First OC Build ~$700

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within the next few months
BUDGET RANGE: < $700
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, movies, internet
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS (all are about 6yrs old except the OS)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: No specific brand type, just the best bang for buck parts
OVERCLOCKING: Yes
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: Any resolution will do

E5200 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6819116072
P45-UD3R - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6813128359
4830 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6814102822
Reaper - 4GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6820227267
WD 320GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6822136074
Fatal1ty 550W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6817341022
Antec 300 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6811129042
Xiggy S1283 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x [...] 6835233003

I plan to get a retention bracket for the S1283 and some MX-2. I plan to only lap the CPU.

I don't need to play games at the highest settings available, just high enough to enjoy the game. I would really like to spend as less as possible, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This all runs to about $550. Add a monitor and extras, its about $700.

What do you guys think? Anywhere I can save money?

I would go with this graphics card...
SAPPHIRE 100277L Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail 104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102835

This mobo for price and quality...
ASUS P5Q Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 124.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131375

Can you link me the ASUS 4770 or is the one that Kill@dor linked similar?

DDR2 800 are sufficient right? Or is the performance from having DDR2 1066 noticeable in real world?

Fatal1ty 4GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227364

or..

OCZ Plat 4GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227298

Are there better ones with lower timings and around the same price?

I only plan to OC the CPU. Do I still need DDR2 1066 memory even if I don't touch the RAM?

That cpu OC's like a champ. The DDR2 800 will do nicely for you. I would recommend the g.skill pi black or the ocz reapers, both are very nice and reasonbly priced.

@ Kill@dor - You need to do a little more research before suggesting DDR2 1066 RAM to everyone. DDR2 1066 is not necessary at all for an E5200 because it has about a 330 - 350 Mhz FSB wall . Quality DDR2 800 RAM with CAS 4 timings is plenty for overclocking an E5200 to the max. DDR2 1066 is only helpful for the Intel CPU's that will overclock to over a 400 FSB. The E5200 certainly doesn't fit that category.

I recently built a computer for my parents using the E5200 and got a nice 3.4GHz overclock using a 340 FSB and 10x multiplier. The E5200 has a 12.5x multiplier, so high speed RAM is a waste.

What's wrong with giving that suggestion? And no i don't just suggest it to everyone...if they want to OC higher they can use that RAM...whats ur deal?

I have done my research...and i'm not always right of course...

What's the difference betweent the P43 UD3L and the P45 UD3R besides price? I new to OC'ing as you might have noticed.

So, are 4-4-4-15 low enough or should I get something with 4-4-4-12?

Yea, but i'm talking bandwith wise here...not CPU clocking only. with DDR2 677 you can hit 12GB/s and with 1066 you can go higher than 20GB/s, expecially when you OC to 4GHz on the CPU. So tell me, where did i go wrong in my suggestion...?

Ok...so explain to me how i was running 19GB/s on a E6600...D975XBX2 (everyone knows this mobo does not OC well) mobo @ 3.6GHz? No crashes until i tried to go higher...I did clock mine down now to 3.0GHz only because of heat, but i could have left if there if i wanted. Crysis plays a whole lot better because of that OC...and i'm guaranteed 45+ fps constant on a 8800GT... I know gaming is another issue, but i couldn't run it on stock build. So if that's not benefiting me, then i have been misguided this whole time...

Originally, before my OC, my RAM was only running 800MHz...effective 12GB/s bandwith with a 2:3 ratio.

I would choose the RAM that runs closest to the standard DDR2 voltage of 1.8v. If RAM is designed to run around 1.8v, the motherboard is more likely to set the correct speed and timings out of the box. RAM that needs 2.1v will likely run at a lower speed and with looser timings until you manually set those values in the BIOS.

I guess this is my long way of saying that I would pick the G.Skill RAM over the Patriot RAM.

@ short: No answer...?

I may not have given him the best advice on what to get, but calling me out on a suggestion(s) is low. I don't know everything about computers, but i do know that with hard work and with a ton of research i have learned a lot about overclocking and how the computers function as a whole. So don't try to call me out when you have no idea what i have to offer for someone...maybe your advice is misleading to other readers here...you should think about that too!

Sorry for ranting on your post girk... and good luck with you PC.

I'm at work and don't have time to argue with you right now.

Thanks for helping Kill@dor and shortstuff_mt

OK, I have a little break here at work, so I'll try to quickly explain why Core 2 CPU's don't benefit much from faster RAM. Core 2 CPU's communicate with the RAM controller on the Northbridge over the the FSB. You will get the best performance under this setup with a 1:1 FSB/RAM ratio because the CPU can only send so much data at a time over the FSB. It doesn't matter how much theoretical bandwidth the RAM has if the CPU can't match that bandwidth. That's why going with RAM any faster than a 1:1 ratio will not cause any noticeable speed increase.

I'm still at work, so I don't have a lot of time to dig up a ton of articles. Here's a couple:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 - "Optimally, the memory bandwidth afforded should match the bandwidth of the FSB closely. "

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/m [...] guide.html - "The memory bandwidth on Core 2 Duo systems is limited not by the characteristics of DDR2 SDRAM modules but by the bandwidth of the bus that connects the CPU with the chipset's North Bridge...More interesting are the results of the overclocked platform. In this case, there is more sense in using fast memory and the optimal memory frequency divisor is 1:1 (FSB : DRAM) as has been shown in our tests. In other words, you can achieve maximum performance by using memory with lowest possible timings in synchronous mode. It means that if you overclock the FSB to 400MHz, DDR2-800 SDRAM with low timings is the optimal choice. If the FSB is overclocked more, DDR2-1000 or DDR2-1067 SDRAM is the best option. An additional argument in favor of using memory and the FSB in synchronous mode at overclocking is that the 1:1 divisor is the most stable one on a majority of mainboards."