E4300/MSI Mb Plans...Want Suggestions!!!

[Kursah]

Well, I am eventually planning on upgrading my system. I finally got 3.7 w/1:1 on my cheap memory (well 3.691 is close enough!). But it seems prices have come down and I am going to start buying pieces, and hopefully in a couple of months or so have her up and running (also timeframe depends on tax return!).

But here's the gameplan:

MB: MSI P965 Platinum (read quite a few good reviews, supposed to be great OC board)

CPU: Allendale based E4300 (fsb 800, 2mb L2), supposed to be easier to OC due to 200mhz bus, and from what I've read, it can hit 2.9 w/o any volt changes, and so far I've seen up to 3.4 w/20% voltage increases. Orthos stable, stock cooler.
*I might pay the extra 10 bucks for the e6300, but I hear due to the 1066 bus that it can be trickier to OC, and you have to pay for more OC equipment to enjoy any decent oc from it.

Memory: G. Skill 2GB DDR2 800 Kit (2x1gb) 5-5-5-15, 1.8-2.0v
*this is where I would like some pointers, as I've read DDR2 can be tricky to the point of extreme frustration if the wrong memory is purchased and not configured correctly. I'm used to DDR so, any suggestions, I want to keep the prices at about $200 bucks for 2 gigs.

Video: ATI card of some sore, possibly X1950 Pro 256mb, I can find one with an AC cooler for about 200 bucks, once again 200 is the magic number. Since this board is crossfire and not SLI I would like to stick with ATI for the future. DX10 may be the future, but hell, I don't need it yet. I hear this card does not OC well, and that is a bummer, but oh well. Also any other suggestions welcomed, I will even listen to those who recommend NV cards (my dad has a 7600GS, and it performs quite well).


As far as cooling goes I will probably use my Zalman 7700, it's been good and durable, and I love it as it keeps my OC's 630 @ 1.49v pretty damn cool, and if C2D's put out less wattage it should have no problems keeping the 4300 cool, and it moves air to vid, mem, NB too. The memory comes w/heat spreaders, the MB had sinks on the NB and SB, not anyting exotic, but from the reviews I read it is plenty for the 965/ICH8R combo even w/OC's.

My goal is 3.3-3.4 on the proc, maybe some OC on the Vid and better performance than my current rig. I want to do this build fairly cheap, but not to the point of crap OC/performance. So my budget is set at $200 for each component. My HD will be moved over also, Seagate 'cuda 500GB 7200.9 Sata II.

Also, I have heard installing windows can be a pain in the ass on P965 based mb's, any tips? I had a bitch of a time on my current rig, ended up hooking up an old 10gb Pata, installing windows on it, and using Seagate HD software to copy windows to Sata drive (F6 during install wouldn't recognize my AS8 drives, I have the AS8-V, so no Raid...it was a huge mess).

Thanks to all who read this whole thing, any other pointers, component suggestions, please let me know, otherwise I'll start buying components piece by piece soon.

 

[Kursah]

I found some OCZ Platinum Rv.2 DDR800 for $187 ($219-$32 rebate)
Looks to be better than the G.Skill stuff,
4-4-4-15, 1.9-2.0V

Any input?

Here's the link:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85264&prodlist=pricegrabber

 

[Deleted member 24505]

personally i think you'd be better off with a p5b-dlx or a 680i based board if you have the dosh,but hey the choice is yours.my p5b-dlx does at least 560fsb.

and any half decent ddr2 800 ram should be fine.

as to the 6300,in the p5b-dlx.mine does 3.5ghz 24/7 stable with a 500fsb and 1.325vcore,with my ram at 1000mhz 1:1.i did'nt find it tricky at all,it ocs like a beast.i have the highest % oc on tpu@102%,that was only at 3.7(i think) and my highest from this chip is 3.9ghz.

 

[Kursah]

I am torn between the P5b-dlx (best price I can find is $180) and the MSI (best price is $136). Question for ya Tigger, I have eide DVD/CD Burner, and Sata HDD, I hear that installing XP with such a setup can be a royal pain, can you give me any tips/recommendations? As when I do decide which board to get and get the rest of the equipment I want this to go smoothly. I might go buy the XP Pro w/Sp2 since prices have gone down and I have an old OEM XP Pro disc from an older PC I used to have (became target practice).

