what kind of processor do i need (new topic)

any processor can be overclocked, being able to OC is depandant on the motherboard not the processor
 
Cromewell said:
any processor can be overclocked, being able to OC is depandant on the motherboard not the processor
well then what kind of motherboard do i need and does any other computer hardware effect overclocking?
 
the best sct478 board for overclocking is the abit ic7 range i think.
It gives a locked pci frequancy, and you can overclock quite heavily with a p4e (3.4 to 4ghz do you), i have copied and pasted the mag review here:-

Abit IC7 Max 3 [Custom PC]
COMPANY: Abit PRICE: £169.32 inc VAT
RATING: ISSUE: 3 DATE: Dec 03

Verdict: One look at the Max 3's cooling systems should be enough to cheer up even the most miserable overclocker

AFerrari 355 is capable of reaching nearly 200mph. I drove one at a racetrack, and as the speedometer hurtled towards 140mph, the dashboard lights started flashing. All of them. In a very 'we-are-all-going-to-die' fashion. The instructor simply leaned over from the passenger seat, slapped the console and said, 'It does that sometimes'.

The point? People get you to go fast first and worry about any technicalities later. This is certainly the case for the new Abit IC7 Max 3 motherboard. Based around the Intel 875P chipset, it's crammed with features. As well as AGP Pro 8x, Gigabit LAN and 5.1 audio, the Max 3 claims to support Intel's next-generation Prescott chip. It also packs eight USB 2 ports, optical in and out, and six S-ATA channels, two of which are integrated into the ICH5R Southbridge, to support RAID 0 and 1.

Abit also bundles 'Secure EIDE', which is a PCB that sits between the EIDE cable and hard drive, halting access unless you plug a key into the supplied PCI backplate. It's an interesting idea, but probably too serious for the average user. Given that this board is so geared towards S-ATA drives, it's a curious extra.

Like the Ferrari 355, this motherboard is all about performance. Abit has fitted an Outside Thermal Exhaust System (OTES) just to the right of the processor socket. It's a translucent plastic tunnel that uses a 40mm fan to cool the voltage regulators, which heat up - especially when

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overclocking. In addition to the OTES, Abit has fixed a heatsink and 40mm fan onto the Northbridge, which should have overclockers smiling.

The OTES makes installing any HSF a little difficult, and removing one a real grudge match. So much so, you could probably sell tickets to watch it on pay-per-view. However, while the top half of the board is cramped, the EIDE and S-ATA ports are thoughtfully placed at the edge of the PCB to ensure neat wiring.

Performance-wise, the Max 3 is a quick board and when overclocked some of its results, in the 2D benchmarks at least, are impressive. Abit supplies the Max 3 with its own SoftMenu BIOS additions, which give you full control over the RAM and CPU timings and allow for some fairly ludicrous turbo-charging. However, while the board looked tantalisingly like it would hit a 1GHz FSB, it was simply too volatile. At high speed, the Max 3 was jittery, and it proved tricky to find a stable overclock.

Just as you can't whack any old tyres on a Ferrari 355 and expect to be able to drive it as fast as possible, the choice of RAM in a seriously overclocked P4 system is crucial. In our experience, 865/875-based motherboards running with an FSB of over 200MHz are very picky when it comes to RAM, and the Max 3 is no different. Whether your RAM will work at high speed, even if it's PC4000, seems to be a bit of pot luck. Surprisingly, it was with our Corsair PC3500 that we got the best and most stable overclock. Even then, we were running the RAM at a 4:5 speed ratio to the 240MHz FSB.

This still worked out at a decent overclock, though, with our 2.6GHz P4 running at 3.1GHz. Unfortunately, our board gave out when pushed above the 250MHz mark, although we can't say if this was due to overclocking or the fact we had a fairly early sample.

CONCLUSION

The IC7 Max 3 may be expensive, but it's a feature-packed, nippy board. However, despite the OTES, you may find getting a safe and stable overclock trickier than you would think.

