A few questions about a computer configuration.

Remember kiddies, its not the Volts that kill you its the AMPS. I also said "could" and "not suggested". There will always be people that are braver than me, this is why hospitals exist.

Both.


gogo12chars

My Grandpa is very smart, and he has been building computers since I can remember - has built me every system I've owned up until I could finally make my own from watching him do it.

But he is also old now, and has been through a lot, so you have to understand the unclear explanations I get from him. He probably meant when it was plugged in and stuff, I don't really know. Logic already tells me that I wouldn't have it plugged in while fiddling with it though, so I wouldn't have done that.

And if there really is that much of a risk then I probably wouldn't care either way, I'm not going out to spend 80$ on a new power supply just because a stupid company decided to put crap fans into their stuff. And I'm definitely too lazy to go back to the store, gas is money too!

Hmm.. and about over-clocking, maybe we should have an ultimate guide here on guru about it? , I'm sure theres tons out there on the internet, but *shrug*.

Well, I did try to start one, but it rapidly turned into "OMG, your PC's gonna asplode! Get cooling quick!!"

You're absolutely right - a nice overclocking guide, stickied at the top would be wonderful.

Oh, and the shock hazard about PSUs - the guy mentioned capacitors. They retain a charge even when everything is switched off, disconnected, stuck in a bucket of sand, whatever. They can still give you a nasty jolt. I've only experienced this working with old-style TVs (you know, those big old things with a vacuum tube). The retained current on those things is awesome - I've been thrown across the room by touching a HT lead without taking sensible precautions.

Or people with common sense. If you know what you're doing there's no risk of getting shocked at all.

I only said that thing about old people jokingly, I meant no disrespect to your grandfather. Even unplugged the PSU still presents a shock hazard because of charged capacitors, like others have already said, but the charge is unlikely to kill you. Altering your PSU safely while it's plugged in is possible but it does take a lot more bravery, confidence or plain stupidity.

But you're still alive.

I think I'm immune to electricity. Ever since I stuck a kitchen knife down the back of a wall outlet when I was 5 years old...

lol snog and i'll see what i can dig up and write in the form of an oc guide

Oh, alright thanks. Sometimes I get edgy about him cause he's one of the more important people in my life, but it's alright.

And yikes Snog, how was the flight?

And.. we kind of derailed this, I think, maybe she won't kill us.

I won't kill you if you answer the following:

When the processor works at 1600 MHz, the Motherboard at 1600MHz and the Memory at 2x 800MHz = 1600MHz (since you most of the time have 2 memory modules) wouldn't that create a very fast system?

And DDR3 is as fast as DDR2 I believe (eewww latency~).

I had some tard on another forum saying you honestly don't want every component working at the same MHz, WHY?!

PS When overclocking the MHz of a Processor, does the MHz of the Motherboard and Memory increase along with it? (got that from the same tard as well)

I'm not experienced enough to point out the flaws in your logic, but someone will be along to do so

Let's start with the fact that the motherboard doesn't have a speed. The chipset on the motherboard determines the maximum speed of a processor that can be installed.

Also, 2x800MHz does not equal 1600MHz - it's 800 whatever way you look at it. I've got 4 of them, and I'm sure not running at 3200.

Stand by for a post by someone clever.

When overclocking the CPU only the CPU increases.
When overclocking the FSB, the FSB and CPU increases.

the QX9650 can EASILY hit 1600 on air. (Mine is running at 1850 atm, on water of course).

800 memory = 400x2, not 800x2.
1600 intel processor = 400x4.

EDIT: The motherboard will only go at 1600mhz, if your chip runs at 1600mhz. Otherwise, it'll slow down to whatever your chip is running at.

Thus endeth the post by someone clever

So if I get a Motherboard with 1600MHz and Memory with 1600MHz and get the QX9650 and overclock the processor to 1600MHz everything will run at 1600MHz?

PS The MHz of the Motherboard is the Chip's MHz right?

I don't think you quite understand. So I'll explain again.

Motherboards don't carry a speed, so it doesn't matter which one you get when it comes to reference speed of what they can 'support'.

Intel CPUs are QDR, which means when they say 1600, they really mean 400x4, because it's cheaper to make a CPU do 4 instructions of 400mhz, instead of a full 1600mhz.

DDR memory is well DDR. Which means 800mhz is really 400x2. 1600 is really 800x2.

For the most stable system, you want 1:1.
That means getting 1600FSB and 800Mhz memory (because 1600/4=400, and 800/2=400, and 400:400=1:1!).

EDIT: Here's an example, my 780i says support up to 1333FSB, but I can do 1600FSB easily, even tho it's not supported, this is an OC'er board, and support is generally granted. The memory standard for this board is PC2-800/1200.

But no one runs RAM at 1200 Mhz... because... that's crazy, 600 FSB (rememeber! 1200/2=600!) is just unobtainable, and just an illusion for the public

EDIT: When I say 600, I don't mean it's not unobtainable for the RAM, I mean it's hard to get the CPU at 600 FSB (you'll have to have 2000 effective QDR!)

Just to re-iterate, it makes no difference how many sticks of memory you have. If you have one stick of DDR2-800 or 2, 3 or 4 - it will run at 800MHz.

All the memory runs at the same speed. In the old days when memory prices were astronomical, it was quite common to upgrade memory just by adding a new stick to what you already had. You could end up with odd amounts like 480MB by combining a 256MB with a 128, a 64 and a 32. In that case, the whole 480MB would run at the speed of the LOWEST stick - so if you had 1 at 100MHz and 3 at 133MHz, the whole lot would run at 100MHz.

Sorry for that slightly off-topic history lesson (I'm good at those )

So... DDR2 800 + Overclocked QX9650 (1600MHz) + a nice Motherboard (that supports 1600MHz chip thingy) = my future awesome computer?

Thats probably going to save me $900. >.>

And I thought all new motherboards supported DDR3 because it's "the new thing".

Are there actually any motherboards out there that support 1600MHz, DDR2 and the QX9650?

PS I'm blond, tried changing it but didn't work.

The 780i is the highest end board that supports DDR2. The downside is... it's a Nvidia chipset.

Nvidia isn't bad, but they make horrid chipsets (motherboards, so to speak).

If you want a stable system, I'd suggest you'd go for a X48 based mobo. It's an intel chipset and DDR3. While DDR3 does have slower looser latencies, the performance allows the CPU to be pushed further.

The 750i and 780i both support DDR2, and will take your QX9650. But they're Nvidia chipsets, so it's your call.

As in... faster, or just overclocking?

And a friend of mine told me to get an Nvidia chipset or he would hurt me. >.>

Nvidia chipsets are utter garbage, only if you compare to what else is on the market. They make badass cards, and just bad chipsets.

DDR3 is faster when it comes to overclocking, because of the limitless (so to speak, because CPU is slow) potential!. With time, I'm sure they will produce better DDR3 chips with tighter latencies, it's just a matter of time. But when that time comes, wouldn't you be glad to have a DDR3 board?

Nvidia isn't so bad that you can't use them, but they're just not as good as intel. It's like comparing a pound of gold to two pounds of gold. The latter being intel. You obviously want a better product for the same price.

Great... now I don't know what to pick, DDR2 or DDR3. v.v