Quote:
Originally Posted by shredzy 
Well my sisters GA-K8NSC-939 mobo died today so gotta her something new.
I wanna keep it around the $400 (AUS) mark because all she really does is burn dvds/surf internet/msn/sometimes plays games like age of empires etc. She only needs a CPU/RAM/MOBO/PSU/GFX.
Here is what I put down. Anything I should change?
E2200 $108
4G Kit-800(2x2G) Kingston $67
G-B EP31-DS3L $113
SHAW 550W $22
9400GT $65
$375
I will probably overclock that E2200 to around 3GHz just for the kicks.
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I would say that perhaps a higher quality brand of Power Supply would be a great choice, and the most power you will need for this system is maybe 400-450W, even overclocked. Here are what I think of as the best power supply brands (taken directly from Newegg in alphabetical order):
- Corsair Memory, Inc ("Corsair")
- Enermax
- PC Power & Cooling
- SeaSonic USA ("Seasonic")
- Silverstone
If you buy a 400-450W from any of these manufacturers, then you can't go wrong (
especially if you buy an Enermax PSU, from what I hear).
Also, if you really do overclock it, then definitely get some decent aftermarket cooling.
Regarding overclocking this CPU, here's Intel's Processor Spec Finder page on this one:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/det...px?sSpec=SLA8X
Notice that the VID Voltage Range is 1.162V-1.312V. As you may or may not know, most "newer" 65nm's (such as the E2160, E2180, E6750, or the Q6600) have a VID Voltage Range that goes up to 1.5V. And as you know, people usually say to try avoiding bringing the voltage over 1.5v for every-day use with these kind of chips. People generally say the same thing about the E8400, except they say don't go over 1.3625V for every-day use, and the E8400's VID Voltage Range goes up to 1.3625V.
So, considering that the E2200's VID Voltage Range is more limited, be extra careful.
Also notice that the Thermal Specification says 73.3°C. But click on it, and you'll find that it says this:
Quote:
| Thermal Specification: The thermal specification shown is the maximum case temperature at the maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) value for that processor. It is measured at the geometric center on the topside of the processor integrated heat spreader. For processors without integrated heat spreaders such as mobile processors, the thermal specification is referred to as the junction temperature (Tj). The maximum junction temperature is defined by an activation of the processor Intel® Thermal Monitor. The Intel Thermal Monitor's automatic mode is used to indicate that the maximum TJ has been reached. |
And because the TDP was mentioned:
Quote:
| Thermal Design Power: (Also referred to as Thermal Guideline) The maximum amount of heat which a thermal solution must be able to dissipate from the processor so that the processor will operate under normal operating conditions. |
Notice that it says that the Thermal Specification is measured at the geometric center on the topside of the processor integrated heat spreader. This is the same place where we apply the thermal paste. So, if the temperature were to get to 73.3°C on the top of the CPU's IHS, then how hot are the cores?
So, anyway, all of this means that, as we increase the voltage and clocks, we increase the Thermal Design Power. And as we increase the TDP, we simultaneously
decrease the Thermal Specification. Unfortunately, I don't know the rate at which it changes while we adjust the voltage and the clocks.
But, I suppose this is why we say that, as a general rule, try to keep the core temps under 70°C (in this case, using
Core Temp) when running a stress test with something like
Orthos running its Small FFTs test (the maximum temperature is usually reached after around 10 minutes).
