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The Overclocking Buyers Guide

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alrighty, finally updated the thread and the wishlists. I threw a Phenom system in at the end just in case some one really wants one, but the general consensus that I see around the net is that the current Phenom chips (9500 and 9600) aren't worth the effort or money right now. If the prices drop and new chips come out, then maybe things will change.
 
Phenom's (no offense) overclock for crap, even the Black editions.

Pretty up to date guide.

Only thing is to add Corsair into the PSU section.
 
i notice that in the high end intel section it states that 3.6 is a 28% overclock. i pretty sure that is a 50% overclock. stock speed is 2.4 gigs. overclocked speed is an additional 1.2 gigs. that would be a 50% overclock. sorry to nitpick.
 
In the PSU list, I would use the Corsair550VX in place of the Antec NeoHE. It is the best bang for the buck unit in its class available today.

An updated list of good/safe units would be (no particular order, excluding Etasis, Zippy and Turbocool's):
  • Corsair VX550, HX520, HX620
  • Ultra X-Pro, 1kW, 1.6kW
  • Thermaltake 1kW, 1.2kW
  • Silencer series from PCP&C
  • Silverstone Olympia (Seventeam) 1kW, 1.2kW
  • Silverstone DA/OP 650W
  • Seasonic S-12,M-12
  • Acbel > 500W units, Coolermaster Real-power Pro.
  • Hiper (still use Fujjhyu crapacitors, but have vastly superior cooling, hopefully minimizing failure)
  • Gigabyte Odin series
  • Antec Quattro series
  • Tagan Silverpower series
  • Low wattage Enhance units
List is by no means complete, but it should satisfy most users.
 
Last edited:
moto211 said:
i notice that in the high end intel section it states that 3.6 is a 28% overclock. i pretty sure that is a 50% overclock. stock speed is 2.4 gigs. overclocked speed is an additional 1.2 gigs. that would be a 50% overclock. sorry to nitpick.
Click to expand...

you are right. i must've skipped over that. thanks for pointing that out.

Super Nade said:
In the PSU list, I would use the Corsair550VX in place of the Antec NeoHE. It is the best bang for the buck unit in its class available today.

An updated list of good/safe units would be (no particular order, excluding Etasis, Zippy and Turbocool's):
  • Corsair VX550, HX520, HX620
  • Ultra X-Pro, 1kW, 1.6kW
  • Thermaltake 1kW, 1.2kW
  • Silencer series from PCP&C
  • Silverstone Olympia (Seventeam) 1kW, 1.2kW
  • Silverstone DA/OP 650W
  • Seasonic S-12,M-12
  • Acbel > 500W units, Coolermaster Real-power Pro.
  • Hiper (still use Fujjhyu crapacitors, but have vastly superior cooling, hopefully minimizing failure)
  • Gigabyte Odin series
  • Antec Quattro series
  • Tagan Silverpower series
  • Low wattage Enhance units
List is by no means complete, but it should satisfy most users.
Click to expand...

thanks for the updated list, and thanks for pointing out that corsair psu, it's the first time I've seen that model. what company makes the internals?
 
sorry i've neglected this the past month. I've had a few other projects going on...one of which should be pretty super for all of you (foreshadowing...) :)
 
ok, all updated.

edit: sorry i've been forgetting to copy over the old version for revision history:

Introduction:
In an attempt to centralize all of the wonderful information here on OC Forums, I am creating an overclocker's buyers guide. The target audience for this guide is people who want to build a new system that overclocks well, but they don't know where to start. The main goal of this guide is to highlight the current processors that are exceptional overlockers. The systems I've picked are broken up in to several categories, ranging from "Budget" systems to "No Budget". In an attempt to not show bias towards any manufacturer, I am going to include comparable builds for Intel and AMD systems. Throughout the guide I'll use suggestions made by forum members, I thank those members in advance and apologize if I don't credit every particular instance. In fact many of the systems recommended have been built and tested by forums members so there's no question as to their relative success. This guide will be updated monthly to reflect price changes and newly released products. Please note the last revision date at the bottom of the post.

