New Computer System

[lilmentor]

2 x Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM SATA-150 Hard Drive on RAID 0
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N
OCZ GameXStream 700W Power Supply
Team Xtreem 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
2 more Tricool fans Antec 120mm

I am thinking about OCing but....

1) Do I need thermal grease?
2) What is a safe OC speed for the q6600 cpu based on the current configuration above without adding anything? (there are 5 fans in addition to the one that comes with the PSU (which has a 120mm fan)

Thanks in advance.

OC aside, what you think about my new computer sys?

 

[Evilonigiri]

1.) There's thermal paste included on the stock Intel cpu cooler.
2.) With just using the stock cooling, the highest you can go safely is 3GHz.

If you want to OC further, you should invest in a better CPU cooler, such as the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE).

And the Raptors are a waste. Get 2 WD7500AAKS instead. Not only are they cheaper, but they perform better and have 750GB.

 

[Mondoman]

The Raptors are also VERY noisy, and running the in RAID 0 negates some of their access-time advantage, so I'd agree with eo on switching to "normal" drives. However, I'd go with Seagates, since Western Digital doesn't believe in their drives as much, offering only a 3-year warranty versus Seagate's 5-year warranty.

 

[lilmentor]

The Raptors are also VERY noisy, and running the in RAID 0 negates some of their access-time advantage, so I'd agree with eo on switching to "normal" drives. However, I'd go with Seagates, since Western Digital doesn't believe in their drives as much, offering only a 3-year warranty versus Seagate's 5-year warranty.

http://www.computerpoweruser.com/articles/archive/c0603/12c03/chart.htm?guid=A60CAE40E3064739B0F4AA86EFCBDB0F

Really?

 

[Evilonigiri]

http://www.computerpoweruser.com/articles/archive/c0603/12c03/chart.htm?guid=A60CAE40E3064739B0F4AA86EFCBDB0F

Really?

Ya really. Raptors are good drives, but they are so expensive it's not worth it. http://techreport.com/articles.x/14200/6

Raptors are good for gaming though, due to it's faster response time. Performance howerver, isn't the best.

 

[Matt26LFC]

Evil, was thinking of going 1x 150Gb raptor and 2x 750Gb/1Tb seagates RAID1 is it for 1.5Tb/2Tb of storage?

the raptor wud b for the OS install and Apps n Games, whereas the 750's for general storage

 

[Silverion77]

If you want to OC further, you should invest in a better CPU cooler, such as the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE).

HOLY CRAP....he didnt say ZEROtherm Nirvana :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Evilonigiri]

Evil, was thinking of going 1x 150Gb raptor and 2x 750Gb/1Tb seagates RAID1 is it for 1.5Tb/2Tb of storage?

the raptor wud b for the OS install and Apps n Games, whereas the 750's for general storage

Putting 750GB in Raid 1 will just give you 750GB, not 1.5TB. HD failure is squared times harder though. Raid 0 will give you 1.5TB and double the performance, but double the risk.

If you really have the money, the Raptors are decent, however performance over the WD7500AAKS is minimal in games.

 

[Evilonigiri]

HOLY CRAP....he didnt say ZEROtherm Nirvana :lol: :lol: :lol:

See here, I read the THG cooler review and the issue with installation bothered me a bit. So I'm gonna lay off recommending the Zerotherm until I dig up more infor on it.

So TRUE ftw!

...for the moment at least.

 

[Matt26LFC]

cheers evil. i shall look into it