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Sempron 754 vs Athlon XP Mobile Combo

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Originally posted by: Quentin
I'm not a fanatic on Socket A, just saying it can be good enough for a while if that's what you've already got.
Click to expand...

Yup, yup. I actually only own one socket 754 setup (the Epox board and 2800+) and I own two mobile Bartons. They're all good. Irene mentioned that the old motherboard died. If the CPU was socket A and of reasonable speed, and didn't die with the board, then just getting a socket A replacement board is a valid choice for dollar savings. Doesn't sound like her computing needs are that extreme.
 
Thanks Zap and Quentin for your help. After reading your post, I figured that if I were to get a Sempron 754, I may as well get the DFI Lanparty board since it seems to be the most stable board around. However, with the extra board cost and video card, I may need to spare an extra $70 - $80. Though not much but I wonder if the skt 754 worth such upgrade since most people in the forum said skt 754 is dying also due to skt 939. Sorry if I sounded ignorant but this is probably my last thought before jumping into buying the Sempron 754.

Other than that I agreed with your suggestion on the Sempron 754 and now I have a question. Since there isn't any dual channel for skt 754, should I get a stick of 512mb ram or should I still get a pair of 2 x 256mb ram? Does it matter if the ram is single or double sided. Also if I upgrade later and add a different brand, type ram with the old one, will it hurt the system performance? Or it's always good to upgrade with a stick of same brand, type ram? Lastly, should I get a PC4200 ram for OC or a PC3200 will be good enough even if I were to up the FSB to 250? Thanks!

 
Irene, this is a tough call. Myself, I am skipping Socket 754 - I'd go Socket 939, with an nForce4 chipset. You might want to look at the May 2005 PC World magazine as they test 5 new 939 boards with PCI Express and five Pentium 4 boards. DFI also has a strong nForce4 board they didn't test unfortunately.

These boards are not cheap, $150-195 but my philosophy is to buy the best motherboard you can and put in a value CPU (that can be replaced in a year or so when prices on the CPU you really wanted drops to 1/6th or less it's original price). When I bought my first A7N8X, the cost of the XP3200+ was $650 but now you can get a better mobile XP for $80!

Today a low end A64 3000+ Winchester is about $142 and the high end 939 CPUs are over $800. In a year or two the high end CPUs will be much much cheaper while you probably could sell your 3000+ to recover maybe half of its current cost. I was able to almost break even selling my old CPUs (but had to install them in friends' PCs). The much better mobiles will allow me to hang on another year or two when even better motherboards are out - so this was a good strategy back in 2003. The nice thing about a processor upgrade is lots more performance without reinstalling Windows (like you would with a new motherboard).

These board use PCI Express not AGP so you could pop in a really cheap old PCI video card since you're not gaming. A $5 bargain bin/trash bin card like an old ATI Rage/Charger would even work. That would keep the cost down but not be a permanent compromise as in the future you could go all out with two SLI cards if you want.

It would be nice to get two matched sticks of RAM since 939 IS dual channel. I suppose two sticks of 256MB PC3200 would be adequate. And of course you could sell that later if you want to upgrade - say when and if you get a faster CPU. Faster RAM now would allow a better overclock now, though.

Anyway, this would be a "future-proof" solution - at least more so than Socket A or 754. Food for thought anyway. Sorry to be spending your money so freely but this would be a board you wouldn't have to replace for four years or so! A few upgrades in a year or two would keep it fresh much longer. That makes it worth considering.

Anyone else have opinions?
 
Originally posted by: Aenslead
Originally posted by: sangyup81
Actually, you know what?

Given the lack of overclockablility in that s754 motherboard and the fact that you can get Dual Channel Memory on the socket A, it may actually be better to go for the socket A.

I said earlier that you need a new HS/Fan for the Socket A. I suggest this one: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=FAN-7J74F&c=pw
Click to expand...

You are VERY wrong. There are endless reports of skt754 OC's that range from 260-300Mhz FSB with propper cooling. Also, Dual Channel memory does very little for overall speed, specially on an AXP plataform.

irenealan:
You are much, much better off with a Skt754 plataform. There are several motherboards with integrated video using SiS 760GX chipset and VIA's K8M800 chipsets which perform much better than any SktA solution. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Actually, you are VERY wrong. If we were talking about an nForce3 motherboard, you would be right but we're not. Please read more carefully.
 
