isnt a big deal. I was more concerned with the specs of the Semp3100 & A64 2800 reguarding overclocking. I've read far more reviews about the Semp being the better overclocker of the 2. Anand's homepage has a link about the Semp overclockhere

I'm also buying my components thinking long term: $99CPU now, and a better A64 down the road (once 64bit aps are more mainstream) at a lower premium when I need it. Figured i could max this out, until the A64 3700+ comes out (which sounds like the max that we'll get outta socket 754?) and drops price in half.

 

[Concillian]

Don't tell anyone, but the 2800+ overclocks just as well, has more cache, will have better resale value, and is only like $30 more.

Why do you need a 3700+ eventaully when an overclocked 2800+ will run faster?

 

[charloscarlies]

Originally posted by: Concillian
Don't tell anyone, but the 2800+ overclocks just as well, has more cache, will have better resale value, and is only like $30 more.

Why do you need a 3700+ eventaully when an overclocked 2800+ will run faster?

Couldn't agree more.

Just got my 2800 NC in a couple days ago. Initial results:

9 x 270 = 2430 mhz @ 1.55 vcore in bios (1.575-1.6 actual)

Oh and the kicker....this is on the retail cooler. 24 hours prime stable. I can't really comment on temps because I haven't flashed to the beta bios for my board yet. But as long as it's stable I really don't care. Needless to say I'm very happy with my purchase. $140 for performance on par or better than a 3600+

 

[wwu4life]

Memory recomendations for socket 754?

 

[Remedy]

Sempron overclocking article.

 

[charloscarlies]

Originally posted by: wwu4life
Memory recomendations for socket 754?

Depends on your budget. Really tight timings don't seem to make much of a difference, and high HTT speeds really don't add much performance either. If you're on any kind of budget I'd recommend going with some good value ram and just use the mem ratios. Use the extra money on something else like a nice HSF or video card upgrade.