Decent OC system

[Strongbow]

If I wanted a decent number crunching AMD system that would be good at large Photoshop image manipulations, Macromedia suite esp. Flash MX, DC (of course) but not for games use (have consoles for that!) and ultimately good for overclocking, what would you guys recommend.

I would rather have a system that could be over clocked to the max so maybe liquid cooled for a laugh and noise is not a problem although I could do without jet turbines for the case cooling. This would be more of a hobby system than anything else so if it crashed due to me experimenting then it's not a problem as resilience isn't essential...

I fumbled around with this idea last year but with no experience in knowing what was appropriate I gave up. So I've updated my wish list and could do with some advice on if the components are worth their salt or not...

AMD Athlon FX-57
Abit Fatal1ty AN8 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3200 2GB 4x512MB DDR XLPT
120mm Alpha Cool Quick Install Water Cooling Kit
CoolBL ChipsetCooler
Blue Storm 500w PSU
ATX Case - not bothered about aesthetics or lights!
Couple of SATAs, DVD-ROM etc.

Any ideas?

[mitro]

Forget the FX-57. the future is dual-core. Not only are duals far better for crunching, but more and more applications are becoming multi-threaded to take advantage of multiple processors (Photoshop CS2 does, I know that). I"d go for a dual core Opty or X2 that fits your budget (FX-60 if you really want to spend that much). I'd probably get an Opteron 170 if it was up to me.

You don't want to run 4x512MB memory configuration. Not only does it eliminate you ability to expand (with out replacing all sticks) but it also forces the memory to run at a command rate of 2T, which decreases the performance of your memory. Look for a good pair of 1GB sticks. Pretty much all manufacturers make good 2GB kits now that are capable of DDR500+ speeds.

The motherboard is a personal choice really. I refuse to spend more money ona product just because it has some guys name on it. I use DFI NF4 motherboards almost exclusively. Everytime I buy a different brand I end up regretting it. Of course the other boards I've bought have been cheaper models.

Sorry if it seems I'm picking apart your selections...just trying to suggest parts that will make you happy. :D

Good choice on the power supply...I have 2 of them.

[Empty_5oul]

that would be a high spec. machine.

From my experience the photoshop/flash are all mainly down to memory e.g rendering.
On the macromedia site it says - (1 GB recommended to run more than one Studio 8 product simultaneously)

Have you ever looked into DDR2: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1566 ,may be worth waiting a few months for this?
Otherwise get paired dual channel if possible.

You said you will go SATA so that will be quick.

have you ever experienced the Uguru on abit boards? I have one (and though i havent used it to the full potential) it is very powerful. Basically an extra little screen with loads of details/numbers etc. - Good for overclocking as you can see your computer stats all the time - temperatures, voltages, speeds (fans).
Really its just a toy! but with it you can overclock on the fly.

[Empty_5oul]

** sorry.

i looked at wrong board. I see is does come with a guru panel. On the ABIT site it says "This product has been discontinued. " - looks a bad sign ?

[Strongbow]

Good tips guys, many thanks! :D

DDR500 - what motherboard can handle those monsters?

I have heard of the guru panel but isn't that just a temp, volt & RPM display?

[Empty_5oul]

this is the actual one i have on my Av8-3rd Eye

http://www.abit-usa.com/innovations/3rd-eye.php

this is the software you use with it http://www.abit-usa.com/innovations/uguru.php

only problem i found is you cannot install the software on windows 64 OS. They will release one, but there is no indication of time atm.

[mitro]

DDR500 - what motherboard can handle those monsters?
Just about any current motherboard. Your motherboard won't limit the speed of your RAM.

uGuru is a propietary system of not only monitoring, but controlling various aspects of the board (voltages, temps, fans). Nothing that can't be done in the BIOS of pretty much any board.

[Jerod Vandehey]

You should check out the cou cooler I found the other day. http://www.1coolpc.com/mightymachine.htm This looks like the best cooler I have ever seen. How could it not be with a 120mm fan on it? Don't ask about the price though... When I build my next system this is what I am going to use.