First of all, 4GHz is probably out of your range. A decent overclock with that processor will probably be in the 3.4-3.6 range. If you really wanted to push it you might be able to hit ~3.8. You won't hit 4GHz without a sub room temperature cooling setup. I don't want to see you push your new system too hard too fast and end up with a smoking paper weight. If you have any questions about the overclocking process, just search the forum for the words "Your motherboard here" and overclocking. There are numerous guides to overclocking with many being motherboard specific. Some even have screen shots if you get lucky.
Oh- as you overclock, be aware of the temperature on your northbridge. I had to replace the cooler on mine becasue it was hotter than I wanted it to be. I just checked and your motherboard cooling solution should be fine, especially with a case like the antec 900 which has really good airflow.
If you do come in overbudget, the one thing you could wait on is the sound card. I do alot of gaming and I use the onboard card and I don't notice a decrease in sound quality from my last computer which had an audigy board in it.
The cooler is a good choice. The only thing that I might grab is some Arctic silver 5. I used it instead of the heatsink compound that came with my cooler but some people don't think it performs any different.
You never mentioned what operating system you are going to get. Are you bringing an old one from your other computer? With service pack 1 due out in the next couple of months for Vista, I would probably take the risk and grab it so you can take full advantage of your DX10 cards. You can grab a copy of Home Premium OEM for around $100
Also, thank you for the compliment. I am glad I could offer you some insight and help you make a good selection. What games do you plan on playing. If you get Battlefield 2142, my user name is the same as it is on the forums. See you in the game
Although the Corsair hx620w PSU is nice, the 520w or the PCP&C 610w will do for a single card application. Heck even the Corsair vx450w one will power any single GPU system out there. If you doubt me, look at my link in my signature on the 380w PSU on a 8800gtx!! I'd go with the 520w Corsair and drop the sound card, unless you have a really good speaker system. If your using headphones or normal speakers the onboard sound will do.
As for overclocking, I would just leave everything at stock for a month and make sure it all works and there's no need for RMAs. Also, if Task Manager never shows the CPU at 100% there's no point in overclocking.
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In a world without walls and fences, who needs windows and gates?
Well it's only $30 difference for the best PSU (hx620w) vs the hx520w, so for $30 to have the best cooling to me seems well worth that little difference in money (unless you guys really, really think I should go with the 520w), I probably don't need the sound card and spend the savings on the Arctic silver 5 compound.
Well I was going to use my XP SP2 as I really am waiting for Vista to go through a few passes and stabalize as I have seen so many OS' go through so many SP's and revisions that I am apprehensive to try it.
I may go with Battlefield 2142 Jedi940 and take it easy on you for being so nice
Message edited by mlaporta on 01-25-2008 at 04:56:04 AM
Well, if you have the $30 and don't mind spending it go for it. Let me put it this way: the 620HX will let you upgrade the video card to 12800GTX in 2011, while the 520HX will only be able to support an 11800GTX in 2010. OK, I'm just inventing model numbers and guessing, but you get the idea.
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In a world without walls and fences, who needs windows and gates?
I'm a little worried about the board I am going to order (haven't ordered anything yet) Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4... after going to Newegg and reading all the reviews\comments I'm somewhat apprehensive about selecting this board. I'm not concerened about the price I just want the BEST performance & reliability with a mobo for the E8400.
If one of you technically gifted folks get a chance to read the reviews and make suggestions I would be grateful.
I would rather spend more and not have problems then spend any dollar amount and have headaches.
If you're concerned about the board then take one of the two top enthusiast choices, Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L or GA-P35-DS3R.
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-Advocate of the 64-bit OS
-Friend of Sound Cards
-Enemy of cheap PSUs
-Fanboy: eVGA, GIGABYTE, Antec, Seasonic, PCP&C, Razer, Saitek, and Corsair.
Is there any ones that do like an "inspect" of all your hardware so you know like what video card you have, cd\dvd burners, amount of ram (and wha type), cpu, mother-board etc.
Yes, between msinfo32 and CPU-Z you will get all that. There's also a GPU-Z. Also, nVidia's drivers will also install an icon in your taskbar (nVidia Settings) that can display a lot of info about the video card and monitor.
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In a world without walls and fences, who needs windows and gates?
I have been reading a lot about this mobo: Foxconn MARS LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard. What are your "words-of-wisdom" from the well of knowledge say about me using this board???
(I am rubbing the crystal ball and turning the black eight-ball over to see what the cube says)...
pcstats.com and a "few" comments on newegg. Sounds like a really good mobo but no name recognition which does lead to some apprehension on purchasing it. I associate reliability with like Gigabyte & Asus and was really settling in on the GA-P35-DS4 which faired extremely well in the review at pcstats but then I read the review (or conclusion anyway the rest went over my head) on the Foxconn MARS and saw the board layout and extra pci slot and such and was very impressed, but me being the novice all that means little.
Well I read the review and it looks like a decent motherboard. It looks like it has good overclocking ability and I like the fact that it has active cooling on the northbridge. Also, from the screenshots at newegg.com it looks like it comes with 90 degree SATA cables which make cable manangement easier and relieves some of the stress from the back of the device.
Ultimately the choice is yours which motherboard to get. You did exactly what everyone else does. You found something new and researched it. Thats the best way to learn and make an informed decision.
I am voting against it. To quote from Anandtech's review:
Quote :
The natural competitor for the MARS board is the excellent abit IP35-Pro and looking at the two boards, we feel like Foxconn is going to need to drop their price (estimated MSRP is $199.99) below that of the abit board to garner buyer interest.
Anandtech is my favorite site (Tom's is #2). I haven't got burned yet when listening to them. What they're basically saying there is that given the choice between a $150 aBit IP35Pro and a $194.52 FoxConn MARS (newegg prices) you should get the aBit without any hesitation. If the FoxConn was $130 it would be a tie, I guess.
All this is also true of the GA-P35-DS4, IMO, not just the aBit IP35Pro. Either way, I'm passing on the MARS. Nothing serious wrong with it, but there is at least one better alternative that is also seriously cheaper and that's enough for me.
Note that the MARS, aBIT IP35 Pro or DS4 will all require a BIOS update to work with E8400.
Some possible solutions for you:
1. give up on the E8400 and go with the Q6600 or E6850 because they are tried and tested. The E6850 is definitely slower than the E8400, by about 10% or so. The Q6600 may be even slower in some things or much faster in others. With the Q6600 at least you'll never know if you lost any performance
2. get the GA-P35-DS4 and follow the BIOS flashing procedure here:
