to OC spu --> better heat sink??

[vois2]

I want to say "thanks" to everyone here regarding your assistance on some posts as I get set to build my first system. I always get such good info on this forum.

The system below I'll be building with a standard P4 heatsink and fan -- but I have full intention to OC the cpu patiently. I have read the my ECS mobo has a "weak overclock ability of 132MHz max", which is fine by me. What I'd like to know is should I go ahead and put a better heatsink and fan in there since I hope to edge my 2.8 P4 up to the 3.2 range? Suggestions? Thanks!

I'll be throwing together the following system -- a system only to tinker and learn as you can see from its older parts.

-DiabloTek Phantom Gamer Case (case fan on side) model 8868-B ATX Mid-Tower
-ECS L4VXA2 mobo (VIA P4x400/VT8235 chipset)
-2.8 GHz P4 478 533fsb 512K
-1.0 GB PC2700 RAM
-BFG 6600 GT OC 128mb AGP (requires extra dongle)
-single drive: CD-RW/DVD-ROM
-floppy
-40GB HD 5400rpm
-case fan
(a Fortron Source 300W ATX12v with dual +12v @ 15.5V will power this)
Thanks!

 

[Vascular]

These are parts you already own??
If so why buy anything? Put it together and see how it runs.

 

[theholylancer]

damn it where can i get a sig like yoursz...... i want to know how to hide my ip from services such as the one in you sig, is there someway to hide the ip with a ip masque, w/o getting a complicated linux box? or should i jsut read up on the manual of my netgear splitter?

 

[mpjesse]

It looks like you'll have a Northwood P4 CPU, which is good. Northwoods overclock nicely. (stay away from Prescott 478's) Esp. one clocked at 2.8Ghz. You should be able to hit 3Ghz easily... but beyond that...

If you want to get to the 3.2Ghz range you're going to need more than just a new HSF. You'll probably need some faster RAM. I'm not sure how exactly you plan to overclock (i.e., multiplier or FSB). The most common (and most effective IMO) method for beginners is FSB overclocking. IF you wanna clock via the FSB, you'd probably do best with some PC3200 RAM or PC2700 CAS 2 RAM. The logical choice is PC3200 RAM (DDR400) at CAS 2.5.

As for a new HSF, you might be surprised just how well stock INTEL coolers do. You can go blow $50 on some fancy copper high speed fan solution, but I'd see how far you can get w/ the stock cooler. I had a P4 3.4Ghz and I got that bitch up to 3.8Ghz (stable) with my stock intel cooler. It ran hot, but within thermal specs.

Make sense?

-mpjesse

 

[vois2]

Dang, mpjesse -- that was an awesome reply. You obviously know your stuff and can even anticipate my noob questions (and the limitations of my knowledge right now, too.)

You are correct that this is a Northwood P4 533/512. My mobo won't support Prescott, which is sort of good because it limited my scope when hunting down a processor. But I have since learned (as you mentioned) that Prescott runs hot and not good for overclocking.

Thanks for mentioning that FSB overclocking would be the best learning curve for me. You bring up an interesting point. I have Googled scores of pages on my mobo (ECS L4VXA2). I saw a lot of comments from folks who said it would not support PC3200 memory, and their comments seemed to indicate they knew what they were talking about.

So initially I thought, OK, I will stick with PC2700 for this project. But then the fellow who I obtained the Northwood from, said he had a 1 Gig stick of PC3200 in his machine on the very same L4VXA2 mobo and mentioned that "there is a BIOS entry to select for CAS 3". Also, a lot of vendors selling this mobo say it "supports PC3200 (conditional)". So I am still not sure where I stand regarding PC3200.

Your comment seems to favor PC2700 CAS 2 over PC2700 2.5. Am I reading that right?

I do appreciate your comments greatly and I will stick with the stock heatsink and fan for now. Thank you again.

 

[linux_0]

Get tor from tor.eff.org or use an http proxy.

PS Linux is not complicated.

 

[pat]

damn it where can i get a sig like yoursz...... i want to know how to hide my ip from services such as the one in you sig, is there someway to hide the ip with a ip masque, w/o getting a complicated linux box? or should i jsut read up on the manual of my netgear splitter?

Damn.. kid, dont you see www.danasoft.com? go there!!

 

[vois2]

Thanks very much to everyone for the help!