new build--now what do I do?

[diztrukted]

I just built my very first PC. I intend to use it primarily for gaming, but for work also (some photoshop, some 3d modelling programs). I saw this thread http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1033078592&postcount=2 and thought, maybe this is the next step, to make sure everything's running properly. I tried 3dMark06 and it finished the test and during one of them, it would run at 2 or 3 FPS (red valley test)...the rest were fine. I used Furmark also, this one went for a long time to the point where I just closed out of it. At one point it did reach somewhere in the high 70's for temp readings but that was about a half hour in before it went back down. I also ran OCCT and at first, within the first 2minutes it would say CPU too hot and making a quacking noise. Ran it again and it seemed fine, but again, i don't what it is I should be doing here or how long it should run.

Typically what do you guys do to tweak/alter your hardware for optimal performance?
How long do I run these tests for?
I don't know what a lot about benchmarks and stress testing cpu's and gpu's, what do i do?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Side Note: should I be overclocking? How do I overclock? What about hyperthreading? Should I even concern myself with any of these?

WHAT I'M WORKING WITH

\\ THERMALTAKE ELEMENT T | CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX | ASUS P6X58D
\\ INTEL CORE i7 930 2.8 GHz | CPU HEATSINK COOLER MASTER RR-UV8-XBU1-GP
\\ RAM CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) | SAPPHIRE RADEON HD 5850
\\ SAMSUNG SH-S223F| WD CAVIAR INTERNAL l HDD |SAMSUNG SPINPOINT F3 HD103SJ 1TB | INTEL X25-M MAINSTREAM SSD
\\ WINDOWS 7 PRO 64-BIT | ASUS VW246H | RAZER MAMBA MOUSE

 

[sugosugita]

you're running Win7 32-bit why?

 

[diztrukted]

you're running Win7 32-bit why?

no, 64-bit. Did I write 32 bit? sry if i did.

 

[Skull_Angel]

I'd suggest doing a lot of homework. as it is now, it seems like you're going to either end up calling tech. support thinking your pc is broken or really end up screwing up your rig if you try any overclocking.

there's a lot of guides all over the place for overclocking the x58 i7, take a good read over every one you can find and understand what you're doing when you overclock (basically figure out what's going on other than "I raise this and it goes faster!", hehe).

this link isn't one of the best guides, but it'll give you some decent info to get started with; http://www.techreaction.net/2010/09/07/3-step-overclocking-guide-bloomfield-and-gulftown/

now put that search engine to use and dig up some more guides an' read over them! lol

 

[sugosugita]

Oh my bad. I just saw the x86 in your sig.

Furmark and 3DMark will only stress test your video card, and as long as you don't spike to crazy temps or you crash your system you're pretty much golden. You might consider a tool like speedfan or EVGA Precision to set up auto-fan settings if your temps get above 70c. I would monitor all your temperatures in general if I were you, it's a good way to keep an eye on the efficiency of your system.

To stress test the rest of your system you should get a program like passmark, they have a burn-in test that a lot of people use to test their build for stability. This will let you know if your RAM, CPU, Mobo, and stuff is all working ok. Some people even leave it running for 24 hours. If your system doesn't crash you're golden.

Hyperthreading is just a mode your i7 can go into when running certain programs (like photoshop). It's not something you adjust.

I'd say overclocking is something you should do only if you're concerned with squeezing every last drop of performance out of your rig. If you don't notice your computer struggling then don't bother, unless you're interested in overclocking as a hobby, then go check out the OCing sub-forum.

 

[diztrukted]

Oh my bad. I just saw the x86 in your sig.

Furmark and 3DMark will only stress test your video card, and as long as you don't spike to crazy temps or you crash your system you're pretty much golden. You might consider a tool like speedfan or EVGA Precision to set up auto-fan settings if your temps get above 70c. I would monitor all your temperatures in general if I were you, it's a good way to keep an eye on the efficiency of your system.

To stress test the rest of your system you should get a program like passmark, they have a burn-in test that a lot of people use to test their build for stability. This will let you know if your RAM, CPU, Mobo, and stuff is all working ok. Some people even leave it running for 24 hours. If your system doesn't crash you're golden.

Hyperthreading is just a mode your i7 can go into when running certain programs (like photoshop). It's not something you adjust.

I'd say overclocking is something you should do only if you're concerned with squeezing every last drop of performance out of your rig. If you don't notice your computer struggling then don't bother, unless you're interested in overclocking as a hobby, then go check out the OCing sub-forum.

Well it only struggled during the 3dMark06 test, once it did red valley the highest FPS it would go was 2 or 3. I don't know what that means for games that I intend on playing but i do remember at one point I had changed my gpu settings (like AA for example) to prioritize quality over performance. Once I started Starcraft 2, everything started to chug :-/ so I changed my settings back to the default ones and sc2 ran fine.

I'd suggest doing a lot of homework. as it is now, it seems like you're going to either end up calling tech. support thinking your pc is broken or really end up screwing up your rig if you try any overclocking.

there's a lot of guides all over the place for overclocking the x58 i7, take a good read over every one you can find and understand what you're doing when you overclock (basically figure out what's going on other than "I raise this and it goes faster!", hehe).

this link isn't one of the best guides, but it'll give you some decent info to get started with; http://www.techreaction.net/2010/09/07/3-step-overclocking-guide-bloomfield-and-gulftown/

now put that search engine to use and dig up some more guides an' read over them! lol

Thanks Skull_Angel I guess I'll be doing a ton of reading before I can overclock
I'll be making my way into the overclocking forum now.