Sam or Gary (are you back safe- good trip?) Or other Gigabyte gurus-I want to experiment with a small OC- maybe 10%- on the stock fan. Is that possible w/o heat issues?If so, what's the best/correct way to do this in the BIOS?Also, about to order the cooler- any changes to preference before I do? Thanks!Best-Carl F. Avari-Cooper BAW0225http://online.vatsimindicators.net/980091/523.png

Carl,I am back now from my vacation. With Alaska down, that's 50 US states my family and I have seen! Anyway, enough chest-beating.Re overclocking for beginners, whilst I could ramble on my recommended steps (which I have done in this forum a few times BTW - just search for posts made by me here on said topic), there are many websites out there that contain such guides for your use. Try Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, HardOCP, and guru3D just to name a few.Sorry I am not being more detailed, but I realised while on vacation that I spend a LOT of time responding to posts in these forums, and they survived quite well without me being around. I am certainly going to read the forums, but I will be posting much less from now on.Good luck with your overclocking ventures!Gary

First send the kids next door and get out your fire extinguisher (Safety first). Now, there's a little crank sticking out of the side of your CPU. Give 'er a twist and see what happens.

Gary, Hope you had a great time in Alaska. I haven't taken a cruise there, but I've done some flying in a Citabria Decathlon around Fairbanks, visited Denali, and I've done the train ride from Fairbanks down to Anchorage. Fun times! I for one will miss your posts if you're not around as often. Your advice has been a HUGE help to me with my new build, which should be finished in about a week. Then comes the joy of overclocking! (Or is it more of a Black Art?) ;-) - Lee P.S. Visiting all 50 states is a tremendous accomplishment! I'd be surprised if even 1% of US residents have done it. The only two states I've missed seeing are Oklahoma and Arkansas, and I have to confess that neither interests me greatly. (With no offense meant to anyone from Arkansas or Oklahoma.) On the other side of the coin, I could have happily spent a lifetime in Washington State alone.

Thanks for the kind comments Lee. As you can see, I am still here, but I'm keeping my posts to short bursts of my experience and/or recommendations. So far it's been just like cutting back on drinking - tough - but I'm getting there!Yes, it has taken us nearly seven years, but seeing the whole 50 set has been worth it. I am from Australia (going back EOY) and whilst Australia is a unique experience all on its own, it has not quite the diversity of scenery the US states have. Of all the areas I have visited, I'd have to rate the North-West and Alaska as the places I would like to go back and do again. California, where we currently live, would have to be the most diverse state in itself of the lot, with high mountains, low valleys, snow, desert, forests, beaches, smog and clean air, hot and cold!Gary.

Currently using the XFX 8800GTS (340 mb) video card, and was going to upgrade to the 640MB version- BUT- now I see that nVidia's new GPU is scheduled to launch at the end of this month- that still correct- if so- any news on FS performance (or speculation based on chip processing abilities). Will check Tom's and Anand- but like the feedback from this forum as is is FS specific! Thanks!Best-Carl F. Avari-Cooper BAW0225http://online.vatsimindicators.net/980091/523.png

I wouldn't go over a 10% over clock unless I throughly verified the system stability and temps over the course of a few days.I know a lot of people cringe at Gamespot, but this is a really good and helpful union for overclockers: http://www.gamespot.com/pages/unions/read_...7&union_id=3092