building comp.,what's the initial boot up like?

[Miscue]

Ok youve got a very overclockable processor, and a great overclocking motherboard. What memory are you getting, and what are you using for CPU cooling? That processor can be pushed pretty freakin far, especially the venice core ones if thats what youre getting. Theres plenty of people running those at 2.5 ghz on basic air cooling, which whether certain blasphemers want to admit it or not is quite an improvement.

I don't like the idea of trying to convince someone who has never even built a computer to start OCing.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against OCing at all. I'd be very surprised if my OCing experience does not exceed yours by a vast margin.

My perspective on what is a substantial performance gain is different from yours, and in my opinion it is not "quite an improvement" in comparison to what sort or results have historically been achievable.

[kosmo]

Well my first computer I actually built was a celeron 333 overclocked to 550 mhz. Man I felt like king of the hill back then. I just dont like to not overclock because only a corporate tool lets a company tell him that if he wanted those extra mhz hed have had to pay more.

[FreakBaller12]

As for as cooling goes, I have a processor fan and heatsink. Then I have 2 80 mm's and an additional 120 mm in my case.
As far as ram goes I'm going with a 2 X512(1 mb) of corsair memory.

How do I know how far to overclock? What are the signs of OCing too much or too little?

[Miscue]

As for as cooling goes, I have a processor fan and heatsink. Then I have 2 80 mm's and an additional 120 mm in my case.
As far as ram goes I'm going with a 2 X512(1 mb) of corsair memory.

How do I know how far to overclock? What are the signs of OCing too much or too little?

See Kosmo... see what you did! Dude doesn't even know how to build a computer and he's asking about how far he can push the thing... just asking for trouble.

Don't worry about OCing yet. Get your computer working first at least.

[FreakBaller12]

See Kosmo... see what you did! Dude doesn't even know how to build a computer and he's asking about how far he can push the thing... just asking for trouble.

Don't worry about OCing yet. Get your computer working first at least.

lol you poisoned my brain with this OC stuff.Well I'm doing this computer in three main steps.
1. don't break anything/catch it on fire/ and put it together right
2. install everything good
3. oc the shiz out of it

[NJPaint]

Ok youve got a very overclockable processor, and a great overclocking motherboard. What memory are you getting, and what are you using for CPU cooling? That processor can be pushed pretty freakin far, especially the venice core ones if thats what youre getting. Theres plenty of people running those at 2.5 ghz on basic air cooling, which whether certain blasphemers want to admit it or not is quite an improvement.

Why though? Even if you gain 25% performance (which is high for modern CPUs, not like the good old days ) isn't worth it. No games out there will require it. HL2, D3 etc will still run fine stock and you will stay within warrenty. What I would do is run it stock for a few years and then when you feel it aging and you have a better handle on the computer try overclocking it and seeing how far you can go. It just simply isn't worth the risk of totally frying your CPU.

[NJPaint]

See Kosmo... see what you did! Dude doesn't even know how to build a computer and he's asking about how far he can push the thing... just asking for trouble.

Don't worry about OCing yet. Get your computer working first at least.

^^^ after this post, I'll just shut up. Miscue's got it covered.

[FreakBaller12]

well it's 2 on 1, I guess I'm not going to OC just yet.
I'm really nervous about ruining these parts though when I install them.How careful do I have to be such as the MOBO not touching any metal and junk. Do I have to be extremely careful or just not do anything stupid?

[NJPaint]

I lied, I'm going to post more...

Things that nobody told me to do, but I do anyways.

Wash hands -- Sounds trivial, but it limits the oil/grime that gets on your components
Always think through any move that you make with any component before you move it. -- Again, sounds trivial, but the worst feeling in the world is picking up a delicate component and then not having a place to put it.
Parts are hardy. They are meant to sustain use, but not abuse. Its as simple as that. Don't worry about if you accidentally bump the motherboard when you are putting it in. Its really hard, I've been doing it for a long time and I still sometimes bump it on the powersupply or the back of the case.

Tip- identify all the holes that attach the motherboard to the case. Make sure that every single one of them has a raised nut on the inside of the case (where the screw goes into). You can't put the raised nuts in with the motherboard in there.

Tip2- Always use common sense. If something isn't working, put everything down, take a step back, wash your hands again, sit down and think. Nothing in computers needs to be forced (unless its a windows 95,98 or ME machine that needs to be hit with a baseball bat). If something is being stressed that means that its not supposed to be that way.

Tip3- If you don't already have them, get a bunch of cable ties. Either the twisty kind (used on garbage bags) or the zipper kind, found at any hardware or department store. There is nothing like a highly organized case. There really isn't. Debugging a broken computer is always easier if you can see what you are doing.

Tip4- Always have good lighting. If you have a headlamp (I have one because I ice climb and I need it in the early mornings), use it. If all else fails, a good desk lamp or floor lamp will work. Two light sources is always better than one. Cases aren't huge and your hands will cast shadows, do not try to work in the dark, you will hurt yourself or the computer.

Tip5- Things always take 3 times as long as you expect and rarely does a computer boot up perfectly the first time around. If you do everything and you boot up and nothing happens. Don't panic. There is always a logical reason for these kinds of things. If you run through it several times and can't figure it out, ask for help. Most computer techs are pretty friendly.

Edit: one last thing. Get your tools all set. You will need a philips screw driver for sure. Having two isn't a bad thing. I find that using a small driver for something is much easier than a bulky large one, and yet for case work or for the motherboard, using a small screw driver is much too tedious. A pair of needlenose pliers will also be handy in case you drop a screw into the computer (it happens, them things are really freakin small).

[FreakBaller12]

awesome NJ, just what I was looking for. I got all my tools, lights and how I'm going to do everything lined up now. I feel like I'm fully prepared to take this beast on, and for the first build that's the way it should be.

Thanks to everyone for their input, kindness and help.