What processor should I buy? UPDATED, PLEASE HELP

[Gozu]

<U>*****IMPORTANT UPDATE*****</U>

Well, I ordered the cpu on the 19th and got it today. A p4 2.4A. plugged it in, turned it on, and...nothing.the mobo powers on and thefans start spinning but nothing happens, no sounds, no led readout from the mobo, no nothing.

So, what's the deal here? Is my mobouncapable of supporting a 2.4A ??? I'm going to kill someone, possibly myself.
Old post follows:

I have an Epox 4g4a+ Mobo (PDF manual here) and a p4 1.8ghz northwood o'ced at 2.4 ghz with stock cooler. If I am not mistaken (please check the manual because i'm not certain) my mobo supports up to 3.2 Ghz at 533 FSB. I also have 512 Mb of Samsung 512MB DDR333 PC2700 Memory .

What I want to know is what is the cheapest p4 cpu i can get that I can overclock to 3.2 Ghz and whether my memory will be able to handle that as well. IF the answer is a negative, do you have any alternatives for me? I don't want to completely overhaul my system (new mobo, new cpu, new gpu, new memory) for another year or so.

AH, for the record, I have a radeon 9700 pro

Thanks for your time

Gozu

 

[o1die]

Your motherboard may take up to a 533 2.8 or 3.06 cpu. The 3.06 cpu has hyperthreading support, but isn't worth the $200+ pricetag. Some of the "c" series p4's are cheaper, and you can get a new via or sis board with them for about the same price as the 3.06 alone. I'm still using a 2.4b running overclocked at 2700, and I've resisted upgrading, as the performance gain still isn't worth the dollars spent. I also recommend you bump up the cpu voltage to 1.52 or 1.55 and try running at 150 fsb (2700) which is what I use. You have a great video card (much better than mine) so again, you won't notice much improvement for the money spent. I'm waiting for socket 939 reviews, but may not upgrade unless the price is right.

 

[myocardia]

I think if your board supports it, you should definitely get a 3.06B. It is slightly over $200, but it not only is the only P4B with HT, but will overclock to 3.4-3.5ghz. You would smile smile for weeks, if not months, if you had a 3.5ghz P4 with hyperthreading, to go with your 9700 Pro.

 

[Gozu]

hum, I'd like to thank you both for answering. But you have not really provided the information I wanted

And I don't want to spend more than $130 on the cpu. I don't want a new mobo, and as I said, I think the max my mobo supports is 3.2ghz.

 

[mamisano]

How about the 2.4A that Intel just released? 533FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, SSE3 support, based on the Prescott core but does NOT have HT support. Going for $134 Retail @ NewEgg.

 

[Gozu]

Can it be overclocked to 3.2 ghz with a stock fan?

 

[mamisano]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=28&amp;threadid=1286571&amp;highlight_key=y&amp;keyword1=2%2E4a

 

[CU]

Your MB supports upto a 2.8B. I have the same MB and cpu overclock the same as you also. Read my thread on the same subject maxing out a 4g4a. Since your ram is 333mhz you will have to use the 1:1 ratio, but you should still be able to push the MB to its limits with that ram. Most don't top out around 160-170 fsb. However the 2.8B cost $167 and a 2.4B cost $155. Prices from Newegg. The 2.4B will need to run at 177fsb to hit 3.2ghz. That is pushing your ram and MB. I It may not work. The 2.8B will need to run at 152fsb to hit 3.2ghz. I don't think your ram or MB will prevent you from hitting that. The only thing that might hurt is the power that 3.2ghz will require. Power is the reason I think Epox doesn't listed the 3.06B as working on the 4g4a. Not sure how you can get to 3.2ghz for $130. I don't think the 4g4a will support the 2.4A prescott core.

 

[Gozu]

<U>*****IMPORTANT UPDATE*****</U>

Well, I ordered the cpu on the 19th and got it today. A p4 2.4A. plugged it in, turned it on, and...nothing.the mobo powers on and thefans start spinning but nothing happens, no sounds, no led readout from the mobo, no nothing.

So, what's the deal here? Is my mobouncapable of supporting a 2.4A ??? I'm going to kill someone, possibly myself.

 

[Gozu]

Now that all is said and done, I find a (kinda crappy) compatibility list DEEP WITHIN THE EPOX WEBSITEthat covers the 4g4a series. And it does seem to indicate prescott cpus are not supported....

So I guess I'm shafted now. I didn't want to upgrade the mobo for another year or so, but I guess I have no choice now.

Can someone gimme the name of a mobo that comes with integrated sound and ethernet (don't care about raid and vga nor serial ide, nor yadda yadda) that'll allow me to overclock that damned cpu to 3.2 Ghz. Something cheap.

Thanks

 

[Duvie]

How the heck can that cpu be called a 2.4A????

2.4a would mean first variation which woulkd have been the 400fsb version which there was one....
2.4B would be the 533fsb one
2.4C would be the 800fsb one

A prescott can't be called an A....

I could have told you the prescott was not going to work....With the 4g4a don't look past A or B chip northwoods...No point getting a 3.06 cause HT is useless as it does not support it...

 

[Gozu]

Well, that's what the box says, 2.40A 533 Mhz, max voltage 1.4v, 1Mb cache, bla bla bla

 

[Somniferum]

Originally posted by: Gozu
So I guess I'm shafted now. I didn't want to upgrade the mobo for another year or so, but I guess I have no choice now.

Can someone gimme the name of a mobo that comes with integrated sound and ethernet (don't care about raid and vga nor serial ide, nor yadda yadda) that'll allow me to overclock that damned cpu to 3.2 Ghz. Something cheap.

Thanks

RMA the 2.4A and get an AMD mobile chip + nforce mobo instead. Your total cost will be close to what you originally wanted to spend, and with some overclocking you will be in the performance range of a 3.2 GHz P4.

For example, Athlon XP 2400+ Mobile = $78 Link
Shuttle AN35N-Ultra = $54 Link
Total cost = $132

Since you have to get a new mobo at this point anyway, that would be the way to go if you ask me. Cheaper and probably faster, especially after looking at the performance of that 2.4A chip in the thread linked above.

 

[CU]

If you plan to keep it get an Abit IS7. They seem to be really good. It will cost you about $85. Or send it back and get a 2.8B and overlcock it. Just make sure you get a D1 stepping. It will overclock better. Or send it back and go with AMD. Just depends on the money you want to spend and how much trouble you want to go through upgrading.