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nootch

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I'm about to enter the world of overclocking and I thought I'd run my selections across some more experienced overclockers first. I haven't purchased any of the following items yet, so all suggestions are welcome.

Retail P3 Cu 600E FC-PGA
Asus CUBX mobo
128MB PC133 RAM (some say brand name matters, some don't ... your thoughts?)
some form of AGP TNT2 video card (brand name suggestions?)
Sound Blaster Live! Value
ATX Midtower Case (any suggestions in the $50 range?)
Already have a Maxtor 30GB 7200rpm
Already have Imation 8x20 CD-R & Adaptec AHA-2930C SCSI card
Already have D-Link PCI Ethernet card (just a cheapo one)

I'm hoping to run this at 133MHz FSB with just the retail CPU fan (am I just being lazy here?)

As for the video card, I do some minor 3D modeling, lots of Photoshop work, very little gaming (but it'd still be nice to play at a decent resolution/framerate if I ever do decide to play). I'd like to keep this at/under $75 though.

Anyone know where I can get a good deal on any of these parts (specifically the CUBX mobo and the CPU)? I'm trying to keep the cost in the $600 range.

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"Should I call you Logan, WeaponX?"
 
First off, don't go with a BX board.
Your specification of running at 133fsb is possible, but not supported by the BX chipset. You'd be better off going with a board based on the VIA Apollo Pro 133A, like the Asus P3V4X, which does have official support for the 133fsb setting.

Also, I'd invest in a decent cooler if you're planning on overclocking. The Golden Orb is excellent and cheap. They can be had for ~$14 at 2CoolTek

Case: The Enlight EN-7237 is always a good choice, and usually costs about $50+shipping. Check out www.mwave.com for decent prices on cases with shipping.

------------------
From another BBS:
"hmm... Cyrix III, huh? You can put syrup on sh*t, but that don't make it pancakes."

[Edited by Diesel Dan @ June 01, 2000 (edited 1 time)]
 
I was originally going to go with the P3V4X until I saw all of the reviews on the Asus CUBX that pretty much said it has all the stability/speed of a BX with the "overclockability" of the VIA 133A. Also, the ability to flash the ROM in Windows is kind of a neat feature as well.

I like the Enlight case you suggested ... I'll probably try a few mods on it (for looks, as I doubt I'll need much more ventilation for such light overclocking). And as for the Golden Orb, for 14 bucks I think it looks cool enough to get
wink.gif
. Should I use thermal grease as well?

Thanks

------------------
"Should I call you Logan, WeaponX?"
 
If your going with the Enlight case I suggest you buy one extra fan for the backside. The Orb cooler works very well but be careful mounting it as it's been known to snap the attachment points. Thermal paste will help you to get maximum and even cooling. You have to be very careful with the TNT 2 cards because a lot of them don't like the high bus speed. I had a Creative Ultra that wouldn't run above 124 and traded for a regular Creative TNT2 with some other goodies and made it to 133. Bought a GeForce and it is very stabile at every speed I can reach.
 
The only reason I suggested not going with a BX board is because no BX board offers "official" 133fsb support.
FWIW, I'm running a P3V4X right now, and it's super stable at 800. I'm planning on pushing it higher soon, especially since I should have no problems with the higher bus speed due to the more reasonable AGP dividers.
No compatibility issues with any of my cards. Can't say the same for my P3B-F, which choked on a lot of things at 133fsb.


------------------
From another BBS:
"hmm... Cyrix III, huh? You can put syrup on sh*t, but that don't make it pancakes."
 
Intel doesn't officially support oc of cpu's either
smile.gif
But for sure the AGP division is something to consider. D.D. what cpu are you running? I just played around and hit 792 with one stick of memory, but got up to 119 degrees "f". To hot for me to feel comfortable. I really think if I didn't get worried about temps I could run at least 786. And this is a real estimate, including playing UT, running benchmarks and any other things I could think of. Not trying to start a pissing match
smile.gif
I know people take **** to heart... let me know what cpu your running
 
I agree with Diesel Dan on everything but the board choice. A lot of my friends run Via based boards and have nothing but incompatiblity problems. From sound cards to video cards. I run a BX based Abit BE 6 rev. 2 and have 0% problems. Right now I'm running a P 3 550E at 770 (140 bus) very stabily. I can post all the way to 825 but end up with errors
frown.gif
Also I think the BX boards out perform Via in almost all cases.
 
Okay, can someone explain this to me please:

PIII 600MHz FC-PGA at Onvia.com for $262.06

PIII 650MHz FC-PGA at Onvia.com for $214.96

Both appear to be the 100MHz FSB versions based on their Mfr #s. Is the 650 as good for overclocking as the 600E?

------------------
"Should I call you Logan, WeaponX?"

[Edited by nootch @ June 02, 2000 (edited 1 time)]
 
bigmac> I'm currently running a 600e FC-PGA at 800.

nootch> The prices are strange, but since both are out of stock, does it really matter?
The 650 should overclock to 133fsb as reasonably as the 600e, but the 600e might be able to achieve more speeds above 133 than the 650 due to the lower multiplier.
All things being equal, I'd probably opt for the 650 if the prices are very close.


------------------
From another BBS:
"hmm... Cyrix III, huh? You can put syrup on sh*t, but that don't make it pancakes."
 
Diesel Dan:

I have 6 overclocked systems in this room. All except one are on Abit BX boards, and the odd board is a VIA Apollo Pro chipset.

4 of the machines are running PIII 600e SECC processors, and one of those is the Apollo board. That machine clocks up the fastest of all of them (7x140), and it is slower than my only PII machine at crunching seti work units. That is irregardless of the OS used as well. I've tried Win98 SE, WinNT 4 Wks, WinNT 4 Server, Win2000 Professional, Win 2000 Server, and RedHat 6.1 Linux, and all have done work units in the 9-10 hour range. That machine should be crunching work units in about 5 hours or just under. All 3 of the other PIII machines (on BX boards) take less than 6 hours to process work units. This has been a source of amazement and consternation for me. I do have to admit that I have an exceptional PII 400 though, as it runs flawlessley at 4x133 on an Abit BX6-R2 motherboard. My other PIII machines have BX6-R2, BX6, & a BF6 motherboards. The PIIIs run at 6x112, 6x133, & 6x133 flawlessly on the BX chipset. I do wish I knew of a hack to get the PCI & AGP bus speeds right though. I might be able to boost those machines above 133 & 112 if that were so, but I really don't think it's possible with the BX chipset.

Ah well, at least none of this stuff is mission critical.

Oh, in case you're wondering, the other machine is a dual Celery on a BP6.

Ski Bum
 
There are significant differences between boards based on the Apollo Pro 133 and the Apollo Pro 133A, both in terms of quality and performance.
The Pro 133A is much faster, and much more stable than the Pro 133 boards.


------------------
From another BBS:
"hmm... Cyrix III, huh? You can put syrup on sh*t, but that don't make it pancakes."
 
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