Looking for a good setup please help

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dave2521

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
97
Hey guys, I am new to the forums here but so far i like what i see. I am interested in upgrading my system because my Motherboard just crapped out on me. I am looking for some advise on a new set up. New Processor, Motherboard and Ram. Trying to stay around 400.

What I currently had in mind was this:
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
INTEL core 2 duo e8400

With a different HSF most likely. trying to stay under $500 total...
 
That's a nice setup. People will say get a Q6600 cpu instead of that E8400 but, if you want the E8400 then go for it. People avoid the E8400 due to its increase in pricing due to high demand. Those parts look good though.
 
Go witth 2x2gb of ram, in vista my pc uses 2.5GB with COD4 MP running and just Firefox open in the background.

There are better boards than that Gigabyte.
 
I am currently using XP and if i am told correctly Xp only will read a max of 3GB of ram? Also i would like to have this built at the end of the month and not completely set on the e8400/e3110 processor because of the high cost due to the demand as well as no one having them in stock. If i could get some more opinions on what items would be better that would be great!

Thank you all!
 
32 bit os will be able to use up 3.2 gb but that's still a lot better than 2 and 64 bit versions are coming along very nicely. 2gb in Vista will be maxed out very quickly.
 
What features do you need in a motherboard?

If you don't need Crossfire/SLI, stick with a P35 board. If you don't need anything fancy, the Abit IP35-E and Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (if you need legacy ports) are your good-but-cheap options (they can OC great w/ better chipset cooling). If you need RAID, the GA-P35-DS3R is good and has 8 SATA ports, but the MSI Neo2-FR has better cooling for the chipset/mosfets (though you're sacrificing 3 SATA ports). If you need Firewire, the Asus P5K fits the bill. If you want/need both RAID and Firewire, check out the Abit IP35 non-pro, if you can find it in stock (typically $120 - $25MIR). The higher end boards are the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, DS4, Asus P5K-E, and the crowd favorite, Abit IP35 Pro. The DFI boards are great for people who want to tweak a million BIOS settings.
 
I like my MSI P35 Platinum. Good overclocker and the circus pipe cooling works really well.
 
I dont need anything really fancy for a motherboard. I just need one with good OC options as well as great cooling because i know how heat can kill a board (my old one sadly). Can anyone provide me some links to a few of the good/decent priced boards.

Thanks!
 
How about:

$213
Intel Xeon Dual Core E3110 3.0GHz LGA775 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 Cache Processor - BX80570E3110
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=206778623

$60 AR
ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127031&Tpk=abit+ip35-e

$80
DDR2 4GB PC6400 DUAL PATRIOT
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/52...KFO0FmHTA**.node3?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG


Thats twice as much ram and should actually be a bit cheaper.

edit: proc is OOS unfortunately
I have an IP35e and it is a great overclocker. rock solid
 
Danny Bui has a nice list of them; hopefully he'll see this thread. All P35 boards I mentioned earlier OC well.
 
I just called my local Frys electronics and they have me a e8400 on hold! so i got the proc.

Edit: How good is that ram you listed. I have heard to go for g.skill for gaming etc.
 
do i need to go 4gb's now though? I will not be upgrading to vista 64 yet so 1gb is going to be a waste for right now right? Plus im tight on money and saving $40 by just getting 2gb sounds better now and upgrading come x-mas time?
 
Then what will you gonna do with the 2gb you buy now? 4gb is so dirt cheap, no reason not to do it now imo. 2 will definitely be 'enough', but I like to have lots of things open at once and I'm using Vista 32 right now, it really helps.
 
agreed, if you want to go to 4gb later then you would probably just ditch those sticks you buy now because why stress with 4 sticks when its so cheap to just get it over with now.
 
So true, while it's cheap now for 2 x 2gig for under $100, you might as well have it prepared now. You may get comfy with 2gb, but later, if you want to upgrade, you may pay more as DDR2 becomes more scarce. Look at SDRAM and DDR RAM memory. Those things aren't soo cheap and their old.

shiznit said:
Then what will you gonna do with the 2gb you buy now? 4gb is so dirt cheap, no reason not to do it now imo. 2 will definitely be 'enough', but I like to have lots of things open at once and I'm using Vista 32 right now, it really helps.
Click to expand...
 
you guys are right, since it is cheap right now i might as well fork out the extra $30 and get the A-data memory. the reviews on newegg look good on it what do you guys think.

Also thinking of getting this for a CPU cooler since its cheap... what do you think?
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle
 
Gigabyte's P35-DS3L is VERY nice. I have one with my QX6800 and it can overclock my CPU really well.
 
Despite a little trouble with memory voltages, I've been real happy with DS3L board. I think I got it for around $90 and it has been a great value for me.
 
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