Tell me what you could possibly do to make this setup better

if youve got alot of cash a phase change system and a 1000w Enermax Galaxy psu would do that build alot of good.

No? eh, whatever. at least get an 850w Enermax Galaxy, you can never have enough power! and you can add another 8800gtx when the time comes.

list out all the parts in your water cooling setup, those will be the deciding factor on how cool your cpu is, and how much your going to be able to oc. is it going to be a full system loop (gfx, northbridge, cpu, ect?). along with the cpu at least cool the northbridge, your going to need to do that if you plan on getting anywhere near the 4.8ghz mark.

I suggest that you get a Xeon 3060 instead, server version of the E6600, they run a little cooler and can oc a little higher then there regular C2D counterparts. your going to need all the help you can get to hit 4.8ghz.

id prolly suggest x6800 since its got a unlocked multiplier, it should come in handy.

personally i would choose an asus motherboard ( yes call me a fanboy) but also consider dfi and msi, i heard theyre good too.

it seems like you have no budget? ( i wish i was you =P )

good luck =D

im an asus fanboi as well, but i didnt think to comment on the mobo, and i didnt suggest that he get an X6800 (the thought did cross my mind though) because he said that he was keeping the E6600 for sure.

P5B Deluxe ftw!

edit: changed, amd to asus like it was suppost to be.

I bet he's pulling your leg about the 4.8GHz. If not..he's either using very very high-end water(likely with TEC), phase-change/cascade, or LN2or DI. If it's LN2, he's not running 4.8 all the time, and is just shooting for records. GL in your endeavor to reach those speeds.  

LoL - that's 200% speed! A 100% increase...
Bit of an OC or what? heheh...
Yeah that'll help the 3DMark score  

There's always better stuff (if you have the keys to the bank vault).
Regards

There's no way he overclocked that high on an E6600; the world record is only 300MHz higher than his, and that was done on liquid nitrogen.

maybe he just got the best C2D the workld has ever seen? or he just has magical powers.

i think you friend was exaggerating, he probably hit 3.8, not 4.8. or maybe his friend is Coolaler, you never know.

i'll see if I can get some proof from the guy

in the mean time rather than concentrating on that number id just like feedback on my intended purchases.....like asus vs abit for the board. Why? Thoughts?

First, the obvious. There is no 80GB raptor drive. Theres a 74GB, perhaps you ment that one. If you did, dump it for the 150GB, which is faster.

Are you trying to get a higher OC, or a higher 3DMark score? If your trying to reach a higher frequency, then worry about getting the best cooling setup. I'm guessing this is a peltier setup cooled by water. If your hopeing for a better 3DMark score, then get a x6800 with a GTX SLI setup.

As for your motherboard question, I've never heard of that board, so I am withholding judgment.

That's Abit AW9D MAX - a really good mobo.
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?categories=1&model=326
I believe in using 1 vidcard - if it's any good you need only 1, right?
But this is a good mobo for Crossfire, I s'pose...
It has all 100% solid state capacitors and special cooling technology for extreme overclocking. Very nice, good choice.
L8R

get dual GTX, along with quad core. that should get your 3dmark score up there no?

maybe I should clarify a bit more. I am staying with the e6600 for bang for you buck. The budget isnt totally open. I'd say the variables would be:

mobo
ram
what brand of 8800gtx
case
psu
cooling

im not going to upgrade to quad core because the price just dosen't do it for me at this point. I can get the e6600 for 300 or so and I know it OC's great. The cpus that do considerably better seem to cost a lot more

and it's common sense that 2 gtx's would be faster, but im not going down that route anytime soon

and yes I did mean the 74gig raptors, however I did not know the 150 was faster. That's interesting. I was thinking about either a raid-0 or raid-5 combination (if I got 3)

get an evga 8800gts, evga has there step-up program, and theres a $30 mail-in-rebate, so its also the cheapest 8800gts.

why would a gts be an upgrade from the gtx??

You're freakin joking, right?

so how about the abit board vs nvidia 680i