Overclocking Components

[zippy93]

Hello
I currently have an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and Asus P5KPL/1600. I want to upgrade my mobo and RAM any ideas?
They have to be good for overclocking it has to be ddr3 and preferably the mobo can support both ddr2 and ddr3 but that doesnt really matter it also has to have built in RAID. Thanks in advance

 

[geofelt]

A bit more info please:

What do you wish to accomplish with an upgrade?
How is this system to be used?
What is the problem with your current system?
What are the parts of the rest of your system?
Do you need a microatx board, or is atx ok?
Do you still need integrated graphics?

Cpu performance is not very sensitive to ram speeds.
If you look at real application and game benchmarks(vs. synthetic tests),
you will see negligible difference in performance between the slowest DDR2 and the fastest DDR3 ram.


Why do you think you need raid? Raid-0 or 1 or something else?

 

[zippy93]

Performance is the reason i want to upgrade
its being used for gaming
the mobo is *** for overclocking
Thermaltake V9 gaming case, codegen technology 600w PSU, ATI Radeon X1300/X1550 Series, Seagate 40Gb HDD, Infineon 667Mhz 1GB RAM x2
ATX Preferably
No i got a graphics card

Still i would like to upgrade to DDR3

I want to go with RAID0

 

[geofelt]

If you want to increase your gaming performance, upgrade your graphics card first. The x1300 is about a 2 on a scale of 1 to 20 in graphics cards.

Your Q8400 is a very competent cpu. Without the expense of overclocking you should be able to drive a video card as good as a 4890.

I suggest the following:
1) Upgrade your graphics card to the best card you feel comfortable paying for. Check the psu, it is not a brand that I am familiar with, and a low quality psu, even a 600w unit may not power a good graphics card properly.
2) Upgrade your ram to 4gb of ddr2-800 ram in a 2x2gb kit.
3) Get a modern sata hard drive. I suggest a WD caviar black 1tb.

If, then, you feel that you want more, then go ahead and replace the mobo, get a good cpu cooler, and overclock. I suspect that you will not be satisfied with the minor improvement you get.

Then, add a second hard drive in raid-0. I suspect that you will not be satisfied with the minor improvement in level load times that you get.

 

[zippy93]

what graphics card do you think would be the best for my system?
I need a psu thats good but cheap any ideas?

 

[tipmen]

* Items you might want to use for you upgrade

First your GPU
Ati 4870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801 *
Ati 4890 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102830
GTX 260 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434
GTX 275 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475


With your PSU make sure it can handle it (which i doubt). Just because its 600 watts doesn't mean it will be able to deal with the newer GPUs.

Check theses PSUs out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019 *

Memory - You want to go with DDR3 but DRR2 will give you close to the performance as DDR3 with this build.

DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145218
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231190

DRR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146785
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104098 *

Mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 (Crossfire) *
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 (Single PCI Express 2.0 x16)
(note this is DDR2 if you change your mind)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141009 - Sli DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186144 - Crossfire DRR3


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128364 (Single PCI Express 2.0 x16 - DDR2 or DDR3)

Hard Drives
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 (raid 0) *
or if you willing to shell out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136322 (raid 0)

Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003*

Total cost
Mobo $134.99
GPU $149.99 (10 MIR)
Memory $59.99
PSU $79.99 (20 MIR)
2x HD $99.99
Heatsink $39.98

$664.92
With MIR $634.94

what games do you play?
Depending on your Res you might want to go with a more powerful GPU .


However at this point i might suggest going with a i7 seeing how you are doing almost a complete rebuild.

Best of luck

 

[zippy93]

is newegg an American website?

 

[evongugg]

Yes, USA and Canada and China. Tell us where you're located.
We can suggest a store.

 

[zippy93]

Australia

 

[geofelt]

Almost any modern graphics card will give you a major boost in gaming. Read this article and get what you feel you can afford:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-price,2323.html
I would avoid the issues with sli/crossfire, and look at a single good card.

Check out how many pcie power connectors the graphics card you selected requires. For anything more than a modest card, it will require a 6 pin pci-e connector, and possibly a second 6 or 8 pin pcie psu connector.