Note: For simplicity, all prices are from Newegg.com (unless otherwise noted) and do not include shipping. All overclocking results mentioned are approximate stable overclocks. As with all overclocking, your results may vary.​

Cooling:
  • Air: Tuniq Tower 120 - $49.99 (link)
This is a very large cooler using a 120mm fan. It might not fit in some cases/motherboards, but it is an extremely good air cooler. The fan on the inside is changeable, so you can swap it out for a quieter/louder option if you'd like. The Thermalright Ultra120 is an excellent alternative, as are the Scythe coolers that use a 120mm fan.

  • Water: Swiftech H20-220 Apex GT Kit - $199.99 (link)
Since this guide is aimed more towards beginners, I have selected a water cooling kit that is widely available and has been reviewed by several computing websites. This kit is not necessarily considered a "beginner's kit" because of it's price, but it provides a big leap in cooling power. Several kit's that are cheaper do not provide cooling power that is much better than an air solution, though they can still have the benefit of being quieter. If you are feeling adventurous, you might want to consider piecing together your own custom water cooling solution. This kit is good for most applications, but a DIY solution is recommended by water cooling aficionados to further customize your build and optimize cooling. The benefit of a kit, such as this, is it will take care of all the details so you don't have to worry about them. If you do not want to assemble an entire kit yourself, there are several pre-assembled solutions out there.

  • Phase Change: Asetek Vapochill Lightspeed - $849 (frozencpu.com)
This is a great commercial quality phase change cooling solution. I chose this over the Prometeia Mach II because it is cheaper. You can buy this separate and mod your case to accept it, or you can buy a pre-modded Lian-Li case. Asetek even has a case with a phase change cooler built in to it.​

Power Supply:
  • All Systems: Zippy GSM-6600P 600w - $169 (myaopen.com)
  • Alternative: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX - $89.99 after MIR (link)

A good, quality PSU is just as important to overclocking as any other component. Overclocking puts more electrical stress on just about every component of your system, so you need a PSU that is built well and can deliver the extra power your system needs. See a complete list and more information on PSU's below.​

Case:
All Systems: Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP - $44.99 (link)

The most important thing to look for in a case is if it has good ventilation. Many cases are being sold with 120mm fans included now, as well as side vents. I'm recommending this Cooler Master Elite because of it's price mostly, but it has great ventilation, too. I've used it on a few builds now, and I think it is an excellent case for the price.​

Hard Drive:
All Systems: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB - $99.99 (link)

At the very least, you will want one 7200rpm SATA drive. I upped the pick to the 500gb model because of the price/GB ratio, but any of the Seagate 7200.10 drives will perform well.​

Video Card:
Nvidia:
  • EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600GT 512MB - $149.99 (link)
  • EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB - $219.99 after MIR (link)
ATi:
  • SAPPHIRE 100225L Radeon HD 3870 512MB - $149.99 after MIR (link)
  • SAPPHIRE 100221SR Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB (512MB x 2) - $369.99 after MIR (link)

Video cards don't directly effect CPU overclockability, but they are normally overclockable themselves. PCI Express 2.0 is coming out now, so you will want to start thinking of a motherboard that can support it.​

Sound Card:
Gaming Systems: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer - $55.99 after MIR (link)
HTPC Systems: HT OMEGA Striker - $79.99 (link)

For most people, the on-board sound will be good enough. Still, there are some benefits to aftermarket cards. If you are a gamer, then you should grab a Creative X-Fi card, because it will help improve frame rates by taking care of all the sound processing. If you are making a HTPC, then you will want to look at cards that use C-Media chips, like the HT Omega Striker or Claro.​

Floppy Drive:
All Systems: Samsung 3.5" Floppy - $6.99 (link)

A floppy drive can still be useful when flashing your bios and they are cheap, so you might want to include one in your system.​

Optical Drive:
All Systems: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - $24.99 (link)

CD-ROM drives are pretty much a default component of every system. Since they are so cheap, you might as well get a DVD burner that has the capability of burning Dual Layer disks.​

***
*** Price/OC Ratio: Lower is better.
*** Make sure you have a capable power supply for the system you choose to build.
***

Entry-Level - Complete system target: $700
Intel System:
  • Intel Core E2160 - $69.99 (link)
  • GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G - $79.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $35.99 after MIR (link)
Total: $185.97
Typical OC on Air Cooling: 3.2ghz (78%)
Price/OC ratio: 2.38
Newegg Wish List

The E2160 can be a lot of fun to clock if you are on a serious budget. With the MIR, the Crucial Ballistix should not be passed up. If you aren't a fan of MIR's, check out the G.Skill 2GBPK's.

