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Building Overclockable gaming pc


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A big hello to all overclockers.I want to build a new gaming/multimedia PC.

(Case,Screen,Sound Card,Main Hard Disk,Raptor 10k 150GB,DVD-R,excluded)

Only hardware parts listed below

I really need some expert advice for this system.

Concerning price range of products, I am actually searching for an excellent Value for Money PC.

Whice parts should I buy that can be overclocked a lot while keeping cost low as possible ?

 

Mobo: Asus P5B-E or Gigabyte GA-P965P-S3 (or something else with good overclocking?)

CPU: C2D E6400 or E6300 or E4300 (which overclocks more?)

Cooler: Scythe Ninja+ Rev.B (or something more efficient supporting silent mode)

GPU: Nvidia 8800 GTS 320mb/640mb or 8800 GTX (which manufacturer?)

RAM: 2x1GB Kit DDR2 800mhz (which manufacturer?)

PSU: Enermax Noisetaker2 600W (or something else but silent)

 

All suggestions are welcome !

Thanks in advance !

Edited by nmk1988

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Hello guys i want to build a new gaming/multimedia PC.

(Case,Screen,Sound Card,Main Hard Disk,Raptor 10k 150GB,DVD-R,excluded)

Only hardware parts listed below

I really need some expert advice for this system.

Concerning price range of products, I am actually searching for an excellent Value for Money PC.

Whice parts should I buy that can be overclocked a lot while keeping cost low as possible ?

 

Mobo: Asus P5B-E or Gigabyte GA-P965P-S3 (or something else with good overclocking?)

1CPU: C2D E6400 or E6300 or E4300 (which overclocks more?)

Cooler: Scythe Ninja+ Rev.B (or something more efficient supporting silent mode)

GPU: Nvidia 8800 GTS 320mb/640mb or 8800 GTX (which manufacturer?)

2RAM: 2x1GB Kit DDR2 800mhz (which manufacturer?)

PSU: Enermax Noisetaker2 600W (or something else but silent)

 

All suggestions are welcome !

Thanks in advance !

1. E4300

2. G Skill (HZ Model)

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They look good, other wise I would have commented.

Oh I guess for the Video card, GTX and eVGA as they have good customer support and long warranties. ( I think, I may be thinking of another brand)

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For the processor, definitely the 4300. It has a higher multiplier which will allow you to get more OCing, especially out of a cheaper board which will be limited by FSB.

 

As for memory, I haven't seen that DDR2 HZ kit in a while, so I'm not sure you can get it anymore. The two I'd look at are the PK (4-4-4-12 DDR2-800 $165) and the HK (4-4-3-5 DDR800 $180).

 

For coolers, the Tuniq Tower 120 seems to be a GREAT performer. As for a "silent" mode, you could always just get a quiter fan.

 

For power supplies, I like the GameXStream line from OCZ. You can get the 700W ($105) or the 600W ($90). The Corsair 620W ($125) has also had some really great reviews.

 

For the mainboard, I really like the S3 that you listed. The DS3 has a few extra features like RAID, so if you plan to use them, you may want to spend the extra $20 or so.

 

Now the graphics card is sort of a different story. I would really disagree with the GTX recommendation. The GTX is a great card, but the boards and chips that you're looking at are not exactly top of the line, and would really bottleneck an 8800GTX. If you put a GTX with a 6300 or 4300, I think it'd be a waste. You'd be much better going with a 640 GTS and stepping up the chip to a 6600, IMO. The 4300 and GTX just isn't a very balanced build.

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Thanks a lot Verran.

I found G.Skill DDR2 F2-6400-2GBPK 2x1GB 800Mhz 4-4-4-12 for a nice price.I think that'll be o.k. for my system.

Plus, I checked the PSU you suggested me which had very good reviews.So I'll stick with OCZ GameXstream 600W.

Finally I am gonna buy an Acer AL2216WS 22" Wide (1680x1050).

So I need a good combination of GPU+CPU+MOBO.

Please help here. Suggest some combo's plus value/money rating.

(NOT QX6700+8800GTX SLI+Striker Extreme etc.) :)

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Please help here. Suggest some combo's plus value/money rating.

(NOT QX6700+8800GTX SLI+Striker Extreme etc.) :)

Well, here's how I see it. If you're going to get the most of out a GTX, I think you need to consider at least an E6600. That adds about $150 to your budget over the 4300. Now, if you're going with a big-time chip like that, you're probably going to want to look at a little "beefier" board. To minimize costs and still get a very solid board, I'd probably look at the DFI Infinity 975X, which adds ~$70. Then you figure the cost of the GTX over the 640MB GTS and you're looking at an extra $350-$400 onto your budget to really make the most of the GTX.

