Ordered today! :)

[Dosdamt]

Hello! First time poster! For a long time I have been faffing about, trying to decide if I wanted a new PC. Well today I batted in. Whoop. Spec is below. I have a few questions that hopefully some lovely people on the forum can help me with!

1. Overclocked PCs - do they need any special lovin' to keep them in peak condition? What would you recommend?

2. What is a good 'exercise and diet' regime for the PC to keep it maintained and in good shape over the next couple of years?

Thanks!

-Ben

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE (£59)
Overclocked CPU
OverClocked Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-760 (2.80GHz @ max 3.80GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P7H57D-V EVO: FULL ATX, TRUE USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 650W PSU (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£76)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER (£39)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Anti-Virus
KASPERSKY ANTI-VIRUS 2010 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£9)
Monitor
IIYAMA E2472HD 24" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D FULL HD 1920x1080 (£179)
DVI Cable
1 x 2 Metre DVI Cable (£5)

 

[PCS]

Welcome to our forums Ben

You've certainly ordered a great spec there which should keep you happy for a good few years, if not longer!

Overclocked PC's do not need any special loving as such, but perhaps keep an eye on the CPU temperature every month or so, to ensure the thermal paste applied is not wearing thin, as the hotter the CPU, the lower the lifespan.

The only thing we notice about PC's as they get older is that they become clogged with dust and dirt, especially for PC's belonging to the smokers amongst us.

The dust and dirt can also cause the computer to heat up, and therefore we recommend you clean the insides once every year. We recommend do this with a can of compressed air, because using a vacuum has the (small) risk of static, which can damage the components.

Other than that, your PC should be maintenance free, unless you consider the operating system, but that's another story.

 

[Dosdamt]

Awesome, thanks for the advice. I guess I can set up a widget to monitor the temperature of my CPU through Windows 7? I'm also guessing if the Thermal Paste isn't looking so healthy, I can bring it back to your good selves to take a once over on it and help with any maintenance?

Sweet, I'll get some compressed air.

I bought the computer because as well as being a good spec, it looks expandable? I hope to add a few bits and pieces further down the line - I am hoping PCS can help with that sort of good stuff as well?

Cheers for the swift reply!

-Ben

 

[Meds]

Hey,

Yes if needs be, we can give your PC a "service" in year down the line to ensure everything is running ok. To be honest, I very much doubt you'll need to worry about anything, I haven't touched my thermal paste in the past two years and don't expect to anytime soon. Other people may have other opinions in order to be 100% everything is in tip top condition.

The specification you have chosen is great with plenty of upgrade potential. You could add extra Graphics Card, RAM, HDDs, Blu Ray - the list goes on!

I'm sure you'll love it

 

[Dosdamt]

Awesome, cheers. It's great to know it is definitely expandable in the future!

I'm guessing you guys can help with upgrades and whatnot - in my distant history I quite liked tinkering with PCs and poking my nose in there. These days I have neither the time nor inclination to get things wrong anymore and would definitely appreciate proper professionals doing it right!

Thanks

-Ben