I seriously need help!!!!

[staffsMike]

y

i still dont understand what overclockin is.......

Overclocking is making your CPU and RAM run at higher frequencies than they do out of the box (go faster lol) so a 2.5GHz processor as you have picked can probably run at 3.5GHz with very little effort. This does have draw backs of course such as increased power draw and more heat generated, hence the aftermarket coolers which can quietly and effectively cool overclocked chips

As long as you don't increase the volts to the chip over the stock amount your warranty will remain in tact also.

The freezer 7 pro (as I'm using right now, is a noisey thing when its at full whack (which it pretty much has to be to cool effectively) which is why spending the extra £8 on the scythe mine is money well spent. I'm running my freezer 7 at 75% fan speed and it's still bugging the hell out of me and not doing that good a job of cooling lol

Other than that (graphics card dependent) you have a damn near silent computer there

[Noxvayl]

yep, thx for that.....im usin that one now

i still dont understand what overclockin is.......

Overclocking is changing BIOS(Basic Input Output System) frequency to make your system work faster.

Your BIOS is what contains all the info that controls the hardware of your PC. So when you see that a CPU runs at 3.0Ghz it is the BIOS that allocates those figures for components to use so that every component on the motherboard may be synchronised.

So for my system my BIOS central clock is at 475Mhz. The motherboard then multiplies that clock by 4 to get the rated speed at which the FSB runs so for my system it would be 1900Mhz. My Ram uses that same clock and multiplies it by 2 to make the memory run at 950Mhz. My CPU uses the clock and multiplies it by 7 to get its current speed at 3325Mhz. Now normally my system should have a central clock of 333Mhz which would then have my motherboard FSB at 1332Mhz, CPU 2331Mhz and my RAM at only 800Mhz(that's because I lowered the default ratio to allow the clock to go higher so my CPU may be further overclocked)

So overclocking is raising the speed of your BIOS central clock in order for your other components to run considerably faster.

[MSIC]

ExHails description is nearly true, although the BIOS doesnt have a clock or a frequency. Your motherboard has a BIOS that controls the basic hardware. It's fairly dumb, but says "we have some sort of device at IRQ so-and-so. I dont know what it is, i dont care, but it's there". Then on top of that sit layers that get progressively more intelligent, until you have your Operating system.

If you go into the BIOS (when the machine is just turning on but before Windows boots up), you can then change the settings of your motherboard, such as frequencies, voltages etc, which affect how fast different chips run at. Your RAM is designed to run at a certain speed, the CPU is, certain parts of the motherboard chipset, etc etc.

Overclocking is, as described, when you ask a part to run a bit faster than it was sold to do. This is quite fine within certain limits as any modern CPU will have a good 25 to 50% spare (well, this is where you have to pick and chose carefully). In effect this gives you 'free' performance, and when you consider that with otherwise identical CPUs, a 2.5Ghz chip can cost £80 but a 3.2Ghz chip can cost £300, overclocking has its merits. As well as giving us all some smug personal satisfaction.

[Blitzen]

Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

scan is your friend

They are pretty good. Heard of a few recent faliures but win some lose some.

I prefer western digital. The new 640GB AAKS at around £60 is silent, seriously quick and they are a great manafacturer in my fairly extensive history with them, not had a faliure yet.

Stick with the Samsung.
Its every bit as good as the WD drives and its also quieter an cheaper.

[Ineedhelp!!!]

thx everyone.....but i am now being told that the graphics card i chose isnt worth getting...........is this true?

i saw a bfg tech one but i cant find any under 100 quid....wtf?

[Thorsson]

It runs a bit like this for games:

8800GTS>HD3870>8800GT>9600GT>HD3850 providing that we're looking at 512Mb variants of all boards and given that with regard to NV vs. ATI it does somewhat depend on which game and what settings. The NV cards tend to OC a bit better, and in fact often a factory OC version can be had for little more than a plain vanilla one.

All of these can be had from £80 at the bottom end to £140 at the top if you shop around. IMO it's worth spending the extra and getting the 8800GTS unless you are certain you are never going to play at higher resolutions than 1284x1024 with the card.

[Ineedhelp!!!]

OMG.....i just noticed that most of the graphics cards i would like to get are not vga........is it worth finding a vga one or just buying a dvi one.....

[shadowmaster]

OMG.....i just noticed that most of the graphics cards i would like to get are not vga........is it worth finding a vga one or just buying a dvi one.....

Use a vga to dvi adaptor, they come with almost every graphics card you can buy

8800GTS>HD3870>8800GT>9600GT>HD3850

I would say the 8800GT is ahead of the Ati 3870. In almost all games it is better by about 5 to 10%

[staffsMike]

Use a vga to dvi adaptor, they come with almost every graphics card you can buy



I would say the 8800GT is ahead of the Ati 3870. In almost all games it is better by about 5 to 10%

I would probably get the 3870 over the GT mostly down to not trusting that single slot cooler. Performance wise I don't think there is much if anything between them.