Options For Making System Faster

[kykartracer]

I built a computer about a year ago and I am looking at boosting the performance some. I am thinking that overclocking a couple things might be the most logical step since everything is still fairly recent hardware. The problem is I don't have a clue what I am doing when it comes to overclocking and will probably seek someone that does know what they are doing to help me. Here is my current configuration:

Intel Core2Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz, 8 MB Cache, 1066 MHz FSB Processor
XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC 768MB GDDR3 PCI-e Video Card
Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM, 400GB, 8MB, Serial ATA-300 Hard Drive
Thermaltake ToughPower 1000-Watt SLI Ready Power Supply
Corsair XMS2 DHX 4096MB Dual Channel PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (5-5-5-18 Latencies)

The cooling system:

Thermaltake Black Kandalf LCS Full-Tower ATX Case with Built-In Liquid Cooling System
360 MM x 120 MM Radiator
(3) 120 MM Fans For Radiator
(1) 120 MM Rear Exhaust Fan
(1) 90 MM Rear Exhaust Fan
(1) 140 MM Power Supply Fan
(1) 80 MM PCI Slot Fan
(1) Corsair Dominator RAM Fan Set
(1) CPU Copper Waterblock
(1) 8800GTX Watercooling Unit With Fan

I am thinking about overclocking the processor and the RAM since the video card is already overclocked. I know there is a guide on the forums here, but does anyone know of other guides as well that might be helpful in learning about overclocking? I have no experience when it comes to overclocking. Do I just overclock the RAM and processor or do I need to overclock the motherboard as well?

Is there anything I can do cheaply to boost performance? Possibly going to the Corsair Dominator PC8500 RAM?

Also, I was thinking about swapping the 7,200 RPM hard drive out for a pair of 10,000 RPM Velociraptors put together in Raid 0 when I get some money together. Where will I notice the biggest gains if I do this?

One other thing, they offer a chipset waterblock as well. Is this really necessary?

 

[festerovic]

I know you want the easy answer, but you *really* need to read the guide here. Post a question about something in the guide that is confusing, or is not working as expected. You need to know what's up before you get into it.

To answer your other questions, you have a good setup for OCing. Don't get new RAM unless, in your OCing attempts, hampers the rest of the OC. New ram won't significantly speed anything up in your case. Also when you OC the RAM and processor, you are usually raising the FSB of the motherboard, so yes you overclock it as well (this is relative to the speed the chip runs at, and most boards handle high FSB, so it's not black and white)

There is much debate on RAID with drives in these forums. Check those out. RAID usually helps the most when there are many requests for data at the same time, like with servers. If you are gaming and doing average joe computer stuff, the Velociraptors are awesome without RAID.

Chipset waterblock is for dramatically raising FSB speeds. You will know if you need it once you get into OCing.

Good luck.

 

[calinkula]

If that Q6600 is water cooled then the question becomes why are you not overclocking. Read the stickies to learn what to do.

What would I do? Raise the FSB some and adjust memory setting to keep RAM speeds from getting out of hand. Then stress test while watching the temps/stability. If CPU is under 60C @ load and it is not stable, I would bump up the CPU voltage a step. Rinse. Repeat.

 

[jsc]

If you have a Q6600 G0 stepping (read the stickies), you should be able to easily reach 3.6 GHz.

I can - on air.