E2xxx which should i go for??

[Hesky82]

Tighter timings on C2D systems show no or very very little performance gain.
PC 5400 RAM is designed for a 333 fsb CPU and Mobo.

If you ran your Mobo FSB at 333 with the E2180 using its 10 Multi then the CPU would be running at 3330 Ghz (333x10) which is the stock speed of PC5400 Ram.
If you instaled PC6400 Ram then it would be running at well below its stock speed (333 rather than 400). Now you could just crank up the fsb to 400 but this would need a lot of CPU VCore and top notch cooling.
I only used PC5400 Ram cos it was a fair bit cheaper than PC5400 stuff and as anything over 3.3ghz would probably have needed better cooling.
Now if you get PC6400 ram (400fsb) you could drop the multiplyer and raise the FSB for the same CPU speed but with more bandwidth due to the higher FSB.

1 320fsb x 10 multi = 3.2ghz

2 400fsb x 8 multi = 3.2ghz

Option 2 would run faster due to the higher bandwidth, although this is more pronounced in quad cores as they are bandwidth hungry beasts.

Simple

Yeah, Core 2 Duo systems don't seem to benefit from low latency's as much as the old AMD chips used to.

Id still have to say getting PC6400 would be the right way to go, add to the fact pretty much any modern c2d board will happily run at 450mhz with dual cores you can safely say the cpu's cooling solution will be the limiting factor.

An E2140 has the ideal multiplier for this setup and I think its the idal cpu to go for in this case. I just dont see the point spending more on the E2180 only to drop the multi.

 

[sare^baw's]

phew im trying to get my head round everything i just read, thanks for all the advice guys, so you reckon go for the pc 6400 ram and the E2140, and bob's yer uncle

 

[Big.Wayne]

i have the upgrade bug but im on a budget

sare^baw I have always recommended the E2140 as its was the cheapest chip and overclocked nicely however Jokester pointed out to me the other day these chips may have an 'FSB-Wall' just above 400MHz-FSB, in theory that would mean the max you could clock an E2140 would be 3200MHz (8x400) which is pretty fast but I now recommend the E2160 as if you get a good one in theory they can hit 3600MHz (9x400), amazing!

Every few £££ you can save will be put towards getting you a nice and 'Quiet' cooler.

 

[pegasus1]

Yeah, Core 2 Duo systems don't seem to benefit from low latency's as much as the old AMD chips used to.

Id still have to say getting PC6400 would be the right way to go, add to the fact pretty much any modern c2d board will happily run at 450mhz with dual cores you can safely say the cpu's cooling solution will be the limiting factor.

An E2140 has the ideal multiplier for this setup and I think its the idal cpu to go for in this case. I just dont see the point spending more on the E2180 only to drop the multi.

With a E2140 you will get 3.2 unless you OC the RAM.
The E2180 for an extra tenner gives greater flexability, deffo if you invest in better cooling, then 3.4 + is within reach.

 

[Hesky82]

sare^baw I have always recommended the E2140 as its was the cheapest chip and overclocked nicely however Jokester pointed out to me the other day these chips may have an 'FSB-Wall' just above 400MHz-FSB, in theory that would mean the max you could clock an E2140 would be 3200MHz (8x400) which is pretty fast but I now recommend the E2160 as if you get a good one in theory they can hit 3600MHz (9x400), amazing!

Every few £££ you can save will be put towards getting you a nice and 'Quiet' cooler.

A 100% overclock is not to be sniffed at!

I think F2 revision E2140 seem to have an FSB wall at around 400fsb. but Ive seen quite a few M0 revisions clock over 450fsb on cheap G33 boards. but then again Ive seen some later M0's get stuck well under 400fsb to.

 

[sare^baw's]

all this advice is fantastic however im getting recommended the 2140 2160 and 2180

and as im not well clued up on this stuff i am confused as to what i should go for, my cooling will be limited as this is for a HTPC in my living room so i will be happy getting what most people get either 3.2ghz or 3.3ghz.

once i decide on some very quiet cooling solution i will want something that will be quiet/ silent with the fan on low and the htpc under normal use, then when i want more performance i can turn the fan up to keep the cpu cool under load ie gaming and i wint mind the fan noise during this but it does need to be very very quiet under normal htpc use.

 

[pegasus1]

all this advice is fantastic however im getting recommended the 2140 2160 and 2180

and as im not well clued up on this stuff i am confused as to what i should go for, my cooling will be limited as this is for a HTPC in my living room so i will be happy getting what most people get either 3.2ghz or 3.3ghz.

once i decide on some very quiet cooling solution i will want something that will be quiet/ silent with the fan on low and the htpc under normal use, then when i want more performance i can turn the fan up to keep the cpu cool under load ie gaming and i wint mind the fan noise during this but it does need to be very very quiet under normal htpc use.

3.2 wont be silent with any of these chips, for that speed you will need a fair bit of VCore (maybe 1.4V0 so will probably need to move some decent air over the H/S. A HTPC doesnt need a blistering fast CPU anyway.

