Hi! I need help and saw this forum

[tstehler1]

Hello!
I created an account here because it looks like this is the kind of community that will tell me exactly what I need to know. So here we go.

I own a Dell Dimension 9200. Don't laugh yet, it's fairly beefed up (see my profile for more info). Anyway, I have an Intel C2Q Q6600 in this computer, and it generally peaks all four cores at 100% when running intense games. It's clearly the bottleneck in my PC. So I decided to overclock it, but even a slight clock speed increase throws temperatures into an uncomfortable range.

I'm using the stock Dell cooling system on this computer, which I'm sure isn't exactly the best thing I could possibly get. The specs on this system can be found here. Does anyone know of a better cooling system that would be compatible with this machine? I'm fairly experienced with computer building, but I've never ventured into cooling before and have almost no idea what I'm doing. I just know that I found this fan, which has a better airflow rate. Will this fan work? Does anyone know of another cheaper/better fan that will work?

Sorry for the rambling, and thanks for helping a new guy out.

Glad to be here!

 

[PP Mguire]

Nothing in your profile so I'll just ask. You upgrade the PSU and motherboard in this thing? Because if not I doubt you're actually OCing and if you were the PSU probably is not good enough to handle the extra load.

Getting a noisy Delta isn't going to solve your issue. You need actual better cooling.

 

[fallenapples]

I may be wrong. But should Dell and OC be in the same sentence? How can one attempt to modify a Dell or HP PC? Aren't they meant for everyday computing uses like apps and internet?

 

[tstehler1]

The motherboard is not upgraded. The power supply is plenty strong, I assure you, it carries 680 watts (I see why you would ask though... no way the stock 9200 PSU would ever put up with it).
But I did discover an unfortunate fact... My overclocking does not, in fact, work with a Dell BIOS (confirming the statement of fallenapples). I thought it was working, but because of the annoying locked voltage, the computer simply killed itself whenever it was set at a higher clock speed and loaded with Prime95 for more than a few seconds.

I acquired this computer by smashing six old systems together and buying a few new parts, which kept it to about $350 total. If I can't overclock on that... Oh well.

But that being said...
Does anyone know of a fairly cheap case/mobo combo with LGA 775 and DDR2 slots? Because I wouldn't be too against a motherboard upgrade, it's the only thing left on my machine that's stock.

And on a side note, when i view my profile, it shows all my computer information. Do I have to obtain a post count before others can see it or something?
EDIT: Did you check the "About Me" tab?

 

[fallenapples]

ASUSTeK Computer P5QL Pro LGA 775 Socket T Intel Motherboard 0610839163731 | eBay

 

[Dauntae]

I'll take a look but 775 MB are far and few between, The I (I3-I5-I7) series CPU is already on it's 4 generation so 775 has been out of production for some time other than a few oddities found on the web and most won't have much for overclocking ability.

Dauntae

Newegg has a few micro atx boards, Wasn't thinking about ebay LOL The P5Q series are pretty good, Been using mine for geee so many years now LOL I don't have the Pro but pretty much the same board. Looking to build a new system soon.

 

[tstehler1]

I'll take a look but 775 MB are far and few between, The I (I3-I5-I7) series CPU is already on it's 4 generation so 775 has been out of production for some time other than a few oddities found on the web and most won't have much for overclocking ability.

Dauntae

Newegg has a few micro atx boards, Wasn't thinking about ebay LOL The P5Q series are pretty good, Been using mine for geee so many years now LOL I don't have the Pro but pretty much the same board. Looking to build a new system soon.

Thanks, I appreciate your help. I know the I-series has already had quite a good run, so anything previous is going to be annoying to get my hands on, but still cheaper than a new case/mobo/CPU/RAM set. The P5QL Pro actually looks like the perfect board... Except for one tiny little thing. I use a Radeon HD 7770, which is a two-tier graphics card. If I'm not mistaken, that won't fit here, because the bottom tier of the card would be where the PCIe x16 slot is on this board.
If I am mistaken, by all means let me know. I could be entirely wrong.

 

[Dauntae]

Yes you will lose one PCIe 1X slot, I have a GTX470 that does the same thing and my TV card in the other, Anything else I make sure I get a regular PCI slot card but have not had to use them yet LOL Only time I used one was when I added a phone modem when my DSL modem died and had to get online, But most people never have much to add to there boards and 1 PCI 1X should be enough.

Dauntae

 

[PP Mguire]

If you can really get that board for 10 bucks then I honestly think you should grab this CPU for 45. The Q6600 is pretty long in the tooth and can be known to hold back performance even being a quad.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2 5 GHz Quad Core CPU 6MB 1333FSB 0675900947184 | eBay

If you want to OC and have the funds to get a good cooler then that 9300 at 3GHz would actually be a good setup up from your Q6600.

 

[tstehler1]

Yes you will lose one PCIe 1X slot, I have a GTX470 that does the same thing and my TV card in the other...

Understood. I have the same thing in my current computer. Not a problem (I only use one other PCI card anyway and if I had to get rid of it, I wouldn't exactly be heartbroken). I'm pretty interested in placing a bid on this. The thing is, this board appears to be oriented exactly opposite my current board, causing all my cards to face the opposite way. Would you suggest I also pick up a whole new case for this? Or would it be easier to just leave the board freefloating in the 9200 case? (I think I can guess the answer to this one, but I just want to see if a floating board is doable)