overclocking motherboard

I am not exactly a completely noobie when it comes to overclocking, but the most I've done is overclock my 3400+ from 2.2ghz to 2.42ghz (220x11)

well, I plan on building a new machine and overclocking a opteron 165/170 (whichever I can find with good CPU stepping) to at least 2.6ghz and I would like to see 2.8ghz.

so I plan on getting DDR500 or DDR550 Ram, and a ZALMAN CPU cooler, the new one the 9500 or whatever

but, for the motherboard, I have no clue. I can't really tell which motherboard would be able to give me the options I need to be able to overclock like I wish to. I don't really want to spend too much, but well, I am spending enough on the processor, I could spend a little more on the motherboard

I don't really want an SLI board, I doubt I will ever want to shell out enough cash to pay for 2 high end graphics cards. and I don't think I really need them either. (I will probably buy a 6800U or a 7800GT or something like that for this)

I also require at least 3 PCI slots, and I would perfer 4. (I suppose I can always use an external analog modem, I have one anyways)

thanx in advanced,
Byan

Abit.

Other mobos may be as OC-able as Abit, but none are as OC-friendly that I know of for the money.

If you want to have some fun, try an AthlonXP series mobile processor (with the unlocked multiplier) mated to an Abit socket A mobo. I'm looking on eBay for an affordable XP-M 2600+ just for its reputation, and see if it really will run at 3.0 as some fanatics claim. My KV7 SoftMenu will run the FSB up to 250MHz real/500MHz effective in 1MHz increments, and the multiplier up to 15.0 in .5 steps :D

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I also require at least 3 PCI slots, and I would perfer 4. (I suppose I can always use an external analog modem, I have one anyways)

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Many older Abit boards have five (like mine) or six; the newer ones have fewer PCI, but PCI-E and PCI-16x in addition. They also usually have an on-board modem, no need for a PCI slot to be tied up.

hmmm, well, I wouldn't believe all abit mobos would allow this

I was looking for some specific examples
I think I may go with this DFI board, to be safe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136152

EDIT- ack, you edit too slow
first off, 250mhz is really low. for me to do this effectively I will probably need to get the fsb to over 300mhz. the ram at 250 to 275...

also, newer boards have a PCI-E 16x, 4x, and a 1x. and then they have 2 or 3 PCI slots.

also, they come with onboard ethernet. that is different then using an analog modem (talking about dial-up...)

Missed the dial-up, oh well. Too many things going on! As far as "all Abit mobos not allowing this..." I can't say for certain on the newer ones, but I doubt they'd go backwards on the features. ;) Let us know what kind of results you get with your project.

Check out MSI motherboards.

The MSI K8N Neo4 maybe the ticket for you. What I am using and love it.

Well i'll add my 2 cents. i am using a Asus board and have found them to not only be very good and reliable but as you can see by my specs allows a lot of overclocking. my board however only has 2PCI slots as it also comes with 2PCI-Ex16 and 1PCI-Ex1 so you could not use it. also with my board Asus have a lot of overclocking features built in and programs that allow you to change the FSB etc from windows so you don't have to keep re-starting and entering the bios. the problem with O/C is that it puts a lot of stress on most of your components. so make sure you don't go cheap anywhere or that will be the bottleneck. i have also found that good RAM is essential for good O/C and can often be the weakest link.

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The MSI K8N Neo4 maybe the ticket for you. What I am using and love it.

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well, this would probably be my first choise motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130484
if only I could find out if it can do what I want...

I was going to post on one of those forums where they have all the people doing exactly what I want, but it requires activation review from an admin.., and it's taking a while...

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i am using a Asus board and have found them to not only be very good and reliable but as you can see by my specs allows a lot of overclocking.

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well, then this could work too...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131530

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the problem with O/C is that it puts a lot of stress on most of your components. so make sure you don't go cheap anywhere or that will be the bottleneck. i have also found that good RAM is essential for good O/C and can often be the weakest link.

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could you be more specific...?
I know that the RAM can deffinately be important, thats why I am probably going to get DDR500 rated RAM.
gonna get a nice mobo, nforce4 Ultra chipset. what else do I need?


also, the PCI slots, I thought about it.. and I don't need 3. I could deal with two. I don't know why I would need four... less for a spare just incase.

thanx again,
Byan

BTW- judge john: you the same judge john that created what's it called.., sysstats. if so, just wanted to say thank you.

Once you have located a mobo you like, then go to the manufactors website and get the manual for that mobo. It will be in pdf format normally so you will need acrobate reader which most mobo manufactors have a link to.


For example the ASUS mobo manual can be found here.

And the MSI is located here.

Those manuals will tell you a lot about the product. But we do need to read them closely. :(

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Originally Posted by Byan

well, I plan on building a new machine and overclocking a opteron 165/170 (whichever I can find with good CPU stepping) to at least 2.6ghz and I would like to see 2.8ghz.

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Do you really mean an Opteron? It's a very unusual choice for overclocking, being meant as a server chip, and most, if not all, the boards suggested so far aren't really suitable for it.

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Once you have located a mobo you like, then go to the manufactors website and get the manual for that mobo. It will be in pdf format normally so you will need acrobate reader which most mobo manufactors have a link to.

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I'll take a look...

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Do you really mean an Opteron? It's a very unusual choice for overclocking, being meant as a server chip, and most, if not all, the boards suggested so far aren't really suitable for it.

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SuperSparks- you are mistaken. take a look at these links
http://wiki.extremeoverclocking.com/wiki/Opteron
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...ad.php?t=96900

939 opteron's are grossly underated for stabillity. they can be overclocked like no other.

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Originally Posted by Byan

could you be more specific...?
I know that the RAM can deffinately be important, thats why I am probably going to get DDR500 rated RAM.
gonna get a nice mobo, nforce4 Ultra chipset. what else do I need?


also, the PCI slots, I thought about it.. and I don't need 3. I could deal with two. I don't know why I would need four... less for a spare just incase.

thanx again,
Byan

BTW- judge john: you the same judge john that created what's it called.., sysstats. if so, just wanted to say thank you.

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Well unfortunately i did not create Sysstats and do not even know of it.
when i say it stresses your system i mean you mobo, ram, cpu mainly. if any of these are not up to the job then O/C can be next to impossible. but RAM is normally the first to 'give in' so having DDR500 is a good choice. i personally reduced the clock speed of my memory as with the FSB as it is my memory would be running at about 1000MHz, which would make it crash. so by reducing it i now have it running at 822MHz which is above the original anyway allowing a far greater FSB.

I stand corrected, apparently S939 Opterons are compatible with Athlon64s, and should work OK in any S939 board. It would be worth making absolutely certain before buying though, it's posssible you may need to use a different BIOS, as you do with the X2 series on some mobos.

Also, if you want an S939 Opteron, you'd better get it quickly, production has ceased it would appear:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28250

I plan on getting it ASAP