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Some help with new purchase?

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - Some help with new purchase?

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Bordman   07-14-2002 at 12:46:55 PM

Hi all, been reading the boards here and such a wealth of knowledge I had to seek some advice.

First off I am on a tight budget, so I was wanting to get some advice on buying some components.

I want a P4 chip, I just Intel, I am sure AMD is great, but I have had good history with Intel and see no reason to leave it.

I am a bit confused on which CPU I should buy.
1.6a
1.8a
2.0a
????
From what I have read around here the 1.6 seems easy enough to OC, but I have never done this before. The 1.8a is only like 15 more dollars, should I just go with it? Or is the 2.0 worth the extra 30 or 40?

Then of course the biggest confusion is on the motherboard...
I was looking at the MSI 645 Ultra, is this a good one for the money? Is only like 70 bucks. Which is right in my price range.

I was just thinking of samsung 2700 for memory most likely 256meg.

Anyway if someone can understand my post and give me their advice on a good easy to OC setup I would be forever thankful.

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o1die   07-14-2002 at 05:23:24 PM
- 0 +

The 1.6a is a good value if you overclock it. My 1.8a wouldn't overclock at all, but this is my 4th northwood, and the odds finally caught up with me. My first 3 overclocked at least 30%. If you don't overclock, I would get the 2.0a and run it at stock speeds with pc2700 memory. With your sis 645 board, leave the cpu clock at 100 and set the ratio to 3:5 and you'll get full performance out of your memory. If you want to gamble, some pc2100 will run at 166 and it's 10-20% cheaper. An even bigger gamble is "generic memory" which I would avoid. Crucial, micron, samsung, and kingmax are good memory brands. The msi board should work fine for you. I would buy from a good vender such as newegg. They replaced my last epox board twice under warranty, no questions asked. I got the new board in about 8 days.

Reply to o1die
Crashman   07-14-2002 at 08:14:48 PM
- 0 +

The 1.6A should do 2133 at 133 or 2400 at 150, as long as your memory can tolerate 150. The 1.8A should do 2400 at 133. You may need to raise your core voltage to be sucessful.

<font color=blue>At least half of all problems are caused by an insufficient power supply!</font color=blue>

Reply to Crashman
Chuck232   07-14-2002 at 09:41:32 PM
- 0 +

I'm in quite the same position as you. Here's what I'm getting:

P4 1.8A Retail
ABIT BD7II-RAID
512MB Samsung(real?) PC2700
60GB Maxtor 7200RPM HDD
350W Enermax PSU
Some Case :tongue:
52X CD-ROM
GF4 Ti4200 128MB

With that combo, it'll cost me ~$1100CDN, which is like $725USD. I'll bring the FSB to at least 133MHz and run the FSB:RAM ratio at 3:$, giving me DDR354. :smile:

:smile: Falling down stairs saves time :smile:

Reply to Chuck232
Bordman   07-15-2002 at 12:23:22 AM
- 0 +

Okthanks, here is what I went with:

MB SIS 645|5P3D 645ULTRA 6547 MSI 1 $71.00
HD 40GB|IBM 7200R #07N8450 % 1 $69.00
CPU P4/1.8AGHz 400M 478PIN/512K RTL 1 $167.00
DDRAM 256MB|PC-2700 DDR333 SAMSUNG 1 $72.00


I was on a tight budget so I had to get what I could.
Anyone know where I can get information on OC'ing this thing? Nice and safe way to :)

If I understand right I can just change the FSB to 133? Or is there a whole lot more to it then just that?

Reply to Bordman
LED   07-15-2002 at 12:47:36 AM
- 0 +

Quote :

Some Case


http://www.antec-inc.com/en_minitower.html

That's a great case, and it comes w/ a great 2 fan 350W psu already. Also they have the performance plus series, which basically gives you the same case, w/ a "True330W" Power supply, and you get some front USB ports. If you're coming from a cheap case, the way I was, you will notice a big difference. Heavier gauge metal, drive rails, fan holders......it's nice.

This sig runs too hot.

Reply to LED
AMD_Man   07-15-2002 at 02:32:56 AM
- 0 +

This is my case: <A HREF="http://www.antec-inc.com/en_plus1060.html" target="_new">Link</A>

My case is the Antec Plus1080.

:wink: <b><i>"A penny saved is a penny earned!"</i></b> :wink:

Reply to AMD_Man
LED   07-15-2002 at 04:17:19 AM
- 0 +

My g/f would wince at the sight of that monster. I got plenty of space w/ the SX635, so no complaints. He's using less drives than I am, he could even go smaller.

This sig runs too hot.

Reply to LED
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