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aremjay
Thanks to all for all the advice. The build has started and most of the stuff is bought. I’ve gone for: a Pnong II ATX case (as I mentioned previously); iCute 1000w PSU; Asus P5K Premiun WiFi mobo; Asus EN8800GT graphics with 1Gb DDR3; 2 x Samsung Spinpoint 750 GB hard drives and a pair of DVD re-writers, one litescribe and the other an “all format”. Routing the cables is not too much trouble, but with the IDE connector at the bottom of the board, it is a bit of a stretch to the DVDs at the top of the case. Also the long graphics card covers some of the SATA sockets and influences where the hard drives are best placed.
The next step is to choose the processor and the memory (next pay day!!). I’m stuck between the Q6600 and the Q9450. Reading the reviews the 6600 is an excellent overclocker, but the 45nm core of the 9450 does better. The down side of the 9450 is the 1333MhHz bus speed, which does not seem to leave to much room for increase here. Will the mobo take overclock from the rated 1333 maximum? If so, it may be worth the extra dosh for the extra lifespan this chip will give. Likewise what is the best memory, 5300, 6400 or 8500?
I’m going to be trying my hand at overclocking, but I’ll try it out on this old rig first.
Once again, thanks for the help and I hope someone out there will be willing to carry on with the process.
Aremjay.
Hi
Sounds like it will be a good setup, although i seriously doubt you need a 1000w PSU - my system is an overclocked, overvolted amd x2 5600+, 500gb samsung hdd, 8800gt (512mb). im using a 550w psu with it but when i measured its power consumption it drew a max of 260w (when playing crysis).
According to the reviews ive read the P5K should have no problem in overclocking the 9450 but (and i might be wrong in this) the q6600 will reach higher clock speeds then the q9450, so for overclocking - i think the q6600. especialy now its only £130!!
BTW - the max rating on the mobo (of 1333mhz) is the official maximum - the boad can go far higher than that, its just not supported by the warantee.
Also, have you already got the cd drives? because if you haven’t id seriously recomend getting sata ones rather than ide, makes cable routing soo much easier.
For the ram - get the fastest you can. According to the mag the OCZ PC-8500 Reaper are good - overclockable and cheap.
Good luck.