I'm completely new to this Sandy Bridge overclocking thing, but I have a decent amount of experience with overclocking in general. I want to tell you what I've done to see if you see any errors in my method. I gathered all of my tips from random google searches and youtube videos.

Setup:

i5 2500K (Hyper 212 Evo)
ASRock Extreme3 Gen3
G.Skill 8gb 1600 9-9-9-24
Radeon HD 5770
OCZ SilentXStream 600W
Antec Three Hundred Case
Ambient Room: 65F - 68F
Idle Temp: 24C

BIOS Settings Altered (everything else is default):

Multi: 45
Fixed Vcore: 1.35v
Turbo Boost Power Limit: 250 (short) 200 (long) 1 (whatever third option is)
Core Current Limit: 200
LLC: 5 (Stock but notable)
Spread Spectrum: Disabled

Stress Test Method & Results:

Intel Burn Test: (4 threads, max stress, 10 pass (planning on running 50 tonight))

Load Vcore: 1.232 - 1.272
Max Load Temp: 60c

A few questions I have:

Is my stress testing method sufficient? Are you going to make me use P95?

Are my settings good? Do you have any recommendations or warnings? I really have no clue what I'm doing with the Turbo Boost Power Limit and Core Current Limit, do they look ok?

What settings do you foresee needing to be changed if I attempt a higher overclock (I will probably push it harder, maybe 65C load or so). I know I will probably have to enable PLL Overvoltage for anything much higher than this.

Is it OK that I'm using a Fixed Vcore? I've seen multiple places recommend using either LLC or an Offset. My initial preference is to leave it at Fixed and just work around the vdroop (that's what I've always done before).

I really want to try and keep the power saving options enabled, I plan on using this setup for a long time. Is there a problem with keeping these enabled?

Additional Turbo Voltage is an option that sounds extremely scary, is it OK that I've left it on Enabled/Auto?

Thanks in advance!

If I could help you generic, I would but thats about 40 levels above my wheelhouse. I assume Freebase will have something more useful for you.

I dropped by to ask if anyone knows of a computer I could buy that would be very upgradeable. I was planning to grab a gaming computer off newegg.com for ~$800 but two medical bills and Christmas wiped out my computer funds.

I'm having convulsions from lack of videogames so I'm wondering if anyone knows of something down in the $300 range that would allow me to upgrade piece by piece.

I'm not sure this is what you were looking for, but I got bored.

prices taken from newegg
many of these could be had for cheaper on ebay or wherever, but be careful.

really great for the price:

Intel i3 2100 - $125
Antec 300 case - $55 (45)
ASRock H61M-VS 1155 mobo - $60
G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 4gb - $30
Video Card: I just bought a Radeon 5770 for $65 used, that's a pretty amazing value. If you want a new card, you will get a lot less for the money.
Power Supply - $39 (27)

more stuff you'll need:

HDD 250gb? - Astronomical since the flood AKA $80

$432

The mobo allows you to upgrade to a better Sandy Bridge later, but the 2100 will probably work well enough for a few years.

I'd say; No i3, no Asrock. but especially no i3. It's really the budget processor and an old Core2Duo is often faster. Literally. Go for the i5. You won't be disappointed :)

ASRock is one of the big 3 mobo manufacturers, they are all in close competition with one another. They make good products for the past few years.

I ran a C2D for years, and if you aren't overclocking it, the i3 is much better. The logical step up from that is the 2500K, which is a BIT much for a $300 build.

Hey computer geeks of Music Banter. I need some free (and possibly very basic) tech support. My webcam has not been working for a week now. I have a Gateway, model # NV51B02h that was made in May 2011, and I bought it in October 2011. So it's not that old, really. It's running Windows 7 Home Premium x64 bit.

Every time I open the webcam program or any program that uses it (like Skype, f.ex.) I get a message saying the webcam's stopped working and then it says:

"A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available."

All drivers and software on this computer are up to date, including the webcam driver and software. I'm pretty good with computers, but I need some help on this one, before I take it to the store to get checked out.

I'm assuming you tried uninstalling the webcam software and reinstalling it?

Yeah. Nothing happened.

Try the webcam with a different computer so you can determine which piece of plastic is ****in up.

Wish I could. The computer is a laptop, so it's built right in. All I think I can do is reinstall the software that I got for it, which I did already. Nothing changed :(

Maybe there is a loose wire somewhere? The microphone works just fine, no problems there. It's just the camera...