(E2140) Mobo & RAM Help Please

[neiljung]

I recently bought an Intel E2140 Pentium Dual Core Socket 775 2x1.60GHz 1MB Cache 800FSB Retail Boxed Processor, with the intention of over-clocking it.

I thought I'd researched enough (mistake) and bought a Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2 iG33 Socket 775 onboard video 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard and OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC. I soon discovered that the memory timings for 800Mhz processors on this board are very limited and the memory wasn't suitable as it's essentially PC2-5300 that's been pre-overclocked by OCZ leaving little room to push it further. Also read reports that OCZ memory can have problems with some boards so decided it was best to start fresh on the RAM.

I RMA'd these to the supplier but now I need a motherboard (ATX or mATX) that supports 1:1 memory timings and a lockable PCI bus so I can start over-clocking my E2140. I have limited knowledge of overclocking but tend to pick things up very quickly.

I also need decent over-clockable RAM (probably PC2-6400, but willing to use 5300 if it will be up to the job) that will be compatible with whatever new board I pick.

If any of you could assist with suggestions as to what a good combo would be then I'd really appreciate your help on this.

Other considerations for the mobo are:

I can spend between £40-£70 and would really prefer not to hit the upper limit if possible.

I'm looking for an upgrade path so the board should support 1333FSB and preferably be ready for the new 45nm Intel cores.

A P35 or P33 chipset would be fine but I'm leaning towards going for a board with integrated graphics so maybe a G33 or G31 or some alternate onboard graphics solution would be better. Depending on the price differences in the mobos with and without integrated graphics I might just go for a Pxx board and buy a graphics card. I'm thinking of the ASUS 2600XT 256MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out, which is just about affordable for my budget.


Would like 4 SATA (plus floppy and IDE) but RAID support is not necessary.

Would prefer three fan connectors on the mobo for two system and a cpu fan. Ideally there should be ability to control the speed via temperature regulation.

I really do like speedstep, and the idea of the PC using less power depending what I'm doing. Don't know if chipsets other than the Intel variants support this, but I'd fore-go it if the board was right in other ways.

MicroATX would mean I could migrate to SFF in the future, but as I currently have a Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W PSU I'm not really averse to a full sized board. I'm very flexible on that idea.

Essentially I'm looking to make the best compromise between price and performance available to me, with a focus on the cost really. That's why I bought a budget processor after all.

I'm just not entirely sure what my options are (especially regarding what boards have 1:1 memory timings available and other "techy" overclocking stuff) and have limited knowledge beyond my recent reading of this and other forums. Seeking advice from the experts here, so please help me out if you can.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Lynx]

I wouldve kept the ram and got a 650i mobo, unlink the ram and cpu, run the cpu however high you like, and set the ram to 2.1v and 4 3 3 3 12 timings

[neiljung]

I wouldve kept the ram and got a 650i mobo, unlink the ram and cpu, run the cpu however high you like, and set the ram to 2.1v and 4 3 3 3 12 timings

So the memory ratio can be set so that you can overclock the processor without affecting the memory at all? Would this be essentially setting the memory ratio to "off" or "disabled"? I am rather a novice at this game I'm afraid, so the more explanation you can give the better. (If you don't mind taking the time of course)

The other reason I returned the RAM was that I read a few reports of people having trouble with OCZ ram on certain boards (ASUS mainly I think) and wanted to keep my board options as open as possible.

So I'll start looking at 650i boards at the moment and wait to see if anyone chips in with other options. Names of actual boards or products especially appreciated. :O

[CallumRogan]

i have this processor and baught 2GB of patriot pc-5300 ram, and i'd by an ASUS p5k mobo

[Lynx]

The 650 is perfect for novices as it allows easy overclocking. Yeh get the Patriot memory and run its with igher voltage and lower timings on the 650 if you do not want ocz. My ocz does the timings i stated on my EVGA board.

[Lynx]

Only get the 6400 stuff for the patriot!

[tystar]

I've got the evga 650i ultra board and patriot ram pc2-6400 (see my sig) and this clocks a dream. so easy i managed to do it without screwing anything up and this was the first time i did it.

