Thanks for the responses guys. I'll address a couple of your questions/comments and ask a few. My current rig is a Dell with Intel board so I have never been able to mess around with ocing. Much of what I think I can do is based on reading reviews, other people's comments, and working math with paper and pencil. Don't think I'm challenging any of your comments, just pointing out my rationale. Please educate me if I am wrong.
Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
Is it just me or is that an SLK with heatpipes? NICE??? If I were you I would have gone with 3500 Ram for a better Oc but it is a good rig.
You know, I went back and forth on this for a long time. For $100 more I could get the Corsar PC3500, or I could put that towards something else. I went with the later only after reading the following two articles.
865PE & 875P Memory Guide
While Corsair LL modules are certainly the best modules you can pair with an 865PE or 875P motherboard they are significantly more expensive than most other modules. Kingston HyperX or OCZ EL PC3200 modules are other excellent alternatives. However when it comes right down to it you can't beat Crucial in value. Since the difference between all five memory modules was very slim to begin with (the largest variance was 3% in one instance), Crucial's price advantage over Corsair is significant. In fact, buying two PC3200 Crucial modules is about 30% cheaper than buying two PC3200 Corsair LL modules (be it LL/TwinX or vanilla CAS2.0 modules).
Crucial PC3200 DDR RAM
Overclocking:
Honestly, who would have thought that the Crucial memory would have been very overclockable. We would have been very happy if it could have done tighter timings but 470MHz DDR, regardless is very good for PC3200 memory. Oddly, the memory only needed 2.65V to run absolutely stable at these high speeds. Almost all motherboards, that support overclocking, have options that go up to 2.8V. Perhaps someone else may have better results.
From my calculations I should never need more than 440 Mhz, but knowing that I can go up to 470 Mhz makes me comfortable.
Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Almost perfect. Consider the 2.6C if the 2.8C's dont drop in price a lot. It still o/cs well (although are getting some nice results with 2.8C's).
Also, did you order the HD yet? I would have gone SATA for sure, Maxtor or WD (or perhaps a Seagate 7200.7). I've never heard of Aspire. Do they make good PSU's? What's the +12V rail rated on that one? I guess you'll see how it performs once you get it. Personally, I'd recommend an Enermax or Antec 430W over another brand, but that Aspire one should be fine.
Looks like the best prices out there right now are - 2.8C for $229; 2.6C for $193; 2.4C for $175. only $49 between the 2.4C and 2.8C. Why I picked the 2.8C.
I would like to add SATA down the road. Current rig doens't support SATA so I couldn't hook it up and copy my existing HD. Something I want to do to make things go smoother. Later I may add a small SATA drive to keep all my game stuff on, but for now the WD will be a big improvement for me. Currently I only have a 2MB cache.
Here is a link to the Aspire PSU >>>
Aspire PSU Review. It got a good review, though I don't know mcuh about other PSU to compare it. It says that at +12V it has a DC output of 34A. Does that sound right? Here is a pic of the spec sticker >>>
PSU Spec Sticker.
Here are a couple cool pics. Why I wound up picking this PSU >>>
Large View and
Lights Out.
Now a couple questions >>> when ocing...what is the main factor that prevents you from going higher. Form what I have read, and the math I have done, running a 2.8C at 250FSB would get me to 3.5 Ghz (on paper). Using a 5:4 ration, my memory would be running at 400 Mhz. That tells me that the memory wouldn't be holding me up. Is it mainly heat on the CPU? So if my heat sink fan can handle the heat I am ok, or is it voltage? Again, I have never done any cpu/ram ocing because of my current system. Can anyone point out some of the finer details here?
Also, if 3.5 Ghz is pushing it, I have no problem running it slower...say a 225FSB giving me a 3.2 oc and leaving the ratio at 1:1 to give me memory at 450 Mhz (which the crucial has been shown to do). This is where I usually go back to pen and paper and compare the oc numbers for a 2.4C and a 2.6C. Anyone want to share some thoughts?
Thanks.
Facebook
Twitter