Trying to OC to the Glorious 4Ghz Mark ...Hardware advice needed pls....

[Charles4400]

Well I am finally going to upgrade my mame (+ multi emu cab) computer and decided to try to reach the 4Ghz threshhold using the e8600 chip...

I've never OC'd before and read that this chip was probably the easiest to do this with b/c of its low tempterature and E0 stepping (which I barely know what that means...just know its the newest and best in steppin of Intels chips!)

So Please help if you can as I really do appreciate it! 

My question is which motherboard,memory and cooling system would be best to achieve the 4ghz (and dare I try more than 4?) goal using the e8600 from the below hardware?

Memory Options:
 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module    Corsair-Value or Major Brand   

 -Kingston HyperX  [+ $45] 
 -Corsair XMS2 Xtreme w/Heat Spreader  [+ $49] 
 -Mushkin High Performance II (HP2) w/Heat Spreader  [+ $29] 

4 Gigs enough or should I jump to 8?

Motherboard Options:
 -Asus P5KPL-CM Intel G31 Chipset w/6-channels, Gb LAN, S-ATA 3Gb/s, USB 2.0, Single PCI-E MB     [- $62]
 -[CrossFire] Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB     
 -[CrossFire] Asus Maximus II Formula Intel P45 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB     [+ $161]
 -[CrossFire] Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB     [+ $115]
 -[CrossFire] Asus Rampage Formula Intel X48 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB     [+ $190]

I'll probably be using an ATI Radeon HD 4870 1 GB for the Graphics Card

And for Cooling the CPU:
 -[New !!!] INTEL Certified Liquid CPU Cooling System kit     [+ $63] 
-Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU Cooling Fan System Kit   Silent & Overclocking Proof = Maximum cooling efficiency for quietness and performance   [+ $45] 
-V1 CPU Cooling Fan System Kit   Silent & Overclocking Proof = Maximum cooling efficiency for quietness and performance 

I know this was alot to read so if you read through it all THANKS!

What do you all think? Is this doable with the hardware choices above and which components do you suggest?

Thanks Again!

[taz-nz]

To start I suggest you read my MAME benchmark thread, about 1/2 of it is about overclocking, and there are my suggestion for hardware for a mame setup on a budget. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=72776.0

But it looks like your going for the safe overclocking option of using more expensive hardware, which is probably not a bad idea if it's your first time.

I'd suggest the following to get the best out of build.

Intel E8600 E0 Stepping (4.0-4.5ghz overclocked on good air)
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R Motherboard
Corsair Dominator RAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2-1066
Thermalright True Black 120 plus 2x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm 160rpm fans
Gigabyte GV-R487D5-1GD Radeon HD 4870 1GB  (note a HD4970 is total overkill for MAME at this time)
A good brand name 650watt power supply, Enermax, Corsair, Seasonic. (I prefer Enermax myself but the Corsair units are good value).

This is all proven hardware, known to overclock well.

[Charles4400]

Thanks for the input Taz!

That thread you mentioned is great! Lots of Good info there!

For the graphics card, do you suggest staying with the 4870 1gb for other emulators other than mame? (i.e. would that card pretty much handle any games including 3d type games, sega model 2 games, FP etc,  that can be thrown at it?)

Also you suggested the 'Thermalright True Black 120'... on the description it says it is compatible with 'Intel P4 LGA 775 processors' but doesn't mention Core 2 Duo's...since you listed it I assume that it actually does fit.... or whould I be looking for one that specifically states Core 2 duo?

Thanks fo the hardware suggestions WITH LINK! 
Really appreciate that!

[taz-nz]

For the graphics card, do you suggest staying with the 4870 1gb for other emulators other than mame?

I'm no expert on other emulators,  but you should be more than safe with a HD4870.

Also you suggested the 'Thermalright True Black 120'... on the description it says it is compatible with 'Intel P4 LGA 775 processors' but doesn't mention Core 2 Duo's...since you listed it I assume that it actually does fit.... or whould I be looking for one that specifically states Core 2 duo?

LGA775 is the socket type, late model Pentium 4 and Pentium D cpus, and all the desktop Core2Duo & Core2Quad cpus fit this socket type, The heatsink is basically designed to cool overclocker Core2Duo CPUs but supports any number of other CPU types. I've got the older version of this heatsink the 'Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme' on my E8500 and it's hard to beat when it comes to air cooling.

Crazy PC also offer a Lapping service on the 'True black 120' for $19 which will help improve the heatsinks preformance. There are other tricks like the penny mod , which increases the mounting preassure of the heatsink which helps cooling preformace also.

[Warborg]

BTW, what operating system are you using?  If it's WinXP or Vista 32 bit, you really don't need to go past 2GB on memory, as neither OS can handle over 3GB, and they can only utilize the 3GB with some specific settings...  To utilize 4-8GB you'd need to run the 64 bit version(s)...