Intel vs. AMD

theone,

That's what I was wondering??

 

I just might get that as a replacement for my 4400+

That thing came DAMN close the the e6700!!!

I WANT IT!!!!!!!

.... or I can upgrade my intel to an e6600 for the same price or lower... and match it at 2.4GHz and murder it at 3GHz.... I'M AT AN EMOTIONAL BLOCK!!!! *cries*

 

Theonejrs
The 6000 is still no competition to the comparably priced C2D. Like many people, I think this was just boosting the current technology a bit to try to get some market visibility. If AMD doesn't come up with something competitive soon, they're going to be so far behind catching up will be hard to do.

AMD and Intel are both toying with super computers, but neither are close to bringing those to market yet. I'll believe those when I see them for sale. I'm not saying it won't happen, because technology is moving forward at an astonishing rate. 10 years ago the PCs we have now would have been considered super computers. I'm just saying I don't think they're in our immediate future (more like several years down the road).

Last year everyone was saying AMD had a secret weapon in the wings to answer C2D when it arrived. Time has proven that theory wrong. So far AMD is still at the 90nm build process and working with the same architecture and SOI chips. So far, if they've been busy, they've just been spinning their wheels. It's starting to look like a 1 man race again. I'm hoping AMD will surprise us with something new and exciting soon.

The 939 is still a popular item to upgrade with using old tech boards and DDR RAM. The problem is they're getting harder to find as the inventory is depleted. There's a strong market for them and prices have actually gone up a bit after the large vendors sold out. The FX models were bringing some ridiculous prices on eBay. I wish I'd bought up some of them when the prices were at bottom.

 

lols, I was thinking about an FX 57 at one point but the ECC registered ram is a ways up in price.

 

When the cost is close, go with the new technology. Sell off the old stuff to help support the new.

 

Estuansis,

That's not an emotional block, that's hunger pangs! It's like food! No matter how much computing power they give us we always want more!! LOL!!!

I used the word you instead of someone as I knew about your MB!

Happy Computering,
theone

 

Situation cleared


I'm excited to start OC'in and see what I can hit on air... 3.8 stable maybe?

 

Estuansis,

I'm going to be looking for a nice stable 3.2 or so. If there's one thing I have learned it's to find the max stable speed and back off a bit. This helps cover variables that may not have been in play at the time of your stability tests. The difference in the numbers just isn't that great to me and I wind up with lower temps, less strain on the MB and memory. I've run this D-940 as high as 4.1 but my MB is old tech but Asus revamped and updated the Power regulation when they replaced the MB. 3.71 just isn't that much slower!

On the E4300 3.2 is about an 80% OC, and that's more than fast enough for me as I don't bench race! Especially since I can't afford to blow anything up! LOL!!

Happy Computering and Good Luck,
theone

 

I can only get 2.63 out of my E4300 at the moment, but then I suppose I haven't been pushing that hard.

 

Did you get that memory sorted?
2.6 seems very low for the E4300, you should be able to add another 1GB on top of that.

 

Yeah I've got working 2x1GB PC6400 CAS4. It has something to do with this board though, the black spots are so vast they span between this setting and one that's unstable, and that doesn't help when trying to ascertain whether an overclock worked or not. For example I can only boot at 2.63 or 2.92Ghz, the latter of which isn't stable.

 

i have found that if i save my bios settings it wont boot, even if i have had it running orthos overnight at those settings before i save it.

i think this mobo still needs its bios fixxed.

sam post your settings in the oc thread and i will see if we have anything different, after all the reading i have done one these i havent heard of any others that wont hit 3.0ghz.

 

Hmm, well, I've set 5-5-5-12 timings for 4-4-4-12 RAM, I only just realised the last number should probably be 16 not 12, the RAM is unlinked, and runs at 778mhz with my current OC. There's a +100mV offset on Vcore, but no other changes, the NB voltage has been raised. Multiplier is still 9x. That's about it really.

