GUIDE: 3+GHz Core 2 Duo Budget System for $426 (Overclock)

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SkyGuy, actually, I'd never recommend an AMD system no matter what, unless they come up with something that would beat Intel in terms of both price and performance. The cheapest computer I'd say built on top of a E4300, and an expensive computer would be a higher-end C2D or C2Q.
 
liked the first one
this is even better 8) gratz :!:
one thing i would change though is the PSU, witch is very cheap (sorry but i have a bad experience with this psu brand, it destroyed my old pc... :? )

sticky this
 
yes AMD is cheaper than Intel, and yes i do agree that his system is nice but i wouldnt ever push it that far, i personally am not much a clocker( not a big fan of it ) but sometimes for the extra juice you have to, my point is that instead of biching about how this and that isnt that great, i would just say its a good guide for budget builders :)
 
You don't get it do you? You can be a fan boy if you want, but try constructing me a worthwhile 3ghz c2d build that will survive a 48 hour orthos test without any problems or temps through the roof on the nb or cpu itself. Conroes will hit over 60c same way an am2 will if you push the chip, something many people don't seem to keep in mind. If you would want to spend money on openbox parts and what not still not have that great of a mobo, go ahead, be my guest, but don't ask any one here for help when you can't get your computer to be stable.
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Ok, so if it's not stable at 3Ghz, chances are it will be at 2.7Ghz. Or even 2.6Ghz. Ok now tell me what AMD system at 500$ can beat that, since that was my original question to you?
 
And that's where the issue lies, sometimes it's not always about performance. If you wanted a cheap dual core for searching the web or just general use, the x2 3600 with a $30 mobo is really hard to beat, I'd like to you to come up with a conroe based computer that's under $100 for the cpu and mobo combined
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Once again, it's not always about performance, sometimes it's about budget issues and also plenty of people don't oc, a stock x2 3600 compared to a stock e4300 won't have much performance loss, not enough to make a difference anyways

of course you are right about people buying a budget pc
they don't care how fast it is, since they use it for mostly word and exell anyway
however i think this pc from the OP isn't meant for these people, but for gamers on a budget who like to OC, he said it himself. and the OP definately succeeded in that. i don't think you can get an AMD gaming pc for this price...
 
Once again, it's not always about performance, sometimes it's about budget issues and also plenty of people don't oc, a stock x2 3600 compared to a stock e4300 won't have much performance loss, not enough to make a difference anyways
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Ok so since you're not answering my question, I take it there is no AMD system around the price of this build that can beat it.

Sure, for the absolute cheapo system the X2 3600+ Brisbane is great, but this is not the absolute cheapo system, it's the best you can get for around 470$, and it's a great deal.

No?
 
I am pushing this system to it's absolute limit.

9x 408MHz = 3672MHz @ 1.475V

Vdimm @ 2.1V running 4-5-4-12 @ 816MHz

Stock HSF, and it's running 64C.

The stock HSF and CPU's IHS has been lapped, and I applied Arctic Silver 5 on it.

Passed Prime95 for 26 hours 12 minutes.

MemTest passed 13 hours.

It won't boot above 409MHz, even if I release the RAM's timing to CL5 and increase to 2.2V

Power supply has been running all week long, and was on the old system for the last 3 months, it's still running without problems. Go ahead spend more money on a better PSU if you want to, I'm still trying to push the limit of this PSU to see if it's gonna run unstable any time soon. Once it fails, I'll let everyone know, I got 2 systems on the same PSU at the moment. The Vcore fluctuate a bit more now, 0.12V between load and idle, so I'm gonna observe what's gonna happen soon and keep everyone updated.

I will most likely reduce it down to 3.5-3.6GHz later, but I'm testing things out.
 
I don't quite understand why people are arguing over the quality of the motherboard.

Do a google search on this motherboard, many sites has reviewed this motherboard and has been proven to be of great quality and overclocker. If you do not like that, you could go with others that I have recommended if you read through the entire guide.

The PSU, like I said, is the biggest doubt in my recommendation, but I'm not having any problems with it now, and I will keep everyone updated once I face any problems.



Taco:
Everyone thinks I'm lucky, even my old guide's E6300 setup hit 3.409GHz on stock hsf, and Dario thinks I'm lucky. I think I am lucky. Give me some time, I might be free next week, as I'm already done with finals, I might just take the HSF off, and look at the steppings and keep you guys updated with it.

P.S. - Does your friend has a bunch of fans around his casing to cool off the temperature within?
 
Can we all please move past this? This has long ago become pointless......AMD vs Intel, blah blah blah. Been there, done that.

This is a Guide for people who wanna OC an Intel C2D on the cheap. That's it. Accept it, move on people.

If someone else wants to write a Guide for OC'ing AMD on the cheap, then do it.


Move on already, this is gonna get full of 20 pages of fanboi-he-said-she-said crap blah blah blah. Enough already.

Spend the time trying to help people who need it rather than trying to convince those that are not open minded.

Sheesh...........



Oh, and for the record Taco, a 3ghz C2D spanks a 3ghz AMD. It's a proven fact, I can point you to the article link here at THG. You should know better.......let's turn the page already.
 