Irenealan, sorry about that earlier, I assumed the MSI board had dual channel because it was an nForce2
If you want an mATX with dual channel nForce2 IGP, then use the Biostar M7NCG. Make sure to get Revision 7.1 so it overclocks.


However, if you can spare the extra cost, you will not be sorry for going with the s754 Sempron. I personally use a Sempron 2600+ with a DFI NF3 250gb, a 1GB stick of gigaram memory and an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. I could have paid 3 times as much for 10% more performance so I'm very happy with it. 🙂

And about your RAM question, it's not recommended to put more than 2 sticks of RAM on a s754. In fact, even putting 2 sticks of RAM and running it 1t is considered "overclocking" for a socket754. That's why so many people overwhelmingly prefer the s939.
 
:thumbsup: on the M7CNG: its a great little mobo

not meaning to hijack; but as for me, i was thinking about a sempron 2800+/3100+ and a nforce3 250gb, i think i could score a cpu/mobo combo for about 140. s754 is here to stay for at least a year, but by that time we'll be upgrading, wont we all 😉
 
Sorry I haven't yet clarify one point, that is I am not looking for a micro factor board. As a matter of fact, the case I have is a standard ATX so I am more than happy to get a non-mATX board. Just that all budget board I found are mATX so it may seem I want to get the micro factor board. I already go small for one machine, I think I can stick with a bigger one now. Sorry for the confusion.

Actually I really have to thank people here cuz many of you had help me alot in this thread and kept it going. Really appreciate all the help!

Guess I should give more background to my case. I was having a very old system, a Asus A7V w/ a Duron 600 OC to 900, a ATI Rage Pro Turbo, Sound Blaster Live!, 3 sticks of 256mb PC133 ram and a new copper based thermaltake HS. However, just two weeks ago the system stop booting up after I add the extra 256mb stick of ram and connect the new DVD burner and HD. I had disconnected everything except the CPU, HS, Vid, Ram and HD but the system still won't boot up. I had tested the CPU and it works fine with my new skt A board. Now it's either the ram or Vid or may even be the motherboard is burnt but I don't know which one. I doubt the ram has any problem as I tried to post with each and only one of them but the system still won't boot. I doubt the Vid has problem also cuz I already tried booting the system with a different Vid but it still won't boot. I really doubt is the hard drive cuz I also try to connect different ones without much luck. So now it narrows down to the motherboard and I had changed a new battery also but it still won't boot up. I had checked the price of replacing the motherboard but it will cost around $30 to $40. So I guess I may as well $100 more to update the system since buying a new motherboard will only give me back the old Duron 900 system. Spending $100 more for the Mobile Athlon, board and ram (total around $150) will be a great jump in performance.

That's the background story and led to the beginning of this thread since I figured that buying a Sempron skt 754 w/ a IGP board will cost about the same as the Mobile Athlon system. But now it seems leading to a more expensive system which I don't even know if it's worth as the system is originally planned for web browsing, office applications using only (or sometimes view, edit photos and videos and burn them into DVDs). From a $40 replacement of the old back all the way to a skt 754 system w/ a decent board and an extra Vid is a big jump in performance and hence also the cost. That's why I am trying to pull a balance here.

I think spending the $40 for the board is totally not worthy since the Duron 900 system is too obsolete and it won't last me any longer. In addition, by selling by outstanding parts, hopefully I may get around $80 back. With that I only need to add about $100 to get a decent Mobile Athlon system (Mobile 2200+ $80, Epox IGP board $75, Patriot 512mb ram $20 after MIR). However, now is it necessary for me to spend another $100, for the Sempron skt 754 system (assuming I am getting the DFI Lanparty board, an extra video card and extra cost for the Sempron 2800+ skt 754 w/ more cache). If such upgrade will give significant performance upgrade, such as loading Windows and office applications and also will have a better path for upgrading in future, then I guess I may consider gathering more budget to build the system. However, if the performance difference between the OCed Mobile Athlong and the OCed Sempron 2800+ skt 754 is insignificant for regular applications other than games, then I may save $100 and get the Mobile Athlon system!

Plus is skt 754 really like dead after 1 year? It seems if I get the skt 754 system then my next upgrade will probably be the Athlon 64 skt 754 and it performs about the same as the OCed Sempron 2800+ skt 754 except the additional 64bit functionality. Unless the Sempron skt 754 will last me for another 2 to 3 years, will it be more reasonable for me to save the $100 and wait another 1 to 2 years to upgrade to a better system (assuming the Mobile Athlon would sustain for another 2 years).

