Need help with OC settings.

[Guest]

Ok, so tomorrow I am getting a new computer. I've never overclocked anything before manually. So please treat my question with detail, if possible.

My computer is custom built at my local Frys. Here are it's spec:

Intel® Core™ i7 950 Processor
ASUS Sabertooth X58 Intel X58 1366 Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
AMD HD6870 1GB
DDR3 12GB PC1333 LLK Patriot
Antec Dark Fleet DF-30 Mid Tower ATX Case - That's basically all the cooling I have. That's why I listed it. (frys.com/product/6366971)
EDIT: Forgot my PS. It's 800W, not sure on the brand. The dude helping me said it was VERY good and will do for any upgrade I wish to do. It was on sale for $99. It was a main brand by the way, not like a no name brand or anything.


What I need to know is:

What I can overclock?
How much can I overclock.
Also, what exactly would be the out come of this? Like if I were playing a game like BFBC2 on Highest settings. Or WoW:Cataclysm on Ultra in a raid (Which is actual pretty demanding).

The dude at Frys talked me out of this:
DDR3 12GB (3x4GB) 2000MHz TRI Channel Corsair XMS3 Series
For the RAM listed up there. Was it a bad idea? The main reason was it was $100 more.

 

[Adamm07x]

high quality ram is one of the worst performance/dollar upgrades. You can get triple channel corsiar for 100$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222

If you want to OC get an after market HSF

Cooler master hyper 212 plus is very popular on the forums, i have my i5 760 oc'd to 3.6 ghz with 35 idle and 55 load *Very impressive for a 40 dollar cooler*

link for HSF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Your going to want thermal paste for your HSF i recommend arctic silver 5
thermal paste link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

Guide to put on thermal paste on the exact cpu u have chosen and the HSF i have chosen can be found here
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=170&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=5


The df series is a great case, especially for "new" builders.

Overclocking via bios is not very simple at first, it is quit overwhelming as gigabyte EVGA Asus, MSI all use different terms for the same settings.

But you always get a more stable machine through the bios *and in my own experience lower temps and better voltage control*


Overclocking your GPU will Give you better performance than CPU O.C. *especially during 25 mans due to all the spells and random light arrays on the floor*

For overclocking your GPU i'd suggest MSI after burner. Also your Missing a Power supply unit.

For better airflow and OC performance i'd recomend a modular powersupply and since your GPU takes 2x 6 pin connectors you will want at least 650w but i'd recomend a 750w For same addition of hard drives as well as Crossfire to future proof your system.

 

[Guest]

I added my PS. Thanks for spotting that.

So what do you think the max speed my computer could be stable at would be?

And how do the voltage and speeds relates? Assuming higher speed = more voltage? How would I determine all the setting for my BIOS?

 

[Adamm07x]

I added my PS. Thanks for spotting that.

So what do you think the max speed my computer could be stable at would be?

And how do the voltage and speeds relates? Assuming higher speed = more voltage? How would I determine all the setting for my BIOS?

Well voltage and speed are related in some ways. But you can actually increase speed by decreasing voltage to some extent. For example running a slightly smaller BLCK frequency and then increasing the multiplyer will result in lower volts and higher speeds.

But either way temperatures will be the same.

As for the i7 750 their is no "absolute stable OC" it will depend on ambient room temperatures, case cooling, the actual chip you get, how well you apply thermal paste, etc.

You could argue that Power Supplies are the 2nd most important item within the PC besides the CPU. I would never ever ever recommend skimping 50 or 100$ on the power supply for some off brand, or stock case power supply. You want good clean power for all of your brand new very expensive components. My advice get a corsair, 800w is a little over kill for your system, but that is not a bad thing by any means, just make sure that it is of high quality


I would suspect with that you could reach 3.4 ghz and still have quite a bit left in your CPU. But as a novice Overclocker i wouldn't recoomend going much higher, as first of all you probably won't notice any results past 3.4 ghz, for gaming.

 

[Guest]

Cool, when you say "you probably won't notice any results past 3.4 ghz, for gaming" your saying it's not worth the effort to OC more. So would it be worth it to OC my GPU? Once I turned up my clock too much, that was a bad experience, I don't want it to happen again.

 

[Adamm07x]

yep. GPU oc will give more performance than CPU oc because your grabbing a top of the line cpu that is already overkill for wow.