First build need help!

Siphric_Acid

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
98
Aiight I've lurked in the forms for a few weeks now picking up on the info people posted for possible builds and here is what I've come up with so far.

Case is the Antec 900.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129021

PSU is the OCZ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

I'm not sure on what motherboard I want but it's either the Gigabyte or Abit.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128050 << Gigabyte
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813127030 << Abit

CPU will proboly be the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017

Memory Will proboly be the G.Skill
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

CD/DVD drive will proboly be Samsung
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151153

CPU heatsink im unsure of, Thinking of either the Tuniq or the Thermalright Ultima 90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001 << Tuniq
http://jab-tech.com/Thermalright-Ultima-90-pr-3852.html << Ultima 90
http://jab-tech.com/Panaflo-M1A-Z-92x92x25mm-case-fan-FBA09A12M-Z-pr-3403.html << Fan
Is that fan a case fan or do you install it on the Heatsink?

Graphics card I'm looking at the EVGA GTX because when I'm playing a game I want the graphics to feel almost real
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130079



Any help appreciated!
 
-someone will probably be along shortly to recommend the corasir PSUs instead of the OCZ, but I have no complaints with OCZ (I have one).

-that case is fugly :(

-don't waste your money on the gtx. go look at the benchmarks of the 8800gt acheiving 95% of the performance for 250$. should be coming out this week.

- the ultima 90 is a VERY impressive sink. i'm assuming you're planning on doing some hardcore oveclocking?
 
The case may be fugly :p but it has 3 120mm fans and a 200mm top fan, so shouldn't have to worry about cooling.

Never OC'd before but I wouldn't mind experimenting with it, just need to know how.

Where could I check out the 8800gt?
 
TweakTown also has a review on the 8800GT.

Don't forget Vista 64 bit for that 4GB of RAM.

I agree, ditch the OCZ PSU. Its based on the FSP Epsilon model which was once known to have voltage ripple at high loads. While you may never load the PSU enough to cause said ripple, there are better choices. While FSP and OCZ claim the issues have been fixed for a while now, there are still better choices... llike any from Corsair. :p

PSU Suggestions:
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showpost.php?p=1590883&postcount=193
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1460
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103
PSU FAQ: http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1036

Cases are 90% subjective, so get whatever you like as long as it can hold your components and has good airflow. Personally, I don't like the Nine Hundred... check it out in person... it feels so... flimsy.

Ultima90 is much lighter and smaller than the Tuniq and performs equally, in my experience. I'd go for it over the Tuniq.

As for the motherboard... if you don't need all the features of the IP35 Pro (firewire, extra pci-e 4.16x slot, dual gigabit lan, onboard pwr/rst/cmos_rst switches, uGuru), then the DS3R is a good choice (it has a PCI bracket to convert two internal SATA ports into eSATA ports, btw). Since you have a Q6600, you probably won't be pushing more than 400Mhz FSB SDR, so you won't have to worry about chipset cooling. What features do you need in a motherboard?

Also, what size monitor do you have or plan to get?
 
I'll change PSU's when I get the chance later tonight.

I'm not sure I'll use all the stuff that comes with the Abit but I might get it anyway just incase I ever need to.

This review says that the Gigabyte has Sata2 so what does that mean comparied to the Abit?
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/513/1/

I am looking at getting a 24" or a 22" monitor. Just not sure what one yet.
 
22" @ 1680x1050 will require a slightly less expensive vidcard since its a much lower resolution. With 24" @ 1920x1200, you should definitely go with a GTX or Ultra (sometimes found for $60 more than a GTX).

Both boards have SATA2. ICH9R supports up to 6 ports, which both boards have. The Gigabyte board includes another SATA2 controller that supports 2 additional ports via a JMicron chip. So, if you want a bunch of SATA ports like me, go with a (DS3R or better) gigabyte. You can't go wrong with either board, IMO.
 
It means the ports have a theoretical bandwidth of 300MB/s but it doesn't really make any difference as no drives currently provide transfer speeds greater than SATA1 (150MB/s).

Thats not entirely true... but it is for all intensive purposes. In case you want more detail, you'll still get better performance with a SATA300 drive on a SATA300 controller since the burst rates are higher. Also, if you go with RAID, you'll definatly approach speeds faster than SATA150. However, for all intensive purposes, you don't need to worry about having and not having "SATA2," aka SATA300, since all current P35 boards have it. If you want the proper naming convention, check out serialata.org.
 
Both boards have SATA2. ICH9R supports up to 6 ports, which both boards have. The Gigabyte board includes another SATA2 controller that supports 2 additional ports via a JMicron chip. So, if you want a bunch of SATA ports like me, go with a (DS3R or better) gigabyte. You can't go wrong with either board, IMO.

What are some better Gigabyte boards?
 