Sorry if I sounded ignorant and thanks for everyone's help. Hopefully I will get this system built soon. Have a nice day!

Edit: I still don't understand if it's necessary for me to get a PC4200 ram in order to OC the Sempron skt 754 or a PC3200 would work just fine. Also when I buy ram, should I buy a stick of 512mb or 2 sticks of 256mb or it won't matter for the skt 754 CPU? Thanks for the help and clarification.
 
PC3200 would be just fine for OCing on socket 754. you can use a divider to run slower ram at lower speeds.

If you are shooting for 512 megs of RAM on socket 754, go for a single DIMM.

BTW, you don't *have* to get the DFI Lanparty to OC on socket 754. It's just the best one. You could also get the Epox EP-8KDA3I or EP-8KDA3J. Both are cheap boards that should hit close to 290-300 HTT reliably. 300 HTT on a Sempron 2600+ = 2.4 ghz. I've seen the EP-8KDA3I on mwave.com for as little as $61. That and a 2600+ together go for about $135 + shipping. Toss in a cheapo vid card and you're looking at maybe $170, though that really depends on what vid card you get.
 
Thanks, but will it better if I get the sempron 2800+ since it has 256K cache? Or will it give significant difference? Thanks again!
 
Originally posted by: Quentin
Well, I'll be the naysayer! Since Socket 754 is about as dead as Socket A, I'd take a good XP-M2600+ over a Socket 754 Sempron 2600+! (And my XP-2200+ overclocks about as well as my XP-M2600+s however odds are the 2600+ will go higher. I never tried any of them above 2.5GHz.) Also I'm assuming you already have the XP-M2200+.

I think the real decision here should come down to a Socket 939 board with a true Athlon 64.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Socket 754 is not dead at all, and if you were keeping up on your info, you would know that. Socket 754 will continue as the sempron/value line for just as long as 939 is gonna be around, perhaps longer, as rumors of socket 939 being replaced by 900 make that a possibility.
 
Originally posted by: irenealan...
I think spending the $40 for the board is totally not worthy since the Duron 900 system is too obsolete and it won't last me any longer. In addition, by selling by outstanding parts, hopefully I may get around $80 back. With that I only need to add about $100 to get a decent Mobile Athlon system (Mobile 2200+ $80, Epox IGP board $75, Patriot 512mb ram $20 after MIR). However, now is it necessary for me to spend another $100, for the Sempron skt 754 system (assuming I am getting the DFI Lanparty board, an extra video card and extra cost for the Sempron 2800+ skt 754 w/ more cache). If such upgrade will give significant performance upgrade, such as loading Windows and office applications and also will have a better path for upgrading in future, then I guess I may consider gathering more budget to build the system. However, if the performance difference between the OCed Mobile Athlong and the OCed Sempron 2800+ skt 754 is insignificant for regular applications other than games, then I may save $100 and get the Mobile Athlon system!

Plus is skt 754 really like dead after 1 year? It seems if I get the skt 754 system then my next upgrade will probably be the Athlon 64 skt 754 and it performs about the same as the OCed Sempron 2800+ skt 754 except the additional 64bit functionality. Unless the Sempron skt 754 will last me for another 2 to 3 years, will it be more reasonable for me to save the $100 and wait another 1 to 2 years to upgrade to a better system (assuming the Mobile Athlon would sustain for another 2 years)...
Click to expand...

Irene, it is confusing to know what's the right thing to do. I can tell you though that a mobile XP with a good nForce2 board will perform about the same as a good Socket 754 board with a Sempron. I doubt you could tell any difference with web browsing and office applications. Even in games there wouldn't be much difference - the mobile wins some benchmarks and the Sempron wins others. Either system should get you two years down the road and either system would be better than a $500 Dell.

I have the four systems below and expect to run them two more years. I wouldn't think of "upgrading" to Socket 754 it just isn't worth the expense. Socket 939 or M2 is the future and I will wait until there are enough reasons to move to another motherboard. The most demanding applications I run are ripping DVDs and watching DVD (and it sounds like that'll be your most demanding, too). Also you have the HTPC so you know how well a mobile XP performs. (BTW, if you'll want decent surround sound look for Soundstorm in a board.)

