Intel Inquiry

[george]

I do some work for a hardware review site and we are about to build a new computer for the summer reviews. Due to pressure from sponsors we have to build one now using skt 478- we can't really wait for 775 or anything like that. The problem is we can't figure out which processor to use...

Right now the main contestants are- the 2.4C, the 2.4A (Prescott), 2.8E, and 2.8C. We want to keep prices down as so much in happening in the next quarter or so and overclockibility is a must...

Right now we will be using an Abit AI7 mobo and 1 gig PMI DDR 3200 memory... Any opinions would be great... what would you see any the most interesting build?

 

[Coop]

Try to convince you`r sponsors to use a Athlon64, think readers will be happy to know there is something else beside Intel.
And in the future you can make a review called : Windows XP 64 bit installing on Athlon64, whats the benefit when gaming !

Now what you think of that ?


Toms Hardware Site is a joke !

 

[ChipDeath]

They don't make the 2.4C anymore, so that rules that one out... But if you can find one, then it's a pretty good bet. a 2.6C would probably be better though. Actually I note newegg.com still has some 2.4C chips in stock, but no 2.6C chips.. Strange.

the 2.4 scotty is pretty pointless, being a bit slow (comparatively speaking), and lacking Hyperthreading. <i>unless</i> you'll be overclocking it, in which case it's a good buy for the money, by all accounts.

My own personal choice would be the 2.8C, for it's low heat output, good performance and quite reasonable price these days. Plus it does overclock quite well too.

You say you want overclockability. If you want a decent overclocked system you'll need faster memory. with PC3200 you'll have to Run the memory and FSB asynchronously, which is not the best way to get performance.

So thinking about it, if you HAVE to stick with the PC3200 RAM, but want good overclockability, then the only chip that fits the bill is the 2.4 scotty, as it's 533FSB means you'll not need to exceed the RAM's specs when overclocking, and could theoretically hit 3.6Ghz before the RAM needed swapping for faster stuff.

---
Epox 8RDA+ rev1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @205x11 (~2.26Ghz), 1.575Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL 2-2-2-4
Sapphire 9800Pro 420/744

 

[P4Man]

>I do some work for a hardware review site and we are about
>to build a new computer for the summer reviews. Due to
>pressure from sponsors we have to build one now using skt
>478

Care to elaborate ? Seems rather contradictory, running a review site, and not getting to choose your own test rig, sounds like a terrible idea. What's next, gonna let the "sponsors" tell you what benchmarks to run, and what your conclusion should be ??

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[george]

P4Man, i see what you mean but what I meant to say is that because we have a limited budget we have to work with the parts the sponsors send us, to a certain extent. I would like to use faster memory, or an Athlon64 but the mb and memory we received from the sponsors have to be reviewed. It wouldn't make sense to go out and buy a few hundred dollars worth of parts when we have to test this stuff anyway.
Sponsors have no control (or say in) how we test or what we build but they send us the parts they would like to be tested, you know?

Well, i liked the overclockability of the 2.4A and it is a prescott so thats exciting. But the practicle side of me says 2.8C, but then we have to buy memory. I think its going to be 2.4a unless anyone has any great ideas...

 

[trooper11]

well id agree for overclocking its exciting, but not becuase it is a prescott,it is a crippled prescott really.

 

[miniklobb]

i use the 2.8c and have OCed to 3.4 on stock cooling with out much trouble, it's the best value i think going right now. i use pc3200 ram and it was good till 3.3 but then had to clock it back to ddr400, found the chipset over heated befor the CPU.

P4 2.8c
Seagate 160g 7200rpm 8mb cache
2x256 Crucial PC3200
Radeon 9800pro 128
Asus P4P800

 

[george]

Yeah, I really dig the 2.8C but I would like to stick w/ synchronous o'c. And since I have PC 3200 memory that would mean any o'c would being o'cing the memory as well. I probably couldn't get past a FSB of 220 or so,,, correct me if i a wrong

 

[ChipDeath]

You'd be fairly lucky to get as far as 220 with most PC3200 IMO. may work with very relaxed timings and slight voltage bump though.

Maybe it would be worth experimenting with the RAM to see how fast you can get it, before making your choice? you can put it in an existing system, and clock the RAM higher than the FSB just to see how far it can go.

I don't think you'll have that much success though, to be honest. It's looking like the 2.4 Scotty is going to be the choice.

---
Epox 8RDA+ rev1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @205x11 (~2.26Ghz), 1.575Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL 2-2-2-4
Sapphire 9800Pro 420/744

 

[miniklobb]

i got to 224with pc3200 ram with no crashes or instability. just be careful and get some ramsinks if you need to go further

P4 2.8c
Seagate 160g 7200rpm 8mb cache
2x256 Crucial PC3200
Radeon 9800pro 128
Asus P4P800