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Newegg [H]oliday 2006 Overclocking System Build Guide
enthusiast.hardocp.com — Do you have money to spend, but don ’t know what to spend it on? Today we reach out to help simplify the system build purchasing process with two Intel Core 2 Duo based systems built to fit different budgets. And both are overclocking monsters to boot!
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- erikerikerik, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1My 1 qua-rm with this is that the systems posted doesn't give a direct comparison of what each system can do against the each other.
- goostoff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14The title should just be Buy Core 2 Duo. These chips are monsters.
On air, you can easily clock a E6300 1.8 GHz chip to 3.0+ GHz. - safetyseal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Ditto to that, I'm sitting pretty at 3.1ghz with my E6300, a god air cooler is all you need.
- returnofmalv, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What was the cost of the mobo required to overclock to those speeds?
- foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ safetyseal,
listen d00d... if i get the defibrillator, then can you get the syringe full of air? i want one of those "god air coolers" too, mAn! just stick me with the syringe, then bring me back. it's easy, mAn!!1 i swear!!1!1oneoneone give me, like, 10 minutes, though. i bet they're hard to part from god. i've heard he has his e6300 oc'ed to 3.4ghz; but jesus hacked his *****. *cheater*
- goostoff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14The title should just be Buy Core 2 Duo. These chips are monsters.
- rvopat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I thought it was a great read and its just to give you an idea of what u can get for a set amount of money that will give you a good rig.....as is always the case more money means better performance
- willyspuddle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Great article. Highly recommend aftermarket cooling for the CPU, Northbridge (it gets so hot with stock heatsink, that it is untouchable), and a good VGA cooler. Major pain in the buttocks to add later as it requires motherboard removal. Any dummy with DDR2 800 can set it to 2.8GHZ and enjoy fantastic performance.
Cheers!- berfmurret, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2yeah i can't believe they didn't include a 3rd party heat sink for the CPU since this IS an overclockers shopping list and everything. oh well i guess everyone has their own preference with that one.
- negativefx, on 10/12/2007, -16/+5People still buy Intel chips? On a budget system? come on....
- mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7The field changed greatly in the last year. Before that, AMD was the way to go. After the Core 2 Duo came out, though, only a complete idiot would get a processor for gaming over $200 that wasn't a Core 2 Duo or Extreme. They just destroy AMD all across the board, even before they are overclocked, and they overclock like maniacs.
- Snowcone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Now if only I had an extra $1500+ laying around to build either system.
- cuzican, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1hrm.. maybe you can head over to prosper.com and tell us how it works out.. because i need one as well.. ;->
- stmiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah no kidding. I like how other sites have 'budget' systems that come to $900 or so.
- randall247, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1although this is spam the guy submits some decent articles
- zhulien, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0perhaps they should test with Pigs in Spaaaacccceee
- totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Shouldn't they have $90 in there for WinXP SP2 Home OEM?
- mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Good point. I guess the idea there is that operating systems are a personal choice, so it's up to the builder whether they want XP home, pro, media center, Vista, or even Linux.
- apdlmike, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Pfft. BeOS 4 lyfe.
- TenebrousX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Who buys Home??
- yohojones, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Speaking of which...
I Just got the 1500 system... pretty much DS3 mobo and E6600 proc, 7900 GTO.
Had an old Dell system gathering dust and tried to use the Win Xp disk for it , tried the old reg code and then had to call in. Entered my number (10+ minutes) and then had to call in... enter some 30+char number by phone and wait for a phone rep. Called in. Some INDIAN guy told me I can't transfer the license, (even though I used the ram out of the old dell and it's useless)
Before he finished talking I just hung up and went looking for Ubuntu seed... Tried the Reg online button before I closed the window on the screen... And it went through... Didn't go through before the call... so..
I can't believe they would even try that ***** 2 months before vista comes out.
- BugMeNot2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1On the $2800 system, I would rather get a very good, but smaller, monitor than 2 decent dual monitors.
Something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001078- mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1That's definitely a judgment call. Personally, when I get a new system, I shove the other one off to the side and keep it as a second computer. A second computer beats a second monitor any day. In particular, it is much better to use during gaming, since even a second monitor doesn't allow you to easily use instant messengers/web browsers during a game.
- theBrink, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Just an ad, who is going to build a kickass PC right now? Just because it's the holidays and you need to spend $$$? Ok, just prepare to replace the video card in a few months, and by then intel chips will have dropped price again when newer model comes out, since gaming is largely video card dependant (and I don't know about you, but I buy a video card expecting at least a solid year of good performance, not being outdated by some new standard that it cannot support (DX10) and preferably I like to time the whole system upgrade around that same time...
