Flying_Phoenix
Banned
brain_stew said:
Can my Intel Quard Core Q6600 be overclocked?
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- Thread starter brain_stew
- Start date
Can my Intel Quard Core Q6600 be overclocked?
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
zbarron said:
No I built it all by myself.
Anyway are there dangers to overclocking? Like the CPU or GPU becoming too hot?
Flying_Phoenix said:
You always run the risk of shortening the life of a CPU by overclocking, but for all intents and purposes you'll replace it before that should be any concern. It's pretty hard to do too much damage by overclocking too high as generally the system simply won't POST or will get very unstable. As long as you have installed your cooler properly and have a way of monitoring temperatures while you settle on an overclock speed, you should be fine.
brain_stew
Member
Mega post update with Windows 7 and high end gaming rig section added.
She's a bit of a monster now. :lol :lol
She's a bit of a monster now. :lol :lol
brain_stew
Member
KHarvey16 said:
Its usually voltage that kills CPUs. As long as you stick within the manufacturer;s specifications you've really got very little to worry about.
Flying_Phoenix said:
With your P5K? Yeah, of course, that's one of the most notorious OCing combinations there is. Be sure to get some custom cooling though as the Q6600 gets hot sucks a lot of power.
I'm gonna save up this summer and do this. I've always wanted to build my own PC but was very wary because I knew I'd end up getting a graphics card that wasn't compatible with the motherboard, or the wrong power supply or something. But since the OP spells out what parts to get it should be pretty simple.
brain_stew
Member
Jtyettis said:
The 4850 only requires one 6 pin. If you're wanting to run a 4890 on it, you can use the dual molex to 6 pin adapter that will be supplied with your graphics card. Its got two pretty solid 12V rails so it should manage it without issue, though an upgrade in this area isn't a terrible idea either. The PSU/Case combo for the $800 rig is excellent value, the PSU is enough for crossfire 4890s even and its more efficient to boot. It would last you for many, many years so its a solid investment.
So, inspired by this thread, I decided to build this system. I have to build it at Amazon since I have over $600 in credit there.
Sapphire Radeon HD 100245HDMI 4850 512MB DDR3 HDMI / DVI / VGA PCI-Express Graphics Card - SAPPHIRE - $113.18
Antec BP500U ATX 12V 500W Power Supply - Antec - $58.24
Antec Three Hundred Gaming Case External 3 X 5.25; Internal 6 X 3.5 2*Usb2.0 - Antec - $58.05
6400 800MHz NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 4GB Dual Channel Memory - OCZ Technology - $54.92
Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD7501AALS - Western Digital - $79.99
Phenom II X2 550 Blk Ed. - AMD - $114.99
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 Socket AM2+/ AMD 770/ DDR2/ A&2GbE/ ATX Motherboard - Gigabyte - $82.90
Total is $562.27. I already have a DVD-RW drive, a DVD-ROM drive, a monitor, and I can throw in my old 80GB HDD as a secondary. Thoughts, suggestions?
Sapphire Radeon HD 100245HDMI 4850 512MB DDR3 HDMI / DVI / VGA PCI-Express Graphics Card - SAPPHIRE - $113.18
Antec BP500U ATX 12V 500W Power Supply - Antec - $58.24
Antec Three Hundred Gaming Case External 3 X 5.25; Internal 6 X 3.5 2*Usb2.0 - Antec - $58.05
6400 800MHz NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 4GB Dual Channel Memory - OCZ Technology - $54.92
Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD7501AALS - Western Digital - $79.99
Phenom II X2 550 Blk Ed. - AMD - $114.99
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 Socket AM2+/ AMD 770/ DDR2/ A&2GbE/ ATX Motherboard - Gigabyte - $82.90
Total is $562.27. I already have a DVD-RW drive, a DVD-ROM drive, a monitor, and I can throw in my old 80GB HDD as a secondary. Thoughts, suggestions?
brain_stew
Member
KHarvey16 said:
Another thing most don't realise is that Intel and AMD only actually manufacture 2 or 3 different CPUs at anyone time. They fill out their lineups by disabling cache or cores and speedbinning as necessary. Often there's a bigger demand for budget CPUs that are sold at a lower frequency but since the process is mature they absolutely could be sold as higher end CPUs but since the demand isn't there they're not.