Alex Watson

By

SPECIFICATIONS:
Chipset: Intel 875P CPU support: Intel Pentium 4 with 533MHz/800MHz FSB Memory support: 4 slots: 4GB DDR (PC3200) Expansion slots: One AGP Pro 8x slot, 5 x PCI slots Sound: RealTek ALC650 AC97 codec with 6-channel support Networking: Intel 10/100/1000 Ethernet Overclocking: Separate DRAM and CPU timings; CPU clock: 100 - 412MHz; DRAM ratios: SPD, 1:1, 5:4, 3:2; lockable AGP/PCI; max voltages: CPU 1.925v, DDR 3.2v, AGP 1.65v Ports: 6 x S-ATA, 2 x EIDE, floppy drive, 2 x PS/2, 8 x USB 2, 2 x FireWire, line-in, 3 x surround audio out, LAN, optical in, optical out, 3 x fans Misc: OTES cooling, Secure EIDE Dimensions (mm): 305 x 244

Its a beast of an overclockable board.

review from http://www.custompc.co.uk/
 
It gives a locked pci frequancy
lots of boards have this feature. An i865 chipset is better choice then the 875. Something like a P4P800 has just as good or better OCing options as the abit board
does any other computer hardware effect overclocking?
yes, just about all of it will have some limit that will limit your ability to OC.
 
Cromewell said:
any processor can be overclocked, being able to OC is depandant on the motherboard not the processor
Not always. Think of the AthlonXP's that were locked. Technically that was playing with the CPU to OC it.
 
well then what kind of motherboard do i need and does any other computer hardware effect overclocking
OC101 Guide }.

Not always. Think of the AthlonXP's that were locked. Technically that was playing with the CPU to OC it.
Cromewell is right. Just because the multiplier is locked doesnt mean much. Scaling the core speed also construes to OCing
 
I meant the chip itself. Wasn't there something I while back were you needed to cross 2 leads on the CPU to OC it?
 
raising the FSB OCs a processor with a locked multiplier and FSB is a motherboard setting not CPU
 
Cromewell said:
raising the FSB OCs a processor with a locked multiplier and FSB is a motherboard setting not CPU
*insert sarcastic comeback* What I was asking/wondering was wasn't there an AthlonXP chip last year (or 2 years) ago where you needed to insert a wire to cross 2 leads to "unlock" the chip?
 
Lord AnthraX said:
*insert sarcastic comeback* What I was asking/wondering was wasn't there an AthlonXP chip last year (or 2 years) ago where you needed to insert a wire to cross 2 leads to "unlock" the chip?
If there was I have never seen or heard of it. That may have been what you meant but your post was ambiguous and it certainly looked like you were talking about locked multipliers
 
I meant the chip itself. Wasn't there something I while back were you needed to cross 2 leads on the CPU to OC it?
You needed that to unlock the multiplier. If you read through the OC101, I noted that jacking-the-multiplier is only one (albeit the ideal) way of overclocking. The other method is via the FSB/HTT


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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord AnthraX
*insert sarcastic comeback* What I was asking/wondering was wasn't there an AthlonXP chip last year (or 2 years) ago where you needed to insert a wire to cross 2 leads to "unlock" the chip?

If there was I have never seen or heard of it. That may have been what you meant but your post was ambiguous and it certainly looked like you were talking about locked multipliers
The XP3000 and XP3100 were locked chips .. of course they werent too popular because (a) they were too expensive for their minimal performance gains compared to the XP2500 and XP2800 and (b) the P4C stomped all over them :P Amoung AMD circles, neither chip was a favorite for OCing (even after being unlocked as they did not significantly surpass XP2500/XP2800 OC ceilings)

Secret to good overclocking is a good motherboard, and low latency ram.
And good power, good cooling .... btw what cooling do you have on that box?
 
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