E2xxx which should i go for??

[pegasus1]

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.

Just thinking that a HTPC might be hidden away possibly causing heat build up.

 

[sare^baw's]

hi my htpc is a silverstone case LC17

and its on my glass stand below my plasma so i will easily hear any noise, so far i have not had any heat issues with my current set up. zalman 7000 (i think) on the cpu set to low and zalman vf900 on the gfx card set to low, 2 80mm case fans on the rear turned low and the seasonic psu is quiet.

anyhow i have 140mm from the mobo surface to the inside lid so i could get a 120mm fan but this depends how its positioned. there is pleanty of room for a large cooler and fan.

my current zalman hs and fan do not have any model numbers on them, it looks like the 7000 model with 92mm fan, the newer ones fit the socket 478 and the 775 but i suspect mines is the older version. all it has for fitting is 2 small screw holes each side of the hs.

 

[pegasus1]

My Vcore is only 1.3v E2140 @ 3.2GHz

Is that 1.3v set in the Bios or 1.3v actually supplied, some mobo's can VDroop by 0.1v. I have to set 1.45 to get 1.4.

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.

I understand your point, i just wanted to point out is that to hit the same speed as a 2180 can (3.3ghz with an AC7, a 2140 may need more VCore (than the 2180) and probably a fair hike in NB voltage due to the higher FSB required (2140 needs 416fsb, 2180 needs 333fsb).
I ultimately got the 2180 for this build due to the OCZ PC5400 being on special offer and i needed a 24 hour Orthos stable machine so didnt intend to push the Mem past its Stock speed.

Ultimately i got an CPU running 3.3ghz at 1:1 with 2x2gig Ram for about £130.

Horses for courses i spose

 

[Big.Wayne]

i needed a 24 hour Orthos stable machine so didnt intend to push the Mem past its Stock speed.

I think that memory is just as good a candidate for overclocking as a CPU.

 

[pegasus1]

I think that memory is just as good a candidate for overclocking as a CPU.

It was a machine for my dad who video encodes and has no knowledge of how a PC works, it was my 1st time with Vista and a Gigabyte mobo so i was just a little cautious. He's gone from an AMD XP 2000 with 1 gig Ram to this machine so he is more than happy. I didnt have to much time to tinker and the Temps were as high as i was prepared to go (on an AC7 Pro )so once i got 24 hours Orthos stable at 3.3ghz (333 x 10, mem 1:1) i wrapped it up for Santa to deliver.
I wish i had more time to play but didnt (even thought about swapping the E2180 for my E6300 )

 

[sare^baw's]

ok just ordered my
Mobo Gigabyte GA P31-DS3L = £48 (free del)
Cpu E2160 = £49 (free del)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz ULL DDR2 Dual Channel = £39 (inc del)

i was still not sure which cpu to go for as peoples opinions differed but im sure ill be more than happy with the results.

waiting on my His x1900xt (£60 in MM) coming too and im going to order a fitting kit (£4) for my existing zalman 7000 cooler so it will fit the new 775 cpu.

cant wait

 

[Hesky82]

good stuff! will be significantly faster than you old p4 thats for sure!
let us know what temps you get with that zalman cooler dude.

 

[sare^baw's]

good stuff! will be significantly faster than you old p4 thats for sure!
let us know what temps you get with that zalman cooler dude.

yeah no probs will do.

does thermal paste make much difference i have a small tube of artic silver there. or the stock stuff i get with the cpu.

 

[Big.Wayne]

does thermal paste make much difference

Yes it can make a difference, to what degree is debatable. I have seen threads hundreds of posts long discussioning the merits of this paste or that goo etc, some have turned into flame wars!

 

[Hesky82]

You can’t us the stuff that comes with the cpu, unless you want to scrape it off the face of the cooler.
Just use your AS

 

[pegasus1]

Yes it can make a difference, to what degree is debatable. I have seen threads hundreds of posts long discussioning the merits of this paste or that goo etc, some have turned into flame wars!

Toothpaste for the win

 

[warren_1979]

Hi Warren, want a cup of coffee?

Ey go on then.