That's why you'll often find lower clocked chips OC up to the speeds of their more expensive siblings with ease because that's the chip they were initially designed to be. Its processes like this why some manage to unlock extra cores on their Phenom X2s as well.
OCing is a wonderful thing, it really is, it gives you a free and very considerable upgrade and is much easier than you'd likely imagine. Its just the initial research and "fear" that people struggle with.
brain_stew
Member
Gloomfire said:
640GB and 1TB HDDs are faster due to a higher platter density so I'd go with one of those sizes personally
Since you've got the money left you might want to bump up the graphics a little. For $173 with a lifetime warranty, free copy of Mirror's Edge (the perfect showcase!
) and EVGA's excellent 90 day stepup program, along with the large boost in performance, it seems a nice deal to me:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001Q9ET88/?tag=neogaf0e-20
lowlylowlycook
Member
I'm fairly proud of this upgradable $650 build:
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz +GIGABYTE Radeon HD 4870 1GB
Antec Sonata Elite case + Antec EA750 750W powersupply
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
4 GB RAM
640GB HD
DVD drive
Total $670 -$20 MiR = $650
That should be fairly powerful now while being able to upgrade via Crossfire later if needed.
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz +GIGABYTE Radeon HD 4870 1GB
Antec Sonata Elite case + Antec EA750 750W powersupply
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
4 GB RAM
640GB HD
DVD drive
Total $670 -$20 MiR = $650
That should be fairly powerful now while being able to upgrade via Crossfire later if needed.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
zbarron said:
I see thanks. My PC is really cool anyway due to having a lot of fans and having a big ass case.
brain_stew said:
I see thanks. That saying will the cooler be necessary for me because I'll only overclock when I play games (which tends to be few and far inbetween).
How much do they cost anyway?
brain_stew
Member
lowlylowlycook said:
Those Antec PSU/Case bundles really are awesome value, those two components should last you through countless builds. Congrats.
This combo is worth looking into mind, and comes highly recommended:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.205337
You'd need DDR3 memory but it should come out to roughly the same (or lower) cost by the end of it So you're better future proofed that way for the same cost, which is a nice deal.
Either way its shaping up nicely, I must say.
brain_stew
Member
Flying_Phoenix said:
Anything's an upgrade over stock, at the very least things will be quiter under load. So, since your hesitant just pick up this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200035
At $20 you can't really grumble. Since you'll be doing the OCing through the BIOS, you're best off just going for a mild overclock and leaving things be. 3ghz say, that'd give your games a really nice boost.
fatty
Member
I'm loving this offer for Windows 7 but I have a few questions about the special offer for an "upgrade".
I will be building a PC around the time this and SC2 come out and I'm wondering if you need an existing OS to purchase the upgrade. From the FAQ on Microsoft's site:
If I'm reading that correctly it seems that I won't have to mess with preinstalling XP first. (I don't want to have to mess with any bloated software/code still left behind from a previous OS)
I will be building a PC around the time this and SC2 come out and I'm wondering if you need an existing OS to purchase the upgrade. From the FAQ on Microsoft's site:
If I'm reading that correctly it seems that I won't have to mess with preinstalling XP first. (I don't want to have to mess with any bloated software/code still left behind from a previous OS)
brain_stew
Member
fatty said:
Yes:
[URL="http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2009/06/25/clean-install-with-windows-7-upgrade-media-what-about-x64-upgrades.aspx"]http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2009/06/25/clean-install-with-windows-7-upgrade-media-what-about-x64-upgrades.aspx
At the very least you should be able to "upgrade" your "upgrade" by installing with a product key first for a trial copy then upgrading that version, though it appears if you order it from Microsoft's site now with 32 bit XP, that won't be necessary. $50 is a steal.
Minsc
Gold Member
fatty said:
To use an upgrade install of Windows 7, you need to authenticate a genuine copy of Vista or XP. From what I read, that means you have to install Vista or XP to install Windows 7 upgrade.
