New Build, general thoughts on issues to happen?

[PaulyD]

Hi all,

Maybe i should've checked the spec with you guys first but i got a bit trigger happy and ordered the new build anyway

I'm pretty technical with PC's anyway but wondered on the experts thoughts of any problems/incompatibilities i might face with this build, i have done quite a bit of research on the bits and wanted something that had a fair amount of grunt:

Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit
XFX 8800GTS 320Mb
Western Digital Caviar 500GB S300 16mb 7200rpm
Western Digital Caviar 250GB IDE
Samsung Spinpoint 80GB S300
Coolermaster Real Power 620w Modular Power Supply
Coolermaster Stacker CM830
Viewsonic VX924 19" Monitor
EDIT: Ruby Orb Cooler to chill the CPU

Note: i already on the monitor, case, GPU and smaller HDD's.

EDIT: This is an upgrade from the following:

ASUS A8N32-SLI deluxe mobo
AMD 64 x2 4400+ OC'ed (with some help!) to 2.6Ghz
OCZ Platinum DDR(!) RAM 2x1GB
and other above bits

Hopefully should be quite an upgrade!

Its basicially mostly used for gaming and also video/photo editing so i decided to go for the Q6600 over a dual core for that fact as even though the dual cores are better gaming cpu's they don't compete in application performance.

I'm mostly worried of any problems i might have with the mobo not picking up on the CPU (need bios update) or the RAM having voltage problems with the mobo, has anyone here had that combo or know of any problems i might face?

Also, i have read that the crucial ballistix RAM are good for OC'ing, would this perform better than the OCZ PC2-9200C5 1150MHz Reaper HPC edition RAM which has very little overclocking headroom? Also, will 100Mhz really make a difference?

Also, overclocking the Q6600 should be quite easy even with stock volts (I'm unsure of applying extra voltage to bits )

Finally is there anything you would change from this build?

Any help appreciated on this, i understand the amount of "new build" threads that appear but would like an experts opinion of someone who has been there, done that

 

[Tetras]

I'm mostly worried of any problems i might have with the mobo not picking up on the CPU (need bios update)

Nah, no X38 board should have issues with a Q6600!

or the RAM having voltage problems with the mobo

Possible, if so you should be fine getting to the BIOS with one stick.

Also, i have read that the crucial ballistix RAM are good for OC'ing, would this perform better than the OCZ PC2-9200C5 1150MHz Reaper HPC edition RAM which has very little overclocking headroom? Also, will 100Mhz really make a difference?

It only makes sense to buy RAM if you need it for overclocking FSB. PC2-6400 (800 Mhz) would let the Q6600 reach 3600 Mhz without being overclocked itself, you really think you are going above that?

 

[PaulyD]

"Nah, no X38 board should have issues with a Q6600!"

Thanks!

"Possible, if so you should be fine getting to the BIOS with one stick."

Thanks again, i thought of that but wanted to check.

"It only makes sense to buy RAM if you need it for overclocking FSB. PC2-6400 (800 Mhz) would let the Q6600 reach 3600 Mhz without being overclocked itself, you really think you are going above that?"

I wouldn't, a 3.6Ghz would be a sweet OC to me. I have a basic understanding of overclocking but not a huge amount, does that mean i can get the same overclock on PC2-9200? Or would the RAM need to go higher with the overclock to match FSB???

"Why so many hard drives? Why the old 320MB GT and not the newer, faster 512MB version? "

I already have the IDE 250Gb which is used for backups/file storage etc and i was planning to use the 80GB for Vista just for DirectX10 and playing about with it. I already have the 320 GTS from my current build and can't afford a newer one. However it can play all games i have extremely well - just that the rest of my current build bottlenecks it..

 

[Tetras]

I edited out the hard drive and GT comment when I re-read and realised that you already had them.

I wouldn't, a 3.6Ghz would be a sweet OC to me. I have a basic understanding of overclocking but not a huge amount, does that mean i can get the same overclock on PC2-9200? Or would the RAM need to go higher with the overclock to match FSB???

Intel Front Side Bus is Quad Pumped, actual FSB for a 1066 FSB CPU is 266 Mhz. DDR memory is effective of double actual speed, meaning you only need 266 Mhz actual (533 Mhz effective) DDR to run in sync with FSB.

The Q6600 has a 9x CPU clock frequency multiplier, at 400 FSB you will have 3600 Mhz (400 x 9). To run in sync with 400 FSB you require 400 Mhz actual DDR memory, which is PC2-6400. There is no need, indeed no point, on having memory running faster than the FSB. You may get a very, very minor performance boost for going significantly over the FSB with memory but going a little over will usually result in a performance penalty for running async with the bus.

 

[PaulyD]

Many thanks for the explanation Tetras

So in effect there would be no performance loss or gain between PC2-6400 and PC2-9200? Apart from the RAM quality itself.

So from what i understand (and i have seen this on my current setup) the RAM would go to 800Mhz to provide a higher overclock to the CPU, or i could have the RAM run at 1066Mhz but with a slower CPU speed?

Is there anyway to get a 3.0Ghz+ overclock and have the RAM run at its native 1066Mhz speed?

 

[Tetras]

So in effect there would be no performance loss or gain between PC2-6400 and PC2-9200? Apart from the RAM quality itself.

That is correct.

So from what i understand (and i have seen this on my current setup) the RAM would go to 800Mhz to provide a higher overclock to the CPU, or i could have the RAM run at 1066Mhz but with a slower CPU speed?

Slower FSB yes.

Is there anyway to get a 3.0Ghz+ overclock and have the RAM run at its native 1066Mhz speed

You can use dividers for this purpose (if they are available) but it is darn near pointless to do, so they may not be (more likely with DDR3 where 1:2 ratios are not hard to achieve, though they offer little in performance just like high clocked DDR2).

With a Q6600 I would suggest you stick with PC2-6400.

 

[PaulyD]

Ok thanks again.

The RAM has already been ordered but was on offer anyway at £43 i think so not a huge amount of money to be losing at all, thanks overclockers!

One final question for you, from stock settings - the RAM will run at 1066Mhz (and i know i might need to manually enter in the timings) and only after any overclocking the RAM will drop to 800Mhz to fall in line with FSB.

Thanks for your help, once this all comes you will probably find me in the overclocking sub-section getting this all setup though from what i do know it should just be a case of upping the FSB speed to 400 to achieve the magical 3.6Ghz and then working it out for slower speeds etc.

Thanks for your help, appreciated

 

[Tetras]

One final question for you, from stock settings - the RAM will run at 1066Mhz (and i know i might need to manually enter in the timings) and only after any overclocking the RAM will drop to 800Mhz to fall in line with FSB.

I'm not familiar with new fangled X38 boards in operation but typically the RAM will boot at 1.8 - 1.85 volt, JEDEC timings, at (266) 533 or (333) 667 Mhz. It is unlikely that it would boot at 1066, depends on the SPD settings of the memory and the motherboard BIOS.

 

[PaulyD]

Thanks.

I guess it will be a case of try and see now, will certainly jump on here if i have any problems!

Thanks again

 

[Tetras]

Your welcome, you should find it all very easy. Just make sure you set it all up the way you want it first time (like which ports the hard drives are connected to) and work out what settings it'll need (memory timings, manufacturer recommended voltage, etc) and a few overclocks you can aim for that already have basic settings to use like, 3, 3.2, 3.4), it'll save hassle later

Could even make a CD/save on a USB drive with all the tools (like Orthos/Prime/3D Mark 2006..) that you'll use to test it