Guide: Best Overclocking Motherboard – Q2 2007 (PART I)

 

In general, mobo is the main circuit of your rig. It connects other important components such as Processor, RAM, Display Card, HDD, ODD, etc. Those components are arranged through BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) in the motherboard.

Enough for the intro, this guide is meant for those who aim to find a motherboard (mobo) for overclocking purpose. There are many guides on the Web regarding this kind of topic. However, most of them only give you infos about certain brands or series. Hence, this guide is focusing more on the basic and all you need to know on how to choose a decent/good quality overclocking mobo before you actually decide to buy it.

Below are things you should pay attention to. I only listing those which are up-to-date with todays’ (Q2 2007) platform:

• SOCKET

Processor is usually the main concern if someone wants to buy a brand new rig whether it is AMD or Intel. Therefore, make sure you choose the right socket for your processor This guide covering only the newest platform.

• CHIPSET

This is the heart of your mobo. Choosing a chipset also determine what Processors it sports, RAM types, Display Card’s bus link, Front Side Bus (FSB), Overclocking capabilities, future upgrades, etc. Below are some recent and upcoming chipsets that (will) support the latest processors from both AMD and Intel:

INTEL CHIPSET:

- Nvidia based chipsets

The best chipset for Intel Processors are usually Intel’s own chipsets. However, recently (since nForce 4 SLI Intel Ed.) nvidia has also making some amazing chipsets for Intel. The newest are 600i family chipsets. These chipsets sport Unlinked and Linked mode, meaning that you can overclock your Processor and RAM independently. Also nvidia’s chipsets are the only option if you aim for true SLI configuration. The recommended Mobos are: ASUS STRIKER EXTREME and ASUS P5N32-E SLI. Both have the same chipset and almost the same oveclocking capabities. The only big differences are features and price. Striker is more expensive and has plenty of features (Google it to see the features), while P5N32-E SLI is more of a cut down version of Striker. So, the best bang is certainly P5N32-E SLI only if you don’t need those ‘useless’ features.

- Intel based chipsets

Meanwhile, Intel’s own chipsets also offer some decent overclocking potentials (depend on motherboard’s manufacturers). If you aim for high FSB overclock, I recommend you to choose P965 based mobos. Some recommended are: ASUS P5B -DELUXE, GIGABYTE P965-DS3, and BIOSTAR T-FORCE 965PT. But if you need the best performance, I recommend you to choose 975X based mobos. Why? Because it is faster than P965 (clock-per-clock comparison). I have no exact idea what really cause this performance gap. Until now, the only answer is the Strap* theory.

In a short explanation, Strap is speed and latency options of the chipset (northbridge), just like you usually found on RAM. P965 has respectively 800MHz, 1066MHz, and 1333MHz strap options. While 975X only has 800MHz and 1066MHz strap. You cannot configure this manually in BIOS, it is automatically set.

Just like RAM, the higher the speed will occasionally also force you to loosen the timings, and the same also goes to this strap theory. Example: On FSB 400, P965 is on 1066MHz strap mode, and it is massively overclocked. However, when you increase it to 401, it will be on 1333MHz strap mode with looser latency and will allow for higher bus speed overclock. This is also one of the reason why P965 based mobos have higher FSB reach than 975X. Hence FSB 400 is faster than 401 on P965 mobos with the same settings.

975X doesn’t have 1333MHz strap. Therefore, many 975X based mobos are stuck around FSB 400-450. Even so, there are some that can reach >500, but I am not sure they are rock solid stable at that speed.

On the other hand, there is also a P965 mobo which has no 1333MHz strap option. This mobo is ABIT QUAD-GT. It has almost the same FSB reach as many other P965 mobos (>500). But it can still maintain the 1066MHz strap. Hence, this mobo is usually faster in clock-per-clock comparison with other P965 mobos. And in some cases, almost equal to 975X based mobos.

*Note: Some people have recently state that this strap theory is incorrect. But I have no better theory at the moment to explain this problem. As far as I concern, this theory does apply with my own experience.

- AMD based chipset

Heh, Intel Processors on AMD’s Chipset

The only available mobo for this chipset (RD-600) is DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200 T2R/G. I personally recommend this mobo only if you aim for Crossfire configuration on Core 2 Duo platform. Other than that, just forget about it It actually has great overclocking features (like many other ‘legendary’ LANParty Series from DFI), great FSB reach (>500), great bios for memory tweakings, great design, great looks, but quite disappointing performance on its price and class. Yes, it has the worst clock-per-clock performance between other Intel chipsets I mentioned above.

Coming Soon (PART II): BIOS Options, Capacitors and More…. Stay Tuned

Regards

Ascetic

 

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