[aid07]

2140 clocked at 2.6/Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/asus p5k/500gb hard disk/sony dvd rw/Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W PSU
xp 64bit and x700
will have
awaiting windows vista basic 64bit and 8800gt 256mb
my set up
and it works fine
the asus p5k is what i wouild pick if i was you
im not pushing the cpu intill i get a my 8800gt there no need to yet
but asus p5k all the way btw the ocr doesnt work on them
cheaper board mean more thgan likely your have to upgrade sooner

[neiljung]

2140 clocked at 2.6/Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/asus p5k/500gb hard disk/sony dvd rw/Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W PSU
xp 64bit and x700
will have
awaiting windows vista basic 64bit and 8800gt 256mb
my set up
and it works fine
the asus p5k is what i wouild pick if i was you
im not pushing the cpu intill i get a my 8800gt there no need to yet
but asus p5k all the way btw the ocr doesnt work on them
cheaper board mean more thgan likely your have to upgrade sooner

Sorry, what do you mean by "ocr"? I always thought it meant optical character recognition.

So ocr doesn't work on the cheaper board? You mean the 650i? I'd appreciate if you could explain please. Cheers.

What memory would be a good choice for the p5k?

I'm not deciding on anything till tomorrow afternoon at the earliest as I want to make the right choice and get as many opinions and options as possible.

Big thanks to everyone that's responded so far! I've been doing a lot of reading based on your recommendations, but I'm still a little way from making a final choice.

The 650i would probably be a better choice for on-board graphics, but I loose speedstep support (is that right?). The ability to overclock everything seperately sounds brilliant though. Can't find anything that says it supports Pentium Dual Core though, even on the manufacturers site, so can anyone confirm that it does please?

I'm a bit concerned about the temperatures on this board on the MCP and SPP from reading reviews. They seem to get very hot under load. Might effect the lifespan of the board?



The MCP is not actively or passively cooled and remained hot to the touch throughout testing; although additional cooling was not needed it is recommended. We feel like the inclusion of an additional low profile heatsink would have been in EVGA's best interest with temperatures soaring to 83C without airflow and 76C with airflow while overclocking. At stock voltages we witnessed temperatures reaching 71C without airflow while under load and hovering around 64C with airflow. Our idle temperature at stock voltage was 59C without airflow and 53C with airflow. Source: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2964&p=4

What other boards that might be suitable support this un-tied overclocking that the 650i has?

The p5k seems to offer better build quality from the reviews I've read. Would probably get a separate graphics card if I chose this. I wish there was a cheaper version that was identical but didn't have the integrated graphics, even a full ATX version would be fine. Just need it to still have the 1:1 option for memory timings or ability to clock components seperately like the 650i.

Still open to suggestions for both board and memory that will work together with this chip. Thanks again for all the replies so far to help me in this important (to me) decision. Much appreciated.

[nft99]

MSI Neo 2 FR :) http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Socket+775+%28Intel%29/MSI+P35+NEO2-FR++Socket+775+Motherboard+?productId=28015

As used in tomshardware article http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Intel-Pentium-Dual-Core-E2140-overclocking,review-29816.html

[Lynx]

The product does support the dual core pentiums, I was going to purchase one before I got a E4500. i do not remember onboard graphics on the board I got, but then again there are vairatons. I have got my E4500 at 2.7 from 2.2 It will not go any further at the moment, I will sort that out later.

He means OCZ not OCR btw.

[tystar]

I'm surprised you can't get past 2.7 on the e4500, i got my e4400 to 3ghz without altering the voltages. upped the voltage slightly and runs stable at 3.2ghz... btw stock on the e4400 is 2ghz. so quite a jump i'm sure you'll agree.

[Lynx]

Yeh, I do need some help, I get errors with vista loading when I go past 2.7 I might up the voltage and give it a whirl. Will get back to you.

[Lynx]

Just bumped it upto 3ghz with a little voltage.

[neiljung]

Thanks nft99. That's a great article. So 3Ghz is the sweet spot with this processor it seems, if you are going to be gaming. Over that does still significantly benefit video footage processing and a little bit faster with some applications, but you actually loose fps and game performance quite a bit if you clock it more than 3GHz. Interesting, and I wonder how that applies to other mobos. Absolutely vital knowledge to have if you're working with this chip. Thanks again!

