Building my second gaming rig... this time OCing

[hynat]

This is going to be my rig for running Oblivion @ 1920x1200, OCing for the first time. I don't want to OC to a point where I have to mess with the vcore and whatnot. I don't want to go SLI.

I made the choices for the CPU, gfx card, HD and PS, and I'm pretty confident with it.
But as for the mobo--I've been reading the motherboard forums for a while but there doesn't seem to be a definite answer. Also I would like to get high performance ram for OCing. Corsair XMS looks to be pretty standard, but I wanted to make these two decisions together for assured compatibility.

Any cooling (really good case, fan, etc.) recommendations appreciated.


So here goes:

Opteron 170 or one of the X2s--couldn't go wrong either way?
Sapphire X1900XT (could go for XTX but probably a waste)
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10k RPM
Seasonic 500--500 should be enough? Quiet is always nice.
DFI LanParty UT Ultra-D--only problem with this mobo is I'm OCing for the first time and the BIOS settings could scare me off. Also heard of some incompatibility problems with some memory and Seasonic PS.


Thanks.

 

[velis]

I'm using an ASUS A8N-SLI and find it nice for overclocking. It won't achieve the highest overclocks and you have to up the clock gradually, but the process itself is simple and it still has enough parameters for you to play with. If you don't care about those 10MHz difference between an ASUS and a DFI then I can surely recommend you one of the ASUS higher end boards.
I don't use SLI, but bought this mobo because I figured a new bandwidth hungry type of card could pop up. Guess I was wrong on that one since one year later there are still no serious candidates Anyway, buying such a mobo will not restrict you in any way with your single gfx card solution.

The other components you suggest seem fine to me. Don't expect quiet with high end gfx cards though unless you plan to watercool.
As for case I'd suggest Antec P150 or P180. They seem to be getting good reviews on silentpcreview.com. P180 is very big though.

 

[hynat]

Thanks.

I've been thinking about the A8N SLI/Premium, because of good reviews but it's probably overkill--I really don't plan on using SLI.

 

[Bobthelost]

I'd look at the epox single card motherboard, they are supposed to be rather good perfromers and easy enough to overclock too. DFI overclocks really well but is fussy about compatability, you pays your money and takes your chances I don't think any of the Asus single card boards are as good as those two for overclocking.

Good case? You could go for the Antec P150, it's' designed to be a very quiet PC, suspended drives as standard! However it's not designed for high powered computers, you're probably better off looking at it's bigger brother the P180, which is a lot more "quiet" than "silent". I've got one and it's a bitch to work in, but the airflow is wonderful when done right.

But if you really want to cut down the noise the first thing to do is swap out that fan on the X1900XT, get an acelero or whatever the new AC heatsink is called.

 

[essasin]

You shouldn't have any problems with a dfi board if you do your research. But, it may be too much if you do not plan to increase the voltage. Id get a cheaper asrock, epox, or even a lower end asus board would do the trick.

 

[l Xes l]

i've seen good reults with epox...

 

[bob4432]

the whole reason to get an opteron is to get the cheaper ones and then o/c it, so get a 165 for ~$330 or whatever they are now. if you are going to o/c why spend the $$$ on the 170?

 

[DrMrLordX]

The 170 has a 10x multiplier. The 9x multi on the 165 is restrictive unless you really run those HTT speeds up through the roof.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
The 170 has a 10x multiplier. The 9x multi on the 165 is restrictive unless you really run those HTT speeds up through the roof.

what is wrong with running a higher htt?

 

[LiquidImpulse]

Originally posted by: essasin
You shouldn't have any problems with a dfi board if you do your research. But, it may be too much if you do not plan to increase the voltage. Id get a cheaper asrock, epox, or even a lower end asus board would do the trick.

i agree, very rarely, you will get a good overclock on stock voltages. besides, voltages wont BITE you, they are just there to help stabilize your system. (Dont think of it as adding more juice than needed, as overclocking scared me this way also)

 

[Powermoloch]

Mushkin Extreme DDR500 2 x 1gb are selling at 159.99 After a 40 $ rebate @ outpost.com. I just got mine just today, and it was fun.

 

[alimoalem]

i agree with a lot of the other previous posters....the p180 is good for silence, the Epox board (Epox 9npa+ Ultra) is a decent overclocker and stable board at around $105.

definitely get the 1900XT and just overclock it if you really need to. AT did a review on these cards and when OCed, they perform better than stock XTX's.

i also agree on getting the opty 165 instead of the 170.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: LiquidImpulse

Originally posted by: essasin
You shouldn't have any problems with a dfi board if you do your research. But, it may be too much if you do not plan to increase the voltage. Id get a cheaper asrock, epox, or even a lower end asus board would do the trick.

i agree, very rarely, you will get a good overclock on stock voltages. besides, voltages wont BITE you, they are just there to help stabilize your system. (Dont think of it as adding more juice than needed, as overclocking scared me this way also)

dfi is just for the extreme with its max voltages...for "normal" ocers the other brands will more than likely give less headaches due to the fact that the "normal" or "casual" ocer won't read nearly as much about o/cing than a hardcore o/cer. just my opinion...