Computer finished. Overclocking ensues!

[cyrusm]

Edit #3:
slow responses from people
that is to say none.

current settings:
i ran 4 orthos simo, 3ghz, about 30 mins. went just fine. but i'll definitely do longer testing.
gpu@626 mhz
gpu mem@930
doom3 at high settings/1680x1050 doesnt drop from 60 (hasnt yet, about 30 minutes into the game).
riddick escape from butchers bay doesnt drop from 140 fps (all maxed)
nfs: most wanted runs 60fps everything max except AA. 45 ish with.
oblivion: havent tested quite yet.
3dmark unfortunately asks me to go online..and no internet connection yet
same with halflife2.


Edit #2:
a few things:
1)the ps comes awfully close to the arctic freezer 7. in fact the power cable almost touches, so i had to secure the wire to the ps (pic somewhere below)
2) im running orthos right now at 9x333, about 15 minutes in, 57, 59, 58, 60.
3) my mem is running at 667 mhz now when it could be at 800. read below about my gripe.
4) last set of pictures put up. look below.


ok so i took 49 pictures (3 meg jpegs each, so feel free to zoom in)
as i speak im uploading as fast as i can, while running orthos (im on my laptop).
im at 9x300 but i have tons of questions right now regarding overclocking.
i'll get to that in a bit, but for starters:
1)my default was 9x multi, 200 fsb...why wasnt it 266?
when i used cpuz in windows it showed the right speed (2.4).
2)should spd be 1:1? even tho im only at 300? because from what ive read that means my ram only runs at 600 mhz. someone please clarify this (i have 800mhz pc6400 ram). i want to use it to its maximum potential.
3)i cant find the speed step and i want to turn it off because it annoys me. where is it in the p35c-ds3r bios? cant find it anywhere.
4)my ram timings are 5:5:5:12 (on the ram), but on bios its 555:15. should i leave it?
5)my cpu temps are around 55-58 degrees right now, (while running orthos@2.7ghz). is that ok?
i know that there are tons of guides out there, and i've read a few. but i need answers that are specific to my build. much appreciated.
6)in cpuz, under stepping it says "b", but under revision it says "go".. is this go or b3??

Pictures (i'll put a caption for each one if there is a request. some of them i took with a purpose which i surely will have forgotten):
final batch (41-49)
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00073.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00072.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00071.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00070.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00069.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00068.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00067.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00066.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00065.jpg

second batch (21-40)
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00064.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00063.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00062.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00061.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00060.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00059.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00058.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00057.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00056.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00055.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00054.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00053.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00052.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00051.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00050.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00049.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00048.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00047.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00046.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00045.jpg

first batch (1-20)

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00044.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00043.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00042.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00041.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00040.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00039.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00038.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00037.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00036.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00035.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00034.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00033.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00032.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00031.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00030.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00029.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00028.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00027.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00025.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb...thicExile/DSC00024.jpg





I finally got all the pieces together (as in they finally shipped). They're all sitting on my bed, looking sexy.
I will be making this pc (and its my first time, so it'll be rough). I might make a youtube video, or just get lazy and take tons of pictures.
As an introduction, these are the parts I have and why I bought each one:
Q6600 (came in yesterday, its SLACR )
-chose it for obvious reasons. reasonably prices, quad core, overclockable, etc.
P35C-DS3R
-overall solid board. foward compatible (45nm chipsets), as well as ddr3 dimms. looks to be a solid motherboard overall. has a good audio chip. all the tidbits are high quality. I opened the box and the thing just looks SO SEXY!
E-vga 8800GTS 320MB-chose this specific model for a few reasons. 1) there are a few games out right now that i'm really dying to play (Supreme commander, R6:vegas), whereas theres a TON coming out that I can't wait for (Bioshock, Crysis, Assassin's Creed, Cod4, that new mmo). It makes sense to me to buy a card that was approx 300 dollars cheaper then a GTX now, and, in 90 days, upgrade it to whatever is leading at that time. This will save money, and it will give me a solid current video card (people its still a 8800!)
500 GB Western Digital 16MB Cache Hard disk (7200RPM)
-cheap, reliable, MASSIVE. I've never had trouble with WD, so this was an obvious choice.
LG 18x DL Burner
-doubt i'll be burning many dvds or cds, but this thing cost 40 cad, and I still need a cd/dvd reader for program installation and what not.
2x 1GB OCZ XTC PC6400 Ram
-cheap. I LOVE the looks of these sticks. will look absolutely amazing in the window case. And OCZ offers their unbeatable lifetime warranty. And I still have the option to upgrade to 4 gigs later if I need to (vista cough).
Arctic Freezer 7 + AS5
-cheap. Did a lot of research, and I got these both with tax and everything for like 35 bucks. I'm not an extreme overclocker (more details on that later), but i do want to feel safe about my quads pumping juice at a low temp.
Optiquest Q20WB
-1000:1 contrast. 5ms response time. 20" viewable. lotsa reader reviews saying no ghosting. TWO HUNDRED CANADIAN!
Ultra Grid w/ 700W PS with modular cables
-Absolutely sexy case. I...I'm speechless. I just love it. and 110 for both (where the ps alone sells for about 100 on amazon). what a deal.



So thats it for now. If you have questions, ask away. I will definitely make this computer within this week (latest day is friday), and while doing so will take as many pictures as I can. Hopefully the veteran pc makers on this forum will be helpful along the way


And, that wont be the end either. After 2 - 3 days of massive burn in, I will start the vid/cpu overclocking .
Goals: 3.2 GHZ CPU
630+ MHZ / 2.0+ GHZ VID

We'll see how it all goes.

