I want to game, and I want to overclock. Although I don't really want to overclock much. I am more interested in finding the "sweet spot" voltage, where the speed is high but the heat is low.

I looked into graphics cards, and PCI E16 2.0 slots are more of a luxury then a necessity. Sli and crossfire are a fantastic waste of money so I am not really interested in that either.

I am also interested in underclocking, so that way when I am just running regular apps I can bump down a bit and let my processor rest. I plan on getting some DDR2 800 RAM with a cas latency of 4 (patriot), a efficient overclocking power supply, and probably a E8400 at this point (although I go back and forward between the it and the q6600 almost daily).

So far, I have found a few models that will do the trick. The Asus P5Q in energy efficient and has deluxe overclock options. I have heard good things about the P5Q pro, but the only difference seems to be the pro supports slower RAM (but I am only getting 800 so it doesn't matter), and crossfire tech. I don't care about crossfire. At all.

I want to buy a HD 4870 (HIS or Saphire), but that is about it in the GPU department. I have read that this card is backwards compatible with PCI E16 1.0 slots, and that the card doesn't require more then that bandwidth to operate anyway.

So here is what I want. I want and efficient overclocker that will allow me to push up the speed pretty high without having to do much if anything with the voltage. I also want it to underclock effienlty, allowing me to lower the voltage to low, but safe levels, and maintain as much speed as possible. It needs to have just one PCI E16 slot, needs to stable but efficient, support quad cores, and I want it for the lowest price I can get.

I have heard DFI makes good overclock boards, and they are cheaper then Asus with a lot of the same features. Anyway, is their a board you all would suggest? Right now I will probably get the P5Q , but I want to save as much money as possible.

Thanks

(BTW there should be no performance loss with a HD 4870 in a PCI E16 1.0 slot right?)

As far as the processor goes, I'd recommend the Q6600, or 6700. Just be sure to try and get an OEM chip if you get the q6x00 series.

Of course with most things in that Bios, when you leave it on auto, like most people do, it usually adds more voltage than you need. So not changing the voltage will limit your OC to a few 100 Mhz.

So far, all q6600s can reach 3.6 Ghz, though if you get a retail version, it will be at around 1.45 volts loaded. So hopefully you can find a OEM chip, and you end up with an excellent VID!

P5q is a new board, that allows for huge FSB speeds. If you are getting only 800 Mhz ram, then that aspect would be useless to you. 550 + FSB. So thats a native 1100 Mhz on yer RAM!

Check out the P5k-e wifi for a board.

If you want a mild OC, you'd be able to get 3.2 and 800 Mhz on the RAM, or 3.6 and the same on the RAM! (Either one can get OC'd a bit more, for instance 3.3, RAM at 826 Mhz, etc...)

There are plenty of boards that get a 400 FSB.

I am not positive, but I think the brand new cards do actually take advantage of the 2.0 PCIe slots. Even though they are compatible with 1.1

It would be kinda lame if they didnt take some sort of advantage of the new speeds of the slot, because it's a new card that was made while 2.0 was the standard. (Hopefully!)

Anyways, just get a decent cooling heatsink, and all will be well!

The 8400 would be advantageous because it has a pair of faster cores. Though it's only two cores, they are rated at a faster speed, and can get 4.0 pretty easily.

So, 2 x 4 Ghz, or 4 x 3.6 Ghz.

It's all in what you do with your comp.

--Lupi

Sounds like you want a turbo button.

Ok, so maybe the pq5 pro is still a good investment. Has everything I want and will serve me well for a long time.

Another question then if I may- would I be better off getting 4 gb of DDR2 800 RAM with tight timings, or 2GB of DDR2 1200 with regular timings?

Again, I am not looking to max overclock. More interested in getting the most I can without pushing the voltage up very high.

I'd go with 1066 if possible. For that 550 FSB x 7 for 3850 processor speed and 1100 Mhz on the RAM in Sync! Q6700 for that!

Just get an OEM chip if possible!

DDR 800 would waste that FSB. Limit it to just over 400 Maybe 425 max at stock ram settings, or close. The 1066 can get 1125 easy.

Remember, the FSB is the same path all data to and from the RAM take. If the FSB is lower than the rams speed, how the hell can it all pass through the slower bus?

--Lupi

I found some discounted 1066 G Skill at the egg for only ten dollars more then what I wanted to get for the patriots- 4 gigs. I think I am still going to get the E8400 at this point and overclock it to about 3.6 ghz and wait for games to start utilizing the four cores more efficiently. When that happens I think I'll just bypass the Q6 series and jump to the q9450 yorkfeild in a few years (or something similar maybe from a new line). I may still get it yet if the price drops in the 3-6 months it is going to take to earn enough money for my parts.

I appreciate your help lupiron. I now have confidence then win I do get it, everything will be a good buy.

Thats a good Idea, but your OC will be more like 550 x 7 = 3850 Mhz processor, and in sync for 1100 Mhz on the ram.

It may be wise to ante up for the 36 dollar xiggy 1283 Or whatever it is that everyone is getting. It will make that OC easy, as far as heat dissipation goes!

--Lupi

I'm getting a zalman, regardless of which processor I opt for.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/Catego [...] -Heatsinks

Thanks again