AMD System:
  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane - $56.99 (link)
  • BIOSTAR TFORCE TF560 A2+ - $69.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $35.99 after MIR (link)
Total: $162.97
Typical OC on Air Cooling: 2.9ghz (38%)
Price/OC Ratio: 4.29
Newegg Wish List

They aren't as competitive as they used to be, but AMD systems still perform decently and still overclock well.​

Mid-Level - Complete system target: $1200
Intel System:
  • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 - $169.99 (link)
  • DFI Blood Iron P35-T2RL - $129.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $35.99 after MIR (link)

Total: $335.97
Typical OC on Air Cooling: 3.2ghz (37%)
Price/OC Ratio: 9.08
Newegg Wish List

The E6550 seems to be clocking just as well as all the other C2D processors. Intel's P35 chipset is becoming the current standard for overclocking. The Crucial Ballistix memory overclocks very well and has great timings.

AMD System:
  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Black Edition - $87.00 (link)
  • BIOSTAR TForce590SLI Deluxe - $164.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $35.99 after MIR (link)

Total: $287.98
Typical OC on Air Cooling: 3.1ghz (19%)
Price/OC Ratio: 15.16
Newegg Wish List

The Phenom chips on the market are still not worth the jump yet.​

High-End - Complete system target: $2500
Intel System:
  • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $254.99 (link)
  • Abit IP35 Pro - $169.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $35.99 after MIR (link)
Total: $460.97
Typical OC on Air Cooling: 3.6ghz (50%)
Price/OC Ratio: 9.21
Newegg Wish List

45nm is here, so the E8400 and Q9300 are great alternatives. The Asus P5K Deluxe is a great alternative for the motherboard. The Ballistix ddr2-800 sticks should overclock to run above ddr2-1000 speeds, but you could swap them out for some DDR2-1066 sticks if you feel inclined.

AMD System:
  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz - $163.99 (link)
  • BIOSTAR TForce590SLI Deluxe AM2 - $164.99 after MIR (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $35.99 after MIR (link)
Total: $364.97
Typical OC on Air Cooling: 3.4ghz (6%)
Price/OC Ratio: 60.83
Newegg Wish List

Again, staying with the X2 because the Phenom chips aren't worth the money yet.​

Extreme - No budget
Intel System:
  • Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 - $1499.99 (link)
  • ASUS Maximus Extreme Intel X38 - $349.99 (link)
  • Corsair 2x1gb DDR3-1800 CL7 - $499.00 after MIR (link)
Total: $2348.98
Typical OC on Air Cooling: -
Price/OC Ratio: -
Newegg Wish List

DDR3 and X38. The new X48 boards are already showing up on review sites.

AMD System:
  • AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz - $235.99 (link)
  • DFI LP UT 790FX-M2R - $242.99 (link)
  • Corsair Dominator 2x1gb DDR2-1111 - $469.99 (link)
Total: $948.97
Typical OC on Air Cooling: -
Price/OC Ratio: -
Newegg Wish List

For those of you that want the brand new AMD stuff regardless of performance, overclockability, or price.​

External Links and Suggested Reading:

Pricing Engines:
Thank you to Super Nade, GreenMaji, Liquid3D, and all commenters below for their help in editing this guide.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Updated. The Newegg wish-lists should be updated shortly

splat said:
Introduction:
In an attempt to centralize all of the wonderful information here on OC Forums, I am creating an overclocker's buyers guide. The target audience for this guide is people who want to build a new system that overclocks well, but they don't know where to start. The main goal of this guide is to highlight the current processors that are exceptional overlockers. The systems I've picked are broken up in to several categories, ranging from "Budget" systems to "No Budget". In an attempt to not show bias towards any manufacturer, I am going to include comparable builds for Intel and AMD systems. Throughout the guide I'll use suggestions made by forum members, I thank those members in advance and apologize if I don't credit every particular instance. In fact many of the systems recommended have been built and tested by forums members so there's no question as to their relative success. This guide will be updated monthly to reflect price changes and newly released products. Please note the last revision date at the bottom of the post.