 

[Hesky82]

all this advice is fantastic however im getting recommended the 2140 2160 and 2180

and as im not well clued up on this stuff i am confused as to what i should go for, my cooling will be limited as this is for a HTPC in my living room so i will be happy getting what most people get either 3.2ghz or 3.3ghz.

once i decide on some very quiet cooling solution i will want something that will be quiet/ silent with the fan on low and the htpc under normal use, then when i want more performance i can turn the fan up to keep the cpu cool under load ie gaming and i wint mind the fan noise during this but it does need to be very very quiet under normal htpc use.

Realistically any E2xxx will be limited by a poor cooling, yes the 140 may have an fsb wall but even so, for an 160 or 180 to run over 3.2ghz stable it will need an increase in voltage. The voltage increase on pretty much every E2xxx seems proportional, so I think your cooling will become an issue before the low multi on the E2140 becomes a disadvantage.

If you had decent cooling I would recommend the E2160 or E2180 but as it will be running in a HTPC with limited space the E2140 would be a better choice as it is more likely to be able to run 1:1 with PC6400 without the need to increase the vcore substancially and create a hike in temps.

 

[Big.Wayne]

3.2 wont be silent with any of these chips.

That is debatable, I think it could be silent.

for that speed you will need a fair bit of VCore (maybe 1.4V0 so will probably need to move some decent air over the H/S.

Can't argue with that, although a *premium* heatsink will disipate quite a lot of that heat leaving a gentle fluffy breeze of a fan to mop up whats left

A HTPC doesnt need a blistering fast CPU anyway.

True, true but if you can get away with it why not, would help speed up any encoding duties and such like. . .

 

[wolvers]

sare^baw I have always recommended the E2140 as its was the cheapest chip and overclocked nicely however Jokester pointed out to me the other day these chips may have an 'FSB-Wall' just above 400MHz-FSB, in theory that would mean the max you could clock an E2140 would be 3200MHz (8x400) which is pretty fast but I now recommend the E2160 as if you get a good one in theory they can hit 3600MHz (9x400), amazing!

Every few £££ you can save will be put towards getting you a nice and 'Quiet' cooler.

This is why i ordered an E2160 the other day........for £44!!

Thankyou Big.Wayne and Jokester!

 

[SDK^]

This is why i ordered an E2160 the other day........for £44!!

and it's running at 3.6GHz on the stock cooler??

3.2 wont be silent with any of these chips, for that speed you will need a fair bit of VCore (maybe 1.4V0 so will probably need to move some decent air over the H/S. A HTPC doesnt need a blistering fast CPU anyway.

My Vcore is only 1.3v E2140 @ 3.2GHz

 

[Big.Wayne]

my pc is a htpc and i have it very quiet

Project: sare^baw's HTPC

King Kong Budget CPU + Mighty Atom Premium Cooler

Now you haven't got back to me with measurements yet so I am assuming you have a small case and therefore can't house a 120mm fan, so I have picked out one or two 92mm fans that would be suitable but I don't want to get into a long debate about which fans etc because lifes too short!

Thermalright Ultima-90: Small Wonder?

 

[warren_1979]

E2140 for the win

 

[Big.Wayne]

E2140 for the win

Hi Warren, want a cup of coffee?

 

[Hesky82]

E2140 @ 3.2ghz, GA-P31-DS3L, 2gb of Geil PC2-6400 ram and an X1900XT.

That would make a very capable gaming machine and easily made to run silent for your HT needs and above all it would be a dirt cheap upgrade!

 

[pegasus1]

QUOTE=Hesky82;10843620
Realistically any E2xxx will be limited by a poor cooling, yes the 140 may have an fsb wall but even so, for an 160 or 180 to run over 3.2ghz stable it will need an increase in voltage. The voltage increase on pretty much every E2xxx seems proportional, so I think your cooling will become an issue before the low multi on the E2140 becomes a disadvantage.

Any E2*** will need a VCore hike to get over 3ghz.

If you had decent cooling I would recommend the E2160 or E2180 but as it will be running in a HTPC with limited space the E2140 would be a better choice as it is more likely to be able to run 1:1 with PC6400 without the need to increase the vcore substancially and create a hike in temps.

Running 1:1 means you dont use a divider, you Ram runs at the same speed as the mobo NB. PC6400 at 400FSB and the Mobo at 400 FSB is 1:1 whether the multi is at 7 or 9

Mobo at 333 - Ram at 333 - Multi at 10 = 3.33ghz at 1:1
Mobo at 300 - Ram at 300 - Multi at 10 = 3.00ghz at 1:1.

 

[Hesky82]

You miss my point pegasus1.

What I was implying was the voltage increase of pretty much all E21xx is equally proportional to clock speed.

For an E2160 to hit 3.6ghz 1:1 with PC6400 it will need more vcore than an E2140 to hit 3.2Ghz, this extra vcore may cause issues when running in a HTPC case with less than optimal cooling.

 

[wolvers]

and it's running at 3.6GHz on the stock cooler??


My Vcore is only 3.3v E2140 @ 3.2GHz

It hasn't arrived yet.

do you mean 1.3v vcore?

 

[Hesky82]

of course he does dude was just a typo

 

[wolvers]

just checkin.