See any potential problems with this setup?

[DamnSkippy]

Refreshing my system and would like to run it buy you guys to see if I missed any potential pitfalls. The MB, RAM, heat sink and CPU are the only new components.

I do plan to overclock to at least 3.4GHz (would like a little more) and I am not interested in RAID.

Asus P5E
Intel E8500
Noctua NH-U12P
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF
PNY GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB
Soundblaster XFi gamer
3 Seagate 7200.11 drives
1 Sumsung F1 1TB drive
OCZ GameXStream 600watt (I also have a PCPC Silencer 750)
LG GGC-H20L blu-ray (SATA) and a pioneer DVD+RW drive (IDE)
Antec large tower (don't remember the name/number)

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: DamnSkippy
See any potential problems with this setup?

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF

Yes...
Overkill and way over 1.8v

You don't plan an OC up to 5GHz do you?
PC2-6400 could take you up to 3.8GHz using the E8500.

 

[DSF]

But then he wouldn't get to DOMINATE people.

Seriously though, Blain is right. DDR2-800 is all you need for your overclocking goals.

Out of curiosity, how did you come up with the 3.4GHz figure? It just seems arbitrary. If that's about as far as you want to push it, don't waste the money on an E8500. Just get an E8400, which will go to 3.6GHz on DDR2-800, or potentially up to about 4GHz on DDR2-1000 before your chip will beg for mercy. An E8400 at 3.6GHz and an E8500 at 3.6GHz are functionally equivalent.

I'm also not convinced that an X38 motherboard is the best use of your money with an Nvidia graphics card. A P45 chipset board would do just fine.

 

[DamnSkippy]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I chose that RAM because the gskill 1066 has issues with the board and the Corsair is on the compatibility charts up to 1066. I wanted to remove the memory as a potential bottleneck in getting a good overclock so I went with something I felt would do that.

Honestly I did pull 3.4 out of the air as number that if I can not get to at a minimum I am going to be pissed LOL. I would be happy at 3.8GHz and elated at 4.0GHz. I would like the system to be as fast as it can be without water cooling or making a bunch of noise I guess would be a way to say it.

I have no plans to add a second video card so SLI/Crossfire means nothing to me. I went with a X38 because it seems to be a little faster in a few places and is simply newer. Plus if I want I can flash the BIOS to a Formula etc. Is there a performance difference with Nvidia cards between an X38 and P45 or is it more based on simply being overkill?

I tend to overbuy so I do not underbuy as long as the difference in price makes it worth it to me.

 

[DSF]

P45 isn't underbuying. I haven't seen any evidence of a real performance difference, and P45 is the newer chipset since you mentioned that.

With DDR2-1000 your memory won't be the bottleneck, and it's less expensive than DDR2-1066.

 

[DamnSkippy]

After looking around some and doing a little chatting at other forums I think I will go with these http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145

Thanks for the info DSF

 

[geokilla]

If you have the money, sell your 8800GTS and get a 4850 instead. Other than that, it should be good.

 

[DSF]

That RAM would be what I would choose if I were building today, Skippy. I wouldn't change your video card unless you're experiencing problems with it.

 

[DamnSkippy]

Thanks for the suggestion geokilla, I think I will stick with the current card as I do not do a lot of gaming on this system. Mainly work in Lightroom, Photoshop etc and watch some Blu-Ray movies

 

[Denithor]

Here's my recommendations:

ASUS P5Q Pro $150
e8400 $175
Mushkin 2x2GB DDR2-800 $71AR

This setup should easily OC to 3.6GHz at the stock speed for the memory (9x400). The P45 boards are newer technology than X38 and known to OC very well.