SFF OCing question

[amish]

i was thinking of getting an SFF for my next computer but i wanted to overclock it. i have heard that soltek is a good buy for enthusiasts and was looking mainly at those. my question is, which system of these two would give me the better overclock on air or water cooled if i decide to see how well my modding skills are?

the first system is a 754. with a nforce3 250 Gb chipset

the other is a 939. this one has a VIA K8T800 Pro + VT8237 chipset

which chipset has the most potential and will be easier to OC?

is there a better SFF on the market now or that will be on the market in a few months when i start to do this?

 

[BigBadBiologist]

well, I would reccomend a s939 system because those CPUs tend to overclock better. Also, you want to stick to a system that locks the PCI bus. If you don't, you're limited to about 220FSB. I would reccomend either the shuttle SN85G4V3 or the SN95 series.

/edit: supposedly the upcoming (possibly already out) Shuttle G5 systems have better cooling systems, so you may want to wait/look for one of those instead.

 

[amish]

thanks for the input so far. i did find a shuttle SN95G5 here at newegg. i really like the way that it looks. IIRC it still has a lockable PCI bus, but since it isn't the nforce3 250 Gb it is missing the native firewall right?

i guess that it won't matter too much anyways since i will be behind a router.

also, the 240w power supply, it seems a little weak if i want to watercool. is there a way to upgrade it?

 

[imported_waldo]

am I missing something? You want to watercool a SFF? With the size of the watercooler just get a normal case!!

 

[Trey22]

Originally posted by: amish
thanks for the input so far. i did find a shuttle SN95G5 here at newegg. i really like the way that it looks. IIRC it still has a lockable PCI bus, but since it isn't the nforce3 250 Gb it is missing the native firewall right?

i guess that it won't matter too much anyways since i will be behind a router.

also, the 240w power supply, it seems a little weak if i want to watercool. is there a way to upgrade it?

Some people go with an external PS, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a SFF, eh?

I love my SN95G5 (specs in my Rig sig link), and yes it is missing the native firewall and gigabit LAN (stupid Marvel chip).

It does OC nicely. Grab a 3000+ (9X multiplier) or 3200+ (10X multiplier) and you should go far with some nice RAM. I have my 3200+ at 2.4 which is equal to a 3800+ with barely a voltage hike and no perceptible difference in temps.

I've seen some put 2 HD's and a high end videocard, like X800's and 6800GT's, with no problems.

 

[amish]

Originally posted by: waldo
am I missing something? You want to watercool a SFF? With the size of the watercooler just get a normal case!!

but that is the fun of it. getting a piece of equipment and then modding the bejesus out of it just to do it.

trey, thanks for the input on your system and others. i was only going to put in a 3200+, 1 HD, dvd burner, and a 6800gt. hopefully that leaves enough room for all the other BS i want to put in there.

 

[Lairans]

I keep my SN95G5's 3000+ at about 3500+ most of the time. IF you are looking for EXTREME overclocking, SFFs are really not the way to go. Good luck!

 

[DrJeff]

Been lurking...
BTW, what size is the heatpipe cooling grill in the back of the SN95G5 ? It looks like one could mount a 120 on the outside of the case shooting out to increase airflow through the case and heatpipe. More OC capability?

I have been spec'ing up a machine based on one of those SN95G5 or similar with an A64. What memory will OC well (dual channel, 512 x 2) without leaving my wallet in the Corsair or Ballstix store?

 

[amish]

Originally posted by: DrJeff
Been lurking...
BTW, what size is the heatpipe cooling grill in the back of the SN95G5 ? It looks like one could mount a 120 on the outside of the case shooting out to increase airflow through the case and heatpipe. More OC capability?

I have been spec'ing up a machine based on one of those SN95G5 or similar with an A64. What memory will OC well (dual channel, 512 x 2) without leaving my wallet in the Corsair or Ballstix store?

zebo did an awesome job on reviewing ram here. basically he states that the best ram for the money is value ram because of its capability to still overclock.