Conroe Build, First Intel Build

S

Shogo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
389
Hi, I always built Amd rigs during the past years, mostly s754 and s939. And now i want to try Conroe. This computer will be used for intensive photoshop CS2, but will also be in the bedroom, to watch movies or listen music. Budget is 2500$ with monitor. I will be gaming on this computer too. ALL from ncix.com, Canadian $ I am willing to overclock for fun, aiming around 3ghz, 3.2 seems really possible with the hardware...

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Cache Retail Box


$419.98

Thermaltake CL-P0114 Big Typhoon Copper Alum CPU Heatsinkfan 1300RPM 54.4CFM 16DBA LGA775 S939

$61.92

Viewsonic VX2025WM 20IN LCD Monitor BLACK/SILVER Widescreen 1680X1050 8MS 800:1 VGA DVI W/ Cable

$389.98

Antec P180 ATX Advanced Mid Tower Aluminum Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS W/ USB & Audio Ports

$133.98


BenQ DW1655 Lightscribe DVD+RW16X16X8 DVD-RW16X16X4 CDRW48X48X32 OEM DVD Burner Black W/ SW

$45.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive

$113.98

OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-5-4-15 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit

$248.99


ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ATX LGA775 975X Conroe DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Sound Motherboard

$268.99

BFG GeForce 7900 GT OC PCI-E 256MB 256BIT GDDR3 SLI Ready Video Card

$339.95

OCZ GameXStream 600W ATX12V 24PIN SLI Ready Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black

$122.83

TOTAL: $2,146.59 + 7% Taxes + average 100$ shipping = 2396.85$

-Things im unsure: the motherboard fits with my need, but its a crossfireboard, im not planning on doing crossfire in the near future, so thats why i got a 7900GT. would it be better to get like a 1900GT just in case, its like 40$ more, and i think its less performant.

- Bios revision on this motherboard can sometime be 401 or 501, wich are not compatible with conroe, and i dont have spare LG775 cpu, being with AMD for years... is there a way i can be sure to have the right bios when its shipped.

- Ram, well i never experienced DDR2, i took OCZ becase timing were good for the price, and because never had any problems with OCZ compared to my gskill... i could maybe shop for a better ram because i have a spare 100$ in my budget...

- The case is kind of BTX, the board comes with an add-on fan you can put on the mofsets, will it fit in that case you think, if it really follows ATX specs.
 
Wait till somewhere taht has E6600 in stock for $350 and instead of dropping so much on memory get the PC6400 G.Skill HZ
 
It'll probably be a while before the E6600 drops to $350 CAD. Anyway, you only need DDR2-667 to do 3-3.2GHz on the E6600.

You can save a bit with the GA-965P-DS3 and it's guaranteed to work with Core 2 Duo.

The Scythe Ninja performs at least as well as the Big Typhoon (and much better at very low fan speeds) and is cheaper.
 
Get a X1900XT... more bang for the buck than the GeForce card... and you can do crossfire if you want to later on.

Get the SeaSonic S12 600W PSU... it's better than the OCZ one, about the same money.

Get the Gigabyte motherboard if you want out of the box Conroe compatibility, and also make sure to stay away from OCZ Ram if you go that route -- I am having problems with that exact config and I can't post with OCZ RAM (though I'm running 667 right now).

That's it in a nutshell.. My first Intel build too, so I'm excited :)
 
454Casull said:
It'll probably be a while before the E6600 drops to $350 CAD. Anyway, you only need DDR2-667 to do 3-3.2GHz on the E6600.

You can save a bit with the GA-965P-DS3 and it's guaranteed to work with Core 2 Duo.

The Scythe Ninja performs at least as well as the Big Typhoon (and much better at very low fan speeds) and is cheaper.
Click to expand...
I did not realize he was in canada, That explains some of the prices :p
 
Hi , thank you for your advices.

As for the motherboard, im still more interested with the asus DH deluxe because of its integrated wifi and remote control, it will be really usefull. I know the gigabite one is interesting, but i would have to buy a separate wifi card wich would cost around the same thing as getting the asus...

As for the PSU, i will check the seasonic, i heard good thing of it, never tried one, i may be interested in getting one, anyway, i know i cant go wrong with OCZ or Seasonic....

I wont get a x1900XT, simply because i cant justify paying 460$ (the cheapest price in canada) for the difference i would get with a 7900GT, 120$ less....
 
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