Since money is an issue, I'd go mobile XP. If you could put a couple hundred more in I'd go Socket 939 which would get you two years farther down the road, I suspect.

Good luck!

 
Originally posted by: dguy6789
Originally posted by: Quentin
Well, I'll be the naysayer! Since Socket 754 is about as dead as Socket A, I'd take a good XP-M2600+ over a Socket 754 Sempron 2600+! (And my XP-2200+ overclocks about as well as my XP-M2600+s however odds are the 2600+ will go higher. I never tried any of them above 2.5GHz.) Also I'm assuming you already have the XP-M2200+.

I think the real decision here should come down to a Socket 939 board with a true Athlon 64.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Socket 754 is not dead at all, and if you were keeping up on your info, you would know that. Socket 754 will continue as the sempron/value line for just as long as 939 is gonna be around, perhaps longer, as rumors of socket 939 being replaced by 900 make that a possibility.
Click to expand...

I've heard of M2 replacing Socket 939 but that's going pretty far out on the roadmap. (Way after Venice, San Deigo, dual core Toledos and more that S754 never will see). From my reading Socket 754 is on the way out now. It will have a tough time outlasing Socket A the way things are going now. It will hang in there in laptops for a while but on the desktop the writing's on the wall.

There's no way in the world I'd build a Socket 754 system today when it's not that much more to get a "real deal" Socket 939 system. In two years you'd have tons of options for a CPU swap that would cost you $800 today or are not available like San Diego or Toledo. What could you put in a Socket 754 board two years from now that would be that much better than a CPU you can get today? Think about that!

 
Originally posted by: Quentin




I've heard of M2 replacing Socket 939 but that's going pretty far out on the roadmap. (Way after Venice, San Deigo, dual core Toledos and more that S754 never will see). From my reading Socket 754 is on the way out now. It will have a tough time outlasing Socket A the way things are going now. It will hang in there in laptops for a while but on the desktop the writing's on the wall.

There's no way in the world I'd build a Socket 754 system today when it's not that much more to get a "real deal" Socket 939 system. In two years you'd have tons of options for a CPU swap that would cost you $800 today or are not available like San Diego or Toledo. What could you put in a Socket 754 board two years from now that would be that much better than a CPU you can get today? Think about that!
Click to expand...
I don't know what you have been reading but it doesn't synch with anything I've read. For example read this recent blurbTrying to phase out sktA by Q4 and you think skt754 won't outlast it? The big differrence is that skt754 will continue to ramp, sktA won't. I surmise AMD customers still asking for sktA are primarily in the overseas market and that is why they will contintue limited production past Q3. Likely to be as much as a 15% price cut on skt754 in a couple weeks so hang in there Irene. Do what you want, but regardless of how light the usage skt754, is the way to go for value builds. If the price cut does happen, it just makes the deal even sweeter.
 
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Originally posted by: Quentin




I've heard of M2 replacing Socket 939 but that's going pretty far out on the roadmap. (Way after Venice, San Deigo, dual core Toledos and more that S754 never will see). From my reading Socket 754 is on the way out now. It will have a tough time outlasing Socket A the way things are going now. It will hang in there in laptops for a while but on the desktop the writing's on the wall.

There's no way in the world I'd build a Socket 754 system today when it's not that much more to get a "real deal" Socket 939 system. In two years you'd have tons of options for a CPU swap that would cost you $800 today or are not available like San Diego or Toledo. What could you put in a Socket 754 board two years from now that would be that much better than a CPU you can get today? Think about that!
Click to expand...
I don't know what you have been reading but it doesn't synch with anything I've read. For example read this recent blurbTrying to phase out sktA by Q4 and you think skt754 won't outlast it? The big differrence is that skt754 will continue to ramp, sktA won't. I surmise AMD customers still asking for sktA are primarily in the overseas market and that is why they will contintue limited production past Q3. Likely to be as much as a 15% price cut on skt754 in a couple weeks so hang in there Irene. Do what you want, but regardless of how light the usage skt754, is the way to go for value builds. If the price cut does happen, it just makes the deal even sweeter.
Click to expand...

DAPUNISHER, are you saying you'd rather have Socket 754 than 939? For a laptop, ok but for a desktop why would you want it when there's about as much life in it as Socket A? I'm saying a new system should be based on Socket 939 so skip the 754 generation. Why wouldn't you leave the option open for Venice, or San Diego or Toledo? You've got to admit they're as likely to come to Socket A or Commodore 64 as to Socket 754 - that sounds dead to me.

