# What should I buy for overclocking



## coyote1982 (Jan 27, 2008)

Hello, this is my first thread in this forum and after searching it for hours, I only got confused. I'm about to buy a new PC but I never tried overclocking anything so I will need some guidance and I hope I can find it here.
The system I wanna buy is:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850
Intel DP35DP Motherboard
2x2Gb DDR II 800MHz RAM
Radeon HD3870 512Mb Graphics Card

I was offered the Sapphire graphics card as well as the Asus equivalent. Also, I was offered the G. Skill 4GB Kit PC6400 4-4-4-12 F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK and the OCZ 4Gb Kit PC2-6400 Titanium 4-4-4-15 OCZ2T800C44GK (which is more expensive but basically the same as the G. Skill kit according to the salesman).

Which graphic card and RAM should I take to have a better result with overclocking? Also, is the Intel motherboard good enough or should I take a different one?


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## DOM (Jan 27, 2008)

Welcome to TPU 

where are you from ? 

cuz the new intel dual cores are out E8200, E8400, E8500 which are better then that E6850


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## coyote1982 (Jan 27, 2008)

I'm from Israel. I haven't heard about these new CPUs but I think I reached my budget limit with the E6850 (you wrote E3850, but I hope you know what I meant)


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## will (Jan 27, 2008)

I would get a different mobo (ie not intel) as intels don't overclock well (or maybe not at all). I would get an Asus or gigabyte instead. Just make sure it's p35 or x38 based.


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## coyote1982 (Jan 27, 2008)

thanks will, I will take it into consideration. Is the Asus P5K good enough? What about the vid card and RAM?


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## will (Jan 27, 2008)

the p5k is ok, i would get a slightly more expensive one like the p5k-e. the plain p5k only has 3-phase power (if i remember correctly!) and doesn't have heatsinks on the mosfets. basically it wont be as good for overclocking. I have heard good things about the p5k-e and the gigabyte p35 series.


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## DOM (Jan 27, 2008)

well the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

should be less then the E6850 in the US they go for $220 and the E6850 are $275


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## coyote1982 (Feb 7, 2008)

Update:
I asked the salesman to send me a list of their available Asus Mobos. I will only list here the ones with P35 chipset... (X38 are too expensive for me):
P5K SE
P5K
P5KR
P5KC
P5K-E  
P5K PRO
P5K64 WS

Does any of these have HDMI connectors?
Which one would be the best choice if I want to OC my RAM, CPU and possibly my Vid-card?

The rest of the system I'm buying is:
Intel E6850 CPU
G.Skill 4GB Kit DDR2 PC6400 800MHZ 4-4-4-12 F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK
WD 500GB 16MB SATA II
Radeon HD3870 (not sure yet if Sapphire or Gigabyte)


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## vivanco (Feb 7, 2008)

buy Intel E8400 cpu it is cheaper and overclocks better with less voltage since its 45nm as compared to E6850 65nm

edit: go for Asus P5K-E


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## will (Feb 7, 2008)

Out of those i would say the P5K-E, although i have never heard of the P5KR or the P5K pro! I'm not sure about the P5K64 WS, it's a workstation motherboard, only useful if you need to run about 8 monitors! The P5K-E should be the best overclocker with the most features. The P5KC is a combo board (supports DDR2 and DDR3) but isn't that great apart from that!


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## will (Feb 7, 2008)

Oh yeah and get the E8400 if they have it!


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## Deleted member 24505 (Feb 7, 2008)

Just had a look,the p5k pro looks interesting,they have put a sink on the other(top) vregs wereas the p5k-e has none on there and it has no heatpipes.Anyway i'd say go with the p5k-e too,as its a known good board.


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## das müffin mann (Feb 7, 2008)

i would go for the e8400 although a few people have been having problems getting accurate temps from those things but i can say for sure if its the processors fault or not, but thats a minor issue the e8400 still has my vote, as for teh graphics, i no that you can oc the hell out of the 3870(with proper cooling)


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## coyote1982 (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks a lot guys! I now know exactly what I should buy - the P5K-E
The reason I'm buying the E6850 CPU is only because the E8400 is not available in Israel...
I could ship it from the US....hmmmm....I'll have to think about it, but anyway thanks for the advice.


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## coyote1982 (Feb 15, 2008)

UPDATE: I went to a different computer store yesterday and got a way better offer than the first store!
please tell me what u think about this system:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (they finally got to Israel =YAY=)
Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 Motherboard
2x2Gb OCZ Reaper DDR II 800MHz CL4 RAM OCZ2RPR800C44GK (they also got the OCZ2RPX800EB4GK for 30$ more)
Sapphire Radeon HD3870 512Mb Graphics Card
WD 500Gb SATA II 7200RPM 16Mb HDD

They have plenty of other RAMs from OCZ, G. Skill, Corsair, Kingston, Super Talent and PQI.
I think this is a good configuration for my budget...
any other suggestions?
EDIT: I was wondering about the power supply. Do I need something stronger than a 400W HEC power supply? And another thing, Will I need an additional/special cooling fan to OC the Mobo/CPU/RAM???


