E4300 Mobo and RAM?

[Space_Coyote]

IÂ’m looking for a good value motherboard and 2GB of RAM to build around this new CPU. I need it to be cheap (hopefully $250-$300 for Mobo & RAM), but still give decent over-clocking potential (if thatÂ’s not too much of an oxymoron). If itÂ’s not possible for that price range, I suppose I could go with 1GB for the time being and add it later.

Since the FSB is only 800 MHz, as opposed to say the E6300, I could get away with a cheaper board and lesser RAM than what would be needed for the 1066 FSB right? (assuming no potential for future upgrading).

 

[Ridlyn]

Get the E4300, and just overclock it a 1066FSB, the same as the E6300, and you'll get close to 2.4Ghz.

 

[TriEclipse]

The E4300 is great in that it has a low starting FSB speed. This means that you can get a motherboard that isn't all that great at overclocking, and still get a lot out of this processor. It also means that you can hit 3Ghz with DDR2-667 memory.

If 3Ghz is enough for you, then you can go ahead and get DDR2-667 memory. It's about $30 cheaper than DDR2-800 for a 2GB set. Here's the cheapest set. Normally, we don't recommend going with the cheapest, but Kingston is a good brand, so it should be fine. But note that this processor performs significantly worse when compared to rest of the family at the same frequency. The smaller L2 cache seems to me making a surprising 10%-15% difference in performance. Then again, processors aren't supposed to make a difference in games anyway. If you want more than 3Ghz from the processor, then get a DDR2-800 set. But its $30 more.

The Biostar TForce motherboard ($105) is a good budget overclocking motherboard. It also seems to fit your budget. If you want to go for a bit more overclocking headroom, however, check out the Gigabyte S3 ($108). If you really want to get a good motherboard, then the Gigabyte DS3 P965 motherboard ($133) is the best you seem to be able to afford.

Crap, I'm starting to sound like such a salesman.

 

[Ridlyn]

The Gigabyte DS3 with F9 Bios update becomes one of best ocing mobos on the market. I think anandtech got the FSB past 500.

 

[Phrantic]

Why get an E4300 now anyway? It's only $8 cheaper than the E6300. It won't be a good deal for about a month, then we'll really see prices dropping.

Oh and LOL @ newegg.

JUST STOP
Reviewed By: fr0mundacheese on 1/23/2007 Reviewed By: fr0mundacheese on 1/23/2007 Rating + 5Rating + 5Rating + 5Rating + 5Rating + 5
Tech Level Tech Level: average - Ownership: less than 1 day


Pros: Thanks to all the computer tech jargon, but maybe give a first hand ownership review. Not speculation, okay? Runs faster than my P3 800mhz. Noticeable difference while running word 2.0

Cons: this is a great addition to my motherboard and my memory and my video card and my hard drive thingy

Other Thoughts: would very much like to use this computer chip to make work in my computer system to watch a game of the super bowl and root on to victory the team of my choice

 

[Space_Coyote]

Ok, thanks guys. I am going to try and wait for the E6320 in Q2, but IDK if my PC will last that long so I wanted a back-up plan.