X2 Overclocking? Which core is ideal? How do I purchase a good OC'er

[duckdown]

Hey all

I've currently got a 3500+ NewCastle which absolutely sucks for overclocking, and I'm looking to buy a high-end X2 chip.. But I'm just wondering about the current state of them, and how do they overclock? In the beginning I was following the news, and apparently overclocking attempts would often result in one core passing prime95 while another one failed.. I'm just wondering if this is still an issue, and how do they compare to other cores (venice and san diegos)

Also, are there various cores when buying an X2? Any tips for picking them out?

Thanks

[goofball]

there's only 2 cores for X2.

Manchester = 512k L2 per core.
Toledo = 1MB L2 per core

In terms of overclocking, they are very good. Of course, mileage varies and it's hard to say with any certainty that you will get one that will overclock as high as a typical Venice/SD but that is the nature of the game.

[keno9394]

Get Asus / DFI or MSI nforce 4 chipset mobo and 3800+ x2.
most of this combination will hit 2.6g with a descent cooler.

[goofball]

Get Asus / DFI or MSI nforce 4 chipset mobo and 3800+ x2.
most of this combination will hit 2.6g with a descent cooler.

It sounds like they already have a S939 board, and I don't think completely upgrading the board/cpu/video card is in their plans.

[mortimusmaximus]

Newcastle 3500 sucks for overclocking?What were you looking for,why does it suck?

[duckdown]

Newcastle 3500 sucks for overclocking?What were you looking for,why does it suck?

It sucks because I can't squeeze more than 200mhz out of it
(I don't push farther than 1.65Vcore)..

I don't think its my RAM, because I've got OCZ Dual Platinum ddr400, 2x512mb that is in tip-top shape (2-2-2-5-1T) or my PSU (OCZ Powerstream 520W)

I just happened to get a crap CPU I suppose, and lots of other people have the same problem with NewCastles..

I relaxed my RAM timings, lowered the speed, etc. all with no luck.

Thumbs down

[goofball]

most newcastles pretty much topped out at around 2.6-2.7ghz anyways, unless you went with crazy cooling/voltage. Winchesters went a bit higher, and the new Venice/SD can go over 3ghz on air cooling. It just sounds to me like you got an "average" newcastle.

[mortimusmaximus]

I got the same chip a few months ago.I found the chip running too hot.I started tweaking and discovered cool an quiet was changing my vcore to 1.6 -1.7 under load.I shut cool and quiet down and did full manual overclocking on my asus a8v.I can run it at 2400 at 1.35 vcore.That`s right I undervolted it and it runs perfect.I usually run it at 2370 and thats it.My full load temp never exceeds 50 celcius.I also bought the thermaltake k450 cooler.I wanted a venice when I bought but I couldn`t find stock.