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## craigo (Feb 15, 2008)

Welcome to TPU,
Sounds like you have a solid system in the making....
sure does pay to shop around.


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## will (Feb 15, 2008)

coyote1982 said:


> UPDATE: I went to a different computer store yesterday and got a way better offer than the first store!
> please tell me what u think about this system:
> Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (they finally got to Israel =YAY=)
> Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 Motherboard
> ...



Yeah thats a great config there, you should definitely go for it! Also definitely go for 4gb 1000mhz ram if they have it, you will need the extra speed for o/cing the e8400 with high fsbs! You can get OCZ reaperx (if they have it) or g.skill pq, they both come in 4gb (2x2gb) 1000mhz. If they dont have either of those, get the g.skill 4gb 800mhz *PQ*, these now use the same chips as the 1000mhz kit so should reach the same speeds. If they dont have any of these, the OCZ ones you listed will be fine.


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## Yin (Feb 15, 2008)

is it really necessary for 2x2gb = 4 gb ram?
depends on what you doing with your computer i guess.


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## King Wookie (Feb 15, 2008)

Looks good, but you Really need to go for a better psu for overclocking.

I'd recommend a 650w or 700w from Antec, OCZ, Seasonic, Corsair, Thermaltake, or another well known brand.

This forum is a must read.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=39758

As for a better cpu cooler, that would be a good investment. Remember, the default Intel cooler was only specced to run at stock speeds.

Do enjoy your new build.

EDIT: What case are you planning to use? Your case will have a impact on your temps.


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## Scrizz (Feb 15, 2008)

with that x38 motherboard you should be getting either two HD3870 or a HD3870x2


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## vexen (Feb 15, 2008)

coyote1982 said:


> I was wondering about the power supply. Do I need something stronger than a 400W HEC power supply? And another thing, Will I need an additional/special cooling fan to OC the Mobo/CPU/RAM???



Yes you need something stronger than a 400W HEC Power Supply, look for well known brands, you DON'T want to cut on a PSU. 

And you don't NEED an aftermarket fan to overclock the CPU, RAM, or to cool the MOBO.

Good airflow does the job for the MOBO and the RAM. Also, most of the time (90%), the RAM will physically just not want to clock higher. For the CPU, it is not needed, but recommended at higher overclocks to keep low temps.

I suggest you take a look at http://www.frostytech.com/ they have a section with the best AMD/INTEL heatsinks by temp/noise. Made my choice on the Noctua U12P from here.

Have fun!


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## coyote1982 (Feb 15, 2008)

Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I looked some more at the store's website and found these things:
instead of buying the OCZ DDR2 Reaper 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 800MHZ CL4 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK),
they also have the OCZ DDR2 ReaperX 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 1000MHZ CL5 (OCZ2RPX10004GK) but it's 17% more expensive. I'm not sure it's worth the extra cash.
They have the G.SKILL DDR2 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 1000MHZ CL5 (F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ)
and the G.SKILL DDR2 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 800MHZ CL4 (F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK) as well (both are cheaper than both the OCZ kits).
I'm a little confused - what has the bigger importance: frequency or CL & timings?

Also, I was planning on putting all this system inside a HEC Compucase 6AR6 or 6A19 case.
I'm guessing you guys are gonna tell me to spend more money on a Thermaltake case but is it really worth all the money? I'm trying to keep the budget from going too far...
I'm also still not sure why would I need a better/stronger PSU. How strong should it be? 450W? 500? 550? more?
I still didn't read that forum post about cases but I will when I have more time tomorrow.


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## vexen (Feb 15, 2008)

coyote1982 said:


> Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I looked some more at the store's website and found these things:
> instead of buying the OCZ DDR2 Reaper 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 800MHZ CL4 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK),
> they also have the OCZ DDR2 ReaperX 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 1000MHZ CL5 (OCZ2RPX10004GK) but it's 17% more expensive. I'm not sure it's worth the extra cash.
> They have the G.SKILL DDR2 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 1000MHZ CL5 (F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ)
> ...


Hello Coyote, it's not really about how big in Wattage a PSU is, there are really cheap 700W PSU (ie. Ultra), as there are really good 500-550W (ie. Antec Neo HE). All your pieces are connected and powered by the PSU, you do not want it to fail and blow up the motherboard or anything, right?

For the RAM, frequency has the biggest impact on most applications. At the same frequency, you want to go for the lowest timings. You are better with DRR2-1066 @ 5-5-5-15 than DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12. But it is your budget.


