Newbie...New Build... Some advice please?

[Stuart Holmes]

I have a very similar system and have been trying to overclock it for about two months with no luck. It seems every computer set up is different and there are no clear way to explain how to OC every individual system. Mine is running fine at 30FPS and I also have the same yoke and pedals. That adds alot to the experience.

Enjoy

Hi

This is not so much the case, as there are clear guidelines to use when oc'ing. If you understand what the settings in the bios are for, then you use them the same as anyone else would. The values may vary, but the technique is the same. You have to know what to turn up and what to turn down. these rules apply across the board.
It may be you up the CPU Host frequency to say 450 (as mine is), but don't properly set the MCH Latch and SPD for the ram. In my case my ram could be at 1800MHz. No way it would run at that. those are the same rules anyone overclocking must adhere to, or your oc will fail. Again, the values may be different, but the procedure is the same.

Of course some do get ahold of a poor quality chip that just will not yeild a good, stable oc. Sounds like you may have happened upon one of them. However, the odds are in favor that it will be a good one. Poor quality chips are kinda rare these days, but they do show up from time to time.

Most people don't want to overclock and to many it is kind of a 'black art'. It takes understanding of how everything works together and patience. But if the parts are good, within a very short time (most of the time is spent testing), you will have a bedrock solid overclock that will be a huge boost in performance and last for years.

Most of us that do overclock are not looking for the absolute highest our hardware will go. More, we want a substantial increase that has plenty of headroom. It is quite probable I could get my cpu to 4.5GHz on air with my current Xigmatek cooler, but 4.0 was my goal, so I'm done.

Anyway Stuart. Don't be intimidated. Read and ask questions. Someone will probably even give you base values for the bios setting to get you started. And, you will really learn alot in the process

Hi Again,

Thanks for the speedy replies.

I'm no novice when it comes to computers/electronics. I'm technical manager for a combined radio & TV studio/transmission network. Unfortunately, little of my skill set is transferable to overclocking PC's. I think my plan will be to:

1. Build the Vista System (I've never used Vista - I'm a mac man at heart)
2. Install and configure all FS9 & FSX (I assume they can co-exist)
3. Do all the tweaks that Nick suggests on the forum
4. Fly for a couple of weeks and get a feel for the framerates/smoothness of the system.

If I'm unhappy, then I'll look at clocking the processor. At that point, I'll be on here in a flash looking for advice. I'm not going to worry about it too much at the moment. I'd need bios revisions etc. before I could ask any questions anyway.

I just wish the mail was quicker here. I'm really looking forward to the build. I think the PSU delivery may be the part that slows the whole thing down...

Cheers,

Stuart

[stevehookem]

You will absolutely want to OC the Q6600. I have mine very stable and cool at 3.6. I think that I could get it to 3.8 with this air cooler (vendetta 2) but it's so nice now that I don't want to mess with it.

I saw frame rates last night of 125 fps peak and 75-80 sustained flying a pmdg 747 over the ocean. I was getting 45-50 fps sustained flying into JFK with Mega Airport scenery there.

I put all the sliders to max and flew a 172 through the Grand Canyon at about 100 feet above the floor. It looked like a photo! And I  was getting 50-60 fps.

[Formula_1]

I just wish the mail was quicker here. I'm really looking forward to the build. I think the PSU delivery may be the part that slows the whole thing down...

Cheers,

Stuart

That must really hurt. I mean, the psu is normally the first thing to go in the case

Sounds like a good plan. You would certainly want to get everything running good at default and then consider oc'ing once the system is well setup. This way you will know everything is right to begin with. Oc'ing can be done anytime down the road. Should there be any trouble, you want to find it at default, so you can rma anything. Since you have never done it before, you should read a good bit and know your bios setting inside out. The decide what to do. Heck you may decide you don't want to mess with all the stability test you would need run, etc.
Most should run for hours, to really show how everything is holding up and how your temperatures hold up over extended periods of time. Of course FSX would be a good test platform

Either way, you will be happy, especially with the way FS9 will run on it. I hope that the 3 monitors won't pull down FSX too much. I bet that will be a nice setup.
I would love to have 3 of these 25.5" Acer panels. No way I could run them well enough though
Let's see, that would be 5760x1200..... Nope, not going to happen.
Maybe in a couple more years.

Bye for now