Weekly Buyer's Guide: Overclocking System - March 2004
by Evan Lieb on March 10, 2004 6:07 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Overclocking System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Mobile (OEM). SLK-947U HSF + Vantec Fan | $151 |
| Motherboard | ABIT NF7-S Rev.2 (nForce2 Ultra 400) | $98 |
| Memory | 2 X 512MB Mushkin PC3500 CAS2 | $215 |
| Video Card | 128MB Gigabyte Radeon 9600 Pro | $138 |
| Monitor | Samsung 955DF DynaFlat CRT | $200 |
| Computer Case | Kingwin K11 Aluminum ATX plus $68 430W Antec PSU | $138 |
| Sound Card | Creative Labs Audigy 2 6.1 OEM | $70 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z640 5.1 | $62 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100 Ethernet or 10/100/1000 Gigabit controller | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 1200JB (120GB) | $87 |
| CD-RW | Plextor 52x32x52 CDRW | $44 |
| Bottom Line | - | $1203 |
$1203 is the final price of our overclocking system, not including any money you'll spend on software (Windows XP Home or Professional, Office, etc.) or a keyboard and mouse.
Long-time overclockers are absolutely going to love a setup like this. They'll have quality DDR that they can use for many months, if not years, to come, and will enjoy great performance and stability at the same time. Beginning overclockers should consult our forums for more information on how to overclock, as it can be dangerous for inexperienced users. What we've talked about in this guide may be difficult to understand if you don't have some type of background in modern day overclocking, making AnandTech's forums (or any good online hardware forum, really) the best place for you to ask for building advice.
UPDATED March 18th, 2004
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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?