Help me chose a MB sutable for overclocking, please

[Citizen]

So I think it's about time I OC'd my E6400. When I first built this machine back in February, I didn't want to OC anything, and as a consequence, didn't buy 'enthusiast' parts. My current motherboard is a Abit IL9Pro and it is not possible to over clock the CPU from the BIOS.

Since I don't know what a motherboard sutable for overclocking would be, this is where I need someone to select one for me. There are a few requirements that must me met though.

The board must have the following features
4xSATA2 ports
4xUSB2 ports

everything else I don't mind. Also, ATX form factor... and my budget is about 60-70 pounds, although I guess I could stretch to 80 if a push comes to a shove.

Note:
I live in the UK, so please only post links to UK sites, no newegg or anything, unless of course the model can be purchased here in the UK too. Thanks.

[Incinerate_IV]

Right now the champ for OCing Core 2 Duos is Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, it's about $110 US dollars, so it should fit your budget.

[Citizen]

Hmm, that's awesome thanks, but it says it supports DDR2 800MHz ram - I have 667MHz, will it support that too? I should have mentioned memory speed too. It's a shame cause that motherboard looks awesome.

[PrPete]

Hmm, that's awesome thanks, but it says it supports DDR2 800MHz ram - I have 667MHz, will it support that too? I should have mentioned memory speed too. It's a shame cause that motherboard looks awesome.

Yes it should. Go to the Gigabyte website and it gives you a list of compatible RAM for that motherboard.

[Erik]

Hmm, that's awesome thanks, but it says it supports DDR2 800MHz ram - I have 667MHz, will it support that too? I should have mentioned memory speed too. It's a shame cause that motherboard looks awesome.

The MoBo will support the 667Mhz RAM, but you won't be able to overclock your CPU much with that RAM.

This is because you can't increase your FSB:CPU multiplier above it's factory default of 8, and you can't reduce your FSB:RAM multiplier below 1.
In other words: your CPU can't run more than eight times as fast as your RAM.

Using DDR667 you should be able to reach 2.66Ghz, possibly a little bit higher if you can also over-clock your RAM, but not much higher.
It's an improvement, but not a very big one. (533Mhz to be precise).
Not really worth spending the extra money on IMO.

PS: some motherboards have hidden features that can only be accessed after pressing a certain key combination.
For my Gigabyte 965G-DS3 it's "ctrl+F1", which unlocks memory latency and some other things.
So your MoBo might be able to do overclockong after all, it's worth a try at least.

[Citizen]

Nah, it honestly can't I've done the research and stuff... asked around, it isn't possible. Also, thanks for the heads up on the OC'ing and the RAM info.

That's interesting actually, I was only planning to OC to 2.6 for the time being, possibly 2.8GHz. But what you're saying is that if I want to overclock my processor, I need 800MHz ram?

[Erik]

That's interesting actually, I was only planning to OC to 2.6 for the time being, possibly 2.8GHz. But what you're saying is that if I want to overclock my processor, I need 800MHz ram?

To reach 2.8GHz your RAM needs to run at 350Mhz (or "DDR2-700 speed", or one-eights of 2.8GHz)
Depending on the quality of your DDR2-667 this might be possible, but it's not guaranteed.

One thing you could do is sell your E6400 and buy a E4300 or E4400 instead.
Those are cheaper, so you might break even.

The nice thing about the E4xxx series is that they have a stock FSB speed of just 200Mhz and higher multipliers (9X for the E4300 and 10X for the E4400).
Both can reach 3Ghz easily on DDR2-667, and the E4400 can most likely be pushed to 3.33Ghz. (although this is getting very close to what a Core 2 Duo can reach on stock speeds, I think 3.5Ghz is about the absolute max unless you have a very good cooler).
Sometimes cheaper doesn't mean slower.

[Citizen]

OMG, why is OCing so bloody complicated? Everyone always makes out that it's easy as pie, but that's totally not the case. All I want to do is increase my CPU speed, I don't wanna oc my ram or anything, I know what you're saying, and I'm not disputing anything, it's useful information, Erik, so thanks.
I've just read a loads of articles and asked a few people here and there and each time I get a different story, makes me wounder how the ***** people successfully OC in the first place.

I definitely don't want to Sell my processor and get a new one. I am not interested in going wayyyy up to 3.2/5 or whatever. 2.8GHz max.. but anything would be better than 2.13Ghz It's just for rendering out things in 3D and such.

[King Edward I]

or you could get a vanilla P5B as I have pushed a 4300 (BSEL modded for those who know what that is) to around 4.5Ghz with vapor phase. You would need to OC the ram or buy better ram if you wanna go past 2.66 on the 6400. I dont know how it OCs quads or 4mb cache ones as i havent and wont be trying it - ill be getting a P5B-E or a 650i/680LT SLI

[Erik]

OMG, why is OCing so bloody complicated?

Isn't that obvious?
Intel and AMD don't want too many people to buy low-range products and running them at high-end clocks.

Technically there is no difference between a $150 Core 2 Duo E6300 and a $900 Core 2 Extreme X6800 except that intel has set some jumpers on the E6300 to make is very hard to get the same performance out of it.

Everyone always makes out that it's easy as pie, but that's totally not the case.

If you do your homework it's not that hard.

But for somebody who isn't a computer expert it's probably easier to work overtime at their day job and simply buy a faster computer.

TBH Over-clocking is more of a hobby than a real money saver.
I get more joy from learning exactly how my PC works than from those few extra FPS's in Oblivion.
Not to mention the satisfaction of having "beaten" the intel marketing machine. (E4300 a low-end product? HAH! not if I get my hands on it....)

I definitely don't want to Sell my processor and get a new one. I am not interested in going wayyyy up to 3.2/5 or whatever. 2.8GHz max.. but anything would be better than 2.13Ghz It's just for rendering out things in 3D and such.

If you are happy with just over 2.66Ghz for the price of a new MoBo then the Gigabyte 965P-DS3 is a good choice.
Just don't expect miracles is all that I'm saying.

[Citizen]

If you do your homework it's not that hard.

lol, that's just it... I've read loads of articles on OC'ing and it's still kinda hard to get my head around/understand exactly what is what and what (I) need to do.

TBH Over-clocking is more of a hobby than a real money saver.

LMAO, oh, I am not trying to save money at all. I just want more speed than 2.13GHz, and 2.6 will give me shorter rendering times. I built this PC with heavy multimedia editing in mind - not gaming (although I put a X1950 in it). And I think at 2.6/8GHz I will be able to see a difference in rendering times and such.

If you are happy with just over 2.66Ghz for the price of a new mobo then the Gigabyte 965P-DS3 is a good choice.
Just don't expect miracles is all that I'm saying.

Hehe, I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary, just that extra boost, you know what I mean? All my games and stuff run fine, no slowdowns, no bottlenecks, at least, nothing noticeable. I always run games with Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Lightroom, Outlook, Firefox, WMP and a bunch of other programs running, and I never get any noticeable slow-downs. It's the same story with multi-tasking when I am multimedia editing too, really. Only time I could really do with more speed is when rendering stuff out, and I am willing to pay £90 for a new mobo and Heatsink/Fan and oc the E6400 over buying a new processor.


Anyway, thanks for all your help, pointers and advice, I appreciate it!