About to order parts!

L

Lord Twilight

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 1, 2001
Messages
355
Just wanted to get a little last-minute approval by the forums :)

Intel C2D E6420
Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme (already have some Arcitc Silver 5)
Abit QuadGT
4gb Crucial DDR2 1066 PC2 8500 5-5-5-15 (already ordered really cheap from Newegg).. I know the timings are slow.. but I hope it isn't an issue
EVGA 8800GTS 320mb
Antec P180B (hopefully with the 182 improvements)
Seasonic S12 430 watt PSU or Corsair 520 watt if people think the 430 isn't enough juice.
Seagate HD's
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
IDE DVD-RW (from current computer)
IDE HD (for storage from current computer)

possibly an Auzuntech Sound Card if the onboard audio doesn't impress

I'm not really planning on overclocking very much, if at all. I do video editing, 3D animation, and motion graphics, so 4gb ram isn't just for bragging rights/gaming, though I do game here and there.

Not planning on ever going SLI, though CPU and GPU upgrades will be in the future, I would think 430 watt PSU should be fine for a Quad Core and faster GPU in the future?

I am hoping for a quiet computer that stays cool. I currently live in Arizona, so my room temperature is usually between 75-80 F.
 
Yeah, I'm still debating the IDE drives.. They'll probably be in there at first.. might be replaced soon after..
 
flipflopsnowman said:
No OC = AMD
Click to expand...

Since he is planning on upping to a quad, I would say no to AMD. Q6600 will be $266 in July according to everything I've read, and that's an amazing deal right there.

If you're looking further down the road to the next round of Intel quad-cores, get a P35 based mobo.
 
What kind of hard drives are you getting? SATAII, IDE? Everything else looks awesome.
 
Jaanpunjab said:
Since he is planning on upping to a quad, I would say no to AMD. Q6600 will be $266 in July according to everything I've read, and that's an amazing deal right there.

If you're looking further down the road to the next round of Intel quad-cores, get a P35 based mobo.
Click to expand...

Agreed on the Q6600, a lot of people are planning on heading down that road, as soon as the price drops come in July. I would also consider (since you have an 8800 listed) looking at the 680 A1 from eVGA, which supports 1333 FSB, and Quad-core OC'ing. The P35 chipsets are a good bet as well, and certinaly have an extensive feature set, but no SLi support (if you were on the fence about SLi, this may not be important). Otherwise, good job on the list. I would look into a 320GB SATA2 drive, they're under $100 now, and lightscrobe SATA DVD-R/W Dual layer burners in 20 and 18x flavors are under $40 (for the most part), just FYI. Additionally, a media reader is very handy as well, and the P180 has 2 external 3.5" bays, behind the door. It's a nice addition, and offers a lot of flexibility to someone, especially if you have any PMP's or other media card enabled devices. Make file copying easy for those with gadgets. Media readers start at $7 :D

PS - on the PSU, go with at least a 520w, maybe even look into a 600-700w, if you're planning for SLi or an OC'd quad core (down the road).
 
New HD's will be SATAII, I just have an IDE DVD-RW and large IDE storage drive from my current computer that I'm going to transfer over for the time being.. but sata stuff isn't really all that expensive...

No SLI planned at this point.

Ok, so now I'm second-guessing the QuadGT in favor of a p35-based motherboard because I definitely want the motherboard to be as future-proof as possible (1333 compatable). It also has to be 100% stable.. I haven't really looked at the 680i boards because I'm not planning on SLI, so I really don't know much about them. On a quick glance, that eVGA board does look nice. I kinda want eSATA ports though.. Are there SATA to eSATA adapters? Plus I already have the 1066 ram. I'll probably be ordering on Monday.

Good call on the card reader.. I might just have to grab one.
 
Lord Twilight said:
New HD's will be SATAII, I just have an IDE DVD-RW and large IDE storage drive from my current computer that I'm going to transfer over for the time being..

