Want to overclock E6300 - new mobo? which?

[Arcana]

I have an Asrock 775Dual-VSTA mobo, but it's really a low budget mobo which can't handle much more than 10-20% overclocking and that's not really enough for me anymore.

Now, I haven't really kept up with new gear the last year or so, but I remember reading this article about getting a 100% overclocking using a Asus P5B deluxe. Would that be the best mobo to get? Keep in mind, I'm still looking for something cheap and don't really want to buy any new hardware other than the mobo.
I've got 2 GB PC5300 Kingston value ram, stock cooling and a 400 (might be 450) Antec PSU. I'm not looking to do any sort of soldering mods either.


This is the article I'm referring to ...
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2822&p=2

 

[Arcana]

Thought I'd have a handful of replies by now.

 

[Mondoman]

P35 boards are *very* solid. GA-P35-DS3L seems to be the top choice for low-budget. Abit's IP35-e is often available for about $30 less after rebate.

 

[myocardia]

Are you aware that you can only overclock an E6300 to 2.3 Ghz, before you will also start having to overclock your RAM?

 

[Regalk]

Still have my E6300/Asus P5B deluxe - see sig.

 

[Arcana]

Mondoman: how much in terms of overclocking can you expect from those boards?

Myocardia: That depends on the Mobo doesn't it? I wasn't able to get much more than 2.0 Ghz with the 775 dual-VSTA.

Regalk: what sort of RAM do you have? are you using stock cooling?

 

[ShockwaveVT]

I recommend picking up a P35 board like the Abit IP35-E or the Asus PK5 or PK5-E depending on your budget.

Also, to over clock an e6300 significantly you?ll need faster ram than PC5300 aka DDR2 667. This is due to the 7x multiplier on the E6300, which requires you push the bus speed pretty high to get a good o/c, and your RAM?s bus speed limitations.

For example, at stock your E6300 is running on a 266Mhz bus x7 = 1.83Ghz. To run your CPU at 3.0 Ghz (64% o/c) you would need to run your bus at 428Mhz. DDR2 667 is rated for up to 333Mhz bus, and trying to run it at 428 would be a big leap and most likely would not work.

DDR2 800 is rated at 400Mhz and should be able to handle the extra 28Mhz if you go with a quality brand and tweak the RAM timings/voltage. DDR2 1066 RAM can handle 500+ Mhz bus speeds, but that territory is usually beyond E6300's range. Lucky for you (and me) DDR2 800 (PC6400) RAM is super cheap right now with several 2x1GB kits available from top brands for $30-50 after rebates.

If you really don?t want to buy new RAM, you could expect to reach CPU speeds of 2.33Ghz (27%) using a 333Mhz bus. You may be able to squeeze out a few more Mhz, based on how much your RAM will cooperate with being clocked past 333Mhz bus speed, but you won't get anywhere near a 100% CPU o/c.

Also note that over 3Ghz with just stock cooling is unrealistic. Most 100%+ over clocks rely on after market heat sinks like the Tuniq Tower 120 or similar.

 

[bailw]

any P35 chipsets gigabyte, asus, or dfi motherboards will do it.

 

[Arcana]

Thanks.
Shockwave, that's an interesting read.
I read an article the other day that there's basically no significant difference in speeds whether it's 667 or even 1066. I'll see if I can find it.
A bit confused now.

 

[MarcVenice]

There's no real difference arcana, but the lowest speed your ram will run at is in sync with the cpu's FSB, also known as 1:1. So if you push the CPU's FSB past 333mhz, which is 667mhz for your ram, then you start overclocking your ram, wether you like it or not. P35 mobo's have different memory multipliers, of which 1:1 is the lowest, that's where your problem is, which is why people are saying you will have a hard time trying to get past 2.3ghz, or an FSB of 333mhz.

 

[Markfw]

Yes, to OC a E6300, you really need PC-8000. I have 2 E6300's with PC-8000, both on S3 motherboards (965 chipset) and have had them as high as 3500, but right now I think they are at 3430. or 3320.

 

[Arcana]

Ok, seems like you can get 2 GB PC6400 for £30. Of course that plus £80 or so for Mobo and I'm not sure it's worth it for me anymore, as I'll probably get next to nothing for my current mobo and not much more for the RAM
Hmmm...

 

[Arcana]

Btw Markfw900. Those 2 E6300 are they running with stock cooling?
And how come you have a whole farm of PC's? Are you running an internet cafe or something?

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: Arcana
Btw Markfw900. Those 2 E6300 are they running with stock cooling?
And how come you have a whole farm of PC's? Are you running an internet cafe or something?

They are running with Ninja Sythe coolers. Stock would never get them very high at all.

As to the farm, I do DC, F@H. You will notice that I am the number one contributor to that project for Team Anandtech.

 

[Tullphan]

I've got an E6300 on a MSI P35 Neo2-FR.
Right now, w/the jumpers on the motherboard set @ 333 FSB my temps (using a Tuniq Tower & a Coolermaster Y720DCD-25T1-GP 120mm), my temps (according to Core Temp & Everest) are 35c CPU, 34c Core2 & 37c Core1. This is in a P180B case w/a Yates mounted on the upper drive bay & the stock Tri-cools at the top & rear set to low. Voltage is showing 1.325.
Do these temps sound kinda high for a 25% overclock? Makes me wonder what the temps would be if I tried for 3.0ghz. The chip is lapped & I got the same temps w/a Big Typhoon that was lapped.
I'm pondering putting a 2180 I got on here, but haven't decided.

 

[Arcana]

A Ninja scythe is another £25 +£80 for Mobo (unless there's cheaper ones?) + £60 for 2 GB Ram = £165. I can get a new E6850 for £130, so it seems hardly worth it.