System Advice Needed :)

I just put together a mid-range computer (I think) with some parts I already had and some new ones I just purchased. See below...

P5N32-E SLI Plus 650i Chipset
C2D E6600 Conroe
Ballistix 2GB DDR2 800
2 x GeForce 7900GTX 128MB PCI-e
2 x WD SATA Raptors RAID 0
Enermax Liberty 500W
Samsung 22" Widescreen LCD 226BW

Ok, so I know its not a beast, but it should get me by for a while I hope. What do you guys think of this system and what am I capable of doing in terms of OC with stock cooling. I'd also like to know what I can do with some aftermarket cooling as well, but I dont want to go so extreme that I reduce the longevity of any of the components.

Thanks in advance!

That's definitely not midrange there man That's a lower highend system!


Stock cooling you could expect at most probably 3.0Ghz with decent temps...possibly a tiny bit higher. But with good aftermarket cooling (Like a Tuniq Tower 120 or Thermalright Ultra-120/Extreme) you could expect 3.4-3.6Ghz with a decent chip. Possibly even more if you get a cherry chip.

I'm curious about the video cards...you listed them as 128MB....I didn't remember there being 128MB 7900GTX'sk


But with the system you have there, you should expect some nice performance. When you're able to upgrade to a DirectX 10 card...the performance will be amazing

But with those 7900GTX's overclocked and the E6600 at at least 3.0Ghz, you should expect at LEAST 10,000 scores on 3DMark06.

And as far as shorting the life of the chip with overclocking, if you keep the voltage at a respectable level and the temps below 60-65c, the longevity will probably be longer than you'll want to keep the chip. I'd say drop $60 and get yourself the Thermalright Ultra120 eXtreme and get a decent fan for it and you can hit 3.4-3.6Ghz with only a little more than stock voltage (Probably around 1.35-1.4v or so).

Ok, cool - so the stock 6600 is at 2.66ghz i assume and 3ghz is safe with stock cooling. I guess I should get the aftermarket one, I'll check the prices. Oh, and to clarify I have 7800GTXs so that should make it a mid-range system now lol. I typoed that.