Note: For simplicity, all prices are from Newegg.com (unless otherwise noted) and do not include shipping. All overclocking results mentioned are averages from [utl="[URL]http://www.hwbot.org[/URL]"]hwbot.org[/url]. As with all overclocking, your results may vary.​

Cooling:
  • Air: Tuniq Tower 120 - $39.99 after MIR (link)
This is a very large cooler using a 120mm fan. It might not fit in some cases/motherboards, but it is an extremely good air cooler. The fan on the inside is changeable, so you can swap it out for a quieter/louder option if you'd like. The Thermalright Ultra120 is an excellent alternative, as are the Scythe coolers that use a 120mm fan.

  • Water: Swiftech H20-220 Apex GT Kit - $199.99 (link)
Since this guide is aimed more towards beginners, I have selected a water cooling kit that is widely available and has been reviewed by several computing websites. This kit is not necessarily considered a "beginner's kit" because of it's price, but it provides a big leap in cooling power. Several kit's that are cheaper do not provide cooling power that is much better than an air solution, though they can still have the benefit of being quieter. If you are feeling adventurous, you might want to consider piecing together your own custom water cooling solution. This kit is good for most applications, but a DIY solution is recommended by water cooling aficionados to further customize your build and optimize cooling. The benefit of a kit, such as this, is it will take care of all the details so you don't have to worry about them. If you do not want to assemble an entire kit yourself, there are several pre-assembled solutions out there.

  • Phase Change: Asetek Vapochill Lightspeed - $849 (frozencpu.com)
This is a great commercial quality phase change cooling solution. I chose this over the Prometeia Mach II because it is cheaper. You can buy this separate and mod your case to accept it, or you can buy a pre-modded Lian-Li case. Asetek even has a case with a phase change cooler built in to it.​

Power Supply:
  • All Systems: Zippy GSM-6600P 600w - $169 (myaopen.com)
  • Alternative: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX - $79.99 after MIR (link)

A good, quality PSU is just as important to overclocking as any other component. Overclocking puts more electrical stress on just about every component of your system, so you need a PSU that is built well and can deliver the extra power your system needs. See a complete list and more information on PSU's below.​

Case:
All Systems: Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP - $44.99 (link)

The most important thing to look for in a case is if it has good ventilation. Many cases are being sold with 120mm fans included now, as well as side vents. I'm recommending this Cooler Master Elite because of it's price mostly, but it has great ventilation, too. I've used it on a few builds now, and I think it is an excellent case for the price.​

Hard Drive:
All Systems: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB - $74.99 (link)

At the very least, you will want one 7200rpm SATA drive. I upped the pick to the 500gb model because of the price/GB ratio, but any of the Seagate 7200.10 drives will perform well.​

Video Card:
Nvidia:
  • EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600GT 512MB - $104.99 after MIR (link)
  • EVGA 01G-P3-N895-AR GeForce 9800 GX2 KO 1GB - $369.99 (link)
ATi:
  • SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850 512MB - $154.99 after MIR (link)
  • ASUS EAH4870/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4870 512MB - $254.99 after MIR (link)

Video cards don't directly effect CPU overclockability, but they are normally overclockable themselves. PCI Express 2.0 is coming out now, so you will want to start thinking of a motherboard that can support it for future upgrades even though it is debatable whether or not it can be truly utilized today.​

Sound Card:
Gaming Systems: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer - $90.99 (link)
HTPC Systems: HT OMEGA Striker - $79.99 (link)
Budget: on-board sound - FREE (included in mobo price)

For most people, the on-board sound will be good enough and the sound quality is competitive with addo-on cards. Still, there are some benefits to aftermarket cards. If you are a gamer, then you should grab a Creative X-Fi card, because it will help improve frame rates by taking care of all the sound processing. If you are making a HTPC, then you will want to look at cards that use C-Media chips, like the HT Omega Striker or Claro.​

