Suggestions for New Build Very Good OC No Gaming

[s1tony]

Long time lurker, first time poster

I have a solid technical background, and have built a few machines for friends, relatives and even one for myself - running an overclocked Duron - still my main machine, so I am really itching to get my hands on some new hardware.

While not a gamer or bleeding-edge enthusiast, I do want a system with some very good OC ability, so I am planning on a C2D processor.

Budget: Don't need bargain build, but desire sweet spot on the price/performance curve [including OC-ability]

One thing I want from the motherboard is good RAID performance, as I am interested in setting up a Matrix RAID, so I am leaning toward a MB with an ICH8R SB. Also, I am thinking about horsing with some eSATA stuff. The ASUS P5B boards look like a good choice, but of the P5B varieties, is the ASUS P5B-Plus a good OC'er and will it meet my needs?

Is it worth my while to try a P35 variety?

Of the of C2D processors, I will probably choose from the following:
4300
4400
6300/20
6400/20

I am leaning toward the 6420 and would like to reach a solid 3.2GHz, but I could I achieve basically equal performance with a cheaper 43/4400? For memory, I am thinking decent DDR2 800, probably G.SKill


For chip Cooling, I am planning on a Thermaltake Ultra-120 Extreme or perhaps the cheaper Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, but I am certainly open to other suggestions.

From what I have read, better cooling for the NB might also be a good idea, so does anyone have some suggestions for this?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and advice.

 

[myocardia]

First, welcome to anandtech. I see you've done some homework. As far as more or less guaranteeing yourself of reaching 3.2 Ghz, I'd recommend getting an E6600, although quite a few E6420's have been getting there, also. Which PC6400 RAM you choose is up to you; they'll all do 400 Mhz.

And the Thermalright (not Thermaltake) Ultra 120 Extreme is the best of the best, as far as air cooling goes, but it's very hard to find. Other heatsinks that won't have any problems at all cooling a 3.2 Ghz C2D are: Tuniq Tower 120, the Thermalright Ultra 120 (non-Extreme version), Scythe Ninja B, Zalman 9700, among others. The AC Freezer 7 Pro should be able to handle a 3.2 Ghz C2D, but your processor won't be anywhere near as cool, as it would be with any of the above heatsinks. Lastly, which NB heatsink you decide to buy will depend totally on which motherboard and cpu heatsink you end up with. Most people who run their C2D @ 3.0-3.2 Ghz don't even need an aftermarket NB heatsink.

 

[DXtreme]

I'm building a new P5K and E6400 rig. I'm still trying to decide on either 800 or 1066 DDR2.

I think this G.Skill might be a little better overclocker. It uses Micron D9's and your choice uses ProMOS. It's only $10 more.

Just a thought!

 

[s1tony]

Thanks for the input.

After hours and hours or researching and reading forums, I believe I finally have all of my core components picked out for the build:

Rosewill R5604-TBK Case
R5604

DFI INFINITY P965-S MB
P965-S

E6420 C2D

Cooler Master Hyper Tx (or AC Freezer Pro7 or Scythe Mine) ???? CPU Cooler

G.Skill RAM - Thanks DXtreme G.Skill

Corsair 520HX PS

ASUS EN7300GT Graphics Card [Don't need for gaming]
ASUS EN7300GT

2 qty WD 320G SATA HD in some type of RAID configuration


Does anybody have some suggestions, warnings, cautions or other words of wisdom before I pull the trigger?