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Overclockable?

Post Date: 2007-10-28
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Clouded View Drop Down
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Clouded Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Overclockable?
    Posted: 28 Oct 2007 at 4:54pm
I'm planning on getting the following gaming rig in the upcoming months, but could use any advice anyone has. Treat me like a giant noob to everything if possible, because I am =]. This will be my first serious gaming pc and am new to the entire world of gaming rigs..



Case: Digital Storm Twister PRO (Black Anodized Aluminum Finish)
Power Supply: 600W Thermaltake (SLI Compatible) (Silent PurePower Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus) (4MB Cache)
Motherboard: nVidia 680i LT Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 680i SLI)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 Corsair at 800MHz XMS2 (Dual Channel) (Extreme-Performance)
Floppy / Media: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 250GB (Western Digital / Seagate) (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Modem: - No Thanks
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800GTS 320MB (By: eVGA / Asus) (PCI-Express)
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Motherboard Multi-Channel High Definition Audio (7.1 Channel)
Physics Card: - No Thanks
Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink (Copper Heatpipes)
Case Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Green Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
Round Cables: Enhanced Interior Air Flow (Optical Drive & Floppy Cables (Black Edition)
User Manual: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals)
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty
Support: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support


    I'm looking for any more experienced eyes spotting anything wrong with that comp, or  any advice. I've had a tough time deciding whether to go with the current 680i mobo I selected or the A1 revision. I plan on overclocking the memory/processor as far as possible without risking their stability (hope to get at least good 3 years out of this rig). I also plan on changing the current graphics card with the 8800GT 512MB once those come out, I hear really soon - within weeks, and expect them to be available right as a choice on the config page.
    I'm a bit concerned about the Corsair XMS2 memory sticks that are the only 2GB(1GBx2) 800MHZ sticks that are available as an option. Having checked newegg and others they seem a little bit dated and am sure there are better options for OCing atm. Will those be getting swapped soon for new sticks, DSO? I'm curious if it's worthing getting the cheapest option 1gb and purchasing my own sticks that I've read better reviews about for OCing (and are just as cheap + newer). I've also seen Corsair already released 2 newer models of the 800MHZ 2GB(1GBx2) sticks. Or maybe I'm just a bit too nitpicky and they'll be top of the line? Someone reassure my confidence in them =p.
    Lastly, if anyone has any overclocking advice (will be my first time). Basically, how to , and whether or not if I overclock the Core 2 Duos to around 3.0GHZ and the memory above 900MHZ will the stage 2 cooling be enough to keep it from overheating and stay cool.
          Thanks for reading my concerns, any and all help is appreciated.
-Rob (noob)
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Bigdog View Drop Down
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Posts: 450 		  Quote Bigdog Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Oct 2007 at 5:08pm

whats your maximum spending at?
Processor: QX6850 (3.3Ghz)
RAM: 4GB 1066 Dominators
Graphics: 2x 8800GTX 768MB
Sound Card: Fatal1ty
HDD 1: 2x 150GB raptor (RAID 0)
HDD 2: 1x 150GB raptor
HDD 3: 320GB western
Liquid cooling (red)
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Clouded Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Oct 2007 at 5:17pm
BTW, I'm aware that DS provides OCing if I choose stage 3 cooling, but... I fear they will barely up the system compared to what it could be pushed to without becoming unstable. Not that it's there fault or anything, just making sure the product is guaranteed stable, but still not something I really desire for it to be on the short side. Just how far will DS push each aspect of the pc or will it only be the memory/processor/ what? Some more details on it would be nice =].

Also, curious if anyone has an image of the Pro case with lighting inside, I read  in someone else's post that it really diminishes the lighting effect being a full clear panel... Not a big deal but aesthetically pleasing to see, might influence my choice reverting to a Lite case.
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Clouded Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Oct 2007 at 5:18pm
Bigdog, somewhere between 1500-1700 is what I'm hoping to keep the price range at.
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Posts: 214 		  Quote Monstromo Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Oct 2007 at 5:32pm
Originally posted by Clouded

BTW, I'm aware that DS provides OCing if I choose stage 3 cooling, but... I fear they will barely up the system compared to what it could be pushed to without becoming unstable. Not that it's there fault or anything, just making sure the product is guaranteed stable, but still not something I really desire for it to be on the short side. Just how far will DS push each aspect of the pc or will it only be the memory/processor/ what? Some more details on it would be nice =].Also, curious if anyone has an image of the Pro case with lighting inside, I read  in someone else's post that it really diminishes the lighting effect being a full clear panel... Not a big deal but aesthetically pleasing to see, might influence my choice reverting to a Lite case.


