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Best overclocking CPU?

Mint_Sauce

Mint_Sauce

Mint_Sauce

Soldato
Joined
25 Sep 2003
Posts
3,750
Location
Manchester
Looking to spec up a top end machine and a big part of that is the CPU! Was wondering what CPU you kind people would recommend for the best performance for money and the best overall performer (price no issue?

What CPU would you get and what mobo/RAM would you mate it with for the best overall performance?

I'm itching to order it up but I've been out the loop for a while so I'm struggling to get up to speed at the moment.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
save your self some money and get Crucial baslitcs 5300 ram and overclock it to 1000+mhz.

Definitly get the Q6600 GO (aka the 95w edition). It should overclock to 3.5ghz perhaps 3.6 on air. Id advise using the Tuniq 120 tower for cooling unless you wish to lap a thermalite and the difference in temperatures would only be a few degrees as the Tuniq is so good :)
 
E2160 and/or E2180 is arguably the best chip for Core2Duo that has the best price:performance ratio when overclocked, especially the E2180. But if price is really not an issue when I would consider the Q6600 as others have mentioned and get some nice RAM to compliment it, and also a nice cooler. Including a motherboard, the items I would get, if money was free to spend would be:

68c72qe.jpg


Ballistix is good RAM, but if you step over the edge with your RAM above 2.2v it's invaliding your warranty. The reaper RAM pushes just as good as Ballistix and you have more play on the volts without destroying your warranty. The board is arguably the best overclocking P35 board around at the moment, and the chip needs no introduction.
 
Go for an E2140/2160 or a Q6600 G0. Anything more, or in between is simply not worth it.:)

The cheaper 2140 is capable of more than 3GHz in most cases, which will easily power anything you throw at it. The quad-core Q6600 would give you a boost in any multi-threaded applications you might use, and possibly make your system that bit more future-proof, although I'd wager that when multi-threaded games become the norm the Q6600 will be outdated anyway...

As for motherboards and RAM, flibby's suggestions are excellent. There are cheaper motherboards that will also perform perfectly well, and allow a decent overclock: the IP35 and Gigabyte P35 DS3 for example.
 
Excellent advice, thanks everyone. I'll go with the Q6600 G0 and the Abit P35 (depending on RAID abilities). Also, I'm looking at 4GB Ram with 64bit Vista, what chips would you go for with the Q6600 G0 and Abit P35?

Thanks again, can't wait to order it up!
 
The Abit board will be fine with RAID.

The Hard drives i would go for would be the Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache or the Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB 7500AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache.

As for the Memory, the Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit is very good stuff. It will overclock to 1000MHz+ pretty easily.
 
Mint_Sauce said:
Excellent advice, thanks everyone. I'll go with the Q6600 G0 and the Abit P35 (depending on RAID abilities). Also, I'm looking at 4GB Ram with 64bit Vista, what chips would you go for with the Q6600 G0 and Abit P35?

Thanks again, can't wait to order it up!
Click to expand...

Crucial Ballistix PC5300 is awesome RAM. Cheap, and as already mentioned, will hit 1000MHz on slightly relaxed timings.
 
flibby said:
E2160 and/or E2180 is arguably the best chip for Core2Duo that has the best price:performance ratio when overclocked, especially the E2180. But if price is really not an issue when I would consider the Q6600 as others have mentioned and get some nice RAM to compliment it, and also a nice cooler. Including a motherboard, the items I would get, if money was free to spend would be:

68c72qe.jpg


Ballistix is good RAM, but if you step over the edge with your RAM above 2.2v it's invaliding your warranty. The reaper RAM pushes just as good as Ballistix and you have more play on the volts without destroying your warranty. The board is arguably the best overclocking P35 board around at the moment, and the chip needs no introduction.
Click to expand...


How can they tell you went over 2.2v? also there is no reason to go over 2.2v with balistics really. Infact some people will happly run it at 2.1v at still high speeds.

What speeds are people getting on the reaper ram? Is it also certainly going to reach 900mhz+ and generaly will hit 1000mhz? few people cant reach 900mhz+ on balistics 5300 and the majority will go right into the 1000mhz+



p4radox said:
Go for an E2140/2160 or a Q6600 G0. Anything more, or in between is simply not worth it.:)
Click to expand...

Ill agree with this.


Id suggest the Ip-35 Pro also as well as its a great board.



:EDIT:

Bit TEch didn't like the OCZ reaper ram at all it seems:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/07/16/ocz_ddr2_memory_grouptest/2
 
Last edited:
p4radox said:
Go for an E2140/2160 or a Q6600 G0. Anything more, or in between is simply not worth it.:)

The cheaper 2140 is capable of more than 3GHz in most cases, which will easily power anything you throw at it. The quad-core Q6600 would give you a boost in any multi-threaded applications you might use, and possibly make your system that bit more future-proof, although I'd wager that when multi-threaded games become the norm the Q6600 will be outdated anyway...

As for motherboards and RAM, flibby's suggestions are excellent. There are cheaper motherboards that will also perform perfectly well, and allow a decent overclock: the IP35 and Gigabyte P35 DS3 for example.
Click to expand...


Is that http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-088-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=913 what you mean? Im looking to replace my asrock 4coredual or whatever its called, and getting some new ram and trying to overclock my cpu a bit better.
 
I am over the moon with my E6400, does 3Ghz rock solid on stock volts with the stock cooler. As p4radox said, im using a GA-965P-DS3 board :)
 
As per the question, the best overclocking cpu would be the E2140 and E2160 and I'm sure the E2180 will follow in the same route.
 
yeh, pound per potential useable GHz the E21*0 series kicks ass. The crucial 5300 ballistix is definately good value, just annoying that one of my sticks came Dead on arrival (was running it broken at 3,3,3,8 800mhz though lol).
 
Mint_Sauce said:
Would that be better than the Q6600 in your opinion for performance?
Click to expand...

No, performance wise the two extra cores and extra cache will kick E21**'s ass.

All the 21 series chips have achieved 100% which is simply amazing, I'm expecting to see the E2180 @ 4ghz and when that happens Ill be buying one.
 
i won't get ballistix, had two sets of ballistixs DDR die in less than a year, so switched to OCZ, the OCZ never gave me a problem, i would go with OCZ just for the good quality that OCZ ram usually is, either OCZ or corsair IMO
 
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