Weekly Buyer's Guide: Overclocking System - March 2004
by Evan Lieb on March 10, 2004 6:07 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Monitor
Recommendation: Samsung 955DF (19") DynaFlat CRTPrice: $200 shipped
To this day, the 955DF is still one of the best bang-for-the-buck 19" monitors on the market. The .20mm dot pitch, max resolution of 1600x1200 @ 68Hz, and well known reliability, usability, low price and picture quality of this monitor are all reasons why we highly suggest taking a look at it. We've had extensive experience with this monitor, having done a review of it back in April 2002. We are still impressed with this monitor and will still confidently recommend it. As you may have guessed by now, CRT technology (especially in the bang-for-your-buck price range) hasn't moved much in quite some time, but that is the norm in this industry. So, don't be surprised if we continue to recommend this monitor for mid-range Buyer's Guides for some time. Of course, you shouldn't be surprised to see it here either, since overclockers usually demand good 19" CRTs for gaming.
Monitor Alternative: NEC Diamondtron 19" CRT (model FE991SB)
Price: $257 shipped
While costing significantly more money than a 955DF, Diamondtron monitors have gained popularity as some of the best CRTs on the market. This specific model has a 1792x1344 @ 68Hz, which is slightly better than the 955DF. Overall, having closely judged both monitors, we'd have to say that the Diamondtron's picture clarity/sharpness is better than the 955DF. Gaming performance isn't much different at resolutions like 1600x1200, so there's no discernable difference there. However, if you want one of best of the 19" monitors out there, you certainly can't go wrong with this Diamondtron model.
Computer Case
Recommendation: Kingwin K11 Aluminum ATX casePrice: $70 shipped
We've recommended the Kingwin K11 before as an alternative and as our primary recommendation, and we continue that feeling this week with our overclocking system. Ventilation is very important for an overclocking system and the K11 is able to deliver with four different fan positions specifically located so that as much hot air as possible is blown out of your system. Even with all your components installed, the case is still relatively light, even light enough to carry to a LAN party or to bring over to your friend's or family's house, mostly because of its aluminum construction. It comes with four 5.25" Bays, two external 3.5" Bays and five internal 3.5" bays, four USB 2.0 ports, and one Audio, Mic, FireWire port. As we mentioned before, there are four different fans, located at the top, at the rear, and two front fans as well. The case construction and quality is quite good; the material isn't cheap or flimsy by any means. You also don't run the risk of cutting yourself on sharp edges while building your system, as pretty much every corner of this case is dull to the touch because of its aluminum (and not pure stainless steel) construction.
A power supply that is able to generate consistent, stable voltages is vital to the success of an overclocking system. Quality is of the utmost importance in this particular area, and because of that, we would have to suggest the highly touted Antec True Power 430W (TRUE430) power supply. This power supply was used for each of our overclocking tests in this guide and is the perfect power supply for serious overclockers. It provides stable voltages on all rails and has an excellent reputation for longevity. We've personally built several overclocking systems around it with great success.
If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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bigtoe33 - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
Evan2.5-3-3-7 at ddr500 will eat 2-2-3-5 at 433 anyday...3-4-4-7 maybe slower but i wasn't talking about that.
The 3C's are reported on a few forums.ABX is one yes...
The DFI with single sided dimms is the NF2 king at the mo..Oskar is working on bios files every 2weeks and the speed just gets better and better.I have run ddr500+ with BH5 and 262fsb with 4200EL at 2.5-3-3-8 timings..its just an awesome board with awesome support..DFI really care about the enthusiast..i can't wait to see their NF3 250 boards.;-)
Regarding Winbond based modules, Winbond are leaving the DRAM business and CH5 will run out in a month or so..this is going to force everyone to look else where.While i could go on about OCZ i won't but i will say we have already got a replacement that we think is pretty damn good.
With regard to me dropping by..you can alsoways chat to me on IM..just get my details off Wes if you don't have them or drop me an email to oczguy2@ocztechnology.com.
TauRusIL - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
Guys, this might be a little off topic, but i need your help: I am one of those dinosaurus that is still using Abit KT7A-Raid board with SDRAM memory. I havent used DDR so far. I plan to upgrade to Socket 939 boards as soon as they come out. My understanding is that A64 CPUs work with single channel DDR sticks: what would be top two three models/brands of DDR sticks for Athlon64/Socket 939 solution? Thanks a lot.Evan Lieb - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
siamesenick,Level II isn't widely available, at all. There are lots of Level One modules at major vendors (Ewiz, Newegg, Monarch, etc.).
bigtoe,
Hey, long time no chat. :)
- What about the DFI is better exactly? I tested only the ABIT but I hear the DFI is one of the best as well.
- 2.5-3-3-8 definitely isn't low latency, but sure, not high. But 2-3-2-5 or 2-2-2-5 between 400-433MHz performs basically the same as 2.5-3-3-8 at 500MHz, and that's if you can get those timings on the DFI (which I'm not sure you can, I haven't tested with the latest BIOS).
- Where are these reports of 3.0C wonders that can do 250MHz FSB (ABXZone?)? 3.8GHz on air sounds pretty crazy. Though, 3.0C is on average $40 more OEM, which is stretching the worth of (at best) of the additional 150MHz you'll get with a supposed wonder 3.0C.
You need to drop by more often bigtoe. ;)
deathwalker - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
I just found it at Newegg for $98.deathwalker - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
I haven't been able to find a 2500 mobile on pricewatch....where do you find these little puppies?bigtoe33 - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
EvanBarton mobile is a good choice..DFI NF2 LP(B) is better than the abit though..much better bios support etc and the goodies you get in the box are swesome.
3700Gold rev2..most does 2.5(3)-3-3-8 at ddr500..i wouldn't call this high latency.CH5 production is about to stop so we may all be looking to other IC's.BH and CH IC's are going the way of the DoDo..we all need to face up to that.
The 2.8C and P4C800E are a good combo but it seems a new wonder 3C is out with most hitting 250fsb with ease..i would say it would be better to keep an eye on the forums to see whats the latest favourite.
Overall though I would say your recomendations are solid..just slightly out of touch with the forums being right on the cutting edge.
siamesenick - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
My OEM audigy came with a gameport bracket, FYI.I notice they recommended Mushkin Level One instead of the Black Hi Perf "222 Special". The 222 is only 5 dollars more for 512MB. Isn't it worth it? I know the 222 is bh-6, but I don't know what the L1 uses.
Nighteye2 - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
While it's mentioned that the motherboard supports SATA RAID, why isn't it recommended in the storage section?2 Western Digital 1200JB 120GB 7200RPM (8MB cache) ATA disks on the integrated RAID controller is still cheaper than the alternative that got mentioned, the Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA.
Evan Lieb - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
Pumpkinierre,Nope, not that I'm aware. I believe it's only the retail version.
Pumpkinierre - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
Is there a gameport bracket included with the OEM Audigy2?