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Help building new system...

PsycoGeek

PsycoGeek

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 25, 2000
Messages
1,226
OK, first off let me say that I am posting two separate threads to keep the AMD and Intel supporters from each other's throats. I don't want a flame war over this plea for help...

I just cooked my system. Now I need a new one. Current (dead) system is in my sig, and as you can see I'm not afraid to OC. I don't know too much about the latest Intel offerings and desperately need help. Please post you recomendations based on the following guidlines:

CPU, dual core
Motherboard w/gigabit onboard
2gig of RAM
PCI-E vid card, 512mb (if possible)
Price tag of $1800 or less

Crossfire and SLI are not a real consideration for me at this point, but either one is a possibility a few months down the line. I need only one PCI slot at present, but a second one would be welcome. I appreciate any help you can give...
 
Intel yonah 2.0GHZ wait for coming price cut soon. $300 + -

Apoen 975 M/B $300 Expensive Good O/C And Merom is an upGrade ( the second stepping of merom should O/C to 3.2 without break a sweet.)

Corsail .. TWIN2X2048-6400PRO $?00 2ghz
X1900XT...............................................................$400
Ac power and cooling 510 watts ...............................$200 Expensive but need for good statable O/C
 
$BangforThe$ said:
Intel yonah 2.0GHZ wait for coming price cut soon. $300 + -

Apoen 975 M/B $300 Expensive Good O/C And Merom is an upGrade ( the second stepping of merom should O/C to 3.2 without break a sweet.)

Corsail .. TWIN2X2048-6400PRO $?00 2ghz
X1900XT...............................................................$400
Ac power and cooling 510 watts ...............................$200 Expensive but need for good statable O/C
Click to expand...

What exactly would be the point of the yonah in a gaming PC? No HT, lower clock, and priced higher than the D 930... I already have a 520w PSU... OCZ Powerstream.

<edit> That is a real question, not being sarcastic or anything, and I just saw some info on yonah... Pleas post more info.

Anyhow, I have a few items to propose:

D 930 processor $207
Asus P5WD2-E Premium $230
Corsair XMS2 1gig PC8500 kit (X2) $458 OR Buffalo Firestix 1gig PC8500 kit (X2) $439
eVga 7900GTX $479

$1394 OR $1355
 
that'd be pretty good, although if you're spendin around 200 something on a gig of RAM, i'd recommend the Mushkin eXtreme XP6400 (i'm lookin at this stuff too). overclocks well, tight timings, here's a review:

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/258/6/

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/258/13/

Overclocks of 1000mhz (memory frequency) stable.

Anyway, the motherboard and everything is good. Why the other guy recommended a yonah core processor is that even though it clocks lower, it has a different architecture than the Pentium Ds and Pentium 4s. The Pentium 4/D series processors have longer pipelines than the yonah, so it can clock higher, but technically, your performance is essentially the same (yonah has shorter pipelines). I'd recommend the Yonah since I've seen guys hit 3.3ghz and get around 15 seconds for 1MB of Pi. Also, a Yonah is dual core, better than hyperthreading, just as good as a Pentium D 930 (just fyi, a Pentium D 930 does not have hyperthreading, only dual core).
the X1900XTX is better than the 7900GTX (i really don't care about nvidia or Ati, so it's w/e's better the cost) with better tech, etc... .
 
Hey, thanks S_Fish, and Bang4the$. I appreciate the input.

I realize the 930 doesn't have HT, and I read the reason why they left it out. I had been wondering why they cut it from the 9x0 processors. Makes sense to eliminate a massive heat source for a real second core and reduce power consumption in the process.

The yonah core is looking really interesting to me right now as the AMD line-up still seems to be all 90nm. I would rather go with a 65nm die at this point for power and heat concerns. A few questions on that though. Are there any boards out there for yonah other than the Aopen? What will the upgrade path be on the CPU?

One of the reasons I had the Corsair mem listed is because I was gonna try to hit the 1066 bus speed with a D processor, most likely the 930. It doesn't seem like it would be that much of a streach, especially with water cooling. But I'll never need any memory that's that fast with a yonah. PC6500 would be more than enough, I think. I'll take a look at that mushkin, but I had a bad experience with them in the past, back in the days of the P3. Oh, an I'm actually shooting for 2gig or ram.

