I am new to this, but from what I read the E4300 b/c of its low FSB and b/c the chipset was designed for higher clock cycles, it has a higher potential of being overclocked right? However, I don't know if there is something special about the core2duos or does every generation have a chip like the E4300? For example, did the pentium D have a comparable chip that could be easily overclocked to high values yet be relatively cheap?

The reason why I am asking is that I am on the edge of whether buying a new system: E4300, new motherboard, 7800GT, 2GB DDR 800 memory ~$565
(i already bought a case and psu which i got free with rebates)

or upgrading my current system:
Dimension 4600
P4 2.6 ghz
512 MB
FX5200 (AGP)

by adding more memory up to 1 GB and replacing the video card with 6600GT ~$80.

I think if i went the upgrade path, i could postpone an upgrade by at least a year or two. I know new chipsets come out all the time and prices fall, but i was wondering if I am better off just getting E4300 b/c the next gen may not have a good overclockable CPU. In other words, in a year or two, the only choice of a good cpu for my limited budget may still be an E4300.

i want to play Supreme Commander, Galactic Civilizations, Fear which i can't play right now. heck, even KOTOR stutters with low settings.

Thank you for any advice!

PS Thanks Wiz83 for an awesome guide!

No.

The 4300 is nothing special COMPARED TO OTHER C2D CHIPS.

Compared do Core Duos, it eats them for breakfast.
My 925D OC to 3.6Ghz was in most tests slower than my 4300 at stock 1.8.

So compared to ur P4... its like... worlds apart. Having said that, you wont really notice a fifference until u start to push it a bit.

As for OC... every chip is unique blah blah, but the C2D generally OC VERY well. Quite a few 4300 users are getting 3.6Ghz

With games... $$$ are better spent of gfx cards. In oblivion my 925 and 4300... there is 0 fps increase with the 1950XT

Get MIN 1Gb ram, 2Gb if u can, even if its cheap rubbish. 5200FX is a TOTAL DOG. ANYTHING will be better. Try get a 6800GS, even 2nd hand, i had1, worked very well, managed to unlock the pipes too so it was the same as 6800GT

Good luck

I'm not so sure about past chips, because I've only been looking at this kind of stuff for a year, but the Pentium D 805 was also a pretty good overclocker. There were reports of people getting over 4 Ghz, although this was with water cooling. Based on what's availiable now, I would not recommend getting a pentium though, It would run hot and not be worth it. The core 2 duos are much better. The 4300 will blow them away.

But, if you decided to upgrade your current setup instead, and postpone the upgrade, the 4300 will not be the best cpu for your budget anymore. Technology moves very fast. By that time, the new nehalem processors will be out (I think) and also new stuff from AMD. The technology from then will blow away what we have now. So if you decide to save money and just upgrade, you will be able to get way better stuff in a few years.

But, I would recommend getting the 4300 and overclocking it, as it will give you great performance, and it should keep you happy for a while. It would be worth it.

I would suggest getting a different video card though. the 7800 gt is kind of outdated. It would give you satisfactory performace, but you can get a better card. Most places don't even sell it anymore. I would suggest getting an x1950 Pro. It's a pretty good value. If you don't want to spend that much though, you could get a 7600 gt. That should give you performance good enough for what you want. It is comparable to my old x800 gto and I could play fear easily.

If you can wait a few weeks, the 4300 will drop in price. It will be about $115. That would be a good time to buy it.

Usually the lowest processor in a family can overclock well because it has a lot of headroom.

Even with the CPU's initially lower 800MHz FSB, you should be able to easily bring it upto (and beyond!) a Conroe's 1066Mhz FSB 8)

If you can afford, it...go for the E4300 after the April 22 price-cuts take affect. Get a decent motherboard (preferrably with the 965P chipset) for overclocking, 2GB of DDR2-667(you won't need 800 with the E4300), and a decent video card. And yes, with Intel, most generations have a great overclocking/bargain chip(always the lowest speed in the series, as was said by yadge). Look forward to 3.0-3.2GHz overclocks, 3.6GHz is not an everyday occurence, and requires top-shelf hardware and cooling. GL

I just recently upgraded from a P4 @ 2.4Ghz system to the e4300 with the GA-965P-DS3 board and wow is it worlds apart. Even at stock the e4300 blew my old system away. I'm currently running my e4300 @ 3.0 Ghz and it runs higher(I just have no need since I don't game). If I were you I too would wait for the price cuts in about 3 weeks and get either the e4300(rumored to be about($130) or the e6600(rumored to be about $215).

I'm confused, doesn't it operate at a FSB of 200MHz (800MHz effective), not 166MHz (667MHz effective)? :?

It's not nearly that expensive. In about a month, Fry's will be running a 4300/Motherboard special. This week, it was $150. In a month, it should be $120 or less. Pin mod it to 2.4GHZ. For the 4300, you dont need DDR2 800. Get 2Gb of that Supertalent DDR2 667 for $100. Finally, get a $120 7900GS or $140 x1950

Total upgrade: $120 + $100 + $120= $340

Yes E4300 is special. You get the 9x multiplier very cheap!

I hope you meant 7900 GT... they're almost always cheaper than the 7800 GTs. Unless you're catching a 7800 series card on some close-out special, steer clear of them.

what he *said* was 7900GS

Actually, he did say 7800GT... and I think anyone here would agree that card is rarely a good deal when compared to a 7900 GT.

I'm confused, doesn't it operate at a FSB of 200MHz (800MHz effective), not 166MHz (667MHz effective)? :?

The E4300 runs at 200mhz x 9 as standard, which means that the FSB runs at 200mhz x 4 as standard, which means memory will run at 200mhz x 2 = 400 as standard.

But look, if you're going to get this chip, you'll probably want to OC it, and that's when 667 memory might come into play. It's perfectly feasible to run at 3ghz (9x333), or somewhere near that, and then you'll need 2x333 = 667 memory.

But seeing as 800 modules are so cheap anyway, I don't see why you wouldn't get these anyway. They'd be more likely to be useful in future systems, for one thing.

I'm confused, doesn't it operate at a FSB of 200MHz (800MHz effective), not 166MHz (667MHz effective)? :?



ram is double, not quad. ddr800 runs at 400mhz, ddr667 runs at 333mhz

I'm confused, doesn't it operate at a FSB of 200MHz (800MHz effective), not 166MHz (667MHz effective)? :? Yes, and no. The FSB is 200MHz. Your RAM, when running synchronously(1:1..FSBRAM), is running at 400MHz(DDR=Double-Data Rate)....double the FSB. With Intel's processors, they use a quad-pumped bus, which means that it's effectively(the same as)4x FSB. So...

E4300...200FSB=400MHz RAM=800MHz FSB(effective)

E6300...266FSB=533MHz RAM=1066MHz FSB(effective)

So, if you have DDR2-667, that means it can run at 333MHz. At 1:1, that means 333x9(E4300 multiplier)= 2997MHz(3.0GHz). Thus 667 RAM will allow you to overclock the E4300 to at least 3GHz, and probably higher(most 667 runs 750MHz or better).