question about overclocking

[YoYoBabyYo]

hi. i am not a computer wiz or anything, but i am interesting in building my first computer and i would like to overclock the cpu. i know how to install stuff, but i do not know how to choose the motherboards, heatsinks, power supply, fans and cases. does anybody have any suggestions or links to websites that can teach me? any help would be great. thanks!

 

[xenos500]

I have built a lot of Intel systems, if you want a P4 PM me with a price limit and I'll tell you exactly what I would buy right now.

If you want an AMD system, bah...someone else can help you much better.

let me know
austin

 

[Jeff7181]

Best value for AMD would be an XP2500 and... I usually recommend the A7N8X Deluxe... but it seems you can get either similar, or better performance from the NF7-S. The 8RDA+ is also a good choice... about $90 and performs very well and is very overclocker friendly. The retail heatsinks do fine... they've come a long way since the crappy things they gave away with Palomino's. I would recommend a good copper heatsink like the SK-7 or SLK-800 if you want to push it to it's limits. Pair that with a 80mm Panaflo and you'll be just fine.
As far as cases and power supplies, you really can't go wrong with Antec. They have wonderful case designs and very high quality power supplies. I'm using an Antec Performance 2 Workstation Tower with the SL350, 350 watt SmartPower power supply. And if you check out my rig, you'll see I have quite a few things running off that 350 watt, and it all works fine. So don't let someone tell you that you NEED a 480 watt or 550 watt power supply, because you don't. All you need is a quality power supply.
If you wanna go by specs, I believe AMD says you need 35 cfm coming in, and 35 cfm going out in order to give the CPU a fresh supply of air. Generally, an 80mm case fan in front, and an 80mm case fan in the rear (in addition to the fans in the power supply) would be enough. However, I have 2 in front and 2 in rear... so my case temp stays right around room temp
But yeah... you can easily build something like I just mentioned for under $500.

One thing to remember... do not skimp on the hard drive. You don't want a $40 CompUSA brand hard drive. Get a quality one like a Western Digital for high end performance, or a Seagate for near silence, or a Maxtor for the most storage space for your dollar. If you put a junk hard drive in a computer, the whole computer will feel slow.

 

[xenos500]

Enlight Case
Lite-On 52x burner
Sunon Fan x2
Black Floppy
hitachi HDD
Abit IC-7

to be completed later

 

[YoYoBabyYo]

thanks for all the help! i think i am gonna go for an AMD system because it cost a lot less. what about the memory? i am still confused about the FSB and the memory part. any more help would be greatly appreciated. thanks again!

 

[HansHurt]

Here are just a few of the many websites that can be useful in deciding what to buy.

HardOCP
Hexus
Overclockers.com w/ CPU Database
Motherboard Reviews
Motherboard Reviews
ArsTechnica
Storage Review
Xbit LAbs Reviews




Canadian Prices on a system I bought yesterday that overclocks very well:

Soltek SL-75FRN2-L 108.00
Soltek FX5600 Video 152.00
2 x Vantec Stealth 80mm Case Fans 19.00/pair
AthlonXP Barton 2500+(Retail w/Fan) 117.00
Liteon 16XDVD/48x24x48CDRW Combo Drive 67.00
FDD 10.00
Antec SLK2600 Case swapped 300W PSU w/Thermaltake 420W PSU 104.00
Rounded Cables (Floppy + 2x IDE) 26.00
OCZ Dual Channel 2x256MB PC3200 DDR w/Copper Heat Spreader 169.00
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM HDD 84.00

Total 856.00 CDN (Approx 635.00 US?)



To me this was a solid custom system on a tight budget. Compromised somewhat (non-Intel, didn't get all the "brand-name stuff", matching colours.. etc), but overall a nice overclocker and stable performer @ a solid price. The M/B, AMD CPU and video card is where the money was saved w/o any, or VERY minor performance loss. Hit 2470Mhz stable (over 30% increase) with room for more. This is w/ the stock Heatsink...the quality RAM helps though.

If I went the Intel route(which I actually prefer[ed]), the xtra 200.00 would have broke my budget.

Anyway, moral of the story.... you don't have to spend a fortune on top gear, there are alternatives at a lower price, just don't go too cheap on RAM, HD and MB unless they are proven reliable through reviews and so on. If cost isn't an issue...great.

Have fun.

 

[high]

Hey Hans just wondering if those parts were ordered online??? I am currently looking long and hard for a canadian equivalent to newegg.com. Any ideas on yours or any other online canadian ordering sites I can check out?

 

[HansHurt]

Canada really does need a Newegg equivalent..I agree. All the online hardware retailers are too expensive here.

I purchased these from NCIX.COM online where I recieve a 2.5% discount (yup, 2.5% lol), and went to the store in Vancouver to pick 'em up. There prices aren't the best overall, but on select items during sales they are quite good. I grabbed all of these parts during their thanksgiving sale, which ended yesterday.

NCIX is the only Canadian online hardware retailer that I know of that has an effective tech support dept. w/ reasonable response times. Most of their sales are online now, so they have made an effort to improve in that area. I feel fairly confident ordering online from them.

Other retailers include:

ATIC.CA - If using CC you have to swipe it in person, but they accept M.O., Telewire, Bank Transfers and so on. Not very friendly, but consistently low priced. Tech support, returns etc are a bit of a hassle....not scam artists or anything though. Online sales aren't their thing really.

TigerDirect.CA - Limited brands, good pricing on certain things.

Bah, there are others, but as I am sure you already know, like these last two they are either too limited, not focused on online sales or too expensive.

Newegg....move up north!!