From [URL="http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/06/windows-7-pricing-announced-cheaper-than-vista.ars"]here:
brain_stew said:
Huh? All that link is saying is you can do a clean install upgrade from 32-bit XP to 64-bit Windows 7 in the second question, and the first part is just saying you can do a clean install from the upgrade.
brain_stew
Member
Minsc said:
You can authenticate it at the time of purchase it seems minsc. They have to offer this option considering there's no way to upgrade to an x64 copy from 32 bit Windows without a fresh install. Either way there's always been workarounds to get a fresh install from an upgrade copy and it doesn't look like its going to change. Heck, you could always install the RC, then upgrade from there.
Minsc
Gold Member
brain_stew said:
Why wouldn't you be able to upgrade to a x64 copy from 32 bit windows? The installer would make you run the verification first, before installing, upon which the drive is wiped and a 64-bit Windows 7 replaces the 32-bit XP installation. All windows installers reboot your machine, so I don't see how it matters if you had a 32-bit XP installed, once you've rebooted after the verification, the slate is clean.
Given how they are stressing the verification part of the upgrade, I am a little hesitant to believe you could use the RC as a stepping stone for the upgrade until I see it written somewhere from MS.
brain_stew
Member
Minsc said:
It says that you can authenticate it at the time of purchase if you buy through Microsoft's site, so that you can download the x64 copy of W7. A copy that won't ddo anything inside of 32 bit Windows. Once you've done that check on your old PC, you effectively have a full copy of x64 Windows 7 it seems.
Either way, I'm very confident the old upgrade an upgrade which has been around in every copy of Windows will still be possible, especially since its been confirmed that you can upgrade from within the free RC release.
brain_stew
Member
Blizzard said:
I'm sure it came from a W7 developer but I'll be damned if I can find a quote. I'll be shocked if you can't use the same technique that is used to upgrade from the beta to RC to get from RC to release.
FWIW, my Vista x64 copy is an upgrade version, but I've used for a fresh install on a blank HDD countless times now.
Edit:
http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/04/07/delivering-a-quality-upgrade-experience.aspx
From the developers themselves, they tell you how to upgrade from the beta to RC and confirm the same steps will work with the RTM copy. RTM means release to manufacturers right? Isn't that the same copy that they'll be selling on release date?
Is it 100% confirmed that it will work? No, I can't give that reassurance but everything I've read has lead me to believe that there's nothing to worry about.
brain_stew said:640GB and 1TB HDDs are faster due to a higher platter density so I'd go with one of those sizes personally
Since you've got the money left you might want to bump up the graphics a little. For $173 with a lifetime warranty, free copy of Mirror's Edge (the perfect showcase!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001Q9ET88/?tag=neogaf0e-20
I made the changes you suggested. Currently at $612. Any other thoughts?
A Twisty Fluken
Member
I want to play too!
Here's my deal. I am a big aesthetic whore. I abandoned the desktop PC space a while back. The financials finally recently worked out for me to come back in full force. All I need a "PC" for is gaming. I use Macs for everything else, productivity, media, etc.
Essentially what I wanted was an upgradeable and open console. And I wanted it for as cheap as possible, but aesthetics/size/etc. were important to me too, and the gigantic tower systems were just a no go for me at this point. I left the P180s behind 4 years ago.
So. I shopped around. This will not be a brain_stew style newegg list because I didn't just line up a build online and pull it down. My demands were also a tiny bit more specialized but should also demonstrate the bennies of scrimping.
I minimized everything else as best I could to block out $190 for the GTR Tech GT3. This is unquestionably the most excessive thing in my build, but a sleek SFF case which also takes all full standard ATX parts, was the one thing with this build I wasn't going to compromise on. It meant I was stuck with a 370W PSU, but c'est la vie. The case is built really well, even if it's a bit of a complicated build.
My config ended up like this, really dictated by the deals that I was able to run into:
CPU: Boxed E0 E8400: $130 on sale at MicroCenter - The sweet TDP/heat envelope and overclocking potential made this a no brainer at this price. Space and heat is a concern with my build. With the room in the case, I stuck with the stock cooler, but there's definitely room to expand.
