Can I get a few oppinions about a proposed build?

C

Canon

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Messages
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Well admittedly it's been quite a while since I put a machine together (wow think back to when the AMD Barton 2500+ was awesome).

Anyhow I'm looking at building a decent machine that can run pretty much anything I throw at it. I already have my keyboard, mouse etc. I'm running a 19" display with a resolution of 1280x1024.

This is what I'm thinking about putting together. I was just wondering if I could get any comments about known incompatibilities I may have missed. I'm kind of wondering if the length of the 8800 GTS will be too long to fit into the case I have selected but I'm not sure. My goal is to get a good bang for my buck and buy local.

Anyhow here is what I have come up with:
Asus P5W DH Deluxe Socket 775 Intel 975X + ICH7R Chipset
Thermaltake Xaser VA3000BWA Tsunami (Black) w/ window
LG GSA-H62N DVDRW 18X DVD-RW Black SATA OEM
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz (1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache)
Seagate Seagate Barracuda SATAII 500GB 7200.10 w/16MB NCQ ST3500630AS
Seasonic S12 Energy+ 550W w/12cm Silent Fan (S12Energy+550)
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC nVidia 320MB GDDR3 (550MHz GPU) PCI-E
OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 2GB (2x1024MB) SLI-Ready Ed. (OCZ2N1066SR2GK)

I am thinking about possible overclocking down the road when I find I need a little boost between upgrades, so I'll probably consider an after market cooler later.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
You obviously don't need crossfire, so don't bother with the P5W DH. Go for a P35 Express based board instead, like the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R, Abit IP35 Pro, or Asus P5K-E.

You don't need DDR2-1066 with an E6850, especially since you're not even OC'ing in the beginning.

E6850: 9 * 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK
E6850: 9 * 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Nice OC
E6850: 9 * 445 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-890 << Good OC
E6850: 9 * 533 = 4.8Ghz, DDR2-1066 << Nearly impossible

The performance difference between CL4 and CL5 is so minute that theres no point in paying a price premium for lower latency sticks. Also, running the RAM faster than the CPU (unlinked) yields no performance improvement over a 1:1 ratio, so keep them linked.
 
Thanks for the input. Good point on the memory, I guess I got a bit carried away.

This should be adequate then:
OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB 800MHz Reaper HPC Edition (OCZ2RPR8002GK). That shaves $47 off the price.

Other than the fact that I'm not planning to do any SLI action it would appear that this board is still a good choice since it leaves me open to OC'ing options if/when I decide to go that route. It would appear to be a fully featured board with a great layout.

Unfortunately I'm pretty much limited to Asus boards I believe, I can get this board for $199.99 CDN which doesn't seem too bad when I compare it to some of the $150 or so boards feature wise and as stupid as it sounds this board does have a nice PCB color which is a small factor since the case I have selected has a window.

Here is a listing of the boards I have to choose from:
ABIT AA8 3rd Eye Intel 925X DDR2 0 $89.99
Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra Chipsets LGA 775 3 $75.99
Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA VIA PT880 Ultra Chipset LGA 775 0 $75.99
Asus Commando S-775 Intel 965 Express + ICH8R Chipset 1 $224.99
Asus P5B Plus Intel P965 S-775 0 $153.99
Asus P5B Premium Vista Edition S-775 Intel P965 + ICH8R Chipset 1 $253.99
Asus P5B Socket 775 Intel 965 Express + ICH8R Chipset 2 $122.99
Asus P5B-VM DO S-775 Intel Q965 + ICH8 Chipset 0 $125.99
Asus P5B-VM SE Socket 775 Intel G965 Chipset 2 $116.99
Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi-AP Edition Socket 775 Intel P35 ICH9 Chipse 1 $246.99
Asus P5K Premium w/ WiFi-AP Socket 775 Intel P35 0 $259.99
Asus P5K SE Socket 775 Intel P35 2 $128.99
Asus P5K Socket 775 Intel P35 ICH9 Chipset 1 $152.99
Asus P5K-V Socket 775 1 $160.99
Asus P5K-VM Socket 775 Intel G33 Chipset 0 $136.99
Asus P5L-MX S-775 Intel 945G + ICH7 1 $83.99
Asus P5L-VM 1394 S-775 Intel 945G + ICH7 Chipset 0 $120.99
Asus P5N-E SLI S-775 Nvidia nForce 650i SLI 2 $143.99
Asus P5N32-E SLI nVidia nForce 680i SLI Chipset 1 $233.99
Asus P5N32-E SLI PLUS Nvidia 650I SLI Chipset S-775 1 $203.99
Asus P5NSLI S-775 nVidia nForce 570 SLI 1 $118.99
Asus P5W DH Deluxe Socket 775 Intel 975X + ICH7R Chipset 1 $199.99
Asus Striker Extreme S-775 nVidia nForce 680i Chipset 1 $339.99
BFG Nvidia nForce 650i Ultra S-775 0 $133.99
BFG nVidia nForce 680i LT S-775 nVidia nForce 680i Sli Chipset 1 $219.99
Jetway P4M9MP VIA P4M890 + VT8237R LGA775 3 $63.99
MSI PM8M3-V VIA P4M800-CE DDR AGP 2 $59.99
MSI PM8PM-V VIA P4M800 Pro DDRII AGP S-775 1 $63.99
Click to expand...
 
