Question about Motherboards and new CPUs

[wombatman]

If I were to get a new motherboard for say, Christmas, would I have to do a full re-install of Windows? Secondly, what would be a good solid motherboard that allows for some overclocking of a 2.8C 800 mhz P4 processor? Lastly, how much, roughly, do you think this 2.8C could be overclocked with a well-ventilated case and a Thermalright XP-120 with a 120mm fan? And if it is not that much, would getting a new processor (one of the 3.2Es, maybe?) allow for a good amount of overclocking?

Oh, and one last question...does lower temperature, but same processing speed allow for more processing power? That is, if I have a processor running at 2.9Ghz at 50 degrees C, will lowering the temperature to 40 degrees C result in faster processing? Sorry for so many questions, but this pertains to Christmas lists (yes, I still do a list for my parents, even at 19). I also like to learn as much as I can about computers in general as they are a hobby of mine. Thanks in advance.

[Paradise Lost]

To my knowledge, processor power is based totally on who makes it, architechure, and a few
other things, no matter how chilly you make it, it won't techncally get more powerful, but the
clock speed will go up a bunch. www.futuremark.com is a decent site to check out
people's benchmarks, see what systems the use, compare them to others with the same
system but who overclock, etc.

Pentiums overclock like mad, but don't show a huge increase, while Athlons overclock
minimally, but show some decent speed changes. Windows is on your HD, no, you wouldn't
need to re-install it :P. My advice, is just to get a high-end processor, like an Athlon 64,
then get a Motherboard that will support the Athlon 64, get a very nice heatsink/fan
combo for it, AND LEAVE IT ALONE. Don't bother overclocking your processor because
you'll probably end up ruining it. With it very cool, you'll be able to run thousands
of intensive programs and not have the temp go up much. Case fans are good for moving
warm air out of the case, but have little affect on keeping component pieces cool.

Hope this answers something.

[wombatman]

Good to know about the windows installation. The only reason I asked was because I wasn't sure if the installation was affected by the motherboard or not. Also, at least in the case I have, there are 2 80mm fans that blow directly on the motherboard, specifically on the processor area and the AGP/PCI slot area. So at least in my case, it does seem designed to help a little bit, even if the result is pretty much insignificant.

And as to overclocking P4s, a 3.0E overclocked to like 3.6 or 3.8 doesn't really show any improvement in terms of speed?

[poopermcgraw]

I'll probably tend to agree with Paradise Lost here.

But, to answer your questions, it's not necessary to reinstall Windows with a new motherboard, especially XP, because it could probably handle reinstalling all those chipset drivers. However, for stability reasons, I like to reformat with major hardware installations just to make sure there aren't any conflicts.

I currently use a ASUS P4P800 (Intel 865PE chipset) with a P4 2.4C. Performance-wise on motherbaords, you have to look at the chipset. You'll have to look around the internet to see how the Intel 9xx chipsets are working out, but my trusty 865PE chipset works just fine, especially for the price. The 875P chipset is faster, but alot more expensive.

Overclocking-wise, I can take it up to 3.0 GHz on stock cooling, albeit with some moderate case cooling, even with my new weak-ass Vantec Stealths. You just have to make sure to get some decent memory, because even if you adjust the FSB/memory ratios it's touchy, so you can't overclock the memory too much. Could be just my memory, which are 2x512MB Kingston HyperX PC3200. So yeah, those P4 2.xCs are excellent overclockers.

Temperature does not affect performance, only stability. So, if you can get your processor running faster but hotter, it's fine as long as it doesn't start crashing.

Overall, I usually overclock just for fun. The performance gains aren't worth it next to stability and possible hardware lifetimes. But, I don't seriously overclock anyway. If I had good cooling I'd probably run it at 3.0 all the time. But my house is too damn hot as it is without the extra several degrees the CPU is pumping out overclocked. That's why I agree with Paradise Lost. If you take a look at Anandtech.com's buyers guides, you'll see they don't recommend the old P4s anymore, since you can have Athlon 64 systems at reasonable prices nowadays. I hope this answers your questions, sorry for the long post.

[poopermcgraw]

On another note, sort of in response to your reply, I'm not sure how the P4 Es perform but they work better on the 9xx chipsets, and the Cs work better on the 8xx chipsets, as far as I know.

[westothemax]

I believe if you have Windows XP, there is a very small chance that everything will work with your new motherboard with no effort. Most likely you'll get a blue screen or your system will keep rebooting itself. In this case, performing a Repair Installation of Windows from the Windows XP cd should clear things up - boot from the cd, pick the option to install Windows (not the one for the Recovery Console), and hit 'R' for 'Repair' installation. You'll need your CD key, and there is a possibility that activation won't work over the internet (you'll have to call in the 800 number). If the Repair install doesn't work, then you'll need to do a clean, full install of XP.

[wombatman]

pooper, which 9xx chipsets were you referring to? all the ones on newegg support only 775-pin processors.

[merlin]

i've never had to reinstall windows xp (or any windows for that matter) when i got new hardware or moved the harddrive to a different computer. you just have to install drivers.

and temperature doesn't have much effect, but as a general rule, i try to keep my procs under 50C max, a comfortable temp is under 45C

good luck

[poopermcgraw]

Alas, I was hallucinating. They have the new socket-T with the older chipsets, 8xx. Got it backwards, sorry.

[SiNai]

Obligitory link on the topic of cooling/overclocking:

Record Attempt: The 5 GHz Project:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20031230/index.html

Alas, 50 deg C vs 40 deg C won't make much difference. It is good to keep those temps down, though! My Cpu idles at a cool 33-38 deg C!

[NavySEAL]

Originally Posted by SiNai

Obligitory link on the topic of cooling/overclocking:

Record Attempt: The 5 GHz Project:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20031230/index.html

Alas, 50 deg C vs 40 deg C won't make much difference. It is good to keep those temps down, though! My Cpu idles at a cool 33-38 deg C!

Someone from Findland has already reached the 6Ghz Mark, I remember it somewhere at xtremesystems.org. But it was not stable at all.