MOBO: Asus P5Q Pro Refurb: $65 on Newegg - I would have gone gigabyte, but the pci-e bridge situation for my case dictates that the PCI-E x16 slot had to be in position 6 or 7
RAM: 4 GB OCZ 1066mhz RAM: $40 at Microcenter
HDD: 500GB WD: $30 off of craigslist
Notebook optical drive: Generic Dell DVD-RW: $10 off of craigslist
GPU: Sapphire HDMI 4850: $90 on newegg...I think I could probably get a 4890 in there, but this was one place where the case turned into a restriction, as it restricts you to 9.5" cards, which meant I was stuck with ATI. At that price, with solid HDMI+audio already on the card and a custom cooler, it has been a marvelous performer.
So, even with my $190 case, I ended up maxing out at $555 for this beauty. Obviously that was after careful bargain hunting. But even with my specialized restrictions (small/portable, attractive, fully upgradeable) I was able to make it work on a pretty stiff budget, and the results are just awesome. Now's the time! Apologies for the crappy pic, but it gets the point across.
Here's my deal. I am a big aesthetic whore. I abandoned the desktop PC space a while back. The financials finally recently worked out for me to come back in full force. All I need a "PC" for is gaming. I use Macs for everything else, productivity, media, etc.
Essentially what I wanted was an upgradeable and open console. And I wanted it for as cheap as possible, but aesthetics/size/etc. were important to me too, and the gigantic tower systems were just a no go for me at this point. I left the P180s behind 4 years ago.
So. I shopped around. This will not be a brain_stew style newegg list because I didn't just line up a build online and pull it down. My demands were also a tiny bit more specialized but should also demonstrate the bennies of scrimping.
I minimized everything else as best I could to block out $190 for the GTR Tech GT3. This is unquestionably the most excessive thing in my build, but a sleek SFF case which also takes all full standard ATX parts, was the one thing with this build I wasn't going to compromise on. It meant I was stuck with a 370W PSU, but c'est la vie. The case is built really well, even if it's a bit of a complicated build.
My config ended up like this, really dictated by the deals that I was able to run into:
CPU: Boxed E0 E8400: $130 on sale at MicroCenter - The sweet TDP/heat envelope and overclocking potential made this a no brainer at this price. Space and heat is a concern with my build. With the room in the case, I stuck with the stock cooler, but there's definitely room to expand.
MOBO: Asus P5Q Pro Refurb: $65 on Newegg - I would have gone gigabyte, but the pci-e bridge situation for my case dictates that the PCI-E x16 slot had to be in position 6 or 7
RAM: 4 GB OCZ 1066mhz RAM: $40 at Microcenter
HDD: 500GB WD: $30 off of craigslist
Notebook optical drive: Generic Dell DVD-RW: $10 off of craigslist
GPU: Sapphire HDMI 4850: $90 on newegg...I think I could probably get a 4890 in there, but this was one place where the case turned into a restriction, as it restricts you to 9.5" cards, which meant I was stuck with ATI. At that price, with solid HDMI+audio already on the card and a custom cooler, it has been a marvelous performer.
So, even with my $190 case, I ended up maxing out at $555 for this beauty. Obviously that was after careful bargain hunting. But even with my specialized restrictions (small/portable, attractive, fully upgradeable) I was able to make it work on a pretty stiff budget, and the results are just awesome. Now's the time! Apologies for the crappy pic, but it gets the point across.
brain_stew
Member
Sleeker said:
No, that's not the plan anyway, that thread is still alive.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
A Twisty Fluken said:
Holy Shit! What a badass case!
SimpleDesign
Member
There are some really good and tempting deals available right now, but I think I'll wait until fall 2009 or the first half of 2010 to build a new PC. I also want to see how well Larrabee performs against the R870 and G300.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
brain_stew said:
Thanks and yeah 3GHZ sounds plenty good. How long will that last my CPU? before it frys?
A Twisty Fluken
Member
bah, dp
A Twisty Fluken
Member
Flying_Phoenix said:
Here's a better picture, insulated from my horrible camerawork, to do justice to the work:
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
^^^Looks sick. I really care about how my stuff looks. Only wished I felt like that when I originally brought my PC case.
...so upgrading from XP Home Edition 32-Bit to 64-Bit Professional should be fine?
"School deals"?
brain_stew said:
...so upgrading from XP Home Edition 32-Bit to 64-Bit Professional should be fine?
Grayman said:
"School deals"?
A Twisty Fluken said:Here's a better picture, insulated from my horrible camerawork, to do justice to the work:
Ummmm. Nothing! I see nothing!