PSU needs for a gaming pc are driven by the graphics configuration. Look for a QUALITY psu. Something in tier 2 on this list:
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
Select one that has at least the requisite number of pci-e connectors. A quality psu will be able to deliver the amperage required by those connectors.
A psu is the last place to go cheap. No end of strange problems and failures come with a marginal psu.

For any ram you are considering, do your own homework.
Go to the ram vendor's web site, and access their configurator.
Corsair, Kingston, Patriot, OCZ and others have them.
Their compatibility list is more current than the motherboard vendor's QVL lists which rarely get updated.
Enter your mobo or PC, and get a list of compatible ram sticks.

Here are a few links:

http://www.crucial.com/index.aspx

http://www.corsair.com/configurator/default.aspx

http://kingston.com/

http://conf.ocztechnology.com/index.php?c=1

Cpu performance is not very sensitive to ram speeds.
If you look at real application and game benchmarks(vs. synthetic tests),
you will see negligible difference in performance between the slowest DDR2 and the fastest DDR3 ram.
Perhaps 1-2%. Not worth it to me.
Don't pay extra for faster ram or better timings unless you are a maximum overclocker.

There is generally no real world(vs. synthetic transfer rate benchmarks) performance advantage to raid of any kind.
Go to www.storagereview.com at this link: http://faq.storagereview.com/tiki-index.php?page=SingleDriveVsRaid0
There are some specific applications that will benefit, but
gaming is not one of them.

---good luck---

 

[veebee]

Australia

Hey Zippy... have you sorted your "problem" out yet?

I build, repair and upgrade systems, ad if you want some help, get in touch.

As someone said, your CPU is good for gaming, but (depending what your mobo will take - without me going searching...) 4 Gb (2 x 2 Gb sticks) of DDRII 800 will suffice easily. Starting price around $75.

And you have me wondering... if your Motherboard TAKES your Q8400, why would you need to "upgrade it ? what brand / model IS it? Should be pretty reasonable considering it is socket 775.

Next, vid card.... depends how serious you are. I have heard reports of guys (serious WOW dudes etc) happy with the performance of a GT 9500 - starting prices around $75.00.
I play games (no ttoo often) like "Crysis" and "FEAR" etc, and used to be happy with the GT 9600 (prices start from $100) I had. Most eye-candy could be turned on without too many probs (ie: artifacts etc).
Now I have 2 x i7 920's both with GTX 275's and they FLY ! (plus a Q6600 with a GTS 250, also very nice for gaming).

Personally, I wouldn't use less than a GTX9800 (and a GTS250 is basically a rebadged one anywyay) so if you really wanna step up, at LEAST go a GTX 260+ (starting at $210) and your eyes wont regret it ! 😍

A good PSU (brand AND power) is a pretty important.
a cpl I would sugest are:
(minimum) Coolermaster Extreme Power Plus 650W - $around $100
(prefer) Corsair HX620W Modular 620W - $178. (best part is you only use the cables you need freeing up vital air flow through the case for cooling.

As I said, if you still need help, or want it done at cost price on parts and very good labour rates... contact me (I'm in Penrith Sydney)

Veebee

 

[zippy93]

thanks for the post veebee
im sorry its taken me 8 months to reply, i just havent been checking in that time i have made upgrades to the graphics card and hard drive i have a wd 500gb caviar green and another rubbish card which is an hd 4350, dont ask why i bought it.
im thinking of now upgrading my psu and graphics card again, i was thinking of an HD5770, HD4890 or an HD4870
do you have any cheap sugestions for a psu that will power these.

 

[jsc]

An HD4870 is generally very similar to the GTX260-216 and a little less expensive. But you might consider waiting for an HD5000 video card.

I am not a fan of PSU's with modular cables. Generally, excess cables can be tucked behind the motherboard tray out of the way.

 

[zippy93]

i decided to go with the HD 5770 pureley because my mobo is crossfire and not SLI. at first i went with the HIS HD 5770... Big Mistake, i had nothing but troubles with it so i took it back and went and got an XFX one and it is briliant, but i still havent gotten a new psu.