RFC - building a new system: how overclockable?

[shogunofnewyork]

Here's what I plan on getting:

P4C 2.6
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu HSF
MSI NEO2-FIS2R
4x256MB OCZ Copper PC4000
Sapphire 9600 Pro
Antex True480 PSU

That's the main stuff, I'm getting an ATA133 HD, using onboard sound (for now), antec case w/ good cooling.

First off, I want to try for a 250MHz FSB. However, I'm not sure if this HSF can handle it. I've read good reviews, but comments from owners would be appreciated. Same thing with the motherboard. I'm definitely not married to either one, so alternate suggestions are welcomed. (I've also been looking at the Thermalright SLK-900 and the Asus P4C800.)

Owners of this CPU: what kind of overclocks have you been able to get? Is 3.2GHz a reasonable expectation?

I read the article here on anandtech about the possible performance gains on the 865/875 platform when you have all 4 banks populated. One thing the article mentions is that it might slightly decrease your overclocking success, but it doesn't mention what's having problems. If it's the memory, I don't expect any problems, since this is PC4000 rated. If it's the chipset... Any ideas out there?

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Abit IS-7 is more popular with overclockers than MSI, read AnandTech, HardOCP reviews. Tom's likes MSI but only after MSI started advertising very heavily (odd coincidence that).

 

[shogunofnewyork]

Thanks for the input Dave. I took a look at those reviews like you suggested and the IS7 does look like a good board, especially since it's only $99 from newegg. However, for $42 more I can get a whole buttload (actual figure = .92Bl) of bundled extras on the MSI, including gigabit(CSA) and SATA. HardOCP in particular says that they think that just about all 865 MBs should be able to hit at least 250 FSB. Have you specifically heard bad things about the FIS2R? (Is it just me or does that read like "fister"?) Thanks.

EDIT: I forgot to include the most special feature of all: a blinking LED on the northgridge fan! l33t.

 

[DaveSimmons]

People here have bad-mouthed their MSI i865 boards but my main criticism of them is that they tried to cheat on benchmarks in reviews by not disclosing their "dynamic overclocking" which raises the FSB without telling you during heavy CPU loads. Enabling / disabling it wasn't a BIOS option at first, so sites like HardOCP and Toms had to discover this "stealth overclocking" for themselves.

The $108 Abit does have sata and 10/100 lan, just not gigabit (you need the IS7-G for gigabit).

But if you like what you've read of the MSI (ignoring Tom's paid content), then go for it -- you're right that you'll probably reach 250 FSB with etiher board.

 

[shogunofnewyork]

Once again, thanks for the feedback. I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments about cheating on benchmarks. While I like the idea of dynamically clocking the CPU in response to load in general (one of my favorite things about mobile CPUs), I don't trust my motherboard to do it for me just yet. Doing it without telling the user is just dirty. I'm going to mull over my motherboard choice a bit longer...

Any comments on some of the other issues from my original post?

 

[DaveSimmons]

> Any comments on some of the other issues from my original post?

I'm not a l33t OCer (too lazy) but I read at SilentPCReview that the alcu cools as well as the cu and is much lighter so is less of a strain on the mobo (the cu is way above intel's recommended weight).

I've also read here and in the Overclocking forum that people can usually reach 250 FSB with just the retail HSF with a 2.4C, but since you're getting a 2.6C I suppose the Zalman makes sense.

A 9600 pro is a good budget card, though next month the 9600xt will be out and supposedly much faster.

 

[T8000]

You should be able to do much better than 250/3.25 GHZ with that CPU, more like a 275 MHZ FSB, as most P4c CPUs top off just below 3.6 GHZ.

Altrough I would recommand the Abit IS7 over a MSI NEO2-FIS2R, as it is known for its good performance and stability. I have my Abit IS7 for 3 months now, and it can take my 2400/800 CPU to its very limits, but as I prefer silent over fast, 3 GHZ is enough for me. My IS7 even came with 3com 10/100/1000 ethernet onboard, capable of pushing a 100 MB/s when used with a 3com Gigabit switch. Other extra's include fan control, a layout with 5 usable PCI slots, Firewire, Optical in/out, SATA Raid and dedicated forums for support.

And when you buy an new HDD, you might as well go for a Seagate SATA HDD. The 120 GB offers the best value for money right now, and it costs about the same as a good ATA133 HDD, while offering more speed and flexibility.

 

[shogunofnewyork]

I had read that about the alcu also, but I wasn't sure how well it would scale to faster/hotter CPUs. I had been having trouble deciding between the 2, but the weight is real concern .75kg hanging off my motherboard is a little scary. Plus, it looks like the retention mechanism would be a bitch to take on and off every time i wanted to move it. (Thank god for the P4 heatspreader. I'd hate to see this thing on an athlon.)

It's tempting to wait on the new XT. However considering my current "gaming rig" is my P4 1.5 laptop with a 7500/64MB, I'm dying for something that doesn't suck *now*. My understading of the XT cards is that they are basically the same core, but higher clocked and with 256MB. I've read good things about the sapphire cards re: overclocking, so maybe i can pick up some of the clock differential, though I would surely love that extra ram.

 

[Lyfer]

Friends don't let friends buy MSI.


GO with the Abit IS7, its anand's editors choice, or go with the IC7 which has PAT enabled even when you're overclocked for only $30 more.

 

[shogunofnewyork]

Based on you guys' reccomendations, I've decided to go with the IS7 after all. The IS7-G is only $4 more from newegg, and has almost as many features. My gut's telling me this it the right choice - I had a KT7-RAID and it was a great board; I also have MSI K7D-Master, and it was nothing but problems. (All of which went away when I replaced it with a Gigabyte.) I was willing to trade a great overclock for lots of features, but after I did some more reading in the MSI forums, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to even hit 250FSB.

I've also decided to go with the 7000AlCu, the performance difference doesn't look like much, and the greatly reduced weight will ease my mind.

Thanks for all the great suggestions guys. Any thoughts about the RAM configuration? This is probably the issue I'm shakiest about. Has anyone seen the performance gains from filling all 4 slots, as mentioned in the Anandtech article? Also, does anyone have the OCZ 256MB PC4000 copper? Do you know if it's single or double-sided?