Though processor families must be used with specific types of motherboards, other parts, such as the power supply, RAM, and hard drive work across multiple platforms.
Cooler Master’s RS850-EMBA power supply has far more capacity than needed for today’s guide, but was chosen because it was already on the bench. Its 80 PLUS rating should allow realistic comparisons of power draw between stock and overclocked speeds of each processor.
We didn’t need three modules to test this guide’s dual-channel systems, but two of the same parts can be used in dual-channel mode. Kingston’s DDR3-2000 wasn’t just handy; it’s also capable of low latencies at various speeds, available in single-module packages for dual-channel kits, energy efficient, and able to extract peak performance from each processor. Builders should look forward to a cost-conscious comparison of modern dual-channel kits later this month.
Western Digital’s VelociRaptor was again chosen for convenience, since its higher-than-average data rate allows quicker load times, but with little to no affect on most benchmark scores. It certainly won’t affect the outcome of today’s overclocks.
- Why Overclock?
- Understanding The Lingo
- Getting Started, The Hardware
- Keeping It Cool
- More Shared Hardware
- Overclocking AMD's Phenom II X2 550
- Phenom II X2 550 O/C Performance And Efficiency
- Overclocking AMD's Phenom II X4 955
- Phenom II X4 955 O/C Performance And Efficiency
- Overclocking Intel's Pentium E5200
- Pentium E5200 O/C Performance And Efficiency
- Overclocking Intel's Core 2 Quad Q8200
- Core 2 Quad Q8200 O/C Performance And Efficiency