Hi all,
First off, I'm a TOTAL newbie at overclocking (actually, make that a total newbie PERIOD :rolleyes:!) and I just want to get some clarifications before I go ahead with this system I'm planning to build. [I'm on a VERY tight budget!]
This is the system I have in mind as far as components go:
Processor: Core2Duo e6300 @ 1.86 GHz (Allendale)
MoBo: ASUS P5B or ASUS P5B-E
Memory: Transcend DDR2 667MHz
(CAS 5, v@1.8v)
[This is the memory that is available to me. At the most, I might be able to get Kingston memory but it might not be available. This sucks I know, but there's not too much of an option left to me really]
Graphics: BFG Tech 7600GT 256MB(OC)
I've been doing a bit of reading and research about overclocking and this is my question:
[NOTE:All cooling will have to be done with the stock HSF that comes with the processor! Cannot afford any aftermarket cooling right now!]
If I go with the vanilla P5B, according to the manual, the FSB maxes out at 400MHZ. Keeping the RAM ratio at 1:1 and the multiplier at a default of 7 for the e6300, theoretically I should be able to get a core speed of 2331 MHz=2.3GHz right? This ofcourse will have to be adjusted with the vCORE settings but lets assume for the moment that the vCORE is not a problem. My question is this: assuming that the RAM ratio is kept at 1:1 (DDR2 667MHz = 333MHz), and that the max I will go to on the FSB of the e6300 is 333MHz (from 266MHz), will I have to do any adjustments to the vDIMM settings? I would really like to avoid mucking about with the memory because it is 'value' (read cheap) RAM and I would like to avoid making any adjustments with the vDIMM. I've assumed that because it is DDR2 667Mhz (FSB=333MHz), it will be running underclocked at the core FSB of 266MHz and this assumption makes me believe that I can overclock to its rated FSB of 333MHz without making any adjustments to the voltage being supplied to it. (I might be mistaken, but from what I understood from this site, the RAM supports a max. voltage of 1.9v). If you're still here and reading this, what I REALLY want to know is this:
From what I've explained above, will the vanilla P5B do for my requirements or should I go in for the P5B-E which goes up to an FSB of 650 MHz and by all accounts overclocks better than the plain P5B? I would really like to avoid going in for the P5B-Deluxe. I don't really need all the bells and whistles it comes with and more importantly compared to my options, its way too expensive. Just to give you a rough idea, the best price I got for the Deluxe where I live translates to about 260$ USD when it's going on Newegg for 182$!!
Although getting to 2.3GHz from 1.8GHz seems very sweet to me, any tips or suggestions to get further will obviously be welcome! :)
Any help will be much appreciated!!!
EDIT: Will also have a couple of 120 GB @7200 rpm Seagate HDD's and one Samsung/Lite-On DVD writer that will complete the system. Will be running all this on an ANTEC SP 400W.