Floppy Drive:
All Systems: Samsung 3.5" Floppy - $7.49 (link)

A floppy drive can still be useful when flashing your bios and they are cheap, so you might want to include one in your system.​

Optical Drive:
IDE: LITE-ON DH-20A4P-04 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - $20.99 (link)
SATA: LITE-ON iHAS120-04 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - $23.99 (link

CD-ROM drives are pretty much a default component of every system. Since they are so cheap, you might as well get a DVD burner that has the capability of burning Dual Layer disks. There are SATA drives out now, but they do not offer any real benefit other than the smaller SATA cable versus the larger IDE ribbon.​

***
*** Price/OC Ratio: Lower is better.
*** Make sure you have a capable power supply for the system you choose to build.
***

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Compare all the processors listed below at hwbot.org: COMPARE --
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry-Level - Complete system target: $700
Intel System:
  • Intel Core E2180 - $67.99 (link)
  • GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G - $74.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $34.99 after MIR (link)
Total: $177.97
Average OC: 3.6ghz (80%)
Price/OC ratio: 2.22
Newegg Wish List

This is a real bang-for-the-buck system. With the MIR, the Crucial Ballistix should not be passed up. If you aren't a fan of MIR's, check out the G.Skill 2GBPK's. If you can find a Celeron 420, they average 3.0 ghz or a 90% overclock for pure overclocking fun.

AMD System:
  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane - $49.99 (link)
  • BIOSTAR TFORCE TF560 A2+ - $79.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $34.99 after MIR (link)
Total: $164.97
Average OC: 3.0ghz (30%)
Price/OC Ratio: 5.50
Newegg Wish List

They aren't as competitive as they used to be, but AMD systems still perform decently and still overclock well.​

Mid-Level - Complete system target: $1200
Intel System:
  • Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale - $124.99 (link)
  • DFI Blood Iron P35-T2RL - $119.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $34.99 after MIR (link)

Total: $279.97
Average OC: 4.3ghz (70%)
Price/OC Ratio: 4.00
Newegg Wish List

The Wolfdale processors are proving themselves to be very good overclocking chips.

AMD System:
  • AMD Phenom 8750 - $175.00 (link)
  • DFI LANPARTY DK 790FX-M2RS - $134.99 (link)
  • Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 - $34.99 after MIR (link)

Total: $344.98
Average OC: 3.1ghz (29%)
Price/OC Ratio: 11.90
Newegg Wish List

The Phenom chips are still disappointing when compared to new Intel chips and the old X2's are starting to be phased out. However, they aren't terrible and they do overclock.​

High-End - Complete system target: $2500
Intel System:
  • Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale - $194.99 (link)
  • DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2RB - $179.99 (link)
  • G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 2x2gb DDR2-1000 - $84.99 (link)
Total: $459.97
Average OC: 4.9ghz (56%)
Price/OC Ratio: 8.21
Newegg Wish List

At 4gb, the difference between price in DDR2-800 and DDR2-1000 is minimal, so it's easy to jump to the higher rated ram.

AMD System:
  • AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION - $205.00 (link)
  • DFI LANPARTY DK 790FX-M2RS - $134.99 (link)
  • G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 2x2gb DDR2-1000 - $84.99 (link)
Total: $424.98
Average OC: 3.0ghz (22%)
Price/OC Ratio: 19.37
Newegg Wish List

I still wouldn't recommend spending money on a Phenom X4, but they aren't absolutely terrible. Also, the SB750's should be coming out shortly, which help the Phenoms OC better, so keep an eye out for those motherboards.​

Extreme - No budget
Intel System:
  • Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 - $1469.99 (link)
  • ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM/WIFI-AP @n X48 - $369.99 (link)
  • Corsair 2x2gb DDR3-1800 CL7 - $524.00 (link)
Total: $2363.98
Average OC: 4.9ghz (54%)
Price/OC Ratio: 43.78
Newegg Wish List

Probably want water or LN2 cooling on this puppy to get any good results.