Thats not entirely true... but it is for all intensive purposes. In case you want more detail, you'll still get better performance with a SATA300 drive on a SATA300 controller since the burst rates are higher. Also, if you go with RAID, you'll definatly approach speeds faster than SATA150.

How does RAID make any difference - this is the speed of the connection to each drive.
Have any links to SATA devices with transfer rates above 150?
 
How does RAID make any difference - this is the speed of the connection to each drive.
Have any links to SATA devices with transfer rates above 150?

I was agreeing with you, did you miss that? You left out burst speed, which still affects overall performance. My SATA300 drives burst higher than SATA150, which adds to the overall avg transfer speed. In RAID, you'll see this burst help twofold. Sure, they're just bursts, but they still add to the performance you get -- however little they add isn't entirely negligible, and still worth mentioning, IMO. I still notice better performance from SATA300 controllers and drives compared to SATA150 controllers and drives, aside from my Raptor. In fact, I notice better performance from my SATA150 drives when they're hooked up to SATA300 controllers as opposed to SATA150 controllers -- even with my raptor. Therefore, while no single SATA device may saturate the bandwidth of a single SATA300 controller, there's really no point to not get SATA300 drives/controllers. And when SSD's become more mainstream, we'll soon be asking for more bandwidth.
 
Well I already snagged the Antec 900 because I save 40 dollars on newegg with the free UPS ground delivery.

What other kind of Gigabyte boards are there enginurd?
 
I actually type through Danny's fingers half the time. I feel like Danny's in my head. :eek: Though, he should really be paying attn to his professor and the hot TA's instead. :p

The DS3L is good if you don't need many SATA ports... and if you don't need much of anything else, really, lol. Its your basic gigabyte board with solid caps. The DS3R adds raid and an additional 4 SATA ports, along with a bigger NB heatsink. The DS3P adds heatpipe chipset cooling, Firewire, and an extra PCI-E 4.16x slot; it drops the legacy ports (serial/parallel). The DS4 just improves the chipset/mosfet cooling.

Again, you don't need the chipset/mosfet heatpipe cooling since you don't need to push a Q6600 much farther than 400Mhz FSB SDR. But if you need Firewire, then the DS3P is a good choice.

The Abit IP35 and Asus P5K-E are other boards worth checking out as well.
 
What is FireWire used for? Printers?

I'll proboly pick up either the Abit IP35 or the DS3R

If you don't know, you probably don't need it, hehe. As Robo said, its usually used for video cameras. Other common uses are scanners, external HDDs, etc. eSATA is replacing USB/Firewire for external HDDs. USB2.0 is more common for scanners and printers these days. There's a new USB version coming out soon, which will provide even more bandwidth. I havent checked on the future of firewire, though.
 
I actually type through Danny's fingers half the time. I feel like Danny's in my head. :eek: Though, he should really be paying attn to his professor and the hot TA's instead. :p

Yeah, unfortunately all the TA's are guys, though some of them are pretty good looking. :D

Now if you excuse me, I need to do an exorcism to get me out of enginurd's head.:eek:

Oh you may want to drop the GTX now. The 8800GT performs pretty close to it and it only costs about $280 right now, though it's suppose to down to $200 to $250 or so:
XFX PVT88PYDF4 Geforce 8800 GT 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $280
 
This looks like what I might be working with.

Case is the Antec 900.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129021

PSU is the Antec 650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371010

I'll be going with the Abit MoBo
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813127030

CPU will be the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017

Memory will be the G.Skill
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

CD/DVD drive will be Samsung
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151153

Still not sure on the Heatsink/Fan could use some help here yet.
Before I forget, I need some of that glue for the CPU to heatsink, what's the recommened stuff again?

The Graphics card will be the one Danny linked to but the link no longer works.
 
Get some Arctic Silver 5 (3.5g tube) or Arctic Cooling MX-2. Shin-Etsu is good, too, if you can find it.

HSF recommendations:
$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B CPU HSF (optional $7 Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit; recommended if using w/ quadcore)
$45 - Tuniq Tower 120 CPU HSF
$46 - Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU HS + FBA09A12M - Z ($3)
$55 - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU HS + Scythe S-Flex Fan SFF21E ($15)

The Ninja is quieter and lighter than the Tuniq, but not as good. The Ultima90 is lighter/smaller/easier.to.install than the Tuniq, and performs about the same. The Tuniq is great, but heavy. The TRU120x is the best out of the ones I listed, but is heavy and pricey.
 
Is the FBA09A12M - Z ($3) a fan for the case or does it go in the heatsink like the Tuniq?

Is the PSU and memory good? Changed PSU's to antec so not sure if its a good brand, couldn't find any corsair on newegg.
 
Is the FBA09A12M - Z ($3) a fan for the case or does it go in the heatsink like the Tuniq?

Is the PSU and memory good? Changed PSU's to antec so not sure if its a good brand, couldn't find any corsair on newegg.