Ok, so now I'm second-guessing the QuadGT in favor of a p35-based motherboard because I definitely want the motherboard to be as future-proof as possible. It also has to be 100% stable.. I'll probably be ordering parts on Monday.. as far as P35 motherboards, I guess I'm looking at either Abit or Asus.. Plus I already have the 1066 ram, so that seems like a little better fit with the P35's.
Click to expand...

If you go with ASUS, plan for their dreaded vdroop on the CPU, you'll be down about .3-.4v from what you set it at, double check this with SpeedFan, as CPU-Z will likely not report the correct CPU voltage (in Windows). ABIT used to be top dog, and the QuadGT is the first board in 3 years that's been decent. I hope it's a trend that continues (as someone who has probably used more than 20 ABIT boards in my own personal builds). ASUS is definately stable, and they update BIOS quite a bit, although RMA and tech support can be a royal pain, from what I hear. Sounds like you're not leaning towards the nvidia based boards at all, which is fine (personal choice everyone has to make). Is there a reason that you've not made mention of nvidia based boards? Bad experience, or just too pricey? I am just interested to know.

FYI, general specs on a comparison basis, P35 (DDR2 based) versus 680i:

P35 based

AGP Slots: None
CPU Type: Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium
Dual Channel Supported: Yes
FSB: 1333/1066MHz
Maximum Memory Supported: 8GB
Memory Standard: DDR2 800
Number of Memory Slots: 4×240pin
PCI Express x1: 1
PCI Express x16: 1 x PCI-E X16, 1 x PCI-E X16 (x4 bandwidth)
South Bridge: Intel ICH9R
Click to expand...

680i Based

AGP Slots: None
CPU Type: Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium
Dual Channel Supported: Yes
FSB: 1333/1066MHz
Maximum Memory Supported: 8GB
Memory Standard: DDR2 1200
Number of Memory Slots: 4×240pin
PCI Express x1: 2
PCI Express x16: 2 x PCIe x16 1 x PCIe Graphics expansion slot
PCI Slots: 2
Click to expand...

The main differences that I see is the number of PCI x16 connection between the two. Both chipsets are 1333/1066 capable, quad core OC'ers, tons of SATA2 and USB, onboard Firewire, sound, dual GbE. The 680i usually doesn't have backplate e-SATA, which the P35 does. However, the P35 has 1 x16 PCI-E connection, and another physical x16 connector, that can be configured to be x1 or x4 only, and the P35 support Crossfire based discrete graphics solutions. The 680i based board has 2 x16 PCI-E connections for discrete graphics solutions (which can be configured in BIOS for SLi, or individual operation, or mixed manufacturers of GPUs, ie one Nvidia and one ATI), and also has 1 x8 PCI-E connection (blue) that can support a third graphics card. This is in addition to the 2 x1 PCI-E connections, and 2 PCI. If you're looking for future proof, more PCI-E seems to be the way to go, as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps you feel differently. I understand that you currently have no plans for SLi, but you are purchasing 1 SLi capable card already. Would you not consider another in a year or two, to extend the life of the system? Espcially that the 8800GTS line is already well below $300/card BNIB in most cases (exceptions are Sparkle TEC cooled GTS, the eVGA SC edition, the ACS3 edition, the XFX XXX edition, BFG Superclocked, and a few others). In another year, when 8900 is out, an additional $150 on another 8800GTS may be just the ticket. If you go P35, it's out of the question (based on lack of Intel licensing Nvidia technology for SLi support, as of now).
 
I edited my above post after you quoted it :) Basically, I just don't know much about them and wasn't planning on SLI so I just didn't research them much. I also read a little about the eVGA/680i data corruption stuff, but I guess that's fixed now? I'm also going to be using the computer for work occasionally and it needs to be 100% stable, so the data corruption issues scared me away.

I'm researching them now though.. should probably be working :)
 
i have also updated my post (quite lengthy now :D ), see above. Also, data corruption, high pitched whining from the mothercoard under extreme OC's, and vista driver issues are now fixed with BIOS and driver updates. My 680i is rock solid, unless I get fool hardy and attempt an OC that I know isn't going to fly. Then it's BIOS reset time.
 
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