I'm not convinced Wiz is trying to "convince" anyone. He's simply stating that if someone wants to get a kickA$$ system on the cheap, then it's possible. He also stated in his original post that people are free to change things, do retail, swap a PSU, whatever. He made no false claims otherwise.

Hell, someone could substitute in a Seasonic PSU and 8800GTX if they wanted. That wasn't the point. The point was that it's possible and this Guide tells how.

Similarly, it's possible to do a volt mod for a 4300. But that doesn't mean everyone should do it. And it doesn't mean they can't buy a 6600. It would simply mean a volt mod is possible for those that WANT to.

Same with this Guide, for those that WANT a cheap C2D that can overclock like a champ, then it's possible.

I think this debate has gone way beyond the point of reasonableness, it's also far past splitting hairs. Let's all accept the Guide for what it is, NOT what it isn't. And then let's move on to more important debates.

:roll:
 
If you're talking about GHz, you can easily overclock Pentium D 805, which will easily hit 4-4.2GHz. 3GHz on C2D will outperform anything else offered by AMD.

Besides, didn't I state somewhere in my guide asking readers to "Use this as a guide to learn, and judge for yourself." I didn't ask people to follow my guide entirely.

All I'm trying to do is write a guide that would help people out, just like in the early days, when I needed help, instead of starting a thread in every forums asking what kind of budget parts I could go for a good, cheap, overclockable system. This is a single guide, or should I say, a guideline, to what you can potentially do with $450 bucks, if you have more money to burn off, hats off to you, but not everyone is as fortunate as you, to burn more money else where.

And stop arguing about the PSU already, I've already addressed that issue if you read through the whole guide, I said, that part is the only part that I had doubt over.

And you just mentioned 3GHz is nothing fantastic on E4300, but didn't you say that E4300 has problems achieving 3GHz on stock cooling?
 
The temperature is in fact below Intel's specified max temperature of 61C. The PSU is running stable for now, and I have yet to see any problems with it.
Like I said, once I encounter problems with it, I'll let everyone know, and will warn everyone of it.
For now, 4 systems running on that PSU aren't giving any problems.
 
Someone is interested in buying this system, so it's probably going to be sold next week.

I'll build a new system the week after.
 
I would like to get wiz's advice on attempting a hassle free oc mechanism.

I am interested in getting a low fsb c2d
then upping the fsb in a motherboard which already supports the higher fsb.
and keeping as many settings stock as possible..
ex.
take a 200 fsb c2d and take it to 266 or 333fsb
or a 266 and take it to 333
with stock voltage/hsf
on a motherboard which is already rated for 266/333

Has anyone had any luck with this type of overclock?
I am mostly confused regarding straps and what not which people keep talking about. Will have to read up on it.

My idea is a cheap processor ( i am in germany)
110 euro for a e4300 or e4400 with 2mb cache 200 fsb
and take them up to 266 or 333
whatever my mobo will let me.
so maybe 1.8 * 1.33 or 1.8*1.66
or 2*1.33 or 2* 1.66
the key is I don't want to raise stock voltages too much... can I get away with it??

Do I need to get any special type of ram to pull this off?
Or will regular pc 800/667 do?

Haven't figured out the mobo yet.
2 options, cheap route = asrock core 4 around 54 euros here.
Other option i am Contemplating is a cheap p35 mobo (around 110 euros). That way its future proof so if/when I have more cash I can pop in the next generation core.
Another reason I want to keep the mobo around is I plan to buy an oem version of win vista 64 which will get tied up to the mobo!!

Posting this here , because Wiz seems to know what he is talking about
P.S good posts , like your basic build,
Price/performance = key.
though would make default=brand new parts and secondary=open box.
Minor beef, no big deal.
Especially since I cannot get the same open box parts/prices here in germany!
I'm trying to do 3 things price/performance/future proof. I would like to eventually upgrade to a quad core once I have enough cash. I have heard the prices for the quad core will come down to sub 266 by end of july.

Regards,
Raja
 
sheesh taco's give it up, stop bagging on the OP. he did a good post, the motherboard is good the psu bad everyone knows he can change that. Stop portraying the fanboy as rich said. :roll:
 
I have got lots of parts right from the beginning

ultra old cards geforce 1/2/3 :)
agp gfx cards, 6800 gt
pci e cards 7800 gt
one 7950 gt
might get an 8800 gt or something next.
1 gb pc 3200 ddr ram.

I am more interested in the oc part.
In fact I am planning to build 2-3 new pcs. I am going to be using these pcs for trading workstations.
my question is not about a full rig.
I am more interested in knowhing which c2d/mobo/chipset combo is best for oc with stock settings.
I would like to raise the bus from 200-333 or 200-266 without messing around too much with multipliers or voltages.

Would using a p35 chipset help? Considering its already rated for 333? So it shouldn't need more volts or extra cooling and shouldn't be a drag??

I am not looking for extreme performance yet just a minor improvement.
I'll do the extreme overclock with the core 2 quad or core 2 quad 45 nm later when they do come out at reasonable price points.
 