I don't think I'm alone here am I?- safetyseal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You are, technology is and has always been constantly moving forward, you can sit and wait for the deals but the next thing will always be around the corner. However The current systems are a pretty decent value from either camp, and DX10 wont totally necessary until at least 2008, though I am already compliant I realize it's not going to even have a cadre of main stream games until mid late 2007. So you can sit and wait for the next big thing or buy now, but there is always something else around the corner.
- mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I just built one last month. With regard to the dropping of processor prices, that's always true. They always get cheaper later. You can't let that stop you from building a system, or you'd still be using a 8086.
With regard to video cards, I got a 8800gts, so I'm not worried about DX10. It's not really a good time to get a new gaming system if you don't, unless you can carry an old video card over. Getting a cheap video card for a brand new system is depressing, and getting a good one would be stupid; you'd be replacing it with a DX10 model soon if you want to play current games. But the 8800gts is a good buy. Even though it's expensive, you don't hit diminishing returns; it really is $480 worth of video card.
As for why I built it now, that's because I could afford it now, and the old one was obsolete. No other real reason.
- Mortiferous, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I don't quite understand alot of the choices made in this guide. I guess some people have brand favoritism but for 1500 dollars, I'de scrap the speaker system, go with a more reliable brand for the video card, grab EVGA's nvidia based motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188009 that doesn't have the problems with ddr 800 ram (intel's fault), and go with an antec power supply. Im not a fanboy, but for the price, the Sapphire x1950xt http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102067 wins against that video card.
- 0mega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1all the 7900's are made by the same company... al you get different is PCB color and warranty... Id go with eVGA for the option of step up but thats about it... and then save up a bit longer, trade the 7900 in + cash for an 8800 out the door :D
- agent42, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1It seems like a bad time to buy a computer due to windows Vista and directX 10 on the horizon. Any system you buy right now would lack these (apparently big) features.
- willyspuddle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If you are upgrading from a 4 or 5 year old system, you already have Windows XP. DirectX 10 games we won't even see for 1 year. Reports from the net state that a 2gig dual processor system with a current dx9 card run Vista VERY VERY NICELY.
Are there any negative points regarding timing of upgrading now I am missing?
DO IT!!!!
Cheers! - encognito, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3IMHO the best time to buy this new gaming rig would be around this time in 2007. Why? Vista would have been out for at least 10 months and DX10 cards from both AMD/ATI and nVidia would probably be on their second revisions. The driver support would be there for most of the hardware. But if you can't wait anymore I can totally relate. My PC is 10 years old and I never got to play anything past UT. I feel like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon, "I'm getting too old for this sh*t..." LOL!
- yournamehere, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Sooooo, you haven't bought a PC in TEN years and you want us to take your opinion on when to buy?
- WarMace, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Rebuilding every 2 years is my schedule. 10 is crazy. I see this as a good time to build a DX10 box if you abosulatly cannot wait till ATI puts their x2800 on the table.
- encognito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I didn't chose to wait ten years to buy a new PC, my employer provided new PCs and notebook computers as needed for work. I felt that it was a waste of money to have a $2000+ dollar PC just for gaming at home when I could just game at work after hours. Next thing you know ten years have rolled by. Time makes fools of us all.
- mrsteveman1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0as someone else noted, you really aren't supposed to (read: Eula says no) build a new box and use the old xp license, though its been done and microsoft has allowed people to activate new boxes from old licenses almost every time.
Which begs the question, what is activation really for if you can just activate any new box? Because as some of you may remember, MS said publicly that its goal in activation was to stop "sharing", not mass piracy, and if you can activate a new box (Read: friends box) anyway, whats the point?- ejx982, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Only OEMs can't be transfered to a new system; retails and retail upgrades can be. MS has been pretty laxed, but I know a handful of people (6), who have called up asking for activation, and they didn't get it. The point is, if you bought the software, you should be able to use it for as long as you want, so long as it's only 1 machine. MS big point is piracy. I have only called once for a friend who upgraded and I just told 'em "He had a bad motherboard, and it took a while to diagnose." They gave me a new activate code and he was good to go.
- WarMace, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Pretty soon these build guides will have another component, which Flash (Ready) Drive you could get to compliment it. =-)
Good writup, but I'm still on the fence about the NForce/EVGA driver's, thats the only major thing keeping me from buying that board.
The minor thing is i need to know if the heat pipe is wicked for reorientation mounting (upside down).- 0mega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1friend has a motherboard with heatpipe based cooling in an inverted ATX case, works fine :)
- 0mega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My upgrade is going to cost me all of zero dollars this year. 7950GX2, M2N32 SLI, 2 gigs of GOOD DDR2, 4200+ X2, Lian Li v2000... ahh the perks of building computers for people :D I get old stuff when they upgrade :D
Great guide none the less, i use these for suggestions to people all the time :)
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