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## will (Feb 16, 2008)

coyote1982 said:


> Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I looked some more at the store's website and found these things:
> instead of buying the OCZ DDR2 Reaper 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 800MHZ CL4 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK),
> they also have the OCZ DDR2 ReaperX 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 1000MHZ CL5 (OCZ2RPX10004GK) but it's 17% more expensive. I'm not sure it's worth the extra cash.
> They have the G.SKILL DDR2 4096MB (2GBx2) DUAL CHANNEL 1000MHZ CL5 (F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ)
> ...



Out of those I would get the g.skill 1000mhz cl5 kit, especially if its cheaper than the ocz. Generally frequency is more important in ram than latency, the 1000mhz cl5 kit would feel a lot faster than the 800mhz cl4 kit. Also higher freuency ram lets you overclock higher if your running a 1:1 ratio.
Definitely get a good PSU, its more about quality than wattage, go with a good brand. there's a good psu guide on the TPU forums somewhere, find that and read it!
cases are not that important but it can be really annoying if you have a cheap one (with poor build quality) and you change hardware a lot. a good relatively cheap case is the coolermaster cm-690, its really good quality but i dont know how much more expensive it is than the case you're planning on getting. also don't forget you will probably have to look at your computer a lot if its on your desk or something so make sure you like the look/design of it!


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## coyote1982 (Feb 16, 2008)

Thanks a lot Will. I was hoping you'd tell me to go with the cheaper, faster G. Skill Kit. My PC is usually placed on the floor (I have wall to wall carpet in my room) and the only visible side is the front. I currently have a case that has a very powerful blue power LED and I hate it cause I can't keep it on when I sleep. I like HEC's (Compucase) designs because they are clean, simple and don't have annoying LEDs. The inside is also built with high quality materials and good engineering (Silicon rings to prevent the HD from touching the cage, Detachable cages, Aluminium case, etc.) and it's still a cheap case.
I'm going to buy the PC tomorrow so all I really need to find is my PSU and we're done!
Thank you all for helping me and stay tuned for updates in about a couple of days when I get my new system up and running 

EDIT: I was looking into CPU heatsinks as suggested by vexen and found this one: Scythe MINE Rev.B. It got 87% overall rating on frostytech.com, and it's pretty cheap. The question is, is it a good buy?
Also, I followed the PSU calculator but not really sure I did right. Anyway, I got to 439W recommended PSU Wattage. That doesn't sound like a lot.
I still have about 25 PSU models with 400W-550W to pick from. Most of them are very expensive and I'm not sure which one I should buy. Should I write all the models right here? it's a pretty long list...


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## will (Feb 16, 2008)

basically a good quality 450-500w PSU will be enough for you, maybe more if you plan on upgrading later. i can really recommend corsair PSUs, they're really good quality and are really silent. on the cheap end you could go for the corsair vx450 or the vx550, these are the 'value' corsair PSUs, they are still amazing quality as they're made by seasonic. however, they arent modular (ie all the cables are always plugged in, you can't remove them) which can be useful.
anyway you should check out this thread:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=39758&highlight=psu+guide

and look at the manafacturers of all the PSUs you are thinking of, it will show which manafacturers are reliable and which aren't!


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## Deleted member 24505 (Feb 16, 2008)

If you can afford it,try and get a corsair hx520w modular,very good and reliable.


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## coyote1982 (Feb 16, 2008)

I checked the store's website again and found several PSU that should fit my system. There are no Corsair PSUs but they do have SeaSonic.
Here's a list with all the ~500W-600W models (The last number in every line is the price in local currency):
Zalman ZM500-HP 500Watt Ultra Quiet   605.00
HEC Cougar600 600W   550.00
HEC 500TDT 500W   265.00
HEC WIN550 550W   385.00
HEC ACE580 580W   410.00
Antec EarthWatts EA500 500W   485.00
Antec Basiq BP500 500W   390.00
SilverStone Element SST-ST50EF-FLUS 500W   565.00
SilverStone Strider SST-ST56F 560W   545.00
SilverStone Strider SST-ST50F 500W   450.00
Seasonic S12 SS-550HT 550W SLI   735.00
Seasonic S12 II SS-500GB 500W   580.00
Thermaltake Toughpower QFAN 500W cable management-EPS 12V   575.00
Thermaltake TR2 550W 12CM FAN   450.00
Thermaltake TR2 RX 450W 14CM FAN Cable Management   320.00
Thermaltake TR2 RX 500W 14CM FAN Cable Management   470.00
Thermaltake TR2 RX 550W 14CM FAN Cable Management   540.00
OCZ 500W StealthXStream PSU   365.00
Enermax Liberty-DXX 500W Modular cables   580.00
PC POWER & COOLING S47X Silencer 470W  400.00

What would you buy?