I think that DS is being really responsive on OC'ing check this out:

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=782
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Posts: 288 		  Quote 67alecto Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Oct 2007 at 7:38pm
Originally posted by Clouded


Also, curious if anyone has an image of the Pro case with lighting inside, I read  in someone else's post that it really diminishes the lighting effect being a full clear panel... Not a big deal but aesthetically pleasing to see, might influence my choice reverting to a Lite case.
 
Here you go
 
 
Twister Pro
750W PS/Q6600 2.4GHz/680i LT/2GB Corsair 800/9800GTX/X-Fi XtremeGamer/Stage 2 Cooling
Vanquish II
430W Corsair/i3 3.3 GHz/Asus H61M/8Gb DDR3 Corsair Vengeance/650Ti Boost 2Gb
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Posts: 1150 		  Quote Bill the Cat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Oct 2007 at 9:01pm
Originally posted by Clouded

Case: Digital Storm Twister PRO (Black Anodized Aluminum Finish)
Power Supply: 600W Thermaltake (SLI Compatible) (Silent PurePower Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus)
Motherboard: nVidia 680i LT Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 680i SLI)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 Corsair at 800MHz XMS2 (Dual Channel) 
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
 
If you're serious about overclocking, I believe you have to bite the bullet and upgrade to a 680i SLI Ver. A1 motherboard or whatever similar quality board is available at the time. You're going to be constained by the configurability and the heat dissipation of the LT board.
 
The 800 MHz memory should be plenty good enough.
 
I'd recommend XP Pro or a better version of Vista.
 
The overheating question is way over my head. There are a lot of variables and it takes a lot of experience to get a feel for what you can get away with. I'd think it would be no problem, but the big unknown is the case. You can always add another fan.
 
DSO probably won't OC your system to the bleeding edge, which is a good thing. The last couple of tenths of a GHz aren't worth the wear and tear in the system.


Edited by Bill the Cat - 28 Oct 2007 at 9:04pm
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Posts: 15 		  Quote Clouded Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Oct 2007 at 12:26am
Thanks for all the help so far.

Those pics are really helpful alecto - I'm curious if the fact you can see the cold cathode tubes in your rig ever becomes bothersome or a bit too bright?

I read through the OCing thread, but it seems like they're only talking about the Q6600 processor (core 2 quad if i'm not mistaken..?), not sure if what they're talking about - increasing the amount they OC it by - is only for that processor. I'm also not clear on whether or not that OCing job they're talking about ramping up is the job they do for you w/ Stage3 air cooling or the  E6750 Twisterboost enhanced Core 2 Duo processor which is the only budget-friendly OCd processor available as a choice.

If someone could clarify just what DS means when they say Stage3 cooling they'll overclock your system, it'd be really great. Basically I'm still just unsure whether they'll up both your memory MHZ and the processors, or one of those. Likewise confused about what they will do if you choose Stage3 cooling but already selected the Twisterboost enhanced E6750, since that is an already OCed E6750.. seems a bit redundant?

Also, Bill, is there really much improvement to be seen from going with Vista Pro over basic? I plan on sticking to Vista simply because it's going to be required for DX10 and there's a few goodies that it ripped off Apple I like. Will the driver issues etc really be bad enough to warrant sticking with XP until DX10 because the norm?

Thanks for help again, I'm just really feeling lost since it seems like there's really no explanation about how DS goes about their OC jobs and feel really left in the dark about it.


Edited by Clouded - 29 Oct 2007 at 12:28am
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Posts: 214 		  Quote Monstromo Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Oct 2007 at 12:34am
Clouded,

I think you will get a lot farther with OC'ing specifics by discussing this directly with Alex about your build rather than doing it on the forum. Just some friendly advice.
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