i7 build questions

[cdbusby]

Hey guys,

I'm an Apple guy, building my first PC. Mostly using it for gaming, but I am a photographer and web developer as well so I do a lot of Photoshop work. Anyway, I just received the first of my parts yesterday, and am picking up the rest this weekend from a friend. Here's what I have:

• Intel i7-860
• Asus P7P55 LX
• BFG GeForce GTX 275 OC

Picking up this weekend: Antec P182 case, 850W psu, 2x2GB 1333mhz DDR3 (Unsure of brand as of now). Oh, and whatever decent Optical and Hard drives I can find at FutureShop so I don't have to pay for it for 3 months :)

So I guess I'm not really looking for opinions on the hardware, since it's already purchased. I was worried about the GTX 275, but I put it in my friends E8500 last night and it ran MW2 perfectly. My questions are:

• Is the stock cooling on this case (3x120mm fans I think) going to be enough? I'll likely be adding at least two additional HDD's... And I want this system to run cool.
• I am going to upgrade to 8GB ram shortly. Will I notice a different stepping up to 1600mhz ram? Can you mix ram speeds, or does/should it all be the same speed?
• I've read a little about overclocking this processor, has anyone here done so? I don't need a ton of speed, but if I could safely bump it up a few hundred mhz I would like to.

Sorry if these are dumb questions, but as I said I'm a mac guy and am not used to this kind of scene.

Appreciate the help, cheers.
Colin

[cdbusby]

Seems like I answered my own question about combining RAM when searching the forum, should have done that first. Seems like it is not recommended. Makes sense...

Question about difference in RAM speed stands though.

[cdbusby]

Seems like I am answering all my questions just by browsing, I may have posted to soon :s

Overclocking solved, New i7 860 Overclocking

[martin_metal_88]

Well for the ram I'm glad you find the answer yourself and yes for the video card colling it will be plenty enough. Welcome in the PC world and on HWC;)

[stoanee]

Use the power of Google grasshopper!!.....works good eh?

[cdbusby]

Google does work wonders! I sometimes prefer to ask the questions in forums such as this, because you *usually* get a better, more qualified answer. It's pretty easy to tell if someone knows what they're talking about.

So from my ram speed Googling, it seems like I would not notice much of a difference between 1600/1333mhz ram. I couldn't find any tests comparing to even faster ram though... Anyone using 2000mhz+ ram?

[MarkOne]

I will change the Nvidia card for an ATI, Nvidia card tire the eyes when you work a long time with them

[cdbusby]

Originally Posted by MarkOne

I will change the Nvidia card for an ATI, Nvidia card tire the eyes when you work a long time with them

Do you have a reference for this, or is it just from personal experience?

Also, I just purchased this card literally 5 days ago, so I will not be replacing it for a few years unless I find the eye-strain unbearable.

[MarkOne]

Originally Posted by cdbusby

Do you have a reference for this, or is it just from personal experience?

Also, I just purchased this card literally 5 days ago, so I will not be replacing it for a few years unless I find the eye-strain unbearable.

keep your Nvidia, I tough you have not yet purchase.

[SugarJ]

Originally Posted by cdbusby

Google does work wonders! I sometimes prefer to ask the questions in forums such as this, because you *usually* get a better, more qualified answer. It's pretty easy to tell if someone knows what they're talking about.

So from my ram speed Googling, it seems like I would not notice much of a difference between 1600/1333mhz ram. I couldn't find any tests comparing to even faster ram though... Anyone using 2000mhz+ ram?

I've run my DDR3 ram at 1333/1600/1866 with no noticeable difference in daily use between them.

Do not mix and match ram brands or timings. Find a kit you like, and buy the same one if you plan to fill your ram slots.