Cost of Overclocking vs Buying Retail

[Epinephrine]

Haven't built a computer for a few years.

I currently have a 2gb of DDR400 and just want to get a 939 MB with AMD Athlon 64 X2 chip. If I just buy the higher speed chip and not overclock (hence, using stock fan), would it be cheaper??

Cost vs performance??

3800 overclocked with nice heatsink/thermal vs (let's say) a 4200 using retail fan

Thanks

 

[John]

Even a dud 3800 x2 w/ stock HSF will run @ 4200+ speeds (2.2GHz)

 

[Ayah]

Originally posted by: John
Even a dud 3800 x2 w/ stock HSF will run @ 4200+ speeds (2.2GHz)

And it easily goes to 4800+ speeds (2.4GHz) but rarely it will not.

 

[GR8Madmax]

I agree with John and Ayah.

The "dud" 3800 x2 that I just got from ZZF was giving me errors minutes into Prime95 @ 2.5 ghz and 2.6 ghz. But, it seems happy at 2.4ghz since I just ran dual Prime95 for 24 hrs. Go with a 3800 x2 and overclock.

 

[996GT2]

Yeah, overclocking in this case is cheaper than buying the faster chip. Most 3800+X2s will do in excess of 2.5 GHz, which is almost FX60 speed.

 

[Old Hippie]

Then if these things are true, what would be the benefit of buying a 4800 X2 in the first place? Will a 4800 X2 overclock any?

 

[DaveSimmons]

The benefit of running at stock speed is time not spent tweaking for stability, and time not wasted dealing with the difference between 100% stable and 99%.

If you're on a budget, OC offers good value. If you have enough money, stability offers good value as well.

 

[Epinephrine]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking overclocking was more expensive, but that was not the case...Time to order a 3800!!

 

[Skott]

Overclocking is not necessarily more expensive (although you should spend the extra $40 to get a better hsf) if you have the mobo that'll allow for it but its more time intensive. Lot of tweaking involved to find the right sweet spot the chip likes.

 

[imported_inspire]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The benefit of running at stock speed is time not spent tweaking for stability, and time not wasted dealing with the difference between 100% stable and 99%.

If you're on a budget, OC offers good value. If you have enough money, stability offers good value as well.

QFT. It takes a lot of time to overclock, so if you're not going to enjoy and appreciate the 'overclocking experience', you'll be happier just spending the extra money on a system that runs faster out-of-the-box.

I've enjoyed my overclocking experience thus far (even though it's been challenging...).

But then again, I enjoy sitting in an empty room with a paper and pencil working on number theory, so I wouldn't generalize my experiences very far.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: inspire

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The benefit of running at stock speed is time not spent tweaking for stability, and time not wasted dealing with the difference between 100% stable and 99%.

If you're on a budget, OC offers good value. If you have enough money, stability offers good value as well.

QFT. It takes a lot of time to overclock, so if you're not going to enjoy and appreciate the 'overclocking experience', you'll be happier just spending the extra money on a system that runs faster out-of-the-box.

I've enjoyed my overclocking experience thus far (even though it's been challenging...).

But then again, I enjoy sitting in an empty room with a paper and pencil working on number theory, so I wouldn't generalize my experiences very far.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

Hmmm, contrary to what I expected, it only took about 5 minutes to find a good, stable setup for my system, which is what I'm currently running at. The very first run of Prime95 ran the entire night with no problems, and SuperPi 32M passed with no problems as well. I guess it just comes down to how good the chip itself it

 

[videopho]

My x2 3800+ @ 2.4ghz is very stable with Prime95, memtest86, and Super-Pi 32m but ironically froze 3dmark06's @ the last freeze test run. I backed down to 2.2g to be on the safe side and have had no problem at this speed since.
The eVGA was @ stocked speed (650/1600) when O/S froze (@2.4ghz cpu) but it runs very stable and consistently passes 3dmark96 @ 700/1800 o/c (2.2ghz cpu)

 

[razor2025]

Overclock the X2 3800+. It's pretty easy and the stock cooler is more than sufficient to overclock to 2.4-2.5ghz range with good case airflow.

 

[lenjack]

You could also overclock the faster retail cpu to even higher levels. Buying retail and overclocking are not mutually exclusive.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: lenjack
You could also overclock the faster retail cpu to even higher levels. Buying retail and overclocking are not mutually exclusive.

Not always...I've read that certain times they take a good 3800+ and clock it to 4200+ and price it accordingly and they don't overclock well. And by the same token a 4200+ that doesn't do 4200+ speeds at stock voltage is marked as 3800+ and sold so you get a good overclocker (with a little extra juice).

 

[LOUISSSSS]

if u have the money then get the faster chip, at least it is guaranteed to run at that rated speed and can OC even higher if u want. but i guess if you're happy with a minor-decent overclock with the 3800 then go for it

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Ayah

Originally posted by: John
Even a dud 3800 x2 w/ stock HSF will run @ 4200+ speeds (2.2GHz)

And it easily goes to 4800+ speeds (2.4GHz) but rarely it will not.

That would be 4600 speeds.

Originally posted by: Old HippieThen if these things are true, what would be the benefit of buying a 4800 X2 in the first place? Will a 4800 X2 overclock any?

4800's overclock as well as 3800's, assuming you've got the motherboard and power supply to let them hit 2.8-3.0 Ghz.

 

[Epinephrine]

Good discussion here!!...I think I am going to go with the 3800 with an ABIT A8N 32x ($119 AR at the egg)

 

[DrMrLordX]

Only reason to not overclock is if you intend to buy a PSU and/or motherboard that can't handle it. Any extra speed you get at stock volts is free performance at virtually no risk.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Stock HS/fans have come a long way; usually you don't need anything more. The primary reason for going with relatively expensive aftermarket cooling ~$40-60 isn't necessarily to improve overclocks, but to lower temps and thus also lower noise.

 

[Epinephrine]

Looking at my RAM I had last night, Cosair Valueram Dual Channel DDR400 (2 GB) - Hopefully, this will be a little overclockable with the 3800....
Not the best RAM but hopefully enough to get a little extra speed...

Thanks