 

Well, If my other attempts at OCing (3.53GHz on 541) then 3.7-3.8 shouldn't be too hard on the 640. I didn't even push on the 541.

 

Have a look at this board for C2D from ECS guy's:

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2090&page=1

 

ECS? No thanks

 

sammorris,
Sam,
I was expecting some flak for mentioning ECS.
But you have to get with the now!!Not 10 years ago.

The review puts this board above some of the major players in the C2D m/board arena.
If I were upgrading to C2D right now this board would certainly be on my short list.
Some of their early boards may have been rubbish although My old ECS K7s5a is still going strong today and that board must be 7 years or more old.There was nothing to change in the bios as far as o/clocking goes but a third party bios fixed that problem.In fact reading other reviews in the day I would say 80-90 percent of people that owned the board were extremely happy with it.
I will have a look for some more reviews and see what the other sites have to say.

 

It's not performance I moan about, I'm sure that's good enough, but more quality. I still hear plenty of stories about ECS boards suffering faults, and it takes a long time for that sort of reputation to heal.

 

So, how do you like the new ECS? Every motherboard company is in the business to make their mark and be successful. As long as a company keeps their objectives in place and their eye on the prize, they can be very successful especially as they mature. It's all about learning from mistakes, making necessary improvements, and not being afraid to lead. The new ECS PN2-SLI 680i Motherboard is reminiscent of the days when ABIT and ASUS came in to their own.

The motherboard has a few issues with connector placements which are still accessible and can be worked around. Aside from the minor things, the ECS PN2-SLI is very stable, looks good even for a reference design, and performs like a top rated motherboard should. The main features that any serious user may want are definitely in the box, especially when it comes to working with the 680i BIOS options and features. The BIOS is very easy to figure out, easily explained, and is worry free for the timid users. Anyone can definitely purchase this motherboard with confidence and know it will serve them well. And the price just adds to its attractive offerings as it retails for less than many of the current 680i platforms

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/ECS_PN2-SLI2+/index4.shtml


It's expensive, yes, and you should only seriously consider it if pushing your system to the limit, but if that's you, we see no viable reason in not recommending it; the reference design is that good.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=7526&page=1

Over the past two years, no company has made larger strides than ECS. No longer the industry patsy, ECS hopes their newest flagship board, the PN2 SLI2+ Extreme firmly establishes the company as a viable alternative for enthusiasts.

So why are we so eager to recommend a motherboard who's price tag is a bit higher and performance is about the same as the competition? Mainly because this board was really a dream to work with, plus those of you who have to have the best can run SLI in all its glory.......simple enough. I also have to say, that once you get used to the BIOS and overclocking features, the PN2-SLI2+ is a lot of fun to tweak.

http://www.hardwarelogic.com/news/129/ARTICLE/1325/2007-02-02.html

t is in the BIOS and the features it allows you to access that really makes this board shine and shows us what Nvidia had in mind when they developed the nForce 680i chipset. The CPU frequency is adjustable from 100MHz to 625MHz in 0.25MHz increments and the CPU voltage can be adjusted in 12.5mV steps up to a maximum of 1.8V. The memory can go from 400MHz to 1400MHz in 1MHz increments and the 1.8V to 2.5V in steps of 25mV. Similarly the PCIe x16 channels can be individually set anywhere between 100MHz and 200MHz in 1MHz adjustments. These precise levels of configuration, along with all the other settings available mean that enthusiasts can fiddle around to their hearts content to make sure they get the absolute maximum from their hardware.

Our range of benchmarks proved that this board is no slouch in terms of performance, but obviously precisely what you get out of it depends a lot on the components you plug into it and how you configure them. We're happy to report that the board was completely rock solid with several configurations at stock settings and continued to perform very well during overclocking.

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37056

Looks like ECS have come of age!!!

 

spot the difference?

edit
dam crowy that was some quick c n p ing

this might be of some interest too,
http://tomshardware.co.uk/2007/02/22/680i_motherboard_comparison_part_2_uk/page2.html