NightDiver Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 After 4 years of being away from the whole overclocking community, part of which was spent in Afghanistan, I am finally upgrading my old AM2 5000+. Actually, replacing it and relegating it to the kids for homework, web surfing and playing on NickJr.com. Since Ive been out of the loop for so long, I figured it would be a good idea to come back and see if anyone had any advice, words of warning, or simple suggestions about the new equipment now on the way from NewEgg. Here's a basic rundown of the key components, feel free to make suggestions or, for those who have had experience with any of them, let me know what I can expect as far as performance or typical overclocking numbers. Company press releases and various reviews are one thing, but I always welcome real world experiences. Cooler Master CM Storm Series Trooper Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850 PSU Asus Crosshair V Formula mobo AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 2 Asus Radeon HD 6870 (for x16,x16 crossfire setup) Zalman CNPS9900Max (red) cpu cooler Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA 6.0 internal HD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedCrazy Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 After 4 years of being away from the whole overclocking community, part of which was spent in Afghanistan, I am finally upgrading my old AM2 5000+. Actually, replacing it and relegating it to the kids for homework, web surfing and playing on NickJr.com. Since Ive been out of the loop for so long, I figured it would be a good idea to come back and see if anyone had any advice, words of warning, or simple suggestions about the new equipment now on the way from NewEgg. Here's a basic rundown of the key components, feel free to make suggestions or, for those who have had experience with any of them, let me know what I can expect as far as performance or typical overclocking numbers. Company press releases and various reviews are one thing, but I always welcome real world experiences. Cooler Master CM Storm Series Trooper Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850 PSU Asus Crosshair V Formula mobo AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 2 Asus Radeon HD 6870 (for x16,x16 crossfire setup) Zalman CNPS9900Max (red) cpu cooler Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA 6.0 internal HD Welcome back, if in afganistan means in the services then a salute is due. Build looks fairly sound, i personally would not have recommended a bulldozer cpu but that is personal preference. The rest is solid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 I'd suggest dumping an AMD-based build and go for an i5 2500K or something similar. You'll see better performance, lower power usage, and save some money while you're at it. Personally I'd suggest the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 or UD4 along with the 2500K. Even with a cheap cooler you'll hit 4.4-4.5 GHz without pushing the chip too hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenz Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Welcome back! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PremiumAcc Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) Welcome back home. I'd suggest dumping an AMD-based build and go for an i5 2500K or something similar. You'll see better performance, lower power usage, and save some money while you're at it. Personally I'd suggest the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 or UD4 along with the 2500K. Even with a cheap cooler you'll hit 4.4-4.5 GHz without pushing the chip too hard. Exactly what I was thinking. Right now I am using the Storm Trooper case and I can attest to its greatness. There are only a few minor complaints I have against it. #1) The bottom legs are too flimsy. There is a gap between the leg and the bottom of the case in the inner half-side of the legs. So if you tilt it to push it up, it can break. That is how I broke 2 of the legs on the same side for my Storm Trooper case. Thank goodness for warranties. #2) There wasn't as much room to work with inside the case as I had originally anticipated. I like my cases ROOMY. Overall, I love the build and the looks. From time to time I like to feel up my case because it is that damn sexy. But back to your build... In addition to Waco's suggestion, I would suggest on purchasing a SSD instead, as the prices on HDDs are over the roof at the moment because of the flood in Thailand. Also is 16GB necessary? What will you be doing with your rig? Personally, I would eliminate 2 sticks of those RAM and have 2x 4GB if you are not going to do audio/video/image editing/CAD and so on. Edited February 2, 2012 by PremiumAcc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinker Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Welcome back. If you want to go with amd that is great but mirroring waco I would suggest a 2600k or a 2700k if you are looking for raw performance and an amazing overclocker. The system looks great, Only disagreement I have is the cooling solution. Zalman is a great manufacture but there are others that cost roughly the same but perform better. Such as the nzxt having 140 thats performance surpasses the zalman. My thoughts BTW welcome back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishop245 Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Waco had a bulldozer setup and it didn't do to well as a person that owns a 2600K I can contest to what he has said about them to do real good for overclocking as mine sits pretty at 4.6 or .7 i think lol no prob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Waco had a bulldozer setup and it didn't do to well as a person that owns a 2600K I can contest to what he has said about them to do real good for overclocking as mine sits pretty at 4.6 or .7 i think lol no prob I had one just long enough to overclock the crap out of it...realize it sucked...then move to an i7 setup. My old Phenom II was faster in games even with a nearly 1 GHz clock disadvantage versus the FX-8120. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCRO Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 I'm kinda with Waco, Bulldozer was a fail.. everyone knows this. 2500k FTW. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d6bmg Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 Firstly welcome back! Secondly, instead of 8150 based configuration, I would like to suggest you to go for 2500K based configuration. Less core, but better per core performance. You may look into some reviews about the FX processors for more detailed information. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightDiver Posted February 2, 2012 Posted February 2, 2012 I have read the reviews, and yes, compared to the hype prior to launch, the bulldozers are an abysmal failure, but I tried to look past that and see them for what they are actually capable of... I know from the benchmarks that the i5 2500k has nearly the same performance numbers as the 8120, with better power consumption (and heat) and the i7 is far and away the performance leader currently, but there were a couple additional factors that led my decision to go with AMD once more. First of all, I have been impressed with the performance of my 5000+ for the 4 years that Ive had it... More often than not it has been left on indefinitely and although its been operating as a 5600+ for that time, it has given me absolutely no stability or temperatures issues in all that time. I guess this is a common theme to my selections for this build, upgrading as far as I could what I already had, rather than trying to pick all new individual components to create the highest performance possible. My problem with going for maximum performance is that it don't take very long before it's not maximum anymore... Secondly, one of the things I was looking for when choosing components was the ability of the motherboard to support dual x16,x16 crossfire or sli rather than having to throttle back one or both slots when a second card was installed. The Crosshair V was the only one that I could find in the similar price range that could do this. I'm not saying that there aren't any Intel boards, I don't know, just that I couldn't find any. Finally, while the bulldozer is pretty much a disappointment compared to its pre-launch hype, I was hoping there is truth in some of the reports saying that, due to changes in the works for Windows, the 8120 will get better use of its additional cores, thereby improving overall performance. Like I said before, I tried to see the bulldozer, not for what it was supposed to be or what AMD fans were hoping it to be, but for what it actually is. Its not AMD's answer to the i7 or their key to getting to the top of the CPU charts, but it is still a decent performer that will be going into a very capable platform. As far as the added power consumption and temperatures, if I was that worried about power usage, I would remember to turn off my computer more often and as you can see by my old signature, my original CPU when I joined was a Prescott which was well known as a space heater, even before I OC'd it... All that being said, I don't want to sound like I am shooting down all the suggestions, but I thought I should explain my thoughts behind my choices. I do appreciate the comments and the suggestions, but I guess Im looking more for what to expect from what I picked out rather than comparing it to what I could have picked. Plus, its a bit late to be changing my mind to go with something else since, according to UPS tracking my parts are out for delivery. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightDiver Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 New rig all assembled and stock temps are sitting at 30c so will start playing with ROG connect to see how well it will overclock after classes. Will post the results. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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