Also looked at the x1900 series of cards a bit too. Looks like a winner to me, and paired with a Core Duo the Sapphire x1900XTX with the water cooler looks like a nice setup. Would be nice if you could set up crossfire with two of those as well, but I don't have the money for that right now.
 
$BangforThe$ said:
Intel yonah 2.0GHZ wait for coming price cut soon. $300 + -

Apoen 975 M/B $300 Expensive Good O/C And Merom is an upGrade ( the second stepping of merom should O/C to 3.2 without break a sweet.)

Corsail .. TWIN2X2048-6400PRO $?00 2ghz
X1900XT...............................................................$400
Ac power and cooling 510 watts ...............................$200 Expensive but need for good statable O/C
Click to expand...

Any idea when the price will be cut?
 
I just read it in another post here about 2 -3 weeks I believe . Also with the parts I suggested the Merom Cpu will work on this board and getting it above 3ghz should be no problem running on air. It is in fact a very smart way to go. If you have to buy now.
 
AOpen is the board that everyone has been buying. No one has really bought the other boards. Newegg has about all the S479 boards i've ever seen, lol. hmm... one of my friends has 2 sticks of Msuhkin DDR2 PC2 4200 value ram and it overclocks nicely, better than he expected. Another friend has a 3.2 E, P4P800SE, and Mushkin DDR 400, overclocks his 3.2E to 3.9ghz stable, it's not bad stuff =)

ps. i think there's a thread around here or www.xtremesystems.org forums about the price cuts. people are talkin about it =)
 
Just to help clarify things a bit for me...

What socket will Merom fit?

What socket will Conroe fit?

I've been out of the "loop" for quite a while... :confused:
 
I've been convinced to go this route... I just ordered the A-Open board, but not from Newegg... they were out. Cost me about $12 extra with shipping, but at least I have one on the way.

Planning on the T2500, even though I will be ordering before the price drop ( :( ). Oh well... Still up in the air about the memory and video card. I don't know anything about crossfire and which card to get to make sure I will have the option of getting a second card later. I was going to get the Sapphire Toxic... :D, but I don't know now.

My philosophy on buying ram is this... buy modules you know you will be able to run at 1:1 with the FSB, even if it seems like overkill. In my sig you can see that in action. The mem was Geil Platinum PC4400, and I never had to crank up the voltage on it, or use a mem divider. I remember killing a thread here in the forums that someone started... Post you Sandra Memory Scores, or something like that. Everyone was proud of their 5K to 5800 scores, until I posted scores of over 6200!
 
I have another question concerning Merom... will there be 64bit OS support, or no?
 
Not really worried per say... not planning on a 64bit OS for a while yet. Just wanted to know if it might be an option for later.
 
according to UPS they are out for delivery!

Yonah 2.0ghz CPU
2gig (1gig X 2) Patriot PC2 8000
MSI X1900XT 512mb
Zalman CNPS9500
Zalman VF900

Grabbed 2 NEC DVD 16x RW drives while I was at it for the wife and son (I already have one). Already have the A-Open i975Xa-YDG! Hopefully I will be able to let you all know how it works in a few hours!
 
Well, it ain't happening today for me. :mad:

Went to start the install of the motherboard and found two problems... First, the heat sink retention mechanism on the backside of the board is cracked. Second, a power regulator fell off of the board while I was inspecting it.

I called the vendor and they are in the process of issuing an RMA right now, and they are going to cross ship a board for me. Hopefully it will be here before the weekend (I doubt it, but, hey... you never know).
 
Ahhhh.... no one's fault on this one. Sometimes you get a bad egg in the bunch. On a good note though, after getting the RMA rolling, I took the time to see if my RBX water block would fit, and it does! Looks like Socket 478 stuff fits this board like a glove.

The vendor was supposed to ship out a new MB today and issue the RMA tomorrow for this board. That impressed me. After I spoke with the customer service guy he said submit the RMA request online and he would expidite it and get a new board in the mail ASAP. I had a confirmation that a new board was shipped just 10 minuits after I submitted the RMA. Impressive indeed...
 
ComputerHQ.com. they were the only ones with it in stock when I did a search. When I went to buy one on Newegg they were out, and now I can't even find it listed on their site.

I also found out the Zalman cooler I got will not fit. My mistake... you have to get the same model WITH the led's... :rolleyes:

I have yet to get a confirmation on the shipment of the replacement, or an approved RMA. But their response on the e-mail was still impressive. Now, all they have to do is deliver on that promise...
 
