P4 Overclocking - Need some good advice!

[charloscarlies]

I had a few questions before I decide to throw down some cash for another rig.

1) I've decided on the 2.8C, but I was wondering if I would be guaranteed an M0 stepping if I bought from newegg. Does it matter if I go OEM or Retail?

2)I think I'm pretty set on the IC7...unless somebody can talk me out of it. Is the difference between the MAX3 really worth the extra money? It seems like just a few more SATA connectors and the cooling on the mosfets...maybe I'm wrong though.

3)Since I'm probably not planning on going much past 250 fsb...is it even worth going for the more expensive IC7 over something cheaper like a P4P or the IS7?

Thanks I appreciate any help.

 

[wkabel23]

Originally posted by: charloscarlies
I had a few questions before I decide to throw down some cash for another rig.



1) I've decided on the 2.8C, but I was wondering if I would be guaranteed an M0 stepping if I bought from newegg. Does it matter if I go OEM or Retail?



2)I think I'm pretty set on the IC7...unless somebody can talk me out of it. Is the difference between the MAX3 really worth the extra money? It seems like just a few more SATA connectors and the cooling on the mosfets...maybe I'm wrong though.



3)Since I'm probably not planning on going much past 250 fsb...is it even worth going for the more expensive IC7 over something cheaper like a P4P or the IS7?



Thanks I appreciate any help.

1) I received a M0 stepping chip retail from ZipZoomFly AND NewEgg. AFAIK, it's luck of the draw.

2) I have the IC7--good board, haven't tried OCing that much but it's rock stable @ 3.5GHz for me on a 2.8C. The main reason I didn't get an IC7-G was that I had a NIC and the onboard lan wasn't needed.

3) IS7 and the P4P probably could get you to 250 fsb. Once again, it's luck of the draw...if you get a bad cpu you might not get to 250 fsb on any of those.

GL :beer:

 

[THUGSROOK]

i got my chip from zipzoomfly, but that was many weeks ago.

the IC7 is a great board. if youre a "tweaker", youre gonna love this board. it has bios options that other boards dont have.
besides the obvious onboard options, the only difference the max3 has is vdimm options upto 3.2v. get the board that suits your needs, it doesnt "have to be" the max3.

the IC7 boards have the potential of being the fastest boards in any scenario.

HTH

 

[charloscarlies]

Looks like I'll be grabbin the IC7-G then because I don't think I'll have a need for the extra vdimm. Thanks for the help.

I'm sure I'll have more questions once I get it up and running.

 

[charloscarlies]

Looks like I'm going to need another PSU too. My current one only puts out 12 amps on the 12V rail. That would definitely kill my overclock. :Q

Would 18 amps be enough? Or should I just be safe and spend a few extra bucks on something with a little more?

One more question and I'll stop bugging yall...would the Zalman 7000 be good enough to hit 3.5 ghz on stock voltage?

 

[Duvie]

Yes the Zalmann should do fine...remember before you get "Abit Temp shock" that the temps are gonna run high as it is widely known as a temperature reporting issue...I have seen reports of ppl testing it and finding it is about 10c higher then actual.....I think the Zalmann at 3.5ghz with limited 1.6v less of vcore should keep you 60c or below under full load...make sure you have adequate case cooling...Maybe the besk is the thermalright sp94 for a few more bucks but I beleive both hsf have a industry leading .17c/w thermal dissipation rate.....


Also I recommended a +20amp rate on the 12v for 3.2ghz and above cpus....This is my 2 cents but it has served me well in my ocing of p4's over the.....I had an antec 430 true power that I think was near 18amps on the 12v and it was holding me back on one of my oc's getting above 3.15ghz stable....I went enermax and never looked back. Same mobo and the enrmax was .12-.16 higher 12v rail and only see a drop of .12-.16 under loading conditions.

Enermax's cost a bit more but I say look for 20amps at least on the 12v rail....


I have the IC7 as well and the max3 is only good if you want the vdimm options. There are some mods out there to get the voltage anyways...talk to shimmishim...I think the IC7 is the best board for high fsb overclocking. Since you are only looking at 250fsb that should be attainable on quite a few boards. You could go IS7 a cheaper version if you needed to....

 

[RussianSensation]

For a PSU 18 is enough, get Thermaltake PurePower 480 or Fortron FSP400-60 for $60-70

Zalman 7000 should be enough, but abit boards report higher temperatures by roughly 10*C so it's a bummer. IF you have an extra NIC get IC7, if you dont' save $20 for the board + $10 for NIC and get Abit IS7 with the latest NB heatsink -- it should be good for 270FSB easily assuming the processor can handle that

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
For a PSU 18 is enough, get Thermaltake PurePower 480 or Fortron FSP400-60 for $60-70



Zalman 7000 should be enough, but abit boards report higher temperatures by roughly 10*C so it's a bummer. IF you have an extra NIC get IC7, if you dont' save $20 for the board + $10 for NIC and get Abit IS7 with the latest NB heatsink -- it should be good for 270FSB easily assuming the processor can handle that

here is some links....I am not impressed with the fortron and never have been with thermaltake but the thermaltake is a very nice price...Check out the newet enermax version with dual independent 12v rails!!!

Fortron 400-60

15a on the 12v....NO NO...

Thermaltake 480

18a on the 12v... better and better price...

Enermax 475 (470 watt)

Dual 12v rails with up to 31amps combined though I doubt it is actually that good....Highest price


The EG465P version like mine can be add many places for 75.00 shipped (check pricewatch) and it has 20amps on the 12v rail

 

[charloscarlies]

Thanks guys.

So do you think going for the IC7 would be pointless considering I'm pretty sure I won't go much past 250 fsb? Should I just save the money and go with the IS7?

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: charloscarlies
Thanks guys.



So do you think going for the IC7 would be pointless considering I'm pretty sure I won't go much past 250 fsb? Should I just save the money and go with the IS7?

Are you going to be running 1:1 with ddr500??? If you will e running 5:4 ratio and 400ddr then I would say save the money as you can maybe find one for 80 bucks....Still dual channel just not all the PAT and GAT features which I have never seen amount much for me with 5;4 and 3:2 ratios.

 

[charloscarlies]

Are you going to be running 1:1 with ddr500??? If you will e running 5:4 ratio and 400ddr then I would say save the money as you can maybe find one for 80 bucks....Still dual channel just not all the PAT and GAT features which I have never seen amount much for me with 5;4 and 3:2 ratios.

Yeah, I'll more than likely be using the 5:4 divider at 250-260 fsb w/ my ddr400 depending on what I can get to, so I'm starting to wonder if I should even spend the extra money. I thought I read somewhere that the speed racer settings are actually really good. Would the difference be noticeable?

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: charloscarlies

Are you going to be running 1:1 with ddr500??? If you will e running 5:4 ratio and 400ddr then I would say save the money as you can maybe find one for 80 bucks....Still dual channel just not all the PAT and GAT features which I have never seen amount much for me with 5;4 and 3:2 ratios.

Yeah, I'll more than likely be using the 5:4 divider at 250-260 fsb w/ my ddr400 depending on what I can get to, so I'm starting to wonder if I should even spend the extra money. I thought I read somewhere that the speed racer settings are actually really good. Would the difference be noticeable?

Thats a Thugs question as he has ran through them all pretty thoroughly...