I think it's time.

[nsillej]

Hi, all

 

Well, last night I got frustrated cuz my computer was being slower then my Notebook that my work gave me. ~sigh~ So, I think its time to do some upgrading and stuff. A few years ago I was big into overclocking, back when the AMD xp series where the King. Since then I've graduated from college and find that I have a lot more money and passion for all the overclocking. I just got my first "real" job working as a Tier 2 Programmer. Any how, I've been kinda out of the loop with the overclocking abilities of all of the C2D stuff. Below is what I'm currently running

 

Amd 3500+ 939 @ 2.5 ghz (stock HSF) 10x250

MSI Diamond Platinum

1gb Ocz Rev2 DDR400 @ 250 mhz 3.3.3.5

EVGA 7800 GTX 510core 1350memory

Coolermaster CM Stacker

 

I don't remember exactly witch mobo version, not that it matters much.

 

 

So I'm looking for a cost effective overclocking platform. I feel that my 7800 is keeping up ok with all my gaming habits. I know that DDR3 was just released, and was wondering everybody's thoughts on it. Is it worth waiting a couple months and letting the prices fall, or stick with DDR2? How big of a power supply?(This is the thing I was always weakest in) I plan on going to a water cooling system, I think I'm going to stick to Danger Den but any suggestion on this would be much appreciated. So really what I'm looking for is system that can give me opportunities for solid overclocks.

 

Thanks Everybody

[Verran]

Well, you could probably milk 200-300 more mhz out of that 3500+, but you'd still be stuck on one gig of ram, so it's only going to get you so far.

 

I think you're absolutely right about your 7800 though. That's still a great card and you should plan to carry it through to your next build. As for DDR3, I wouldn't hold your breath. I think we've still got a long timeline before DDR3 gets to anything close to "reasonable" prices. Unless you're planning on waiting a year, I'd say DDR2 is still the way to go. Plus, DDR2 is so cheap right now that you could hardly regret buying it even if you replaced it fairly soon. For power supply, just make sure that you don't get sucked up into the mega-wattage campaigns. A quality 600W supply can easily handle your video card along with any combo of C2D/board/mem that you'll throw at it. I wouldn't blame you for picking up a 700-750 if you're really concerned about future-proofing, but anything higher than that is just huge overkill.

 

As for the water cooling, that's personal preference. As a point of reference, I use water cooling on my A64 chip myself. Having said that, and given the improvements in air-cooling since I bought my water setup, I think that water cooling is kind of a waste for most people at the moment. If you look at how well a $60 air cooler does on a C2D, I just can't justify a $300+ water system just to squeeze a tiny bit more out of the OC. They make water systems that are cheaper, of course, but they perform worse than air, so I don't really consider them options. To beat top-end air, you'll be spending about that much. But it all depends on how much money you have and how much those "last few drops of OC" mean to you. For me, I'd probably just stick to really good air.

 

Other than that, it just comes down to budget really. You can pick up a very nice board and 2x1 DDR2 memory kit for under $300 pretty easily. Throw in even the highest dual-core C2D for another $266, and you can have a VERY nice system for well under $600. But if you let us know exactly what your budget plans are, we can probably be more specific.

[nsillej]

Yes I can get about 2780mhz out of the processor but I went back to stock HSF and it was getting unstable at 2.78 (I bent my other heat sink I have just been too lazy to fix it) I went to do a remount in the new case, it fell off the table

 

OK, So if i don't go water cooling I could probably do something like $900 or so. And if this means air cooling what coolers do you all recommend? also my 7800 gets pretty hot.

[Verran]

Here's some of the common high-end air cooler options:

 

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme

Tuniq Tower 120

Scythe Ninja

 

My preference is for the Ultra-120 because in the comparisons I've seen, it outperforms them all by a fair margin. It's worth noting that it does not come with a fan though, so you'd have to pick one up extra. Also, there's an Ultra-120 and an Ultra-120 Extreme. The Extreme is newer and better.

 

For the rest, I'd recommend something like this:

 

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R

G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2-800 HZ

OCZ GameXStream 700W

 

For the processor, the best one out is the E6850, and it was supposed to launch at $266, but is currently selling for a bit over $300. It might be worth waiting a little bit to see if the prices come down, since it was just released fairly recently.

 

Do you need other parts, or do you plan to reuse your case, disks, optical drives, etc?

[nsillej]

I have a couple blu-Ray burners so I don't need drives and I'll just use the same case i have now. My current PSU is one of those Modular True power 480W antec I believe.

So what I'm looking for is.

 

PSU, MOBO, Memory, Processor, and heatsink for up to $900

[Verran]

I have a couple blu-Ray burners so I don't need drives and I'll just use the same case i have now. My current PSU is one of those Modular True power 480W antec I believe.

