New Mobo & Mem Opinions

27th October 2005, 22:43

[FONT=arial]I'm thinking of upgrading a PC I built a few months back and I'd like some opinions.

I have an Intel P4 Prescott 630 CPU 3.0GHz@3.58GHz (239X15) in an Albatron PX915P PRO with 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR400@474MHz (2X512MB). I also have a 256MB Gigabyte GeForce 6600 PCI Express graphics card.

I've tried everything and the CPU is maxxed out at 3.58 GHz. I was wondering if I should get rid of the Albatron board and go with a new board, DDR2 (PC800 or PC1000) and a better graphics card in the future (a better NVidia or ATI card).

My experience with this Albatron board is that you can only bump up the voltage +0.3v or +0.4v on the CPU and mem. Up to 239 FSB the Northbridge voltage automatically increases by +0.1v. When you go past 239 the NB increases by +0.2v. I've been told not to mess with the NB voltage.

I would like a board and memory that can handle extreme voltage increases so I can get the processor up near 4.0 GHz while being stable. I'd also like to stick with air cooling if possible.

I know everyone's got their own preferences on what to buy. I've read lots of reviews on DDR400, DDR533, etc. but haven't seen much on this newest DDR2s that are out. People seem to really like Patriot, GSkill and OCZ for mem and Asus and DFI Lanparty for mobos.

I mainly play FarCry and DeusEx Invisible War but I also have a ton of lesser graphics games.

I think the 3DMark 2001 score is like 15,511.

Is a 20% OC all that is possible with the socket 775 Prescott? Should I just change the graphics card instead and what's better, NVidia or ATI and why? SLI or not? Can the higher MHz memory be pushed further or is lower speed mem better for this?

Is it worth spending $300 or $400 on memory and a board or am I wasting my money for little gain?

I hope it's not too many questions for ya. Brand and model numbers and your successful settings, speeds, etc. Any info would be appreciated.[/FONT]

187(V)URD@ · 28th October 2005, 02:46

Hi,

I can see you're an intel fan or atleast have intels.
But you're talking about games and then I think about AMD 64(money/performance).

Also you card can be overclocked till GT speeds and over.
With my AMD@2.7GHZ and my GT overclocked i get something of 25-26K in 3D01 and 4300-4400 in 3D05.

The if I look at your score its a bit low in 3D01, your score in 3d01 could be 20-26K with that card and a AMD. In 3D05 you should get 3.8-4.2 consider how far you OC.

So basicly if you want gain, sell one intel system + add the 300-400$ for an amd gaming rig.

Like: A64 3000+/3200+ - 2GB ram - sapphire X800GTO² or maybe a Connect3D X800GTO - DFI board to finish of the overclocking

Sidney · 28th October 2005, 03:13

He has 6600 not 6600GT; so the 3D01 will not be as high. If he doesn't OC the 6600 that is the normal sccore

When a processor is "willing" you don't need much vcore, otherwise nothing could make it run at higher speed.

If it isn't the thermal issue, Intel chip is now more reasonable to own in term of price. It doesn't make sense to replace the entire system, get yourself a 7800GT or GTX you will be quite happy.

187(V)URD@ · 28th October 2005, 10:34

Quote:

Originally posted by lazyman
He has 6600 not 6600GT; so the 3D01 will not be as high. If he doesn't OC the 6600 that is the normal sccore

Put it this way, my axp + gf4ti4200 scored 15.6K

. Its a dx8.1 card but you know what i am saying.
Also a 6600GT can be clocked like a GT and why shouldn't he do that. Still 15K is low in my eyes if you bench with an oc'ed system.

Quote:

When a processor is "willing" you don't need much vcore, otherwise nothing could make it run at higher speed.

Every specific type of proc scales different.
Example from an opteron: I see people hitting 3ghz with 1.45V but then they can't go much higher because the proc doesn't respond that good on high vcore.
Another opteron (different stepping). Needs 1.55V for 3GHZ but can go higher since the processor is still scaling till 3.2ghz/1.65V. (rough numbers but i am close).

