Silly questions about X2 upgrade

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Protoform-X

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jan 30, 2002
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I would have put this in the extreme cooling forum, but it's not really about my cooling solution.

I've been using an Athlon 64 FX-53 @~2.8GHz on a vapochill LS for just about a year now. It's fairly fast, but I can't get the damn X2 off my mind. I used to use a dual Athlon MP 2100 setup and haven't used anything that could multitask like that system yet. I use my system for some games, video encoding, and I also use Lightwave 3D and Photoshop.

So, here's what I need to know:
1. What X2 will most likely overclock the highest, preferably with the Toledo core? I understand the "your mileage may vary" clause.
2. What powersupply should I get? I was looking at the PCP&C 510W Turbo Cool SLI, but I just want the best for overclocking.
3. What motherboard with SLI is overclocking the best right now? Still the DFI SLI-DR?
4. RAM? I have 2x512MB PC3200 Crucial Ballistix, they're okay, but I'd like to get the best there is for overclocking.

Thanks all.
 
1. Depends on how much ya wanna spend, the x2 3800's are getting ~2.5 on each core. But I've seen some x2 4200/4400's getting 2.7

2. The PC P&C is the best, but you can get the Seasonic S12 600W for $133, the Hiper Type R SLI 580W for $130, or the OCZ Powerstream 600W for $190

3. The DFI boards are still the best (got a ut sli-dr on order myself) but I've had good luck with the Asus board....I just wanna get every last mhz out of this when I Install my h20 apex next week.

4. You know you don't HAVE to go 1:1 on memory, but that mushkin redline is doing good, as is the GSkill PC4400EL...been seeing guys getting 350+htt 1:1 ram :eek:
 
Protoform-X said:
So, here's what I need to know:
1. What X2 will most likely overclock the highest, preferably with the Toledo core? I understand the "your mileage may vary" clause.
2. What powersupply should I get? I was looking at the PCP&C 510W Turbo Cool SLI, but I just want the best for overclocking.
3. What motherboard with SLI is overclocking the best right now? Still the DFI SLI-DR?
4. RAM? I have 2x512MB PC3200 Crucial Ballistix, they're okay, but I'd like to get the best there is for overclocking.
Click to expand...
1) 4800+ will be your best bet since it's already at 2.4GHz
2) PCP&C is the best
3) DFI
4) I know Mushkin Redline is good
IMO RAM isn't that important since you can just use a divider
 
If you have tons of cash to burn, then I'd get the 4800+. However, if you have anything else in your system that could be upgraded, such as a 2nd GPU, new monitor, RAID disk system, 7800GTX, etc, then I would suggest the 4400+ very strongly. You already have a very nice cooling system, and the difference between the 4800+ and 4400+ average OC's with a vapo are probably slim to none. It might even be a toss up as to which is better, with some 4400+s beating out some 4800+s, it's all in the luck of the draw, but the vapo sort of levels the playing field IMO.

For the board, I would suggest the DFI nf4 SLI board. It is hands down the BEST overclocking board, with the most features.

For ram (you are aware that overclocking your memory on the A64 yields little to no performance increase, and is only good for benching, right?) I suggest crucial value if you want 2gb, and again, everything in your system is not already pimped out to the max. Otherwise, if cash is of no object, the expensive crucial is the best 2gb bet.

However, if you need 2gb, are interested in benching, and that is the reason for OC'ing ram, might I suggest buying a 2x512mb kit for benching, and a 2x1gb kit for everyday use (like the crucial value). That way you have one for speed (which is only good for benching), and one for actual use (in which speed doesn't matter, and the ram OC's ok anyways).

Nothing can touch the winbond modules IMO. Twinmos SP (mine at 270 [email protected])was a good way to get the stuff for dirt cheap, however it seems hard to find (though 2x256 would be just as good for benching as 2x512mb imo), and mushkin redline is probably your best winbond bet.


Honestly, I feel that ANY x2 will likely stop around 3.1 or so on a vapo. That's what I'd look at for a close guide, it won't likely be much lower, however, higher will be tough, regardless of whether it's a 4800+ or not.


The PSU looks to be a good choice, though again, it is pricey, and unless the rest of the system is pimped (dual 7800gtxs, etc.), it isn't the best use of money. I guess what I'm saying is that dual 7800GTXs should be something that will improve overall system performance the most (maybe 1 now one later) if you are a gamer.

I think that the PCP&C is a great PSU, and will provide good overclocking results (as will cheaper modules), and it is the best PSU imo, wattage depending.


Given you are looking at a seriously powerful/expensive (relatively) setup, I would suggest looking into the gigabyte IRAM as well. It is yet another expensive ($150 +ram), however powerful item, that will greatly improve disk performance, offering better performance than the 74GB raptor.
 
I already plan on getting two 7800 GTX's. Let's just forget about money for a bit. Is there any place carrying the I-RAM yet? And christ, mikelz85, that RAM is insane.
 
the IRAM is due to drop in 1-2 weeks, if that, given what anandtech said in their review.

Nice thing is that it only uses PC-1600, so if you can find really cheap ram of any kind, it should work OK, I bet neweggs refurb is probably the best idea for cheap but decent enough ram.
 
After reading some reviews on the I-RAM, it looks awesome, but I'm not sure it would be of any use to me. I'll stick to the dual 74GB Raptor plan. Does anyone else have furthur input on the processor choice?
 
I've put together this system list. Does it sound reasonable????

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Dual Core CPU
2x Seagate 200GB SATA 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Geil DDR400 Dual Channel 2048 MB RAM Kit (2x1024 MB)
Antec p180 case
Enermax EG701AX-VE SLI 600 Watt ATX NoiseTaker Power Supply
Zalman CNPS7700-CU Copper CPU Fan
HP NVidia Quadro FX 1400 PCI-E 128MB Video Card w/ DVI

This is a workstation machine (cad), I plan to oc to reach at least 4800+ perf.

Is it ok?

Thanks,

Kandor
 
The xp-90 or xp-120 would be a bit better cooler, but it looks like a nice rig (especially for a "work" computer) :cool:
 
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