questions regarding new build setup

[MikeNK 0]

Hey all - I posted this in my earlier thread, but I think it may be overlooked there. I'm considering a new build, and had a couple of hardware related questions for all you techies out there. Any guidance you might have would be highly appreciated!1) Deciding between versions of the 900 series Intel i7 CPU - a lot of the commentary out there seems to say that there isn't much advantage in going for models over the 920 (2.6 GHz stock) because the 920s are easily OC'able to 4+ GHz with proper cooling. Is that the experience of folks around these parts? Would the pricier models have more headroom, or are they just setup at a higher "base" so that they can run faster without oc'ing? I guess the short version of this is -- if one is going to invest in the right components to do serious oc'ing (good mobo, cooling, power supply, RAM), is there any reason to spend the cash for the more expensive versions of the 900 series CPUs?2) Is the CPU multiplier locked on the non-extreme versions of the i7s? I thought I saw someone in this forum saying that at least certain batches of the 920s (the "DO" batch?) wasn't locked. What's the deal here?3) Power supply - is something in the neighborhood of 750W sufficient if I'm going for a fairly "standard" hardware setup -- i.e. I'm not going to have 10 hardrives and a kitchen sink in there. I've been reading some commentary that when oc'ing its not usually the lack of power that's the issue but how "clean" the power is. thanks againMike

[TechguyMaxC 516]

1) processors above 920 *may* have more overclocking headroom, but it's really hit or miss 2) yes, the CPU multiplier is locked in the upwards direction on all but the Extreme models, except that all 9xx series support Turbo mode which gives access to a multiplier 1x higher than stock. e.g. i7 920 has a stock multiplier of 20x, and supports a Turbo multiplier of 21x3) yes, as long as it's a quality brand

[HyperionXL 0]

i920 is a decent chip. Got mine up to 4.16 on air cooling... could probably bump it up .1-.2 more but I'd have to go over the "safe safe" voltage value for the chip and I just don't want to risk it.2. Yup locked to 21x. If you don't turn off the step-down system it will clock down to 12x when the extra CPU power isn't needed. Keeps the chip cool, but if you've got one of the newer air cooling systems you should be okay. My temps hit 72 c with Prime95, but you probably won't ever be able to stress your CPU that hard for that long where it will really matter.3. 600W powers my OC'd CPU, OC'd GPU (5870) and 3 harddrives and about 11 fans I think I have in the case. Never had a problem with it.