Quote:

If it isn't the thermal issue, Intel chip is now more reasonable to own in term of price. It doesn't make sense to replace the entire system, get yourself a 7800GT or GTX you will be quite happy. [/b]

If you want to game i don't see many choice really. If you look at the performance for gaming and money the amd 64 tops out. The intel dothan is also good for gaming but I don't see it as a desktop proc.

About the graphic card: The x800gto² is todays best choice and then a 7800GT and will do just fine for the games hjomby plays.

28th October 2005, 15:01

The 6600 can be overclocked but not unlocked. It is presently running at +20% oc.

I was thinking about building an AMD machine strictly for gaming but that means building a whole new machine. That may be the way to go down the road when the top of line AMD procs drop in price. How are they on heat? Is it still necessary to water cool them?

I forgot to mention that I also do a lot of video editing. How well do AMDs handle video editing/compiling?

Sidney · 28th October 2005, 16:19

6600GT with DDR3 surely is the advantage of 6600 with DDR

Video editing; DVD ripping, my experience with 7 systems (currently running) 4 Intels and 3 AMDs ..... Intel is better

28th October 2005, 20:58

Oh well. Thanks for the info. Gonna have to be content with what I have for now. It actually is really fast as it stands. It's funny how a machine like this is the fastest thing on the planet when you first build it and a week later it's not fast enough.:-)

Sidney · 28th October 2005, 21:07

Quote:

week later it's not fast enough

Welcome to the tech world

28th October 2005, 21:22

more ram, video editing would sure run a whole lot better just by adding 2x512MB

187(V)URD@ · 29th October 2005, 11:02

Quote:

Originally posted by hjomby
The 6600 can be overclocked but not unlocked. It is presently running at +20% oc.

I was thinking about building an AMD machine strictly for gaming but that means building a whole new machine. That may be the way to go down the road when the top of line AMD procs drop in price. How are they on heat? Is it still necessary to water cool them?

I forgot to mention that I also do a lot of video editing. How well do AMDs handle video editing/compiling?

Well the cooling of and AMD 64 is easy, I doesn't get so hot compared to an intel proc.
Some poeple have a big heatsink without a fan on it.
Right now I am sitting on a64 clawhammer 3000+ idling at 28°C and roomtemp of 21°C with boxed cooling.
Full load it goes till 40°C.

Compiling and editing are in favour to intel. But that are just a few. On most benches AMD has the crown.
I own 2 Intels and i am certainly not a fanboy. But you need to take whats best for you. Encoding or gaming.

I always see it this way.(i got 4 pc's) So with encoding it doesn't matter much to me if it takes a bit longer then, I'll encode on my other pc(PIII or AXP) and game on the pc with best frames.
For now i stick to amd because you can't buy fps but you can wait for the time to complete an encoded file.
If you know what I mean. You can always encode on your other Intel.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=1255&page=1
here is a review of a venice cpu. You can get more information out this review

27th October 2005, 22:43	#1
hjomby Posts: n/a	New Mobo & Mem Opinions [FONT=arial]I'm thinking of upgrading a PC I built a few months back and I'd like some opinions. I have an Intel P4 Prescott 630 CPU 3.0GHz@3.58GHz (239X15) in an Albatron PX915P PRO with 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR400@474MHz (2X512MB). I also have a 256MB Gigabyte GeForce 6600 PCI Express graphics card. I've tried everything and the CPU is maxxed out at 3.58 GHz. I was wondering if I should get rid of the Albatron board and go with a new board, DDR2 (PC800 or PC1000) and a better graphics card in the future (a better NVidia or ATI card). My experience with this Albatron board is that you can only bump up the voltage +0.3v or +0.4v on the CPU and mem. Up to 239 FSB the Northbridge voltage automatically increases by +0.1v. When you go past 239 the NB increases by +0.2v. I've been told not to mess with the NB voltage. I would like a board and memory that can handle extreme voltage increases so I can get the processor up near 4.0 GHz while being stable. I'd also like to stick with air cooling if possible. I know everyone's got their own preferences on what to buy. I've read lots of reviews on DDR400, DDR533, etc. but haven't seen much on this newest DDR2s that are out. People seem to really like Patriot, GSkill and OCZ for mem and Asus and DFI Lanparty for mobos. I mainly play FarCry and DeusEx Invisible War but I also have a ton of lesser graphics games. I think the 3DMark 2001 score is like 15,511. Is a 20% OC all that is possible with the socket 775 Prescott? Should I just change the graphics card instead and what's better, NVidia or ATI and why? SLI or not? Can the higher MHz memory be pushed further or is lower speed mem better for this? Is it worth spending $300 or $400 on memory and a board or am I wasting my money for little gain? I hope it's not too many questions for ya. Brand and model numbers and your successful settings, speeds, etc. Any info would be appreciated.[/FONT]

