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Thread ID: 87819 2008-03-05 05:29:00 Spot the bottleneck! laughable (13472) Press F1
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646616 2008-03-05 05:29:00 I've been thinking of upgrading my computer somewhat, but I don't have the budget to do it all at once, and will just upgrade component-by-component. My question is this - I have no clue what should be upgraded first. The three things I want to upgrade are:

Nvidia 8600GTS @ 512mb
2gb RAM (not sure how/where to get the clockspeed or whatever for this)
Intel E6420 @ 2.13ghz

I've been planning on grabbing the new 9600GT when it comes out, but I'm not too sure if it'll be better value when compared to the 8800GT. But the other issue is that I'm not sure if my slow processor will mean it would mean upgrading would be a waste of money.

Also, I've heard that you can overclock my processor with the stock HSF easily, except I haven't got any idea how to overclock except through the mobo back in the day, where you flick those little 1/0 switches to change clock speed. Any tips/hints/precautions/don'tdoitbecauseyoudon'tknowwhatyou'redoing in this area would be greatly appreciated too. :)

Thanks in advance! 		laughable (13472)
646617 2008-03-05 05:32:00 E6420 is still quite decent, really. It's still a fast processor compared to any Pentium Ds and most Athlon 64 X2s. It may bottleneck an 8800GT by a bit, but it should handle 9600GT just fine. Ditch the 8600GTS and get 9600GT instead. qazwsxokmijn (102)
646618 2008-03-05 07:04:00 I have a E6420 currently running at 3.2GHZ on stock intel HSF and it runs perfectly and not particularly hot. A good case and a few fans help in this regard though. See here (www.hardwarezone.com) for a nice easy guide on how to do it.
For more advanced info see here (www.tomshardware.com)
As for the 8800GT vs 9600GT the 8800GT is a better card though about $100 more expensive. 		hazza87 (12499)
646619 2008-03-05 07:26:00 Whoa! Fast reply, thanks! :D

But okay, point taken. What if I wanted to overclock my processor? I've read plenty of reviews/forumthreads of people taking their E6420 to around 2.7-8Ghz with the stock HSF, and I'm kind of interested to do the same - albeit to a slightly slower speed.

I don't suppose anyone has any CPU overclocking tips/suggested software? I've tried to use the Nvidia nTune, but whenever I increase the FSB by even 1 Mhz it crashes my computer. :(

Edit: Ninja'd! Forgot to refresh the page when I replied. Thanks though! 		laughable (13472)
646620 2008-03-05 07:40:00 You can use nTune to OC your CPU??

In any case, OC the CPU via the BIOS. A friend of mine can overclock his E6400 to 2.9GHz stock everything, and I'm sure E6420 would be just as good. Try to increase the FSB to 300 first, which will take it to 2.4GHz. Then just slowly work your way up. 		qazwsxokmijn (102)
646621 2008-03-05 07:48:00 Yeah -- ehm, well, it's in the Nvidia Control Panel, and I can set the FSB of my CPU around in that. Or at least, I should be able to.

I don't want to sound like a worry-wart, but I'm quite the chicken when it comes to overclocking stuff since it's not covered by warranty. Worse-case scenario - what will happen to my CPU? I mean, it's not going to fry, right? (I've seen that destruction post in the forums >_>) Common sense (and experiences with incorrectly installed HSF) tells me that the computer should automatically shut down if something goes wrong.

Edit: One other question - I'm running Windows XP (32bit) right now, and I might be upgrading to Vista Business since SP1 is now out. Would doubling my RAM yield any notable performance results? 		laughable (13472)
646622 2008-03-05 07:55:00 As long as you monitor the temps, not raise the core voltage of the CPU too high as voltage will kill the CPU VERY fast if set too high.

Stress test the CUP with multiple instances of Prime 95 at once, test the RAM with Memtest 86, to make sure these are stable so as it will not BSOD or cause file corruption etc...

The more RAM, the better, specially when running intensive apps... 		The_End_Of_Reality (334)
646623 2008-03-05 08:03:00 I wouldn't increase the CPU voltage if you're still using its stock HSF. Your E6420 shout be able to hit 2.4 - 2.6GHz without a hitch. Just make sure your RAM can either handle the overclock or slow it down.

And you won't fry your Intel CPU. If your CPU gets too hot, it will just slow itself down to keep it from overheating. 		qazwsxokmijn (102)
646624 2008-03-05 08:26:00 One other quick question - what's a dangerous temp for a CPU to have? Or the temp that causes it to slow down, or something. I've just run Prime95 for the last 15 minutes or so with the stress test, and my CPU temperatures have been sitting around 57/58. (Both cores) laughable (13472)
646625 2008-03-05 08:55:00 57/58 at full load sounds about right. I think C2Ds have a maximum threshold of 85. qazwsxokmijn (102)
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