Thanks. I am really leaning towards the P5B...I am not planning on Raid, is it worth the extra 40 bucks for the deluxe?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

i think it is worth it for the deluxe.i dont have a eide burner,mine is sata(invest in one if you can,much easier xp install and no ugly ide cables) so i cant really give you any tips on the install.mine was faultless.

the board choice depends mainly on how high you are gonna oc,i dont think the msi will go as high as the dlx,and i just think the dlx is a better board.my last two asus(p5wd2,p5b-dlx) have been fantastic high clocking reliable boards.

 

[Kursah]

Well then I will look for a good price on a P5b dlx board. Wish I had the cash to get all the goodies now dammit! I might have to look for an Sata Burner..would be a bummer considering mine is fine, and that would be the only need to get it at the moment. I think I'm gonna go with just 1gb of DDR2, since I'm planning on overclocking from the get go, should I stick with getting ddr2800? or should I go with faster memory? Thanks again!

 

[Kursah]

I would like to get around the 3.3 to 3.4 area of OC, and if I stick with the E4300 800fsb/9x multi, it shouldn't be to difficult. If I can save some money and still hit that OC, I will be very happy.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

stick with 800,400x9(800 mem 1:1) is 3600.the dlx will do 400fsb EASILY.

 

[Kursah]

Cost Estimate/Product Selection

Well, I did a lot of researching last night, still up in the air as far as a vid card and memory, I'd like to get 1gig to save money, but I've heard 2 gigs for gaming helps out a lot. I currently would like to keep the vid card price around 200 bucks (+/- 20 bucks, incl. shipping). That leaves me with the Powercolor X1950 Pro that comes with AC X2 Cooler, or a NV7900 GS, stock cooler, 10 bucks cheaper. I'm a big fan of AC, I have one on my current OC'd X850Pro (soft modded to 16p X850Xt Pe, then OC'd some more), it is excellent !

I am also still at a tossup between the proc's, either E6300 or E4300. I am planning on getting DDR800 memory, and I haven't read of any 4300's hitting 3.6/400, it seems so far they can get em up to 3.47 though. I want to get the most bang for my buck, and that is why I come to Tech, this place is too perfect for my needs. But anyways, here's the shopping list:

Processor:

Intel E4300 Allendale - $179.99, free s/h @ Newegg
Intel E6300 Allendale - $189.99, free s/h @ Newegg

Motherboard:

Asus P5B Deluxe P965/ICH8R - $186, incl s/h @ Newegg

Memory:

Corsair XMS2 1GB (2x512) DDR2 800 - $110, free s/h @ Newegg
Patriot eXtreme Performance 1Gb (2x512) DDR2 1066 - $184, incl. s/h @ Newegg
G.Skill 2GB (2x1gb) DDR2 800 - $190, incl s/h @ Newegg

Video:

Powercolor X1950 Pro w/AC X2 Cooling 256mb - $199.99, free s/h @ Newegg

I know all my prices are from the 'egg, but for what components I'm looking for I couldn't find better prices with shipping in mind. I want a decent OC rig, and I should hope this would be plenty capable of that if I choose the right components. All of the Ram's I looked up said they were OC friendly, but well, it seems almost all DDR2's say that. I'd like 2 gigs of DDR2, but anything faster than 800 speed is rediculous in pricing, and my budget can't hack it. I do my share of gaming and such. I'm still kind of torn between the 6300 and 4300 especially w/ the $10 difference. But if I go w/the 4300, and get the 2 gigs of 800 I should be able to OC that 4300 to it's max, and stay under the 800's ratings, but then I'm not fully utilizing the memory. So, this is where I am standing. I want to keep this buget at about $700-$750 range, $800 max. And that's what makes this difficult. But I am hoping to find the best for my bucks with the help from all of you who are willing to pitch in your 2 cents worth.