Irene, not trying to throw you off here. You certainly can build a nice system with either Socket A or 754 and expect it to do well for two or three years, maybe more depending on your applications. I'm just saying if someone is building for the future, neither of those generations are a great choice. But they can do the job and will until we're forced to move to true 64-bit computing (ie: Windows XP 32-bit is no longer supported - who knows when, maybe 2009???).
 
Originally posted by: Quentin

DAPUNISHER, are you saying you'd rather have Socket 754 than 939? For a laptop, ok but for a desktop why would you want it when there's about as much life in it as Socket A? I'm saying a new system should be based on Socket 939 so skip the 754 generation. Why wouldn't you leave the option open for Venice, or San Diego or Toledo? You've got to admit they're as likely to come to Socket A or Commodore 64 as to Socket 754 - that sounds dead to me.

Irene, not trying to throw you off here. You certainly can build a nice system with either Socket A or 754 and expect it to do well for two or three years, maybe more depending on your applications. I'm just saying if someone is building for the future, neither of those generations are a great choice. But they can do the job and will until we're forced to move to true 64-bit computing (ie: Windows XP 32-bit is no longer supported - who knows when, maybe 2009???).
Click to expand...

There's a large price difference between the s754 Semprons and the s939 a64s. Larger, in fact, than the performance differences.

Quentin, I don't know about you but I rarely keep the same motherboard for a long time. Socket M2 is already on the AMD roadmap so I don't think s939 is that much better of an upgrade path anyway. And Dual Core is more hype than anything that's worth buying. They don't even make games that benefit from Dual Core and by the time they've done the proper development, Socket M2 will be probably be out.

Also, there is a Revision E Sempron (SSE3 and sSOI, basically a venice without Dual Channel DDR) out there so you're wrong on that one Quentin. And don't go touting dual channel's 5% benefit since a s939 setup is way more than 5% more expensive than a s754 Sempron setup.

Here's the article about the Revision E Sempron: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/sempron-3100e.html

Oh yeah and the Sempron only price cuts will be nice. 😀
 
But which motherboard would you rather have 754 or 939, sangyup81? I do keep a motherboard many years so I want one that will remain fresh.
 
Hate to break it to you but your s939 will not last "many years." More like 1 year.
http://www.a1-electronics.net/AMD_Section/CPUs/AMD_Roadmap.shtml

Since I only go with DFI, here's what I'm left with.

Sempron 2600 + DFI nf3 250gb = 191
Winchester 3000 + DF nf4 Ultra = 283

so pay 48% more for months of greater longevity, 10% greater potential overclocked clockspeed, and dual channel memory (5% performance boost). There's no way there's a 48% increase in Real World performance. Heck even 15% is liberal.

I don't see the justice.
 
Irene, I am sorry we've hijacked your thread. I will add this and then shut up about which platform is "best" for everyone/ANYone - there is no such thing, of course.

Please post again to get us back on track for your problem. Again I am sorry if all this muddied the water for your project. You must admit it is difficult to select the right board especially since we all are coming from different perspectives.

Nice link, sangyup81! It's like some I've seen, too. Early on I noticed the quote:
"Worth bearing in mind that the socket 754 is being phased out for the socket 939."

Anyway, we're on the same side. We agree M2 is coming and it should be better than 939. But it will debut in over a year (I assume "1st half 06" means "lucky if by June 30, 2006") and will take much more time before it replaces 939. Right now 939 is the socket to buy and will be dominant for more than two years.

Where we differ is you like to upgrade your motherboard more often than I do. You may need the new advances but I like to get a few years out of a board by buying one that supports a wide range of processors. I go for a lower price but overclockable CPU then a year or so later take advantage of lower prices and more knowledge to buy the best CPU my board will accept. I am at that stage right now with Socket A and will ride it for another year. I'll reassess what's going on with M2 then and choose a new socket when SA just doesn't cut it anymore. Right now I argue for 939 because it is the best. I may end up with M2, though. (Which would be amazing to leapfrog over two socket generations!)

Lot's of fun to argue with you guys (and girls)! I like to bounce this stuff off people in the know. Don't have friends this knowledgeable nearby so this forum is very helpful!
 