Looks like a good board, and I've more or less decided that I'm going to have to go with a separate graphics card. If there is a better card option around the £60-£65 mark than the ASUS 2600XT 256MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out then someone please let me know. Also, what is the best 2600XT card?

So far I have three boards in play and I'm looking at the features of all. I've decided that I need Speedstep available to reduce power consumption on my 24/7 running pc, so if the 650i ultra doesn't offer it then it becomes less attractive. Does that chipset have Speedstep capability? Apart from that it seems like a fantastic budget board. EDIT: THe 650i does not have onboard graphics, I was looking at the EVGA 610i! Sorry for any confusion.

The ASUS PK5 seems like a good option as well, but I wish I could find some in-depth analysis or even some comments from people with this set-up (running E2140 or other Pentium Dual Core) to know how it performs with my chip and any other advantages or down-sides. The integrated GMA 1300 will handle Sims 2 but no HT&L or Pixel Shader 3 so can forget about a lot of games.

I'm hoping that this thread can help other people with Pentium Dual Core chips that come on here looking for advice in the near future, so if I find any good info myself I'll add it.

In the meantime, I have an E2140 sitting in a box and I have to choose a mobo and ram soon if I want it running in time for xmas. Any more suggestions, options or advice would be appreciated.

EDIT: Regarding upgrade path. I know the ASUS PK5 will support upcoming 45nm processors, but do the other boards?

[Lynx]

the 650 has all the power consumption reducers, speed step, multiplier changing, clock skipping, voltage dropping. The 2600XT seems good, why dont you use the video card comparison on tomshardwareguide? that should show the best performers. To be honest, I would get a X1950 as they perform just as good as a 2600, I have one and chose it over the 2600.

[neiljung]

the 650 has all the power consumption reducers, speed step, multiplier changing, clock skipping, voltage dropping.

Thanks for clearing that up. The 650i is back in the running. :)

It does look like a good board and would save me a few quid versus the ASUS P5K AiLifestyle Series iP35 or the ASUS P5K-VM AiLifestyle Socket 775 iG33 (though the onboard graphics on this are marginally passable for older games). Although I like the idea of onboard graphics as a back-up solution if the graphics card packs in at any time. All boards should probably include minimal backup graphics really, but they don't, so...

So if I went with one of the ASUS boards, does the P35 chipset really offer that much more performance over the G33 assuming that onboard graphics are disabled. I guess that would make it a P33?

Still looking at the EVGA 650i and the MSI P35 NEO2-FR and open to other options. Still need to make sure I choose the best RAM for the chosen board as well!

I'm a little concerned about what I read regarding the heat issues with over clocking the EVGA 650i but I could get an after-market cooling solution I guess.

Any other options or suggestions are welcome. Thanks for the help so far.


The 2600XT seems good, why dont you use the video card comparison on tomshardwareguide? that should show the best performers. To be honest, I would get a X1950 as they perform just as good as a 2600, I have one and chose it over the 2600.

Yeah, I'm looking on tomshardware right now, but not found the specific article yet, but loads of good info. The reason for the 2600 was DX10 support, but I'll look at the X1950 and see how it compares. Cheers!

[Lynx]

I can only really comment on the EVGA board, seeing as I own it. As for Graphics, I can only compare my card again. My board is rock solid with the voltages upped a little. Tempertures are good too. Get a Arctic Freezer 7 PRO with it if I were you, as that will keep it quiet and cool The heatsink included drives me mad so play music a lot, lol.

[nft99]

i have a x1950pro at the moment and its a great card but am thinking about a HD3850 as a replacement on offer at just under £100 at aria :)

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/PCI-E/ATI+Radeon+3000+Series/Sapphire+ATi+Radeon+HD+3850+256MB+PCI-E+?productId=29418

My 939 system is on its last legs and a E2140 and a p35 chipset board looks the likely replacement

[coiler]

i have a x1950pro at the moment and its a great card but am thinking about a HD3850 as a replacement on offer at just under £100 at aria :)

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/PCI-E/ATI+Radeon+3000+Series/Sapphire+ATi+Radeon+HD+3850+256MB+PCI-E+?productId=29418

My 939 system is on its last legs and a E2140 and a p35 chipset board looks the likely replacement

thats a good price! 8)

[Lynx]

By the time I upgrade, I will be able to get a single core R700.