P965 vs P35 vs P45

[f4phantom2500]

Ok, so I noticed the new E5200 at newegg for $90. I figured, ok, it can't be that good...then i see that it's stock 2.5ghz with 800mhz fsb . after finding out that it seems pretty common to get them in the high 3ghz range on air cooling, i'm really considering jumping ship (currently have an x2 3600 brisbane at 2.6ghz).

anyway, from what i remember reading lately, the P45 doesn't have too much to offer over the P35 as far as performance and overclocking is concerned, and unless i'm mistaken, i don't really remember the P35 offering too much over the P965...?

obviously it doesn't have to be able to handle a super high FSB since i'll be pairing it up with the E5200, but is there a huge difference between a P965 setup and a comparable P35 or P45 setup? cuz if not i mean i could just hit up the fs/ft forum and pick up a nice P965 board for cheap.

oh also i'm planning on using my current RAM, which is ddr2 667 and doesn't take to overclocking very well...would there be much detriment to the low RAM speed on an intel setup? it's only 2GB so i was thinking about throwing down some cash for a fast 4GB set.

thanks

 

[Zap]

The E5200 should prove to be a fun budget chip. With a P965, check BIOS releases to see if Wolfdales are supported before buying the board. I would just buy a cheap P35 board. Just saw a Biostar Tforce P35 chipset board on Newegg today for $60 after rebate.

I would BSEL mod the CPU to open up memory multipliers, and then your RAM won't be holding you back even if you clock to 4.2GHz.

 

[taltamir]

P35 is cheap enough that there is no reason to touch the 965, its just too old...
I hear there are some really cheap P45 boards as well, so that might be a wiser choice at the moment.

aside from newer models ocing better, older chips simply lack capabilities that newer ones have. You will just be shooting yourself in the foot by buying an obsolete mobo northbridge.

 

[o1die]

I recommend the asrock p43 1600 twins for a good budget board. I have the p45 rs and g43 fullhd, and they work well.

 

[gramboh]

P35 at least, do not go P965. The P965 boards are not as good at high FSB or handling 4 DIMMs. My P5B-Deluxe (pretty high end at the top I got it in early 2007) used to run 400+ FSB with 2 DIMMs (2x1GB) but with 4 (4x1GB) I had to throttle back on FSB and up my multiplier. There are also small performance gains on P35/P45. There's no reason to 965 unless you already own the mobo. You might save $20 but it's not worth it, especially if you want to OC.