AMD System:
  • AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION - $235.00 (link)
  • DFI LP UT 790FX-M2R - $239.99 (link)
  • Corsair Dominator 2x2gb DDR2-1142 - $299.99 (link)
Total: $774.98
Average OC: 3.1ghz (21%)
Price/OC Ratio: 36.90
Newegg Wish List

Wait for the SB750 based mobos to be released shortly.​

External Links and Suggested Reading:

Pricing Engines:
Thank you to Super Nade, GreenMaji, Liquid3D, and all commenters below for their help in editing this guide.
Click to expand...
 
I see there has been a while since anyone posted here, but it seems you have great experience with high-end builds splat. I just bought a gaming rig, and i would really like to hear a few comments on it.

Mobo: Asus 790FX-deluxe
CPU: AMD Phenom Quad 2.5GHz Black ed
CPU cooler: Zahlman 9700 NT
RAM: 2x G.Skill 2x2GB kits @ 1066mhz = 8GB (Exp below)
Tower: Sharkoon Rebel 9 (no PSU)
PSU: Chill Innovation 700W (Danish special-designed)
GPU: Asus Radeon 4870x2 2GB GDDR5
Disks:
2x Mtron Pro 7000 32GB SSD for raid0 @ marvell controller (for OS,progs, and most used games) = 64GB
1x Velociraptor 300GB (for other games and most used stuff, pluss temp for video editing and stuff)(with anti-vibration bracket)
1x WD caviar 1TB (will possibly add 1-2 more the comming year)
I've also ordered a 24" LCD with 1920x1200, 10000:1 contrast, 5ms(2@gtg).
Will be using a standard stock DVD burner.
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Mouse: Logitech MX518 (my current mouse)
I'm considering getting a 1000VA UPS too, but i don't know...

Explenation for 8GB RAM: I will turn off pagefile, and i love multitasking. Not hard CPU multitasking, but like gaming with music, multiple web pages, open programs, and sometimes progs like Hammer (HL2/CSS map maker)

The price was about $5000. And i've done huge ammounts of research on SSDs the past 6 monhts, so spending $2000 was well planned. I don't plan on much overclocking, as i've never had problems with my CPU being the bottleneck.
Hoping eagerly for experts thoughts, but any comment is welcome.
 
GullLars said:
I see there has been a while since anyone posted here, but it seems you have great experience with high-end builds splat. I just bought a gaming rig, and i would really like to hear a few comments on it.

Mobo: Asus 790FX-deluxe
CPU: AMD Phenom Quad 2.5GHz Black ed
CPU cooler: Zahlman 9700 NT
RAM: 2x G.Skill 2x2GB kits @ 1066mhz = 8GB (Exp below)
Tower: Sharkoon Rebel 9 (no PSU)
PSU: Chill Innovation 700W (Danish special-designed)
GPU: Asus Radeon 4870x2 2GB GDDR5
Disks:
2x Mtron Pro 7000 32GB SSD for raid0 @ marvell controller (for OS,progs, and most used games) = 64GB
1x Velociraptor 300GB (for other games and most used stuff, pluss temp for video editing and stuff)(with anti-vibration bracket)
1x WD caviar 1TB (will possibly add 1-2 more the comming year)
I've also ordered a 24" LCD with 1920x1200, 10000:1 contrast, 5ms(2@gtg).
Will be using a standard stock DVD burner.
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Mouse: Logitech MX518 (my current mouse)
I'm considering getting a 1000VA UPS too, but i don't know...

Explenation for 8GB RAM: I will turn off pagefile, and i love multitasking. Not hard CPU multitasking, but like gaming with music, multiple web pages, open programs, and sometimes progs like Hammer (HL2/CSS map maker)

The price was about $5000. And i've done huge ammounts of research on SSDs the past 6 monhts, so spending $2000 was well planned. I don't plan on much overclocking, as i've never had problems with my CPU being the bottleneck.
Hoping eagerly for experts thoughts, but any comment is welcome.
Click to expand...

you already spent the money, so anything I say isn't really going to help :)

really, i don't know why people would buy Phenoms right now. I don't know anything about that PSU so i can't comment on it...but since you're not overclocking anyway, it doesn't really matter. All of that should run just fine at stock speeds.
 
