new comp, deciding on parts

Mr. Chan · Post by **Mr. Chan** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 2:33 pm

Hey,
I'm going to help a friend put together a pc in theory for now, and see how things are going, then he might purchase the parts needed (or change according to his tastes) so I was wondering if I could get some input from some people here.

Motherboard: Asus P4C800-E DX - Having a p4c800dx myself, I know this is a great mobo to come from 2003 and still goes strong from what I know, comments?

Processor: Either an Intel P4 2.4-2.8C or maybe a 2.8E, but not keen on the cooling solution for the prescott (2.8e), comments on using a prescott over northwood with this motherboard?

Memory: Since we'll be overclocking, we were going to use a choice of the PRO series from Corsair Micro. Dual-channel is a must and I'm thinking twinx1024 of the pc4000, or pc3200ll or cas2 -- which of these do you recommend (or another altogether)? We want some good headroom for overclocking.

Thinking about a thermaltake xaser damien v, but i really think watercooling is the way to go for a prescott...since it needs lots of oc'ing imo :p

thx

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 4:17 pm

prescott == bad. no offense to people how have them now but if your going to buy a new cpu a 2.8C will out preform a 2.8E clock for clock. Now if your going to overclock and use water, like you indicated, then you need a differnt mobo. The asus while a kick ass mobo does not have the power to push a 2.8E past 3.6ghz for that your going to want an ABIT or something else. As for memory i like the new Corsair XL with 2-2-2-6 timings it will also overclock very high. (http://www.legitreviews.com/reviews/xmsxl3200/).

so in summery

2.8C + ASUS + Corsair + Water = ~3.6ghz and goodness
2.8E + ABIT + Corsair + Water = ~3.9ghz and goodness

Mr. Chan · Post by **Mr. Chan** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 4:33 pm

Thanks, I was thinking about an abit but I personally was leaning towards a 2.4C (like i have) for my friend -- he just wants something like a 3ghz (i learned he doesnt know very much and wasnt going to put it together himself/wanst interested in learning, so...thought about trashing the overclocking idea and just direct him to something more practical for what hes going to be doing)...er

I figured if we went with the prescott then it would be best for watercooling (i dont think it would be wise to use normal myself, or at least i wouldnt anyway) and northwood could handle the air cooling fine for what he would be doing (just enough to hit 3ghz more or less), anyways, yeah im not too thrilled with water cooling just yet, so yeah i know the prescott isnt good unless you overclock it to compete with the northwoods, etc. That's why i was wondering, lol thanks for your advice, :)

Oh one more question, about the ram which to get, what would you suggest? I'm not sure yet, I'm not 'that' far into everything, but from what i think ive read, using higher speed than pc3200 would kinda give more uh, headroom to overclock higher, yes?

i have pc3200 on my system and i cant get past 246fsb, but ill save that for a new thread, :)

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 6:02 pm

Yes using ram with a higher speed will give more head room up to a point. you still want tight timings. thats why i recomend the Corsair it has tight timings at pc3200 (2-2-2-6) and will scale all the way to up pc4000. i cant remember the timings off hand but they were good.

Mr. Chan · Post by **Mr. Chan** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 10:17 pm

ok, :) now i just need to check my mobo and see what it supports, well i might see if i can rma my ram first after i check more about it, (see my other thread, bout the ram) as its not running the way it should (and i dont konw a thing that ive done wrong...or why it wouldnt run at cas2)..ill post in corsair forums about it later~

anyways, yeah i love corsair lol :) i wouldnt buy anything less than corsair, thats why i was forced to get 512mb at first, it was too expensive when it came out, lol :) thanks man for the help

pz

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 10:32 pm

Im like Jesus i live to serve, at least thats what i tell myself when i have to work at taco bell.

(no i do not think im jesus nor do i work at taco bell, and no problemo we are here to help)

Post by **Apoptosis** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:50 am

My advice and what I have been building for friends this month...

Intel retail boxed 2.8C (newegg is currently shipping MO steppings)

I've been hitting a stable 250MHz on these CPU's with air cooling. That will give you 3.5GHz of raw power!

A good heatsink... Thermalright SLK-900U or SP-94 will do wonders!

A pair of 512mb PC-4000 modules... (running the 2.8C at 250MHz will give you a 1:1 memory ratio of 500MHz which is PC-4000) If you have some money to spend Corsair XMS 3200 XL will do 2.5-3-3-6 at DDR500.

Skip the prescott and go with the 2.8C you will be much happier with the performance it gives you!!!

Hope this helps a bit!

Mr. Chan · Post by **Mr. Chan** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 4:09 pm

hey, my friend since he doesnt live near me has decided to just go with a pc from best buy i believe -- i think he'll be happier that way since he isnt really interested in learning anything, plus hes better off with a payment plan is his main concern, i guess

anyways, thx for the info guys, its still interesting :)

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 4:49 pm

Its funny because I actually love the Prescott. Heat issues aside, if you can get W/C or other extreme cooling I think they are better O/Cers. I am also seeing more reviews where the NW beats the PR in benchmarks at stock speeds, but once you crank them up, the PR is a much better CPU. That beiing said, I wouldn't recommend one for an air cooled system.