This is the one I'm trying to keep around $300- I'll tell you what I have so far.

• Seagate 200 GB HD
• Geforce 6200 128 MB AGP
• Dual Layer DVD Burner
• Some real good speakers (forget brand)

So far the cost comes to about $130. I'm trying to get a 2800+ Newcastle/ASUS 754 Deluxe combo for around $100. I will probably end up buying a Creative Soundblaster Audigy or something like it for around $30. This leaves power supply and memory (unless I forgot something -.-). How is the Antec Sp-450 Smartpower 2.0 450 Watt ATX Power Supply sound for $50? I was looking at the ATRIX PSCI-500BLK ATX12V 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CE, CB, FCC - Retail but Captain Planet told me I should be getting a better brand. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817192002 What about the RAM? What should I get for RAM that is good for OC'ing and isn't crap but won't be too much money?

I already told you dont get that PSU. Get a name brand Antec, Enermax, PC Power and Cooling, OCZ. You can always reuse a PSU. PSUs are one of the most crucial parts of your pc purchase.

I know, I said what you told me :|

Quote: Originally Posted by Me I was looking at the ATRIX PSCI-500BLK ATX12V 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CE, CB, FCC - Retail but Captain Planet told me I should be getting a better brand.

I would try to stay away from Enermax. I had one, I thought it was great, then I had a broken 6800 (luckily it was under waranty). Right now I have an Antec TruePower 2 550W PSU. I love this one. The wires have the most interesting feeling texture, it kind of feels like there's powder on 'em, but there's not. They're also a lot more flexible than the Enermax cables.

Ok, what about the RAM?

I'm trying for either 512 or 1 Gig, depending on how cheap I can get it off of ebay. What would be cheap but would also have a decent speed/timings and would have good OC'ing?

ebay? Why ebay? Go with Newegg? The faster the ram (Say like PC2700 vs PC3200) is better and will allow you to overclock more, allowing you to get a higher FSB which means greater performance, BUT at the sacrifice of ram timings. The FSB makes up for that anyway. Try Cosair, OCZ, Kingston and I forget the rest..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227056

Although thats 300 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ubmit=Property

For PC3500.

You're forgetting that the whole computer is supposed to be around $300, not just the RAM.

Lol well go with the second link then. Its cheap (80 bucks) and fast.

I have heard some pretty decent results frrom GSKILL PC3200 on a budget, 1GB will set you back around 75$ it runs at CAS 2.5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231027

For a few bucks more (99$) this memory runs at CAS 2 and should perform a bit better without breaking the bank.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231012

The motherboard itself is much more critical for good Overclocking results than the Memory you use, even with "Average" memory, you can still get great performance from a AMD-64 by using a memory divider to make it run a bit slower then the CPU FSB (Asynch)

That Asus you mentioned, does it have any OC options? The DFI LP is the best for OC'ing, but it's over 100$
There is a Chaintech NF-3 250 that is around 75$ and does pretty godd for the price


BTW, I looked at your other thread, It seems like you have a pretty complete list going there, was there something a bit more specific you wanted to know?

http://www.hothardware.com/viewartic...leid=585&cid=3

I'm pretty sure that's the mobo- I heard great things about it. I'm trying to get a deal it's that plus the 2800+ Newcastle... is that a good combo?

Also I found some nice RAM on ebay I'll be sure to keep my eye out for it (all around 2-3-2-6 or 2-2-2-5 512 and 1024 Kits Kingston HyperX and Corsair Twin etc.)

Just to support what Necro's saying:

It's all about the memory divider

I read that the memory divider gives a ratio between the RAM speed and the FSB speed. How does that apply here in what we're talking about? Thanks in advance.

Quote: Originally Posted by Luda215369 I read that the memory divider gives a ratio between the RAM speed and the FSB speed. How does that apply here in what we're talking about? Thanks in advance.

You are correct!

See..most all AMD64's including the 2800+ should be able to OC to around 2.3~2.7ghz depending on luck and cooling., the higher end models usually require less voltage to get there.

The problem when OC'ing a low end CPU like that, is it has a very low Multiplier of 9x.

