Molockian

[color=white]I’m a relative newbie to high-end PCs in general, meaning that I don’t know much about any kind of high-end hardware or software released in the last 5 years (my last Desktop was an AMD Athlon (not 64) 1.2 GHz from the year 2000). I bought a basic laptop to keep me going for the time being, but I also bought myself a copy of Upgrading and Repairing PCs 16th Edition and I have been using various online resources (like Driverheaven) to lean more about PC technology, and now I’m planning on building my own high performance PC. Maybe I’m overly ambitious, but I’m planning on going all the way with this first project by getting multiple HDs with RAID, a high-end Nforce 4 SLI mobo, an FX-55, and I plan on making the jump to serious overclocking immediately by building myself an effective water cooling system to cool my rig. My question is whether all of this is a good idea when you take into account my lack of experience. Should I build myself a less complicated system and forego the overclocking and watercooling, or should I go all the way with this first project?[/color]

Lowfat

If you can afford it go all out. I made the mistake by buying cheaper stuff the first time, because after i started overclocking, I wanted more. Watercooling isn't difficult either. just make sure you take all the precautions. Use telfon tape on all the barbs, make sure clamps are on good and tight, dont have any kinks in the lines, etc. And make sure you leak test it for 24 hrs before putting it in the computer.

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CDsDontBurn

for peeps who have never done any kind of work on a PC before and have absolutely no experience at all, build a really low end system for like the kids or something. But in your case, you've been reading up on it, asking questions and stuff like that already, so i say go ahead and get everything you want to get. If you have any questions about it, come back and ask us what you need help on, and i'm sure that many of us here on DH will help you out.

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itchy5

ya building a comp is not that hard now adays its basicly all plug-n-play just be careful about overclock its easy to screw up :P i know that from experience =( but ya just go for it you sound like you thought this out well, if you have any questions just ask =)

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Geminiwave

its also pretty hard to kill your computer OCing if it is an accute case(like you accidentally went a wee bit too far your first OC) but if its chronic(like you keep running your proc at unstable FSB) then it can be real bad. Mainly just by good parts.

I would suggest getting an ASUS motherboard, and I know for a fact that the owner of this site, Zardon, will back me up on this. If they are not the best, they are so close to it that they might as well be the best. And their customer service is wonderful. They take RMAs most of the time with no questions asked.

Getting the FX-55 is ambitious...I'm jealous that you have that kindof money but its a great chip and will serve you well. Fully unlocked multiplier which will help TONS.

Get some fairly high speed RAM for your adventure and make sure that NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE 2 STICKS OF EQUAL SIZED RAM! You want dual channel. At this point I'd also suggest getting 1gb of ram minimum(so like 2 sticks of 512mb RAM is great).

Ask LOTS of questions ESPECIALLY if you are unsure about ANYTHING. The only stupid question is the one not asked.

If you want to email or PM me for help you can always do that Or just ask any one of the wonderful members on this site.

Welcome to the world of high-end computers. Have fun :-D

oh yeah and get an ATI X850XT

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Logla

I'd honestly say leave the water cooling for now.

Whilst you build your first kick ass rig, you want to concentrate on the smaller overlcocks you can get on air cooing.
Get obsesive about making your case look as tidy as possible with all those nasty wires hidden away out of site - this teaches you the benefits of good airflow in your case and these skills do not become redundant when you do move to water cooling.

After a few months you will be able to consider yourself an able enthusiast to move toward liquid cooling solutions and maybe even delve further into extreme cooling such as phase change.

By this time, you will be hooked and your bank balance will have been drained but believe me - its a lot of fun!

Molockian

I agree with you. At this point-despite my overclocking dreams-cautionary steps should be taken towards overclocking, and after some developmental time, I should be able to move on.