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Are any mATX mobos that support c2d CPUs overclockable?

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  • CPUs
  • Motherboards
  • Overclocking
Last response: in Overclocking
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February 10, 2007 1:44:36 AM

I'm about to construct a new computer that I'd like to be as small and sleek as possible while still using the latest technology. I built many monster gaming machines, with flashing lights, water cooling, and roaring fans, throughout highschool and college. However, now that I've graduated (and no longer live on my parent's dime) I want to construct something classier and less expensive. Therefore, I feel a microATX motherboard accompanied by a stylish and small case, such as, the Silverstone SG01-Evolution would be my best bet.

As for a motherboard, I've been looking at the Asus P5B-VM board based on the Intel G965 Chipset. It seems to offer all the functionality of a full ATX board with just a few less expansion slots. Furthermore, I don't do much hardcore gaming so the built-in graphics processor it has is nice (it still has a PCIe 16x slot). However, my question is can this motherboard be overclocked? If not, are there any other qualified microATX motherboards that can? I'd prefer to get an e6300 chip since I'm on a budget, and overclock it. However, if overclocking is not a practical option with mircoATX boards then I'll go wtih the e6600 chip.

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February 10, 2007 2:39:57 AM

I'm not sure about the Asus board. Foxconn's boards overclock OK, but they have a problem with the PCI-Express speed being locked to the FSB.

You'd get more "bang for the buck" with an E4300, because taking it up to FSB1066 gets you E6600 speed (at a slight loss in performance due to the smaller cache). Taking it up to 300MHz (FSB1200) gets you 2.7GHz, which is fairly impressive and about the most you can do given the PCIe overclocking issue.
February 10, 2007 2:43:30 AM

Quote:
I'm about to construct a new computer that I'd like to be as small and sleek as possible while still using the latest technology. I built many monster gaming machines, with flashing lights, water cooling, and roaring fans, throughout highschool and college. However, now that I've graduated (and no longer live on my parent's dime) I want to construct something classier and less expensive. Therefore, I feel a microATX motherboard accompanied by a stylish and small case, such as, the Silverstone SG01-Evolution would be my best bet.

As for a motherboard, I've been looking at the Asus P5B-VM board based on the Intel G965 Chipset. It seems to offer all the functionality of a full ATX board with just a few less expansion slots. Furthermore, I don't do much hardcore gaming so the built-in graphics processor it has is nice (it still has a PCIe 16x slot). However, my question is can this motherboard be overclocked? If not, are there any other qualified microATX motherboards that can? I'd prefer to get an e6300 chip since I'm on a budget, and overclock it. However, if overclocking is not a practical option with mircoATX boards then I'll go wtih the e6600 chip.

I have the G965 mATX motherboard from Gigabyte. Not until a recent BIOS update could I access the FSB setting. There still weren't voltage settings available so any overclocking going to be minimal. I think I managed to get up to 315 mhz with my E6600, when it was in that board. The CPU is now in my Abit AB9 Pro, so I can't give you any info on whether or not there have been any BIOS updates in the past few weeks.

I think the problem with overclocking a G965 is that the PCI bus is linked to the FSB or something like that....can't say EXACTLY what it is.

Read this and see what the issue might be. The FSB setting is a recent addition, so it won't be addressed in this article.
February 10, 2007 3:06:07 AM

Thanks, I'll look into the e4300 as well. I'm going to drag the building process out over the next month, as the p4 computer I'm typing on now still works fine, so hopefully some BIOS updates come out for the boards you mentioned.
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