RAM prices increase over the past few weeks.

Okay, updates anyway.

PSU still running good, the guy who bought the system is very happy with it, haven't rebooted the system for a while now according to him.

I attempted to build 2 more setups with similar rig, notice a couple problems.

Not all E4300 are capable of hitting that FSB, I got a setup that refuse to go above 322MHz FSB, and E4300's Vcore are very inconsistent, on some setups it can run perfectly fine below stock Vcore, some needs really high, as high as 1.4-1.5V to run 3GHz.

But then, all the setup I build on top of Super Talent modules are great. The 3GHz (9x333MHz) are running it on 1:1 CL4 (4-4-4-11/12) timing, and even tried running 266MHz at CL3 (3-3-3-8/9) timing, and passed memtest for over 36 hours. So, I still highly recommend these modules.

That cheap PSU is on 4 systems now, none failed so far, maybe the system is not putting enough stress on the PSU at the moment.

Anyway, after since I discover the inconsistencies in E4300, I'd highly recommend E6300/6320 over E4300, although it costs more, but I've yet to encounter any of those that wouldn't hit beyond 3GHz on stock HSF.

And by the way, eWiz had the Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro going for $19.95 free shipping, don't know if they still have the deal.
 
And oh, by the way, I've read it on other forums that some E4300 has a FSB wall, and it could be easily countered by BSEL MOD, there are 266MHz (1066) and 333MHz (1333) BSEL MODS, that are pretty easy to perform, although I haven't tried it yet, I will give it a try when I have the time to rip everything apart.
 
Looking for max bang for the buck
code speed bus cache price mult new bus overclock
e6700 2670 1066 4 290 10 333 3336
e6600 2400 1066 4 209 9 333 2999
e6400 2130 1066 2 169 8 333 2662
e6420 2130 1066 4 174 8 333 2662
e4400 2000 800 2 124 10 333 3330
e4300 1800 800 2 124 9 333 2997
e6320 1860 1066 4 149 7 333 2324
q6600 2400 1066 8 490 9 333 2999
e6850 3000 1333 4 304 9 333 2998
e6750 2670 1333 4 221 8 333 2668
e6550 2330 1333 4 193 7 333 2328


Wiz can you please rank these processors in order of their ability to hit a higher bus speed without a new hsf. and preferably without overvolting.
Basically I am interested in knowing if intel is selling us some hidden gems :).
Can you also tell me whether there is any significant difference in stock hsf which comes with all these different processors?

I wouldn't want to buy such a slow core that it comes with a stock hsf that is half the quality of the higher end c2d.
For instance if it is true that we can take a 6300 @ 266 (which costs 150) to 333 fsb without significantly overvolting then we effectively have a e6550 which costs 193..
If we do the same for a 6400 (cost 169 here in germany)
it goes and becomes 6750 which costs 221 here.
and finally if we can overclock the e6600 it goes from being a 2.4ghz 209 euro processor to a e6850 which is a 3ghz 304 euro processor :)
Also another nice thing about the q6600 would be that even if I get stuck at stock 2.4 ghz its not too slow a cpu 😀. I could live with it.
I am not too interested in overvolting to start off the overclock.
If intel's binning process is efficient then there really should be no such easy overclocks for people like me. If however intel is churning out higher quality cores then maybe there is room for a free overclock.

Kindly reccomend the best pick among these candidates
Reward = gain in $ (if chip overclocks to higher level)
risk= cpu dies?? but the risk is only there if we significantly overvolt?
I suspect without overvolting the risk to the processor would be very near 0?

Basically I am looking for an expert to rank the outcomes in order of probability.
I do know that if we were to do something simple like just raising the fsb it would be one of the easiest overclocks.
I remember doing something like this with old celerons a very very long time ago.

Regards,
Raja
 
Quote:
CPU: Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale (Retail Box with HSF) - $117

As this is the cheapest C2D available on the market, and a proven great overclocker, I chose this processor. These Allendale cores has a 2MB L2 cache, instead of the 4MB on other higher end Conroe models. But benchmarks have proven the 2MB in cache differences only accumulate up to a mere 2-3% increase in performance, which I personally think doesn't do any justice for the price difference.
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Not true as the E2140 is cheaper at around $81. Its a 1MB C2D that doesnt perform as well at the same clocks as the 2 and 4MB versions. The E2140 does require 3.1~3.2GHz to match the performance of the X6800.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116037
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-e2160_14.html#sect0
I hear it can OC to 3.6GHz on air.
http://xtreview.com/addcomment-id-2250-view-Pentium-e2160-overclock-to-3.6-GHz.html
 
I can't tell which overclocks best, because I build only systems that are best bang for the bucks. People around this forums, and people in real life that I know, know me very well that I build cheap systems, and overclock every single juice out of them. So far, I could only tell for E4300, E6300, E6320. Anyway, E6300/E6320 are more consistent in terms of overclocking, because it has soldered IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader).

As for the cheapest C2D, at the time this guide was written, E4300 was the cheapest on the market. I don't know how well the E2xxx overclock, but I may soon build a system based on that.
 
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