The P35 Express chipset can OC MUCH better than the i975X. The 975X is old, and only good for crossfire. :rolleyes: The features of the P5K-E aren't good enough for you? Here's a SBS link.

Why only limited to Asus?
 
OK, here it goes.....

If you want bang for the buck get a q6600 and overlock it, you might need it in the future...


Just my 2 cents
 
Ok, yea that chip is actually a couple bucks cheaper. I've been back and forth in terms of which one I should get. Hmmm...
 
Keep in mind that the Quads of next year (Yorkfield) will easily outperform the Quads of today (Kentsfield)... The technology will be more mature, and quad core computing will become more mainstream, meaning more apps and games will take advantage of four cores.

As for getting a quad today, you should base it on what programs you use and if those programs benefit from four cores. Today, the vast majority of games don't, although more promise to in the future. (ex: Supreme Commander is the highest profile game benefiting from four cores... It's also one of the only. Bioshock, the world's new favorite FPS, uses two at most.) If you do any video editing, image processing, HD viewing, CAD work, software development, or any other CPU intensive task, then you'll be better served by getting a quad now. Otherwise, you'll get better performance from a dual core, and you can always upgrade to a Yorkfield quad in a year. Keep in mind that today's quads have limited OC headroom. The max you'll be able to get a G0 stepping Q6600 is 3.6ghz on high end air, and you'll need to luck out for a very tolerant chip for that. On the other hand, the majority of E6750s and E6750s will OC to 3.6-4ghz w/o issue.

Mark.
 
Mark meant E6750's and E6850's... will OC to 3.6-4Ghz.

You don't seem like you upgrade much, so maybe a quadcore is good. Use this to determine whether or not you need a quad:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=872&model2=871&chart=418

Personally, I don't need a quad, so I opted for a dual core for now. I will upgrade to a Yorkfield when they come out (within a year), since I went with a P35 board. My upgrades are rather frequent, because I have a nice hand-me-down chain that I like to keep fresh, lol.

The old 965 and 975 chipsets won't support the new 45nm CPUs unless Intel changes their mind. So, if you stick with such an old board, the P5W DH, your upgrades are limited. Thats fine if you only upgrade every 5 years, because you'll most likely need a new board by then anyhow.

Also, one thing to note is, the CPUs you're choosing from may be too new for the board's BIOS, since it is an old board. So, you may run into problems there.
http://event.asus.com/2006/mb/P5W_DH_DELUXE_faq.htm
 
Ok, well I guess the Dual core is probably the better option. So here is an updated build list from the advice I got in this thread. I should be OK with this processor in this board I'm assuming since this seems to be a newer board. Is that an incorrect assumption?

Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi-AP Edition Socket 775 Intel P35 ICH9 Chipset
Thermaltake Xaser VA3000BWA Tsunami (Black) w/ window
LG GSA-H62N DVDRW 18X DVD-RW Black SATA OEM
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz (1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache)
Seagate Barracuda SATAII 500GB 7200.10 w/16MB NCQ ST3500630AS
Seasonic S12 Energy+ 550W w/12cm Silent Fan (S12Energy+550)
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC nVidia 320MB GDDR3 (550MHz GPU) PCI-E
OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz Platinum XTC 2GB (2x1024MB OCZ2P8002GK)

Seems sweet.
 
Canon said:
Ok, well I guess the Dual core is probably the better option. So here is an updated build list from the advice I got in this thread. I should be OK with this processor in this board I'm assuming since this seems to be a newer board. Is that an incorrect assumption?
Click to expand...

Looks good. Yes, you'll be fine with that board and chip. If you'd like to save a few bucks, again, the P5K-E WiFi is very similar. D'oh! I just noticed its not on that list. :( It is a new release, maybe they'll get it soon? Ask if you can. Here's a SBS Link to compare features. It looks like the only featureset difference is raid5 support and an extra NIC for the Deluxe. Oh, and better cooling for the south bridge (heatpipe extends) on the deluxe.
 
I would like to thank you guys for the advice.

This machine is amazing. It's quieter than I expected and I can't even believe how fast it is. Everything is as smooth as butter and it looks great too!

One word of note, I absolutely LOVE the ASUS Q connector system, it makes life so much easier when hooking up all the USB, IEEE 1394 Firewire and front panel connectors. Very well done in my opinion. So far everything seems to be meshing and this is going to be a great system!
 
No prob. Glad you're enjoying it! Now OC it! :p

What are your temps like? Use Intel TAT, CoreTemp, and Speedfan to check temps.

If you want some things to run:
Use Orthose SmallFFTs to test CPU stability.
Use memtest86 to test RAM.
Use 3DMark06 loop to test vidcard.
 
Well I haven't bothered testing stability beyond playing some games right now (heck new rig i'm playing games baby).

Temps according to the Core Temp 0.95.4 (beta) are showing as 48 while gaming, i've seen idle around 37°C today.

Asus PC probe is reporting 27°C right now while Core Temp is showing 45°C. I tried the official non-beta core temp and it was reporting something sort of in between as I recall.

Seems like a safe temp and it's been perfectly stable.

Looks like I have a G0 revision chip so overclocking should rock from what I've read about this board and chip. I'm thinking about holding out a bit until I actually need the performance. I can't find one thing that doesn't run smooth yet. I'm thinking possible water cooling down the road or at least a better heat sink before I start OC'ing. I just stuck with the stock heat sink for now.

I did run 3dmark and got 9072 for a score.
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=2845109
 
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