Thanks Quentin for your help and it's nice to see your discission here. Well sorry to get back so late and hopefully you guys still follow up this thread. Ok in the past week I have tested my old components and found that the ram, video and sound hard, CPU should all work fine when placed on a different motherboard. However, when they all got placed on the old motherboard, the system won't boot up. Just wonder is there any reason that would cause such problem.

Assuming the motherboard is gone, the cheapest replacement board I can find is around $40. So will it make sense for me to get such a board and stick with a Duron 900 system? Or I should sell my ram, video and sound cards, which may give me $60 and upgrade to an Athlon or Sempron 754 system? Again this system is not meant for gaming and is more for office applications, internet browsing, downloading, photo and video editing and burning CDs and DVDs. What type of system would you guys suggest that would be the best value for my usage and if possible last me for quite sometime? Thanks.
 
Irene, it's tough to answer your question. First let's discuss the cheapest alternative - say your old motherboard still was working - would the Duron 900 system really be satisfactory and would you continue using it for "quite some time"? If the answer is yes, it's a shame the board died. But paying $40 for the cheap motherboard just to get back to that level - well that's not a real solution, there's no future in that.

Socket A nForce2 with XP mobile. That still works well but if you have to buy lots of other parts you can get a lot of money tied up. More than you may expect. Same for Sempron 754, it can do the job easily but will cost more than you want to spend.

Socket 939 and A64. I think this is the way to go. It will cost more than you want to spend but will do the job a long time. Next year you will be glad you spent the extra money.

 
I'm just here to vouch for the 90nm s754 Semprons being outstanding overclockers, if your board + mem + PSU have any room in them to allow any overclocking. They're speedy at stock as well.
 
The Chaintech NF3-250 Zenith is another Awesome Motherboard for overclocking Semprons.

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=161198

If your not a memeber of eocf, you may not be able tosee all the screenshots of my tests, but lets just say I exceeded xbitlabs results on the Chaintech, and got even higher with the DFI UT....

Sempron 754 is not only a good choice for a budget processor, its a whole lot of fun.....



 
Is the Chaintech VNF3-250 really a good board for OC? It will be on sale for $60 on ChiefValue and I wonder if I should get it with the Sempron 754. Also is it worth to spend the extra $10 for the 2800+ with 256k cache? Thanks for all the help?
 
I have the VNF3-250 with a Sempron 2800+. It works well, but I should report the following:

The most recent BIOS does not allow vcore adjustments. You must flash to the 2nd most recent BIOS rev(9/21 I think) to access vcore adjustment settings in the BIOS menu. The board loses no functionality doing this, but if BIOS flashes make you jumpy, you might not like it. Nevertheless, Winflash is easy to use. I should also point out that my final OC required no increase in vcore at all, so, you may not need to be able to adjust vcore to get the chip OCed. I run at 2323 mhz(according to CPU-Z) at default vcore.

I can't vouch for or against the extra 128k l2 cache, but it seems to me that the Palermo suffers a bit of performance loss when dropping from the 512k of Venice/Winchester/Newcastle to 256k. Dropping from 256k to 128k might come with an even nastier performance penalty. I can't say for sure how great that penalty is, but you will probably get better IPC out of a 256k Sempron than a 128k Sempron. Also, the 256k Semprons seem to OC a little better. My guess is the 128k Semprons are "failed" 256k chips with 1/2 their cache disabled to pass testing.

If you push HTT past 265 or so on your VNF3-250, it will not boot properly(it'll go into safe mode using default HTT speeds) unless you set the LDT(HT multiplier) to 3x. 1x, 2x, and 4x will all fail. Didn't try 5x. I wouldn't recommend it, either.

Due to the low mutlipliers on the 2600+ and 2800+, you will have to crank HTT wayyyyy up there to OC it, and you will find that the board gets sketchy past 300 HTT. I could never get my chip stable past 2.4 ghz/300 HTT, and I had to set vcore to 1.52 to get that far. Whether it's the board itself causing problems or the CPU, I don't know, but my guess is that it's the board.

The board does not have a lot of memory dividers.

That's about it. It works, it's cheap, and I was able to get my barebones VNF3-250 and 2800+(pre-assembled) to OC without resorting to any crazy tricks. All I had to do was set LDT/HT mutliplier to 3x; getting to 2.4 ghz required a BIOS flash. This was on stock cooling.

Your mileage may vary.
 
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