The FBA09A12M - Z is technically a 92mm case fan, but enginurd listed it by the ultima-90 because most thermalright heatsinks (including the ultima 90) do not come with a fan, and it really needs one to work efficiently. The heatsink comes with clips to hold the fan in place against the heatsink. The Tuniq comes with a fan, which is why enginurd didn't list one.

The memory is fine, I have had no issues so far with my 2x2gb kit, it's a good price and G.Skill has a fairly good reputation. The corsair's are listed as 520hx/620hx on newegg, you may have tried typing in hx520w/hx620w, not sure which is the right way but it is listed as such on newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002&Tpk=corsair+620hx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001&Tpk=corsair+520hx

I'd take a look at other places for power supplies thought instead of newegg. ClubIT has them at a good price (lower than newegg even before messing with rebates):

http://www.clubit.com/search.cfm?keyword=corsair+620hx&cat=all

They also guarentee G0 stepping Q6600's, so if you order both from ClubIT you can save a bit of shipping and get a G0. Just something to consider.
 
Yah... what Anchen said.

G0 stepping is newer/better than B3 stepping because it requires less voltage; less voltage means less heat; less heat means better overclockability. Whether you OC or not, less voltage and heat is still better, especially when its the same price.

ClubIT.com has pretty good customer service, too, so I'd get both the Corsair PSU and the Q6600 from there, as Anchen mentioned.
 
Ok thanks for clearing that up.

Would I beable to get away with a 520 PSU or should I be safe and get the 620 PSU for the 8800 GT GPU
 
I'm disapointed in you guys, no one caught the fact that I didn't have a hard disk drive in the build :p

What would you guys recomend for a 500 gig HDD?
 
I'm disapointed in you guys, no one caught the fact that I didn't have a hard disk drive in the build :p

What would you guys recomend for a 500 gig HDD?

We probably assumed you'd be using an old one. Honestly, there are so many build threads, its hard to keep track of things sometimes. Any of the 500GB drives are good. They all perform similarly. Seagates have the longest warranty and may be loud. Samsung and WD's are the quietest. Hitachi can run hot.
 
Get some Arctic Silver 5 (3.5g tube) or Arctic Cooling MX-2. Shin-Etsu is good, too, if you can find it.

HSF recommendations:
$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B CPU HSF (optional $7 Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit; recommended if using w/ quadcore)
$45 - Tuniq Tower 120 CPU HSF
$46 - Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU HS + FBA09A12M - Z ($3)
$55 - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU HS + Scythe S-Flex Fan SFF21E ($15)

The Ninja is quieter and lighter than the Tuniq, but not as good. The Ultima90 is lighter/smaller/easier.to.install than the Tuniq, and performs about the same. The Tuniq is great, but heavy. The TRU120x is the best out of the ones I listed, but is heavy and pricey.


The TRU120x is also HUGE! Although, that's what makes it work so well.
 
Thinking of getting this Tuniq Tower but my only concern that is it to heavy at 800g for my motherboard/cpu?


And how about this WD 500gig HDD?

The Ultima90 is lighter/smaller/easier.to.install than the Tuniq, and performs about the same.

Go with the Ultima90 if weight is your concern. Intel's published limit for LGA775 boards is 550g.

The WD RE2 drives are optimized for RAID, and therefore include features such as RAFF and TLER.

http://wdc.com/en/library/sata/2579-001098.pdf
If a drive pauses for too long trying to recover from an error, it may be tagged as a failed disk and dropped from the array, even if its attempt at error recovery is ultimately successful. To prevent this premature array ejection, TLER limits the amount of time that a drive will pause to recover an error before it resumes normal operation. If the error isn't quickly recovered by the drive, the RAID controller will sort it out. However, if the drive isn't connected to a RAID controller that supports error recovery, data could become corrupted or lost. That's why Western Digital doesn't recommend TLER-equipped drives for non-RAID applications.

However, most people have been fine running RE2 drives as standalone drives.
 
The Tuniq, like most heavy HSF, comes with a motherboard support plate that is placed behind the mobo and lined up with the HSF holes. The plate helps secures the HSF and takes off some of the load of the HSF from the mobo. The mobo support plate is what helps keep the Tuniq or any other heavy HSF from tearing apart the mobo.
 
On your sig you have the Tuniq on your abit IP35 how did you overcome the weight restriction for the LGA775?

As Danny pointed out, the backplate helps a lot. In any case, its not an enforcable restriction -- its more like a guideline. And, like any guideline, you don't have to follow it. As you can see, many people don't care about that limit, and there aren't many reports of broken motherboards. ;)
 
I see, I'll proboly get the Tuniq I listed with the blue glow sinces it matches the blue LED fans in the case.
 
stacker 832 case from clubit is where it was cheapest :) (shipping included etc)
200bucks awsome case.

careful on its sharp corners cut the $#%$ out my foot when i was scooting over with my foot (shoulda picked it up but was being lazy) :p
 
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