28th October 2005, 02:46	#2
187(V)URD@ Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 923	Hi, I can see you're an intel fan or atleast have intels. But you're talking about games and then I think about AMD 64(money/performance). Also you card can be overclocked till GT speeds and over. With my AMD@2.7GHZ and my GT overclocked i get something of 25-26K in 3D01 and 4300-4400 in 3D05. The if I look at your score its a bit low in 3D01, your score in 3d01 could be 20-26K with that card and a AMD. In 3D05 you should get 3.8-4.2 consider how far you OC. So basicly if you want gain, sell one intel system + add the 300-400$ for an amd gaming rig. Like: A64 3000+/3200+ - 2GB ram - sapphire X800GTO² or maybe a Connect3D X800GTO - DFI board to finish of the overclocking __________________ AMD Opteron 146@3ghz H2O Storm \| DFI NF4 Ultra-D \| 2512MB Gskill LE \| X800GTO²@X850XT-PE \| 2250GB Hitachi \| Modded Aopen H600B\| Seasonic 600W \| MX510@450HZ \| 19\" TFT BenQ 937s+ \|3DMARK2001 AMD XP2400+@2600+ \| Epox 8rda+ \| 2*256 Twinmos BH5 \| Club3D 9600Pro \| Maxtor 80GB + 200GB \| server + moviestation \|

28th October 2005, 03:13	#3
Sidney Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 15,738	He has 6600 not 6600GT; so the 3D01 will not be as high. If he doesn't OC the 6600 that is the normal sccore When a processor is "willing" you don't need much vcore, otherwise nothing could make it run at higher speed. If it isn't the thermal issue, Intel chip is now more reasonable to own in term of price. It doesn't make sense to replace the entire system, get yourself a 7800GT or GTX you will be quite happy. __________________ lazyman Opteron 165 (2) @2.85 1.42 vcore AMD Stock HSF + Chill Vent II

28th October 2005, 16:19	#6
Sidney Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 15,738	6600GT with DDR3 surely is the advantage of 6600 with DDR Video editing; DVD ripping, my experience with 7 systems (currently running) 4 Intels and 3 AMDs ..... Intel is better __________________ lazyman Opteron 165 (2) @2.85 1.42 vcore AMD Stock HSF + Chill Vent II

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28th October 2005, 15:01	#5
hjomby Posts: n/a	The 6600 can be overclocked but not unlocked. It is presently running at +20% oc. I was thinking about building an AMD machine strictly for gaming but that means building a whole new machine. That may be the way to go down the road when the top of line AMD procs drop in price. How are they on heat? Is it still necessary to water cool them? I forgot to mention that I also do a lot of video editing. How well do AMDs handle video editing/compiling?

28th October 2005, 20:58	#7
hjomby Posts: n/a	Oh well. Thanks for the info. Gonna have to be content with what I have for now. It actually is really fast as it stands. It's funny how a machine like this is the fastest thing on the planet when you first build it and a week later it's not fast enough.:-)

28th October 2005, 21:22	#9
Rutar Posts: n/a	more ram, video editing would sure run a whole lot better just by adding 2x512MB