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## will (Feb 16, 2008)

coyote1982 said:


> I checked the store's website again and found several PSU that should fit my system. There are no Corsair PSUs but they do have SeaSonic.
> Here's a list with all the ~500W-600W models (The last number in every line is the price in local currency):
> Zalman ZM500-HP 500Watt Ultra Quiet   605.00
> HEC Cougar600 600W   550.00
> ...



Out of those I would get the seasonic 500w. The 550w is good as well, but not really worth the extra money! Other very good ones are the enermax 500w (especially as its modular), the pc power&cooling 470w. the antex earthwatts and the thermaltake PSUs are also good (not sure about the different models though). I havent had any experience with silverstone PSUs so i cant comment on them.


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## xmountainxlionx (Feb 16, 2008)

will said:


> I would get a different mobo (ie not intel) as intels don't overclock well (or maybe not at all). I would get an Asus or gigabyte instead. Just make sure it's p35 or x38 based.



what do you mean?  p35/x38 is a very good overclocking chipset.  unless you where talking about the actual motherboard manufacturer,  but you should say what you mean, because i dont know.  thanks


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## coyote1982 (Feb 16, 2008)

Thanks again Will. Since the SeaSonic looks too expensive, I guess I'll take one of the cheaper 500W PSUs that you recommended:
Antec EarthWatts EA500 500W 485.00
or
Thermaltake TR2 RX 500W 14CM FAN Cable Management 470.00
what do you say?


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## will (Feb 16, 2008)

xmountainxlionx said:


> what do you mean?  p35/x38 is a very good overclocking chipset.  unless you where talking about the actual motherboard manufacturer,  but you should say what you mean, because i dont know.  thanks



yeah sorry i should have been clearer, i meant intel manafactured boards, not intel chipsets, they rock!


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## will (Feb 16, 2008)

coyote1982 said:


> Thanks again Will. Since the SeaSonic looks too expensive, I guess I'll take one of the cheaper 500W PSUs that you recommended:
> Antec EarthWatts EA500 500W 485.00
> or
> Thermaltake TR2 RX 500W 14CM FAN Cable Management 470.00
> what do you say?



out of those two i would get the thermaltake, but im not sure though, you should ask some other people as well, to make sure.


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## coyote1982 (Feb 16, 2008)

yeah well I wish more people would read through this thread and give their opinion...


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## coyote1982 (Feb 17, 2008)

UPDATE: I just got back from the store and made the purchase for my new PC.
I made some changes according to the salesman's suggestion. Here's the system I'm getting:
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8400
Scythe MUGEN - 5 heat pipes CPU cooler
GIGABYTE GA-X38-DS5
OCZ ReaperX 2 x 2GB, PC2-8000, DDR2-1000MHz (OCZ2RPX10004GK)
Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 512MB GDDR4
Western Digital Caviar® SE16 SATA II, 500 GB, 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM
LG 18x Super Multi DVD RW (GSA-H62N)
SilverStone Strider ST50F 500W PSU
HEC (Compucase) 6AR6

I think this is a pretty kick ass monster. I can still make changes if necessary.

@Will, The salesman told me that the silverstone PSU is better than the TR2 series from Thermaltake. They cost the same and I trust he's not trying to con me or anything. He recommended to add 15$ and change the Scythe Mine cooler to the MUGEN. He also changed the RAM because they had a supply problem with G. Skill kits. The OCZ kit is about 55$ more expensive but he was willing to give it to me for the same low price as the G. Skill - I hope that's a good deal. He told me that's the kit he's using in his own PC and he's very happy with the OC results.

The PC should be ready in about 10 days so I have plenty of time to change something if anyone here suggests/recommends.


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## Fitseries3 (Feb 17, 2008)

those OCZ's dont have D9 chips and from what i've heard arent the best overclockers.

the 500gig drive shouldn't be used as a OS drive because it's not as fast as most of the sub 300gig drives. it's ok though. it's a great drive non the less.

everything else looks kick ass. you may have to update the bios befor you can boot that e8400. i know i had to on mine. NOW GET IT TOGETHER AND OVERCLOCK THE HELL OUT OF IT!!! post some pics as well.


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## MrW (Feb 17, 2008)

fitseries3 said:


> those OCZ's dont have D9 chips and from what i've heard arent the best overclockers.



I'm not sure if the D9 chips can even be used on 2-Gig modules.



coyote1982 said:


> The salesman told me that the silverstone PSU is better than the TR2 series from Thermaltake.



I agree with him.


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## Fitseries3 (Feb 17, 2008)

MrW said:


> I'm not sure if the D9 chips can even be used on 2-Gig modules.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree with him.



some, but few have 16 d9gmh's on them. VERY few though.

and yes.... silverstone is very good.


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## King Wookie (Feb 17, 2008)

Good luck mate. Looks like a nice build.

And the Scythe Mugen is awesome!


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