Well... ComputerHQ lived up to their promise. My replacement board came about 25 minuits ago. I'll be signing off now as I have a lot to do in preperation for the install...
 
OK got an update for you all...

The system is up and running, most updates are done. Still have a few things to do yet though.

First thoughts on the setup... Damn it's fast!

Second thought... see above. And I haven't even OC'd it yet.

Only thing I haven't figured out yet is what the unknown PCI device is. It could be the ATA Raid. Might be the infared for the remote... Just havn't gotten that far yet.
 
what are youre temps? i bought the same heatsink and planning to use a pad from msi to protect the cpu...hopefully i can get mine up to 250 fsb..
 
Well, I'm already at 220fsb, and the temps are at 25C idle with the A-Open cooler. I can't imagine the Zalman cooler doing much better on the idle temp, but will hold the CPU from going too high under load.

You did see that the Zalman CNPS9500 will not fit the A-Open board... you need the CNPS9500 LED. It's the same cooler, with LED's, but comes with the hardware to fit a socket 478/479 motherboard.

I'll post back later with load temps...

<edit> I don't have the zalman installed yet because of ordering the wrong one. I'll also post an update once I get it from newegg.
 
Load temps are between 48C and 54C, depending on wether or not the AC is running at the time. Idle has gone as high as 28C without the AC. Seems to be no worries on heat at all, even with the stock cooler... Oh, no voltage increase on the core to reach 220FSB either.
 
Thanks... :D As I say in my sig, keep your eyes on it for OC'ing updates!

Just as a heads up for you, Iposted this in the watercooling thread as well (here), but the socket 478 water blocks are compatable with this board at the verry least. Probably with all socket 479 boards. I'm redesigning my water cooling system from the ground up with thin tubing. I want seperate loops for everything if I go back to water.
 
Got an update for you on the temps with the Zalman jamesbong... 14C idle, and looks like it will top out at 27C! Holy shiznits freaky bat dude!!! Of course, right now the puter room is at a nice temp of about 72F to 74F, and higher room temps would push that range a bit higher. With temps like that I can't justify a new water cooling setup ($200+) vs. the $53 I paid for the Zalman CNPS9500 LED.

I CAN however justify getting a new Antec P150... :D

and just in case you are wondering... I used Ceramique... That's what I always use.
 
those are nice temps man...im gonna use the msi pad im scared that i might crack the core w/ the heatsink :)
 
What's the MSI pad?

I took the square pad off of the stock cooler that came with the A-Open heatsink and applied it to the CPU before I put the Zalman on it. Used a razor blade to gently peel it up and got it off in one piece. Just remember to tighten the screws evenly and slowly so you don't get the Zalman tilted on the core. It is also a pain to get the screws started...

I remember the days of the P3 cores looking their corners and not running anymore. I had to RMA a P3 733 to Intel for that reason, and I wasn't even using an aftermarket cooler. This CPU worried me a bit too at first...
 
jamesbong said:
this one msi pad someone from xtremesystems used this on his t2600..:) mobile pad
Click to expand...

Hmmm... the heatspreader that Intel forgot... It's a nifty little doodad, but quite frankly, it's also another layer of something between your heatsink and the core, and another layer of thermal resistance. I'm not sure what you will get on air with the MSI pad. Temps could be worse than without it, but then again look at my temps! Might not hurt at all. Post your results with it.
 
Got another update... see my sig for the OC update... I may soon post my results in the OC and Cooling area. Gotta get some benchies together, as well as do a 6 hour minimum stress test to back it all up.

With the bump in bus speed temps have only risen about 1C to 2C at idle AND load. Wow! That's impressive for this cooler.
 
I just wanted to thank everyone who helped me out here. I was thinking of getting, ahem... the "other brand" of processor, and you talked me out if it. Thank you for that. I posted the same topic in the "other processor" forum and basically got no real response to help me out. Snobs...
 
jamesbong said:
i ordered the one w/ thel led:) nice results...
Click to expand...

I also have been meaning to mention this... Make sure you put the Zalman on in the correct direction. The Zalman's fan must blow air across the fins TOWARDS the rear exhaust fan.

Before I bought the Zalman I read a review if it that didn't show it in such a good light. I finally realized after staring at the pictures, the dope had put it on with the Zalmans fan facing the rear exhaust fan. It was basically generating a vaccume in between the two fans, and wasn't doing good at all in the tests. Go figure... Can't find the review though to show you.
 
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