adarryl
P.A.S.S. Model
join:2001-08-19
Dixon, IL
| [OC] Best hardware for overclocking Phenom II 720
I am about to purchase parts for an AM3 Phenom II 720 build, but I have been getting mixed recommendations on whether to go to an AM3 DDR3 1333 motherboard or an AM3/AM2+ DDR2 1066 motherboard. There is apparently an issue of DDR3 1333 memory being down-clocked to 1066 and DDR2 1066 memory being down-clocked to DDR2 800 speed by the AM3 motherboards' BIOS to accommodate the Phenom II. This is apparently an issue when 4 dimms are populated but I am not sure if it also applies to when just 2 dimms are populated. AMD will supposedly have a fix for this in the future, but for now, what makes the most sense, motherboard and ram-wise, to overclock the Phenom II 720? Your thoughts appreciated. BTW, I considered a Core i7 build, but that is not in the budget. Thanks for your thoughts.
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Cognitive P.A.S.S.--Planning, Attention, Simultaneous and Successive |
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Smoove910
Premium
join:2005-08-01
Nampa, ID
| I'd get a 790GX chipset (Biostar) which will allow the ACC option in the BIOS. This will help with your overclock as well as 'potentially' unlocking a 4th core on that X3.
As for the ram, I'm running fine with my 8 gb of DDR2-800 Mushkins, overclocked slightly from 200mhz to 230mhz. Of course it all really depends on where you want your HT to run. The higher mhz, the better. |
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Airwolf
Don't be shy now. Come on, catch a ride
Premium
join:2001-10-30
Windsor, ON
clubs: | Be warned though. I've read that someone messed up their overclocking potential using just 3 cores, when ACC did not work for them. |
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