New system on it's way!

[mrichardson2]

I finally ordered my new system. Here's the main items I'm getting:

Aerocool Jetmaster case
DFI Lanparty UT nf4 Ultra D
AMD Athlon64 3200+ (Venice)
OCZ Gold DDR400 (2x512MB)
Antec TruePowerII 550W
Leadtek 6600GT TDH Extreme PCIe
WD 160GB SATA 3.0gb/s (x2)
Lite-On DVD Burner & CD-ROM, floppy (of course)

Here are some of my questions. After I get everything assembled and load in Win XP Pro, update to SP2, etc:

1) I want to test everything out. I've read about 3DMark, Prime95, SuperPI, etc. What benchmark tests should I use on this system and where is a good place to download multiple benchmark programs? Are they free to download?

2) I'm using Arctic Silver 5, which has a 200 hour break-in period. Is it a bad idea to run the computer through all these tests before that break-in is over? I want to test CPU, MB, etc before time to RMA is up. According to AS website, after the break-in period, you can leave the computer on all the time if you want, but before that you should power down periodically.

3) I want to test as much as I can at stock, then overclock (never OC'd before) Once I'm good and stable, I'd like to re-test everything to see what kind of improvement I got. Is is bad to OC before the Arctic Silver break in period of 200 hours?

4) Any other helpful advice you can give me is appreciated. I've built several systems before but not anything new like this. Anything I should be extra careful about?

5) What about monitoring system/CPU temps while overclocking (or even at stock speeds after assembly) Are the BIOS temps at least in the ballpark (within a degree or two?) Should I by a temp sensor or something like that? If yes, what would you recommend?

Thanks for any advice you can give me now. I'll be back when it's together to get help with overclocking (I can't wait for that - always wanted to try my hand at it!!)

Thanks

 

[mezrah]

1) www.guru3d.com

 

[OdiN]

Break in period? It's not an engine. I say ignore that BS.

I used arctic silver before...didn't read about any break in period and nothing was mentioned with the package I got. Never did anything like that and I overclocked just fine.

I use Arctic Alumina now. It overclocks just fine too.


I could go ask the guys...their office is in the town where I live

 

[mrichardson2]

Yeah, the break-in period was new for me to. Maybe it doesn't mean much, here what it said:

From: http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

Important Reminder:
Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.