OC Noob with some questions

[G473R]

Hey guys, just signed up for the forums and also just ordered my parts to build a computer. I got all of this...

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR Motherboard (it's the one with the 680i chipset)
EVGA nVidia 8800 GTS
Pentium D 805 Smithfield Dual-Core 2.66 GHz
2 GB Corsair XMS DDR2-800
2 250GB Western Digital Sata HDD
Water cooling components to cool the CPU

Few questions I had as I have been out of the whole computer scene for a while and I dunno about all this newer stuffs.
- How do I setup a Raid 0 config?
- How do I overclock this system? (after seeing that article where they pushed one to 4.1GHz I am trying to do the same thing)
- Is it possible to overclock the GPU also on these 8800's? (waiting for a waterblock for them to come out before I try)
- Anyone have any problems using this stuff before (i.e. a setup similar or an idividual component)?

I know I am a noob when it comes to all this and I apologize if I ask stupid questions. I just would like to know what I am doing before I try to setup everything. I am an IT in the Navy (currently deployed overseas) but I do mostly radio communications and I haven't touched a computer for about a year now. I understand how computers work and how to build them, I am new to this overclocking and raid setups as I have never done either before. I appreciate the help everyone, thank you.

 

[slicessoul]

First of all, i would suggest you to change the processor. Get the Core 2 Duo (C2D) such as E6400 or E6600 not the Pentium 4 D (P4D). C2D performance are far more better than P4D.

 

[G473R]

The only reason I got the P4 was because I didn't have the money to drop on a Core 2 Duo right now (atleast not the one I wanted and I had to keep costs under $2000 for this whole thing at the moment) so I decided to get something cheap I could sqeeze some power out of until I can get the processor I want here in a few months. I read the article on here about how they reached 4.1 GHz with it and since it has 2 cores I said that'll work for me ($90 aint to bad for it). Anyways, didn't they say after OC'ing this it was running faster than the Core 2 Duo Extreme they OC'ed? I realized it sucks more juice which in turns prolly makes it hotter than a Core 2 Duo, but speed wise it is faster running at that, right? I'm not sure, but help is appreciated, I'm new to this OC thing and I'm open for suggestions. I'm looking at upgrading processors to a quad core when they are finally out (and priced to afford) and getting another 8800 GTS to go quad sli. I been wanting to build me a computer for years now and I have the money to play with now so I'm building my dream machine to do my modeling and rendering/photo and video editing plus play games on. (slightly budgeted that's why I choose the GTS and not the GTX). Thanks.

 

[ocnewb]

D805 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001

E6300 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005

$90 Difference and much better performance.

If your going to drop that kind of money in a pc you should'nt skimp on the most important part =) (when it comes to performance)

See my sig for the potential of the Core 2 Duo Overclockablility.(on air)

 

[G473R]

Oh I understand that the Core 2 Duo is better than the P4. Right now I didn't have the money to get one of those. I ended up spending a little less than $1900 for everything (getting into the water stuff and starting from scratch with alot of case mods and things I liked, neons, UV glowing stuff, etc). I just started this OC stuff and watercooling too, so I figured if I screwed up or something bad happened, it wouldn't be a giant loss at $90. Plus I am kinda waiting for the quad cores to come out because I really want one of those. The C2D's are nice though, don't get me wrong. Anyone tell me about how to OC this stuff anyways? Do you just increase the FSB in the bios or what? I'm new to all this, thanks.

 

[grizzman]

Start here:

Tomshardware 4.1 Ghz for $130

 

[slicessoul]

Overclocking can be done mostly in BIOS by raising the FSB and multiplier of CPU or by using third party softwares specialized for OC. To accomplish the maximum overclocking you won't need the best cooling system only, you'll need other peripherals such mainboard, memory, powersupply and graphics card which can support the OC.

You'll need patience and some trial and error experiences.

Prepare yourself for some corrupted data, burn chip, or the baddest thing will happen such as burned processor that make your PC is useless.

So, i wouldn't suggest you anymore to buy those C2D. If you want to stick with P4D, then that's it, it's up2u. Have to remember that not every 805 is the same. If you are lucky you can have those 805 that can be OCed 'till more than 4Gigs. If you aren't lucky, maybe you'll be able to OCed it only 50 MHz more.

To achieved the 4 gigs :
805 FSB is 533MHz (133) and its multiplier is 20 (locked). To reach 4 GHz, you can raise the FSB until 800MHz (200). You can set all this in the BIOS.

 

[G473R]

I understand a C2D would have been better. I wanted water cooling, air was not an option for me. I am going to get a quad core as my next processor. I bought the P4 as a "I need a processor that works for now for a few months so I can save up for my quad core". Plus if I burn it up it's no big loss as I have never done any OC'ing before. I do not want a C2D. I appreciate the link for the article too grizzman. Just wondering when I can get some help with the questions I asked and not hounded for not getting a C2D...

 

[G473R]

Apprecaite that Slicessoul, was kinda cloudy at what I had to do at first. Should be fairly simple to do then if all I have to do is mess with the bios. I made sure I bought all the right stuff to do it, I got the best MB, well imo after reading about a ton of them online. SLI certified memory from corsair. The new low end 8800 vid card. Just hope the stuff runs good after that. Thank you.

 

[ocnewb]

Cant burn it up, all these new chips have heat regulated automatic shutdown safties on them. IE: It gets to hot, it shuts its self off before andyreal damage is done.

As for over clocking, there is lots you have to take into consideration. As a newbie id stick with just upping your FSB and CPU volatge in the bios till you reach max OC(while watching temps and not going to high on the cpu voltage). As you get a better feel for it you can start to adjust other settings such as NB volatge and Ram voltage/timings.

 

[PC_God]

water cooling is dumb

get a c2d

get a P965 mobo

keep the 8800GTS

2-320 gb hd's

Gskill has ddr2 800 for $200

 

[G473R]

Man I am sorry, I really can't say anything nice...Umm lets see here. Some people are wiser (or atleast in the eyes of others) when they just don't say anything...