 

So it depends on what you want to spend. The 4300 and 640 GTS are probably going to be a great combo for at least the next year. A GTX and 660 would be better, but will cost quite a bit more too.

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Hey man, first a warm welcome to OCC from me!

 

To the PSU, I have to say some things about the Noisetaker 600W, as I have/had one myself. I bought one of them pretty much one year ago, and it went out in sparks and smoke in the middle of February. It didn't take anything of my rig with it, however you might want to be aware of the fact that the Revision 1.1 of these bad boys has an average life time of 6-8 months. Note I said Revision 1.1, the Revision 2 is what you get as a replacement from Enermax (I have one sitting at home, I bought myself a BeQuiet Straightpower 500W during the 3 weeks of Enermax's RMA to put in my rig though) and I have yet to hear of any of those blowing up. This is not supposed to be a bad review type of thing, as it was the best PSU I have owned up to date when it ran. So think wisely about the choice of powersupply. The part number does not include a 701 for now reason (according to an Enermax representative at this years CeBit, it was actually supposed to be a 700W PSU, but then got downgraded to 600W. Thats where the hefty price tag come from ;)).

 

For the other parts of your system, Verren outlined very well what would be a good choice, 8800GTS 320MB/640MB is up to you. As for manufacturer, I'm totally with Ste here, EVGA simply has the best all-around service offered by any manufacturer these days. Pair that with a E6400 or E6600 on a Gigabyte S3/DS3 and you're set. RAM-wise, you might want to consider GeIL's sticks, the ones with the Orange heatspreaders rated at PC2-6400 (DDR2-800) @ 4-4-4-12, you can also get them for the price of the PK. I have those sticks in my rig, and they do above 430MHz @ 4-4-4-12 still, 500MHz 4-5-4-15 no problem! I'm actually priming 3.3GHz with the RAM at 413 (4-4-4-12) at home (I'm at a friends) right now.

For Cooling, Verran (again :P) suggested the Tuniq Tower, which really seems like an awesome cooler. If that's not your cup of tea or too big/heavy for you, get a Thermalright SI-128. I have the predecessor SI-120, and that performs extremely well on my E6400!

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I would disagree slightly on the board you mentioned, if only based on the anecdotal evidence I've heard about the 975x chipset not being a huge friend to overclockers. I'm sure it's stable and all, but if you're spending in the $200 range on motherboards, why not go for one of the absurdly nice 680i boards that has all of the bells and whistles you'll (well, I'll) never need? The 680i allegedly has worked out most of its bugs and, while it runs a bit hot, overclocks pretty well.

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I would disagree slightly on the board you mentioned, if only based on the anecdotal evidence I've heard about the 975x chipset not being a huge friend to overclockers. I'm sure it's stable and all, but if you're spending in the $200 range on motherboards, why not go for one of the absurdly nice 680i boards that has all of the bells and whistles you'll (well, I'll) never need? The 680i allegedly has worked out most of its bugs and, while it runs a bit hot, overclocks pretty well.

The 680i boards are nice, but they've had plenty of issues themselves. On top of that, the cheapest 680i board I can find on newegg is $220, which is $55 more than the Infinity 975X, so it's a pretty significant step in price. Plus, as I've said before (and as you pointed out), all the bells and whistles on the 680i boards are nifty, but in reality most people won't make much use of them. I've also read that the Infinity 975X gained a lot of OC-ability with a recent BIOS update. Given all of that along with the success of the Infinity boards on nf4, I think the board hits a very unique price/performance mark.

 

The main question in my mind between the Infinity 975X and the S3/DS3 would be FSB limitations. I'm curious how they compare and if the DFI would be worth the extra cost when you get to 400+ FSB.

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See, that's what I'd heard. I had read that you're only going to max out at like, 375 FSB with the 975x chipset, but if the Infinity board doesn't have that limitation, you're right. $50 is like, a night of drinking. On happy hour. :)

 

Also, I was working with the DS3 on a build last weekend, and I can say the FSB is pretty flexible. You can set it up to 700 (as if you'd ever have a chip capable of that, but nonetheless), and it was running fairly smooth up to 390. I didn't push it any harder because I was just running an e4300 and that was approaching the point where I'd have to make significant vcore changes, but I've heard the p965 chipset generally overclocks better than the 975x.

 

The DS3 is by no means a bells-and-whistles type of board, don't get me wrong; but, it's very stable and overclockable in my experience.

Edited by Still Naive

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