So what I'm looking for is.

 

PSU, MOBO, Memory, Processor, and heatsink for up to $900

Honestly, you could probably use that 480W and be just fine. I think I'd do that if I were you

 

If you need a new PSU, I think it's worth the extra $10-15 to get a 600-700W, but if you've already got a solid 480W, I'd just stick with it. Maybe plan on getting a bigger one the next time you upgrade your video (which won't be for a while, most likely).

[Systemlord]

My current PSU is one of those Modular True power 480W antec I believe.

 

 

PSU, MOBO, Memory, Processor, and heatsink for up to $900

 

I am running the very same PSU that you have and I am running whats in my sig with the 3.6GHz overclock to. But if you plan on going 8800 GTX later, then it might not be enough. I can tell you that the Tuniq Tower 120 is my favorite cooler because it already comes with a great fan. You could get away with just getting the mobo, ram, processer and the cooler for now, and then get the PSU then whatever video card you want later. Good luck on your new build!

[nsillej]

OK,

 

So I'm going to Stick with my PSU until I do a Video card upgrade.

 

For memory I'll go with: G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2-800 HZ Currently $130 newegg

Processor I'll go with: C2D E6850 Currently $320 newegg

 

so for mobo I've got like $300+ I could put some more $$ into the memory but From what i hear that g.Skill set is amazing.

 

for HSF, I'm torne Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, Tuniq Tower 120, Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Cooler

 

I think right now I'm leaning to Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Cooler, Its massive, and looks pretty good.

[Verran]

That IFX is newer, there's no doubt about that. But is it any better?

 

What I've read says no. It looks more form than function to me. I'd still recommend the Extreme.

[nsillej]

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme IT IS.

 

So, I'm down to Mobo's

 

I've been looking at and reading about

 

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6

ASUS P5K DELUXE

and the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R that Verran suggested

 

any thoughts?

[Verran]

Well, I've never been a big fan of any of Asus's C2D boards. I'm sure they're not bad, but I've just heard so much better about Gigabyte's offerings.

 

Between the DS3R and the DQ6, they're both great boards. If you're just looking to max out your budget, grab the DQ6 and don't look back. It's a fantastic board. But personally, if I'm paying $100 more over the DS3R, I'd like to know why. Here's a side-by-side comparison at newegg.

 

According to that, you get 1 extra PCI slot and 1 extra PCI-E slot (there's more, but we'll start here). The regular PCI slot is pretty silly. Most people use either one or none. The PCI-E port is a big feature for some people, but does you practically no good at all. You're planning on staying with your single 7800GTX, so you've got no need (or ability) to use the board's Crossfire features. On top of that, if you were to step to SLI with another 7800GTX (which are very hard to find now), this board won't run SLI. Ultimately, I think the chances of you using two graphics cards anytime soon are somewhere between slim and none.

 

The other features that the comparison at newegg won't list are the better power management hardware and the improved chipset cooler. Both of these are nice features, but probably won't even be noticeable unless you overclock very heavily. So to me, it seems like paying $100 more for the DQ6 will get you basically nothing. That's why I recommend the DS3R.

[gotdamojo06]

I'm just backing up verrans statement about water cooling and my observations so far...

 

The A64 chip I had (Socket 939 Clawhammer 2200MHz stock) was oc only to 2500MHz and it was running around 50C Full load on after market air cooling, I just recently got a E6600 and I already have it running at 3402MHz with a full load temp of only 41C with after market cooling (Thermalright Ultra-120 Extremem W/ old 120mm fan)...

 

I have never gone with a water cooling setup but if you were going to go AMD I would probably suggest to get it however if you stick with Intel, you don't need it because their chips seem to run a lot cooler with air than the AMD chips at slower clocks.

 

To back up nsillej, get the GA-P35-DQ6 board, thats what I am running and its a beautiful board 2 PCI-E 16x slots, 2 PCI slots, either 2 or 3 (cant remember) PCI-E 1x slots. The BIOS are nice that come on the board. alot of room for expansion. The huge heatpipe on the board is nice, keeps everything cooler. my X1950PRO goes from one end to the other end of the board, so thats the only down side, however my case is huge so I still have a good 4-5 inches before the CD Drive bays.

 

Also there is a lot of nice things that came with the board...there are 2 USB 2.0 brackets and 2 E-SATA brackets that came with it, those aren't important unless you have any external enclosures for your HDDs...

 

I'm really happy with my set up. I spent around 1300 USD for everything, if you want I can give you a list of what I got and where...

 

I noticed you were thinking about changing your ram to the G. Skill, I totally back you up on that, this is the set that I have and they are great sticks, nice and fast. I'm just now getting into the RAM part of my OC...