Questions? ... i have one. Why is this in CPU forum?
it seems far better in General Hardware.

-CPU Moderator apoppin

 

[mechBgon]

D'oh, you forgot pizza.



PC building guide, if you need one

 

[ZOXXO]

Have fun.

 

[cyrusm]

thanks for the link, i'll use that in conjunction with my mobo's instructions !

quick question: when windows premium home says it can be installed once, do they mean 1 cdkey (so you can reinstall later and whatnot) or does it mean the cd will just not work after 1 install?
I'm heavily leaning on buying a copy of vista just cuz it seems right to do so with a new pc.

 

[Cutthroat]

OEM copy can be installed on one PC, always has to be the same PC though, you can't reactivate if you move it to a new PC, technically.

Retail copy can be moved from one PC to another, but can only be installed on one PC at any time.

 

[toughwimp11]

i too bought the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro and the AS5 but after reading this, i decided to keep the mx-1 because it seemed to actually work a lot better. I know that those results are on a AC 64 but its the same paste so it shouldnt be different.

also according to this, mx-1 is considered one of the best while AS5 is considered good. once again, both will probably work fine but thats just what i gathered.

currently my e6750 @ stock runs 20C idle and around 40C load

 

[cyrusm]

ok gonna update this prolly within 2 hours.
almost finished building this, lots of pictures were taken (and more to go)
we were just stuck cuz we couldnt figure out if sata2 required separate power, or if the power came from the sata2 cable itself.

 

[Heller]

Originally posted by: cyrusm
ok gonna update this prolly within 2 hours.
almost finished building this, lots of pictures were taken (and more to go)
we were just stuck cuz we couldnt figure out if sata2 required separate power, or if the power came from the sata2 cable itself.

It requires a seperate power source, usually a molex adapter..

 

[Rumple]

Originally posted by: Cutthroat
OEM copy can be installed on one PC, always has to be the same PC though, you can't reactivate if you move it to a new PC, technically.

Retail copy can be moved from one PC to another, but can only be installed on one PC at any time.

Actually i have had the same OEM copy of windows XP home for about 4 years. I have built 4 diff PCs and installed it on each one. Now the last 2 have said that i cannot install it yet all i did was call microsoft and told them that i upgraded my PC and they had no problem giving me an activation code.

 

[Cutthroat]

Originally posted by: Rumple

Originally posted by: Cutthroat
OEM copy can be installed on one PC, always has to be the same PC though, you can't reactivate if you move it to a new PC, technically.

Retail copy can be moved from one PC to another, but can only be installed on one PC at any time.

Actually i have had the same OEM copy of windows XP home for about 4 years. I have built 4 diff PCs and installed it on each one. Now the last 2 have said that i cannot install it yet all i did was call microsoft and told them that i upgraded my PC and they had no problem giving me an activation code.

Yes you are right, so have I. But technically per the EULA you are not allowed to.

 

[guaterickie]

lets see those pictures already! im anxious to see how it comes out!

 

[cyrusm]

main post being updated


ok all updates finished.
input people! and answers too!
many thanks.

 

[ForumMaster]

you did a very nice job but i would suggest you work a little on your cabling. use zip-ties and minimize the cabling. this will give a better apearence, plus better airflow.

 

[cyrusm]

yea im VERY conscious about the cabling
i keep looking over to see if theres smoking coming up cuz theres so much of it.


unfortunately the PS came with power cables that look like this:


=---------|= |=
all with 2 parralells. thats my only gripe. forum master; if you could point out any SPECIFIC places (i can take more pics if needed), id be very grateful. its my first comp and my biggest dread is easily a wire catching on fire

 

[cyrusm]

ok so updates:

i ran 4 orthos'sfor about 2 hours @ 9x 333 without a hitch.
the highest the cpu temp climbed was 65 which kinda worried me.
also i overclocked my gpu to 626/930, and played a couple hours of obliv and ran 3dmark..no errors nothing. my gpu was at 68 degrees in the midst of play.
any thoughts?

 

[cyrusm]

bump

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

How quiet is your arctic cooling freezer 7 pro when the quad is maxed out (or maybe 2 of the 4 cores)? I am in the market for a SUPER quiet one since the stock howls like crazy at 100% usage. Maybe tidy up those cables.

 

[cyrusm]

lemme put it this way
i cant hear anything except my gpu.
at the speed that the original hsf would run, it is DEAD quiet. you have my word on that.when i finished building it i was worried it was working properly perhaps. but yes at around 1500ish rpm, you cant hear a thing.
im running it at 3k now and still it gets dwarfed by my gpu
(3k might be inaccurate, but thats what gigabytes direct mobo utility tells me)


and yea i gotta do something about the cables
worst one is the power to mobo cable, its so close to the hsf its unreal.


i should put a picture up of how we modded the side grill. we used the HSF that came with the cpu as another fan! its genius.

 

[MarcVenice]

ac7 or ac64 pro are pretty darn quiet. My 8800gts is pretty quiet too btw, unless I crank up the fan above 60%, but that never happens in auto mode, not even when gaming for a long time. 65c is a little hot, but not TOO hot. Perhaps settle for 3ghz and sub 60 celsius load temps ? Ac7 pro is a nice cooler, but it's not a thermalright 120.