building a system... need advice?

[DACracker]

i'm building a system for myself and i have some questions. i've built systems for friends but i'm still pretty inexperienced. here it goes:
kt7-raid
thunderbird 900 (base- hope to o/c)
2 45gb 75gxps
1 14.4gb deskstar
matrox g450
diamond monster sound (yeah i'll upg to sblive or santa cruz or somethign later,but for now its ok because...)
bose bookshelf speakers on a pioneer sc-737 tuner (from the 60s, it was my mom's)
plextor 12x10x32
pioneer 105s dvd
ok, i just realized that's probably all in my sig. oh well.

so here's my question:
1. what ram to get? i have a 128mb cas2 Pc100 kingston stick, but i was thinking about returing it for some kingmax PC150 or other good pc133 ram. i need to know how much the fsb on the kt7-raid will o/c before the pci clock starts to hurt other devices, then i can determine my memory bus speed.

2. i don't expect any problems unlocking the t-bird (the only part yet to arrive...) but some advice on optimal fsb/mult o/cing would be helpful. i know all chips are different (i was so happy when my 300A got to 450 and stayed there...)

3. i got a good deal on the tbird retail w/ a fan. how far will a tbird 900 go on the retail hs/fan, assuming everythign else works?

3a. if that fan is inadequate, which one should i get? i've been getting gorbs for my friends' durons...

4. is my 250w ps in my current case enough juice to hold that system over?

5. is the max 1.85v on the kt7 enough juice to push a tbird? i read somehwere that to really o/c (a duron at least) you have to modify the board and/or L7 bridges to allow more juice...

i think that's all for now. thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Dan]

You're putting together one helluva system. Let me maddress a couple of your questions.

I have a KT7 non-RAID board. So far I've run a Duron 600, Duron 700 and T-Bird 750 on it. Here's my overclocking results. All were achieved using a Cooler Master DP5-6H11 Heatsink/Fan, an Enlight 7237 case and a 300Watt power supply.

D600 --> 900MHz
D700 --> 1083MHz
T750 --> 927MHz

The voltage setting for all of the above: 1.85v.

I can't imagine why you would want a retail CPU. Get an OEM one and buy yourself a decent heatsink and fan.

Hope this give you some insight. Good luck with your project.

 

[DACracker]

lemme explain the retail proc: the lowest price on pricewatch for a tbird 900 oem is 140+ at least 10 shipping. i got the retail vers (w hsf) for the 150 w/ free shipping... might was well take the hsf with it, plus the 3 year warranty it comes with... althought ocing voids the warranty, doesnt it? hmmm. oh well. it's on the way now...

 

[Dan]

Hey, the retail CPU is on it's way so it's a moot point. Frankly, I've never paid attention to a processor's warranty. (And yes, overclocking does void the warranty.) For me, the warranty is another thing that's moot. I generally swap out a processor long before any warranty (OEM or retail) expires.

 

[DACracker]

most oem warranties are 15 or 30 day, and i don't upgrade cpu's THAT often... but as it turns out, the part is out of stock, so i'll get it somehwere else oem. should i save some money and go for a 750? as far as thunderbirds go, is that the best price/perf ratio?

 

[TELeast]

I really doubt the heatsink and fan that comes with the Retail CPU will be good enuf for your overclocking needs. Perheps you should read the heatsink roundup article(Nov,2000) on AnandTech.

I am almost finished builidng my Duron700 with the KT7, and I bought myself a Kanie Hedgehog with Delta Fan. Yes, I know it's LOUD, but I guess that's just like the exhaust I would have on my car...if I had a car

The 250W power supply is barely enuf. From experience, if you are serious about your machine (or you love your machine), you should at least get 300W power supply, and a good one too. Because spikes and surges in the AC power supply is VERY BAD for your computer. I had a hard drive lost its FAT and a crappy power supply cooked up before. From then on, I buy good powre supplies.

The one I am using on my dual300A@558 is 350W. I plan to get a Enermax 400W for the Duron machine. BTW, I have a Enermax 540W powering the SwiftechMC1000 cooler for my slot1 300A.

IMHO, the Cas2 PC-100 RAM is OK. Running CAS2@100Mhz is comparable to CAS3@133Mhz. But if the deciding factor is your overclocked FSB, then maybe you should get the PC-133 or 150. It won't hurt your system, only your wallet

Happy Overclocking...

PS. Good Choice of HDD. I just bought myself a 45GB too and I own previously a 20GB, 13Gb, and 10GB. All being the 2MB cache, 7200rpm versions.

 

[paulip88]

1. The PC100 should work fine. Although if you want optimal performance you would invest in some PC133.

2. Up the multiplier, then up the FSB. Up the voltage as necessary. Nothing too special here...

3. I think the retail HSF for the 900s are Taisols, which I've heard good things about. Since you may have ditched the retail route, then I would recommend one of the following (alphabetical!):
Alpha PAL6035
GlobalWin FOP38
Hedgehog
Taisol

3a. See above. Gorbs will be totally inadequate for any type of OCing for a TB900. Heck, I wouldn't even use a Gorb on that at default speed. Its OK for standard apps, but not quite good enough for your intentions.

4. If you have a really nice 250W, you may be able to pull it off. Ideally you would have a 300W or better PSU.

5. Connecting the L7 bridges will only get you 1.85. You will need to do a mod on your mobo to get more.

6. I would get a 900. Better chance of the chip reaching over 1GHz.

 

[DACracker]

thanks for the advice. i decided to go for a tbird 750 and try for a ghz, with a chrome orb (i know i have to modify it for a kt7-raid, but it'll be fine up to a ghz, i have good case cooling) and spend the extra money saved over a 900 to get an antec 303x ps and some pc150 ram.

 

[paulip88]

Just a word of warning, the chrome orb is probably not adequate to get you too far. If you haven't ordered it already, I would advise that you get a more robust cooling solution.

 

[DACracker]

are you sure? in anantech's tests, it only got 2 degrees hotter than a superorb or the pal6035, on exactly the same proc i'm getting at about the ranging i'm planning to o/c to. i ordered it because i'm on a budget and at 16 bucks and free shipping it was hard to justify paying more than twice as much for an alpha or something similar... remember, my case has good ventilation too. shouldn't i be okay?

edit: anandtech review: "The Chrome Orb's performance is ok - it is not quite as efficient as its big brother Super Orb, but still it does a good job keeping CPUs cool enough. It is even suitable for moderate overclocking. Our Thunderbird-750 overclocked to 950MHz would run perfectly stable with the Chrome Orb. Also, it is inexpensive and not too loud."

 

[paulip88]

Most of what I heard about the chrome orb is not all that great. The Anandtech review is the most favorable viewpoint that I've seen. I'm not saying that its bad. I could be wrong. I just would not like to have the risk that my rig would not be running at full speed because I overestimated the cooling ability of my HSF.

 

[DACracker]

good point. could someone link some other reviews they've come across? Also, what about this idea: use some 3" plastic duct to pipe cold air in from the rear exhaust hole (with a screen on it to keep dust out of course) so that all air that blows on the proc would be room temp. i modified that idea from here. Tell me what you think.
peace.