4.1Ghz Dual Core for under $130

[Silenced_Coyote]

I'm still going to buy a Core 2 Duo instead of this.

But it was interesting to read. I was reading the whole thing at work, lol.

[Luke122]

I'm gonna try this at the end of Sept (post wedding). Already got my new case, Antec P180B.

[ambivalent]

i saw this article the day it was released at tomshardware, read it all, and shot over to newegg

yeah, it does work... but.. it has its flaws

i used an ECS intel-sli nforce 4 (i have 2x 7600gs) and a 2x512 pack of ocz gold ddr800. since the procs stock fsb is only 533, the ram didnt work with it unless you use a stick of ddr533 in the first dimm slot... then it underclocks the rest to 533. i used a cheaper thermaltake bigwater II water cooling system and managed to hit 3.9ghz, with ram fsb of only 612mhz (vs conroe at 800 or 1066)

now, here's the problem. i ran the setup for a few weeks at 3.8 (didnt want to destroy it) and my electricity bill shot up almost $50, and nothing had changed but the overclocking... this technique draws over 400W under load... $120 with a $50 monthly fee is just crazy... since the proc is still 90nm, not 65 like the 900 series.

i put the water cooling back into my server and am now using a zalman7000cu with the 2.66 @ a nice 3.38ghz, proc idles at 41c, load at 45, mobo temps at 31 idle, 39 load. (im impressed with this mobo)

for $130, if you oc conservatively, it's worth it... $70 mobo, $105 (now) proc, and $120 ram... but you also need a moderately beastly psu, like an ocz, pcpower and cooling, or high end antec, b/c you need about 22amps along the 12v line to keep this thing stable... i suggest the ocz modstream 520... 36 amps on the 12v (!) vs. any antec at 18

but yeah, from my experience, it's a great thing to see from intel (considering this is my first intel since a p1 60mhz), but if i could go back, i'd just spend more on a 920 or x2 4200... but at least now i have a 775 for a core2duo someday soon

questions are welcome, if anyone has any

[Kaej]

Sweet ****! How would that 4.1Ghz perform in real world tests though? Is that further on in the article?

[MitaPi]

Ewww, yucky word! ...check the benchmarks section. That is how it performs in the real world.

For just under $200 you can get a Conroe. Just think what you could do with that!

[ambivalent]

the conroe's dont really OC anywhere near the 805... the 805 is like the overclocker's Holy Grail... yet, a stock conroe, regardless of speed, beats it at 4.1 ghz, lol... still has too many threads to go through