[GuardianFlash]

I just ordered this on NCIX, with price match and coupon code I was able to get it for $630CAN. I was wondering, what kind of power supply and heatsink comes with it? I'm planning to overclock the Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz to 3GHz.

[coastie65]

As far as the heat sink goes, that shouldn't be a problem. As for the PSU, if you are lucky, you might get 350w. Depending on the graphics set up I would go to at least 500w and to give yourself some room 600w - 750w or more if your budget can handle it. OCing is trickey business whether it is OCing the CPU or the GPU. The PSU would have more of an effect on a major graphics upgrade or OCing than OCing the CPU. I went from 2.66 Ghz to 3.4 Ghz and 533 Mhz FSB to 800 Mhz FSB on this thing with no adverse effects. I had a 300w PSU. I did go to a 500w PSU after I went from the onboard graphics to a 7600 GS GeForce PCI-E card. The price sounds good. I checked it out but couldn't find out anything about the PSU. If all you are going to do is OC the CPU, I don't see a problem. If you want to upgrade the graphics down the road and you only have a 300w - 350w PSU in it, then you should go to at least a 500w PSU. You can't run SLI due only one PCI-E 16x slot. coastie65

[GuardianFlash]

Quote

You can't run SLI due only one PCI-E 16x slot. coastie65

What's SLI?

[coastie65]

Hi GuardianFlash, Sli is running two PCI-E video cards in tandem. You need two PCI-E 16x slots in order to do this. No biggie, I'm getting along just fine with one GeForce 8600 Gt card. There are some who will disagree. These are the ones who have to have the biggest and baddest rig on the planet. :^0 I think you'll find that the Core 2 Quad will run just fine without OCing. If at sometime you want to go to 3.0 Ghz, then just buy a new processor at that speed. That is what I've done. This thing came with a Pentium D at 2.66 Ghz and I bought a Pentium D at 3.0 Ghz. I am considering going to a 3.4 Ghz Pentium D, but they are rather pricey ($200+ USD). I haven't checked the Core 2 Quads to see what is available. Again, I think you'll find that the Core 2 Quad Q6600 will do quite well. coastie65

[Knifeblade]

Hi, Guardian, and coastie :-)

In technical terms, SLI is Scalable Link Interface, an acronym for "bridging" two GPU's together as essentially one whole unit. SLI is generally NVidea, where Crossfire {same general idea} is ATI. I don't know the manufacturer you speak of, but a 500w PSu {as coastie points out} is a very good idea. If you get a stock lower W PSU, prolly no big deal, but you may wish later that you had the higher Wattage for many reasons.

And, I somewhat agree with coastie that the CPU you are considering will very likely do just fine sans O/C'ing. HOWEVER, since you do state you want to O/C the CPU, a sink {if not part of the package} is a very good idea. I'd suggest surf newegg to get some idea of sinks.


AcerPanAm


So, it says you get a 250 or 300 w PSU, that's really on the low side. No mention of heatsinks, might be cool to direct-shout to Acer and ask them.

[rgreen4]

There are two schools of thought on OC'ing a CPU. There are those who adovocate it, but then since the CPU is not designed for the higher speeds you get into heat situation. The heatsink and fan are designed for the CPU speed that the PC was shipped at, and may need to be replaced.

The other school states basically - if you want a faster processor, buy a faster processor.

Many have what I call a "crippled BIOS" in that most of the tweaking adjustments seen on the BIOS on the after market boards are not present in the adjustments available in the BIOS on OEM boards. I have an HP Media Center machine with an ASUS board that is similar to the aftermarket version except for the BIOS adjustments (it has very few) and the clock speed and FSB frequency are not among them. I believe the same is true of the majority of Dell's, and would not be surprised if Acer is the same. They don't wan the customer OC'ing the machine, burning up the processor, and then calling tech support about fixing the problem under warranty.

Even upgrading the processor on the MB may not be possible as it may not recognize the new processor requirements. You would have to find out from someone with experience with this brand and model. Modifying a manufactured PC in this manner is more of a challenge than modifying an aftermarket board or a machine assembled by a niche or botique supplier who basically assembles a computer to order from aftermarket boards and other specified parts to the customers requirements.