Any help on a mid-range good overcloking system?

james4t

New member
Hi all, :wavey:

I posted my introduction yesterday (and got a few replies, thanks ppl) so now I can get on with the reason for me joining this forum.

I'm new to custom PC building and overclocking. I want to build my own basic/mid-range system with which to gain some initial experience. I will wait until the Nehalem release is closer before I start my build so the prices of my intended components fall. This gives me the added benefit of extra time to pester all you knowledgeable folk, increasing he chances of my success.

Okay so here's a brief list of my wants. They aren't set in stone so feel free to suggest changes if you think I'm barking up the wrong tree or indeed in the wrong forest entirely.

ASUS DDR2 Mobo. Why, because it seems that ASUS is pretty reliable, very newbie friendly (CPU level up etc...) and DDR2 is cheap and powerful enough for a beginner. The mobo does not have to be dual PCIe 2.0x16 as I will probably use only 1 GPU.

Core 2 Duo CPU. Why, because it seems that games can't really cope with quad core yet and apart from the experience of building/overclocking, games are what I will use my system for. I would like a core that is overclocker friendly, gotmaxpower suggested the E7200.

=> 512MB GPU. Why, because I will probably only use 1 card I would like it to have a decent amount of power. I think that DX10 compatibility would be useful but let me know if you don't agree.

Air cooled. Why, because as a newbie I would like to get to grips with the basics before I start playing about with water and the like :)

I have not even began to research other components (case, PSU etc..) so any advise on these would be welcomed.

One thing I would ask is that if ppl could give complete advice. By this I mean that could you suggest parts that will work well together i.e. there's no point telling me about the best 1000w PSU as the system I will build will not need that much power.

I know that this is in the Mainboard & CPU section, but I couldn't see one for complete builds. You may argue that this is an 'overclocking' site, not a custom build site, but I wan't to build this system so that I can learn about overclocking. Bit of a catch '22'.

If there are any articles which list the components I could use to build such a system, please could you direct me to it. If not, perhaps the most experienced of you could combine to produce a review regarding building a system using the best 'old' parts. This type of thing would really help all the beginners such as me who are starting to learn the trade – something similar to an essential tools list.

Anyhow, thanks in advance for any advice, :worship:
 
E8400 + Arctic Freezer 7

P5Q (either the -E or Pro)

2/4GB Crucial Ballistix

510w PCP&C PSU

4850/70

Lain Li PC-7

Decent hard drives (500GB offers best pirce:storage atm) and a DVD-RW drive or two and you'll be good to go

Budget dependent. That's pretty much all you will need :)
 
Thanks for the swift response ham, :)

My very limited graphics knowledge is based around Nvidia. I presume 4850/70 is an ATI card. If so what would be a similar Nvidia part.

Also i'm lost with Lain Li PC-7. Is the a case?
 
Yes their ATI cards. they currently offer better price:performance than nvidia cards and you shouldn't stick to one brand.

the 4850 comes in around £110 and the 4870 is around £170.

And the PC-7 is indeed a case. Fantastic, low cost mid tower :).
 
name='Ham' said:
E8400 + Arctic Freezer 7

P5Q (either the -E or Pro)

2/4GB Crucial Ballistix

510w PCP&C PSU

4850/70

Lain Li PC-7

Decent hard drives (500GB offers best pirce:storage atm) and a DVD-RW drive or two and you'll be good to go

Budget dependent. That's pretty much all you will need :)

Ham, I've had a look at the P5Q on the ASUS site and it lists all the variations (E, Pro, Deluxe, Premium) along with the Miximus II Formula. Is the the MIIF just a top of the line P5Q board? I am interested in the MIIF because it has the CPU level up etc... feature where as the others do not. On ebuyer the P5Q Pro is priced at £84.46 whereas the MIIF is £162.48. I want to keep costs down but I know that the mobo is one of the most important parts of the system. Do you think it is worth the additional cost. I have read the specs of the different boards but it doesn't make much sence to me as yet. :(
 
The maximus is X48 iirc, where as the P5Qs are P45. The only real difference between the two being the X48 has dual X16 slots. That's off the top of my head though so don't quote me on that.

I have a P5Q-E and it does a good job. IMO it would be a good place to start. The RoG boards offer lots of fancy features which are useful, but you don't actually need. There's some sort of CPU level up in the P5Q from what i remember, ill dig it out the cupboard and take a look for you in a bit.
 
Oh, I checked on the ASUS site and they specify the MIIF board as a P45 chipset.

It does have the SupremeFX X-Fi 8-CH Audio card which adds to the price I suppose. But it doesn't have the built in wireless which would be nice.
 
Well i've done a bit more research on the GPU and unless anybody can come up with a really good reason not too, it looks as though the cheaper ATI graphics card ham mentioned should make the final specs for my system.
 
Looking good so far, unfortunately the i7 isn't out yet so I can't price myself yet but I might of been able to sell you my kit if you were interested :)

Sorry.. that was completely off topic but just a thought :D

I really wouldn't use the auto-tune up feature.. it often puts too high a voltage through your components and will cause them to fail sooner than expected, learn the way it's meant to be done. It is a lot of fun when you understand the basic concepts of it :)
 
name='°TheMadDutchDude°' said:
Looking good so far, unfortunately the i7 isn't out yet so I can't price myself yet but I might of been able to sell you my kit if you were interested :)

Sorry.. that was completely off topic but just a thought :D

I really wouldn't use the auto-tune up feature.. it often puts too high a voltage through your components and will cause them to fail sooner than expected, learn the way it's meant to be done. It is a lot of fun when you understand the basic concepts of it :)

Thanks for the thoughts, :)

So you recommend not paying for the extra features of the maximus card but still sticking with the P5Q line?
 
Back
Top