Tigger69, again thanks for your help, very much. And I look forward to you continuing to help me (when you are available to of course) through this project. As this could be a pretty damn good mid-budget OC Rig, which is the goal intended.


**Also**
I am keeping my Case, Aspire (Apeva) X-Cruiser, 2-80mm front intakes, 1-120mm rear exhaust, 1-80mm top exhaust, 1-80mm side intake w/cpu vent tubing. Keeping my power supply, 500W Antec Smartpower 2.0 w/2 80mm fans. Keeping my HDD, Seagate 'Cuda 7200.9, SATA II, 16Mb Buffer, 500GB. Keeping my CD and DVD Burners (both Pata).

 

[Deleted member 24505]

if the 4300's will only do 3.47,get the 6300,it should do 3.5 easily.

 

[Kursah]

If I get the 6300 and let's say the 2 gigs of G.Skill 800, I could hit 3.5 right? But what speed would my memory be running at? And if the multi cuts it down, how much loss would I take? Would it matter for gaming/apps?

I know with my DDR/630 system, running it 1:1 to only 3.7, it runs way better than 4:5 @ 3.9. My bandwidth was improved greatly. I just want to have all my ducks in a row, so please don't get aggrivated if I ask questions that I should know from previous experience, as from what I've seen these new style systems oc the same, but they have different properties/settings/adjustments/ratio's and so-on.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

at 3.5ghz with my ram at 1:1,it is running at 1000mhz.you will need "good" 800 ram that will do 500(stock is 400(400x2=800)),unless with that 680 board you run fsb at 500 and ram at 400.1:1 is better tho'.

at 3.5ghz with mem at 1000 1:1 my system murders games.with a 8800gts/x my system would

 

[InfDamarvel]

E4300 does more than 3.4ghz for sure.

 

[Kursah]

Do you guys think that any of the Ram I have supplied is capable? I know the DDR1066 would be capable, and heck it'd still have 66mhz of headroom. I'd really like to get 2 gigs, I just don't know how well that G.Skill stuff performs. I'll see if I can find some reviews on it. Do you guys have any suggestions of what brand of ddr2 to get? If I get good enough quality of DDR2 in 1 gig (2x512), would that be good enough to suffice and not buy lesser quality 2 gig kit?

InfDamarvel, in the few reviews I found, including one using the board I am planning on purchasing, they upped the voltage to 1.6 and got 3.420. If it could hit 3.6 and I could find repeated results, I would lean back towards getting it, as it would save my budget some, and be perfect for ddr800 2 gig kit I selected.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e4300_3.html

That is the link to the OC they got using P5B/4300 combo.

Again thanks for your responses and help! I am going to keep researching until I get this set to where I want it and then make the purchases.

 

[Kursah]

"Well it looks like the MB specs call for 533/667/800 DDR2 Ram...so I suppose that takes the 1066RAM out possibly..."

I take that back...I found a few sites, including Asus main site that say this board supports 1066 RAM... But still if I could save some money and get slower, oc-able ram and more of it, I'd be happy.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

it does'nt take out 1066 ram,mine is running at 2000 now(500x2x2),1066 is 266x2x2.

go for the 6300 and see what you can get out of it with 1066 ram.

 

[Kursah]

Now I know that if I get 1 stick of DDR2 at 1 gig, I cannot do dual channel mode. As far as I have read, at least with DDR, Dual Channel doesn't increase performance much at all. I do not know as far as DDR2, but it seems a 1 gig stick is somewhat cheaper than 2 sticks of 512...should I spend a little extra for 2 sticks for dual mode, is the performance worth it?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

personally,i would get two.2x512mb over 1x1gb,pref 2x1gb,but go with what you can afford.

i dont really know if it makes that much differance,but i reckon duel channel is better.