Personally, I'm going to build a pc right after win7 is released. I'd do it now but I really don't want to fool with Vista or a release candidate for 4 months as I use my PC for actual work. Hope this thread is still kickin' then (or a new one is around).
OP > OS post > door number 3 http://www.msdnaa.net/search/schoolsearch.aspxFlying_Phoenix said:
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
Guys,
I'm about to jump on this but have concerns over AMD CPUs, everyone I've spoken to seems to say
'hmmm I'd go intel, so hot right now' or equivalent.
brain_stew or anyone what are the possible negatives of running an AMD vs an intel?
I will be
using it as a media centre (xbox360 extender)
windows 7
possibly running virutal machine as well for some work stuff. Having some 2008 servers running in VM etc
Any issues re program compatibility etc? And is it now the common theory that x64 windows 7 is the way to go on this and other setups?
I'm about to jump on this but have concerns over AMD CPUs, everyone I've spoken to seems to say
'hmmm I'd go intel, so hot right now' or equivalent.
brain_stew or anyone what are the possible negatives of running an AMD vs an intel?
I will be
using it as a media centre (xbox360 extender)
windows 7
possibly running virutal machine as well for some work stuff. Having some 2008 servers running in VM etc
Any issues re program compatibility etc? And is it now the common theory that x64 windows 7 is the way to go on this and other setups?
kbear
Member
Amazing...these will be less than $100 by Nov/Dec (Starcraft 2)Cheeto said:
On another note, does anyone agree that buying a custom made PC from Dell or some other custom pc place is a better idea than building your own because you save $200 by not having to purchase Windows 7? Yes, you can use the RC till early next year but eventually you'll have to plop down the $199.99. That's a lot money in comparison to the whole PC...like 1/3 the total cost.
Fucking Italy... Amazon doesnt ship shit here so I cant buy them with the $-> change.
Anyways, I have a 400-500 budget (more or less) and my PC Motherboard broke.
I already have a Sapphire HD4850 and with that budget I wanted to build a new PC.
So I chose reading the first post
FAN: COOLERMASTER - Hyper 212 Fan Blue LED 120mm - 7
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE - Motherboard GA-MA770-UD3 AM2 - 100
DVD-W: LG - Writer DVD 22x Sata Double Layer - 25
CPU: AMD - Phenom II X2 550 @ 3,1 Ghz 45 Nm Socket AM3 Cache 8 Mb - 100
CASE/PSU: COOLERMASTER - Elite Case 334 MiniTower Black + 520W PSU - 55
RAM: KINGSTON - DIMM 1 Gb DDR2 800 Mhz Non-Ecc CL5 x4 - 60
HDD: WESTERN DIGITAL - Caviar Green Power 500 Gb 7200RPM - 50
so the total is 400.
Is this a good RIG GAF? No GPU because I already own a 4850 Sapphire so yeah it will cost me less money
Anyways, I have a 400-500 budget (more or less) and my PC Motherboard broke.
I already have a Sapphire HD4850 and with that budget I wanted to build a new PC.
So I chose reading the first post
FAN: COOLERMASTER - Hyper 212 Fan Blue LED 120mm - 7
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE - Motherboard GA-MA770-UD3 AM2 - 100
DVD-W: LG - Writer DVD 22x Sata Double Layer - 25
CPU: AMD - Phenom II X2 550 @ 3,1 Ghz 45 Nm Socket AM3 Cache 8 Mb - 100
CASE/PSU: COOLERMASTER - Elite Case 334 MiniTower Black + 520W PSU - 55
RAM: KINGSTON - DIMM 1 Gb DDR2 800 Mhz Non-Ecc CL5 x4 - 60
HDD: WESTERN DIGITAL - Caviar Green Power 500 Gb 7200RPM - 50
so the total is 400.
Is this a good RIG GAF? No GPU because I already own a 4850 Sapphire so yeah it will cost me less money
kbear said:
Windows doesn't cost $199, you can get Windows 7 for $50 through a promotion and then you could just order an OEM copy for $100. So no I don't agree, any custom place is just giving you one of these, and Dell saves money by giving you poor parts on stuff like the motherboard, PSU etc