- Aug 30, 2008
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Hello,
I'm new to this and this is the first forum I've joined, so anybody's personal experience / recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Anyway, I'm in the process of building a new high end PC.
The current technology is new to me, although I have carried out quite a bit of research. I've built a PC before, but it was about 8 years ago, so obviously technology has moved on significantly from then.
I will be building this PC next weekend (once all the component have arrived).
The current spec is:
CPU: QX 9770 Quad Core Extreme Processor (I was opriinally going to buy a QX 9650, but received a bonus and thought what the hell. btw I got a good deal on the chip for England, which influenced my decision)
CPU HSF: TYphoon Big Typ 120VX (this has generally got good reviews)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 DDR3 (I understand from reviews / forums that this MB is good for overclocking and has had good reviews, although getting the right bios version is a pain in the a*se)
RAM: OCZ Gold Edition DDR3 1333Mhz 2 x 1Gb modules (I know I should have got the 1600MHz platinum edition, but I bought the RAM on holiday before buying the chip - that's what you get for an impulse buy. I will replace the RAM if I feel that it is not good enough once the system is built)
PSU Antec 1000W TruePower Quattro (certified for the graphics card (see below) and I believe this will deliver enough power)
Graphics card: Sapphire ATI HD4870 X2 2 Gb
Sound card: Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme Audio (PCI Express card)
Case: Coolmaster Praetorian 731 (2 x 80mm dia fans in the front, ditto for the back and 120mm dia fan in the side which lines up perfectly with the HSF on the CPU). I like this case; it is not as ott as a lot of the gamers cases on the market
None of the above components are OEM, so they have manufactuerer's warranties, etc.
I know Intel recommend liquid cooling for the QX9770, although there have been numerous people on forums who have used air cooling.
I will run the chip at stock speeds and monitor the core temps to begin with until I upgrade to liquid cooling (next month).
The reason for posting this forum is that I want to over-clock the chip to over 4.0GHz (ideally 4.2GHz) and I want to know which liquid cooling system is best for the bucks (I plan to spend around £120.00 (or approx. $220.00)). I was thinking about using the Swifttech H2O 220 Compact. This system is recommended by Intel and judging from reviews the best available that is Intel certified. I also want to eventually add additional heat plates for the graphics card, etc.
I do not want to lap the CPU because it is expensive to replace the chip if I get it wrong and it will also void Intel's 3-year warranty. I hope to keep this PC for about 4 years, which is why I am buying high end components, although I obviously want a system which is stable and will achieve this longevity.
Are there any obvious c**k-ups that you can see, which I have made with the core components (except those already mentioned above)?
Also, what are people's experience's of overclocking a QX9770 on this gigabyte MB?
btw thanks for the over-clocking guide provided by graysky - very informative. This bloke obviously knows what he is talking about.
Thanks for your time and any help you can give.
Cheers
I'm new to this and this is the first forum I've joined, so anybody's personal experience / recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Anyway, I'm in the process of building a new high end PC.
The current technology is new to me, although I have carried out quite a bit of research. I've built a PC before, but it was about 8 years ago, so obviously technology has moved on significantly from then.
I will be building this PC next weekend (once all the component have arrived).
The current spec is:
CPU: QX 9770 Quad Core Extreme Processor (I was opriinally going to buy a QX 9650, but received a bonus and thought what the hell. btw I got a good deal on the chip for England, which influenced my decision)
CPU HSF: TYphoon Big Typ 120VX (this has generally got good reviews)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 DDR3 (I understand from reviews / forums that this MB is good for overclocking and has had good reviews, although getting the right bios version is a pain in the a*se)
RAM: OCZ Gold Edition DDR3 1333Mhz 2 x 1Gb modules (I know I should have got the 1600MHz platinum edition, but I bought the RAM on holiday before buying the chip - that's what you get for an impulse buy. I will replace the RAM if I feel that it is not good enough once the system is built)
PSU Antec 1000W TruePower Quattro (certified for the graphics card (see below) and I believe this will deliver enough power)
Graphics card: Sapphire ATI HD4870 X2 2 Gb
Sound card: Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme Audio (PCI Express card)
Case: Coolmaster Praetorian 731 (2 x 80mm dia fans in the front, ditto for the back and 120mm dia fan in the side which lines up perfectly with the HSF on the CPU). I like this case; it is not as ott as a lot of the gamers cases on the market
None of the above components are OEM, so they have manufactuerer's warranties, etc.
I know Intel recommend liquid cooling for the QX9770, although there have been numerous people on forums who have used air cooling.
I will run the chip at stock speeds and monitor the core temps to begin with until I upgrade to liquid cooling (next month).
The reason for posting this forum is that I want to over-clock the chip to over 4.0GHz (ideally 4.2GHz) and I want to know which liquid cooling system is best for the bucks (I plan to spend around £120.00 (or approx. $220.00)). I was thinking about using the Swifttech H2O 220 Compact. This system is recommended by Intel and judging from reviews the best available that is Intel certified. I also want to eventually add additional heat plates for the graphics card, etc.
I do not want to lap the CPU because it is expensive to replace the chip if I get it wrong and it will also void Intel's 3-year warranty. I hope to keep this PC for about 4 years, which is why I am buying high end components, although I obviously want a system which is stable and will achieve this longevity.
Are there any obvious c**k-ups that you can see, which I have made with the core components (except those already mentioned above)?
Also, what are people's experience's of overclocking a QX9770 on this gigabyte MB?
btw thanks for the over-clocking guide provided by graysky - very informative. This bloke obviously knows what he is talking about.
Thanks for your time and any help you can give.
Cheers