in the first post by splat he listed two lite-on optical drives. are both these drives pretty much the same except one is ide and one is sata? why would someone choose ide over sata? do they make sata II dvdr drives? i am looking to buy a new dvdr drive but not sure what to get.
 
azianese said:
in the first post by splat he listed two lite-on optical drives. are both these drives pretty much the same except one is ide and one is sata? why would someone choose ide over sata? do they make sata II dvdr drives? i am looking to buy a new dvdr drive but not sure what to get.
Click to expand...

sata on a dvd/cd drive doesn't give any performance gain, so IDE and SATA dvd/cd drives are basically the same except for the cable used. some boards have a limited amount of SATA connections, so IDE might be preferred by some people. If you only have 1 or 2 hdds in your box then you'll probably have a few SATA ports open to connect a dvd drive to. I've got 4 ports and 4 hdds in my pc so i have to have my dvd drive connected to IDE.
 
splat said:
sata on a dvd/cd drive doesn't give any performance gain, so IDE and SATA dvd/cd drives are basically the same except for the cable used. some boards have a limited amount of SATA connections, so IDE might be preferred by some people. If you only have 1 or 2 hdds in your box then you'll probably have a few SATA ports open to connect a dvd drive to. I've got 4 ports and 4 hdds in my pc so i have to have my dvd drive connected to IDE.
Click to expand...

i've seen in some builds people have 2 optical drives. whats the point of this? isn't there a drive that can perform well in both writing and reading? i need a new dvd burner, whats the best one out right now? theres so many of them all about the same price range. i've heard goods things about the Pioneer 115D, Samsung SH-203B, Lite-On LH-20A1H and many others. what kind of blank media do you prefer for dvdr and cdr? i've read about taiyo yuden but should i be getting dvd-r or dvd+r? they both seem the same to me except that dvd-r might have a better chance of working on standalone dvd players.
 
azianese said:
i've seen in some builds people have 2 optical drives. whats the point of this? isn't there a drive that can perform well in both writing and reading? i need a new dvd burner, whats the best one out right now? theres so many of them all about the same price range. i've heard goods things about the Pioneer 115D, Samsung SH-203B, Lite-On LH-20A1H and many others. what kind of blank media do you prefer for dvdr and cdr? i've read about taiyo yuden but should i be getting dvd-r or dvd+r? they both seem the same to me except that dvd-r might have a better chance of working on standalone dvd players.
Click to expand...

2 drives allows you to copy straight from disc to disc without needing to copy to a hdd first. I'm sure some one might have another reason to have two, but that's really the only thing I can think of.

dvd drives are at the point in their life cycle where it's easy to build a high quality, low cost product. So, i don't think there's really too much difference between drives now-a-days, but i'm not an expert by any means. I've had great experiences with several different lite-on drives so they are all that I can really recommend from personal experience.

as for media, i haven't done any extensive testing so try to find other reviews around the net.
 
azianese said:
i've seen in some builds people have 2 optical drives. whats the point of this? isn't there a drive that can perform well in both writing and reading? i need a new dvd burner, whats the best one out right now? theres so many of them all about the same price range. i've heard goods things about the Pioneer 115D, Samsung SH-203B, Lite-On LH-20A1H and many others. what kind of blank media do you prefer for dvdr and cdr? i've read about taiyo yuden but should i be getting dvd-r or dvd+r? they both seem the same to me except that dvd-r might have a better chance of working on standalone dvd players.
Click to expand...

Well I have 2 opticals for a few reasons. When I got back into PC's a few years ago I just went with a CD burner because I was on a budget and DVD burners were still a little more pricey. When I saved up and got a DVD burner I just left both in. As splat said it allows you to copy strait from disk to disk, It also allows to you burn 2 of the same disk at the same time so if you need multiple copies of something it saves some time. The other thing I like is since I tend to bounce back and forth between a couple games at the same time I just install from different drives and son't have to keep swithing disks.

Now even though I like some of the little things you can do with more than one optical I probably won't use 2 when I upgrade to SATA.
 
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