To overclock or not. (Help a new PC Builder?)

[sardonicjester]

Recently built my first rig:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Processor, Black Edition

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V8 Nickel Plated Copper Base Aluminum Fins 8 Heatpipes

Case: Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower w/ SuperSpeed USB 3.0 w/ Window w/ Black Interior ATX Case)

HDDs: Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Bare Drive ST32000641AS
Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST2000DL003

(was planning on making this my SAP server too, that's why I have the excessive drive space)

Graphics Card: MSI Radeon HD 6870 1 GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity R6870 Twin Frozr II

Power Supply: X4 Series 850W Atx Ps

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX - AM3+ - TUF Series

RAM: 2x Corsair XMS3 4GB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz 4096MB


So far it's been running great. Handles everything I send at it without much heat difference.


My Questions:

First, since this is my first real PC I've built, I'd like to know if you would recommend overclocking. I don't have any experience with overclocking and do not know if the gains that I would get out of my system are worth the risk.

Also, I'll be more than happy to take an suggestions on how you would overclock it.


Second, I am looking to get a nice Keyboard and Mouse. I'd like to stay under $200 for both, but please send whatever suggestions you have. I've been looking at getting:

Logitech Gaming Keyboard G110

&


Mad Catz Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse

Anyone with personal experience for either?

Thanks for taking a look.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Check over in O/c section for a BE clocking guide,
but as you bought a black edition, it would be rude not to hehe
the benefit is basically faster performance, but at a cost of increased heat production
go for it though man, its not as scary as you may think, and surprisingly fun
Moto

 

[sardonicjester]

Thanks for the fast response.
Good to know. I will Definitely check it out.
I would just hate to break something and then be out of a computer
til I have the funds to fix it.

Any suggestions on K/M?

Thanks Moto

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I'm a cheapskate on my Keyboard/mouse so I tend to ignore that side of things sorry
£10 combo from local shop, last about a year and I replace so I'm easy pleased there
if you research and go slowly, you'll pick up things,
dont just randomly adjust things though, see what the effect is,
like the multiplier guide, note everything on your bios screen,
adjust the multi slightly and see the difference it makes, xx affects yy, which in turn makes cc stop working (do not take this as an instant fail, its a barrier to work round, not necessarily a dead stop)
the trick/art is figuring out how to get xx and yy doing what you want without gimping cc out,
maybe (probably) you'll have to a compromise as your chip wont hold a certain level of Oc, maybe you can set cc lower so that the increase brought on by the xx change leaves it within limits
its a long, fascinating learning curve and one I'm barely on myself, built my first pc Jan10, progressed from software clocking quickly to mobo-based Ez overclocking, to moving this that and the other in bios myself,
I'm no expert per se, but I have an x3 435 unlocked to four cores (luck of the draw, no skill on my part) and clocked to 3.4GHz,
it held 3.5GHz for a while but my psu/mobo aren't really clockers choice
so I backed it down,
probably the most important thing I could pass on to you is
research your gear,
know what it is capable of at best and bear in mind yours may not actually get top results
and this is the important one...
Know when good enough is good enough, its great pushing your kit, but frustrating to blow it up all the time I should imagine
Moto

 

[sardonicjester]

Ah, I see. It seems most people I've talked to take it easy on the K/M.
I find that strange seeing as there are TONS of "gaming"/"high-end" options.


Wow, there is a lot of research in my near future.
I am as "green" as it gets when it comes to overclocking. :lol:

Thanks for the advice.

Now I just hope I can get it back up and running once I blow it up. haha.

 

[Petrofsky]

The Pope has recently declared it a brand new sin to run a Black Edition at stock speed. I was able to simply dial up the CPU multiplier, but my board and chip were made to do that together. It's hard to find good information about overclocking. It's hard to find good information about anything on the Internet, but that's because only a few people ever know what they're talking about, and they sound just like the people who don't. In the case of overclocking, nobody knows what they're talking about, so it's a bit easier. Read everything, get yourself a good temp monitoring program like Core Temp with grapher, make a pot of coffee, take the phone off the hook, and monkey around with the BIOS. I like testing my cooler with Core Damage. Beware, though---it is aptly named. It scared the bejesus out of me the first time I ran it.

 

[sardonicjester]

Good thing I'm trying o/c it. haha.

That's what has stopped me in the past from o/c anything.
There is so much information on the internet, but then there is just as much
information proclaiming that the first is wrong/dangerous.

I have the AI Suite II that I have been using to check the temps. Is this a decent program?
When it comes to stress testing, what do you feel is the Cutoff point? How high should you
test your CPU before ending the test? (Hopefully some point before you fry it. haha)

Also, what is your opinion on all of the MSI programs: Afterburner, Kombuster, etc.

Thank you

 

[Petrofsky]

If I did all your research for you, what fun would that be? But just to get you started, I googled < amd phenom ii x6 1100t max temperature >, and I got a German AMD site that says the max temp for your chip is 62 Celsius. I figure they mean max operating temp, so if you bump that before you pull the plug, you won't damage anything. Your cooler is a monster, anyhow. It would be almost impossible to overheat your CPU if it's installed and running properly.

I'm not an overclocker. You should hang out in an overclocker's forum for a while. I would give you bad information.

 

[sardonicjester]

Very true, very true.

awesome, this at least gives me a base estimate to work off of.
I will definitely check other sites to see if there are conflicting max temps.

Well thank you for the insight.

So what kind of Keyboard/Mouse do you use?

Is it worth the money to get a nice one, or just buy a cheap one and replace when it breaks?

 

[Petrofsky]

So what kind of Keyboard/Mouse do you use?

Is it worth the money to get a nice one, or just buy a cheap one and replace when it breaks?

If you game, the mouse is your instrument, like a cello to Yo-Yo Ma. A poor one can hurt your body. I went through a lot before I found my Logitech MX518. I won't spend $80 on a mouse, but if I would, I might try your R.A.T.---it looks like a good one to get because it's adjustable for size. As for keyboards, don't get what I got, a Filco. The letters wore off the keys week one. It's a piece of fece. But you do need a good mechanical that allows multiple-key input. There is a good article on keyboards over at Overclock.net, speak of the devil. And stay away from wireless---they lag.

 

[sardonicjester]

Wow. That article was extremely informative. very good. Thank You.

Now I know what kind of keyboard I want, I just can't find one for less than $200. haha.
I'd like to get a mechanical, MX Cherry Black, backlit, keyboard that can support macros.

Also, I looked up your mouse and that thing looks horribly uncomfortable. But maybe that's just me.

 

[sardonicjester]

Best answer selected by sardonicjester.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Thank you for B.a. man, glad to help
Moto