9x200FSB=1.8ghz

The 3000+ uses 10x, and the 3200+11x, wich makes Overclocking life easier since you don't have to spin the motherboard or memory to sky high speeds to reach a decent CPU speed.

Now lets say your goal is a reasonable 2.4GHZ, in order to run the CPU and Memory at a 1 to 1 ratio, or whats know as "In Synch" you need the memory to be able to run at 266FSB, wich means you would need memory that runs at DDR 533
For 2.6GHZ, you need 288FSB, and 2.7 would require a whopping 300FSB (DDR600)

Now here comes the problem with that board you picked...

Quote: we reached a peak bus of 232MHz

It runs at a max of 232FSB, wich means the best you can get is around 2088MHZ!

I suggest either a better CPU (3200+) or a better board. the DFI LP will run at 300+FSB without too much trouble, just a bit of tweaking and a modded bios.

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2198

I realy think this is more in your price range though, the Chaintech NF-3 250 was around 75$ last I looked, it may be a bit hard to find new these days, unless you look on ebay.

Quote: With a single DIMM of OCZ DDR4400EL, the best FSB that we could achieve at a 1:1 ratio was a stable 275 or DDR550

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2063&p=5

MSI also had at least 1 decent 754 OC'ing board, but I am not sure of the model number, you would have to look at a few reviews or threads.



Ok, now back to why memory dividers are relevant, most people OC to save money and still get the performance of a high end CPU.

As you can see, running 2.7ghz (9x300) would require buying DDR 600, that is not exactly what I would call "Budget"

So if you run a divider of 1/2, at 2.7ghz your memory speed would only need to be 200FSB wich is DDR400, one hell of a lot cheaper!


It will still perform great since the AMD 64 is not starving for memory bandwitdth, it realy helped when AMD put the memory controller right on the CPU, the older Athlon XP had it on the motherboard and performace suffered quite a bit if you used the divider.

That help ya out a bit?

Pearls of wisdom right there from our very own Crusader Knight Necro straight out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Just to clear up what I was getting at in my last post:

To quote you:

Quote: I'm trying to keep around $300

To quote me:

Quote: It's all about the memory divider

To quote Necro:

Quote: So if you run a divider of 1/2, at 2.7ghz your memory speed would only need to be 200FSB wich is DDR400, one hell of a lot cheaper!

See what I mean?

I was probably going to get PC 3200 because of its awesome timings anyway (I'm a gamer), but thanks for the tip. A question that I didn't really get answered by Necro...
Which one of these setups would be better, let's say for an Fx-57?

200 FSB x 15
Memory at 200 FSB
1:1

OR

300 FSB x 10 = 3 GHZ
Memory at 200 FSB
3:2

Does changing the multiplier have any disadvantage other than needing more voltage (or so I've heard)? If not, then 1:1 could be achieved on the above setup.

Assuming we're speaking figuratively the higher multiplier is the way to go 'cause it'll give you more bang for the fsb you put through it.

It really depends on what your proc can do though.

Memory dividers and a64 link along shortly..

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Link

Broken link :\

Quote: Originally Posted by Luda215369 I was probably going to get PC 3200 because of its awesome timings anyway (I'm a gamer), but thanks for the tip. A question that I didn't really get answered by Necro... Which one of these setups would be better, let's say for an Fx-57? 200 FSB x 15 Memory at 200 FSB 1:1 OR 300 FSB x 10 = 3 GHZ Memory at 200 FSB 3:2 Does changing the multiplier have any disadvantage other than needing more voltage (or so I've heard)? If not, then 1:1 could be achieved on the above setup.

I am sorry, I tried to answer your question in a PM, but I guess I didn't completely undertand it.

15x200 would be the better of the 2 options, it's best to keep the CPU and memory in "Synch" given the same ultimate CPU and Memory speed.

Another factor is tability, there are a lot less chances for error if the the FSB is kept at a reasonable speed, typically you have to run the Chipset voltage higher, wich adds more heat, less reliability, and reduced lifespan.

Now these are realy nitpicky factors that are fairly negligable, but if you want to split hairs...

Quote: Originally Posted by Luda215369 Broken link :\

was missing a : out of the url, fixed now.