PC Parts.....

[Spam]

I am currently deciding on what PC parts to buy. Two questions for you ppl.....

I am toying between a 2.8ghz 'c' p4 and a 2.4ghz 'c' p4. Is it worth saving a few quid in buying the 2.4, and then overlcoking it more vigurously. I can save about £80 in doing this you see. The performance should be the same as long as i get an uber heasink n fan [recommendations? I have a lian li pc75 with 6 case fans so system temp aint a problem]

Second Question is with motherboards. I know that the Abit IC7 Max-3 is a good 1, as is the ASUS P4C800, and the Gigabyte 8KNXP. As I would like to overclock, and am a huge gamer, n my pc is usually media focused, which would be the best board???

A reply quickly would be nice thanks lads and lasses

[Korky]

I have used the p4c800 and its really good, cant say much about the other 2 mobos.

[Stringent]

Originally posted by Spam
I am toying between a 2.8ghz 'c' p4 and a 2.4ghz 'c' p4. Is it worth saving a few quid in buying the 2.4, and then overlcoking it more vigurously. I can save about £80 in doing this you see. The performance should be the same as long as i get an uber heasink n fan [recommendations? I have a lian li pc75 with 6 case fans so system temp aint a problem]

I am toying with the same idea, I'd want a 3GHz PC though, and at over £100 less for a 2.8GHz chip than the 3GHz, one can go further. I'd say go with the 2.8GHz, you are more likely to get a better overclock on air.

As for mobos, the P4C800 is the best one out atm if you can afford it!

[Austin]

Chipset seems the most important, far more than simple manu. Do check the reviews but bear in mind they usually review the Deluxe or Elite (ie top end) type mobos and the lesser variiatons can differ. 865 based are very good, 875 a tiny bit better so see how prices compare. As for the CPU, def get the 2.4ghz and save yourself the cash as both will most likely accomplish the same o/c only the 2.4 will allow for higher FSB speeds. If you are a huge gamer rem the gfx card is WAY the most vital component, if you can't afford at least a Rad9700-9800 then look to going AMD over Intel to allow more cash for the gfx card.

[fondie]

it dependws how far your going to overclock, while the chips might overclock to the same speed the fsb's will not be running the same, so at lower overclocks the 2.4C will be better because it will be running at a higher FSB and at higher overclocks the 2.8C will be better because you won't be able to get your motheroard/memory up to such a high FSB as the 2.4C requires.

so if you think you might reach 3.6Ghz for example, then a 2.4C will be running at 300Mhz FSB, which will be very fast if you can actually obtain it, and a 2.8C will be running at 257Mhz, which won't be quite as fast but it's much more likely you'll be able to obtain it. so if you are aiming for anything over 3.6Ghz you'll definately be wanting a 2.8C, anything a bit under and it depends how far you think you can push your chipset/memory, and anything below around 3.2Ghz definately the 2.4C.

[Spam]

I'm looking to overclock to about 3-3.2 ish

and i have a radeon 9500 pro already so that;ll do me for now

so u reckon the P4C800 with a 2.4ghz 800FSB n wot sexeh ram???

[fondie]

yep, that should do you!

for ram, i recommend :- Mushkin PC3500 level2

[St3v3]

I'd say get the asus and the p4 2.4ghz .... also get one of those copper zalman heatsink and fans, you know the huge ones that cost about £40. That should get u near 3ghz I'd say.

If you were to wait a few days, you could always get an Athlon 64

[St3v3]

As for RAM, some corsair will do the trick. Go for as high ram speed as possible. I'm sure you can get PC4000 (DDR500) now which will take your fsb to 1000mhz

[Spam]

I know that the ASUS PCP800 will only take PC3200 Ram [officially]. You reckon thats fast enough with much faster out atm, or do you reckon shuving 3500, 3700 will be ok? or way too unstable?

Any can anyone think of a better combination than the ASUS, the 2.4, and 1gb of 3200 ram, for about £400-£500!

Big PC build for uni u c, needs to be the dogs balls 2 take the piss outta roomies

[Austin]

Mobos are rated officially 'only' to PC3200 at the mo firstly because that is all any of them need AT STOCK SPEEDS and secondly that is the fastest official speed of DDR (JEDEC), most of the faster stuff is basically over-volted PC3200 (and tested at the stated speed).

What you should get depends upon what you plan to do when o/c'ing, much of which will depend on your specific components anyway. PC3200 is all you truly need if you switch it to run at a slower speed (ratio to FSB), as you'll probably have to do anyway if you want serious FSB/CPU speeds. However PC3500-4000 don't demand huge prices and will allow you to keep the RAM sync for longer, it is ideal to keep sync but perf hits aren't as bad as many think and most prefer 1000FSB async to 900FSB in sync.

As you no doubt know, brand is all important in RAM. Top companies are Crucial, TwinMOS and the ever popular Adata ... Corsair are best but only narrowly and really rip you off with the asking price, no where near worth it. 2x256MB is probably wisest at the mo, more is easily added later when prices will have fallen and 865/875 seem marginally optimal with 4 slots filled rather than perf hitty. From what I hear double-sided RAM is best but again only marginally so. Then there's latency, it matter little esp on Dual Channel mobos and even less so on 865/875 so don't worry about it, lower is better just don't pay OTT. Finally there are 'matched pairs' and other such crap, forget it and just buy 2 sticks of RAM as closely matched as possible, ideally same size, brand, speed, latency etc.

[Austin]

Originally posted by Spam
Any can anyone think of a better combination than the ASUS, the 2.4, and 1gb of 3200 ram, for about £400-£500!

Big PC build for uni u c, needs to be the dogs balls 2 take the piss outta roomies

Well if cost is a concern look to AMD, it won't run as fast as an o/c'ed 800FSB P4 but will probably cost you half the price for primary components and still be 95% as fast. Maybe watch they don't take the pi$$ outta you for forking out for P4 kit or suggest you fell for the 'more ghz is better' thing ... of course they'll play down the marvel that is HT ... jealousy. You may even find some of them nursing SFF Shuttles and will take the pi$$ out of your huge monstrosity (or your PC LOL). I would say for gaming definitely go for the AthlonXP and spend that bit more on the top gfx card (if you must) ... but you have a 9500PRO which should offer 9700 perf when o/c'ed, very close to 9700PRO/9800 speeds so there's no point. BTW can I have your 9500PRO because I think you really should get a 9800 ... go on I'll give you my Barton based AthlonXP2500+ which can run at 2.3ghz (faster than XP3200+).

PS. For top perf there is nothing better than an o/c'ed 800FSB P4.