 

[Kursah]

Yeah, I agree. I think that I will stick with trying to get 2 sticks. I am finding some good OC-able Ram, 2x1g kits for around $250. That's above budget, so I'm still deciding what to go with, but the Buffalo Firestix PC6400 2x1 looks promising $250 incl s/h,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820150054&ATT=20-150-054&CMP=OTC-Froogle

1000mhz stable 2.2v 444 12 timings
1125mhz stable 2.4v 555 15 timings

Hmm...getting a little too close to that 800 dollar mark, but this looks like it may be worth it! And it'd be nice to just get 2 gigs now and not worry about it later on, and who knows, prices fluctuate insanely, I could end up getting all this stuff for 600 bucks in a couple months or over 900 bucks...ya never know! I'm getting really stoked. And I gotta get a loan to fix my girl's car up (I'm a technician for a dealership), so hell I might just tack on a few hundred to that in order to get all my stuff ordered in the next week.

I'm off to go read up some more. Thanks again! I may ask ya for your bios settings and such, and if/when I get my stuff set up, I'm gonna hope my eide DVD drive works okay when installing XP...

I had such a bad experience with this AS8-V and Sata HDD I wanted to...well ya know that kind of frustration I'm sure!

 

[Kursah]

Hey Tigger,

How's that Freezer 7 Pro do for temps on your OC Rig? I found a good deal on one, of course it would mean I'd lose some cooling on everything else compared to Zalman 7700, but I have decent airflow in my system. Approx 85cfm intake (2 fronts, 1 side), and Approx 152cfm exhaust (1 rear, 1 top, 2 power supply, 120mm rear has no restriction, cut hole in back of case for that reason, that fan alone is good for 79cfm). Thanks again!

 

[Kammster]

xbit labs had the E4300 running at 430fsb on the asus pb5

all reviews i ever saw only gave 2% incearse with 2 gig over 1 gig in FEAR, obilivon etc.
i think you need the 2gig memory to use in 64-bit and vista though.

x1950 XTX is 100% incease in frames over the x850xt (FEAR) but wouldn't that be a 150% investment, could wait see what mid-range Geforce 8000's and X2000's look like.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Kursah,at this oc(24/7) my temps are 33-34c idle(depending on c/heating) and no more than 50c max.nb really.

that ram is ok.at that 1125mhz that would give you a 567fsb,which would be approx 5106mhz(with a x9 multi on the 4300)with ram at 1:1.

i have had my board to 570fsb to windows.was flaky tho' coz my ram did'nt like the 570 it was at.the most i can really get my ram to stable is about 1100mhz(550fsb).i am happy with 3.5ghz tho'.

 

[Kursah]

Well, my x850xt is AGP, which'd do me no good for my new system. Otherwise I'd continue using it as I am still very happy with it, but I figure if I'm gonna upgrade to a better system, I'd do it with better components (budget considered of course).

The link I posted above a few posts ago was the link to the X-bit labs E4300 review, and in that review they could only muster 3.42 @ 380fsb w/voltage increase to 1.5 or .6 I believe. I just do not see the point of spending 10 bucks less, if it was 20 or 30 or even more dollars then I'd be more keen to buying the 4300, and getting less oc-able ram as it would not be necessary.

The games I usually play are Quake 4 (not as much anymore), BF2, Fear, Guild Wars, MoH2 and 3, Rise of Legends, and Company of Heroes. I would like higher resolutions playable in these games, and higher settings (especially texture levels) which the extra GPU oomph and system memory would help. I am planning on getting a 19" widescreen 5ms 700:1 flatscreen sometime in the future also, and it's native res is like 1440x900. So I'd like to be prepared for that.

If I could find a 4300 for it's actuall msrp of 163, (I can find a 6300 for 177 incl shipping), and verify it can actually go higher I'd be more towards that side for sure. I am still researching though, and I hope that in the next few days or so I can come to a conclusion of what exactly the hell I'm gonna do! Thanks you guys and please keep the input flowin!

I found that Freezer 7 Pro for 24.99 shipped, so I ordered one. That seemed too good a deal to pass up!

 

[Kursah]

N/M I was wrong, it's the e4300 I find for 177.99 incl s/h... the e6300 is 187.99 incl s/h... For 10 bucks difference, it seems I still may be better off with the 6300.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

i would get the 6300,it seems to do a higher oc than the 4300.

the freezer 7 pro is a fine cooler.