Intel build

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hophead

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
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I needed to start now or never... so I purchased an abit ip35 pro mobo.

For starters I am considering these:
Core2Duo e6850

Corsair Dominator 2GB PC2 8500

:) I should be fine with these specs right? (CGR, gaming, OC in the future?)

P.S. Newegg reviews tend to bash the stock e6850 stock heatsink/fan. Without overclocking, will temps be an issue?

Edit: I just read in another thread about cooling with e6850. Seems to be all good, nevermind about that inquiry.
 
The E6850 is nice and all, but you're paying $100 for 333Mhz that you could get for free with the E6750. Both the E6750 and E6850 have the same OC potential (~4Ghz), so there's really no point to the E6850. If you want to spend $300 on a CPU, get the Q6600. Otherwise, save your money and pickup the E6750 instead.

Dominator's are a waste of money, as are DDR2-1066 sticks. Stick with DDR2-800 Ballistix instead. They can reach DDR2-1066 speeds for much less money:
$104 - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 BL2KIT12864AA804 ($38 MIR)

If you're only OC'ing to 3Ghz, then the stock HSF is fine. If you want to OC higher, pickup a better HSF. The E6750 and E6850 can both reach around 4Ghz OC. So, I suggest one of these instead:

$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B CPU HSF
$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)

Save the $100 on the E6750 and pickup one of the above coolers with the money saved.
$189 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz
$195 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz

My E6750 can reach 4Ghz with a Tuniq Tower, those same Ballistix, and a GA-P35-DS3R mobo.
 
Thank you for the information. I will look into the matter further, but the insights you gave were exactly what I was looking for!

I am late for work, I will update here at another time if needed.
 
As usual, Enginurd is 100% correct on all his points. The same OC performance can be achieved for hundreds less if you purchase an E6750 and the Ballistix PC-6400 RAM. The E6850 is only valuable if you don't want to overclock or overclock far.

Mark.
 
I have a question:

Does overclocking a cpu realistically shorten it's lifespan if the temperatures are kept at the same level or lower than the temps at stock speeds?

To elaborate:

I have an itch to mess with my hardware, but I want to start with tweaking the bios and my current setup is proprietary with no helpful bios options. I am therefore building a new PC and seriously considering overclocking as a learning experience.
However, if even at low temps the lifespan is shortened, I don't see how it would be beneficial to trade lifespan for a minor performance boost.

It seems that a properly overclocked system would live longer than it would take the individual components to become obsolete. :)

Yea, I could look it up, but how would that make YOU guys feel smart? :p
 
If heat is kept in check, then OCing will not shorten the lifespan of your CPU.

Mark.
 
What Markyip1 said.

C2D CPUs have a lot of overclocking headroom. So as long as you're not using the stock Intel HSF, using a pretty decent HSF, and not upping the voltage too high, you can OC a C2D pretty high with no stability or life span problems. It's almost as if the C2D were designed to be easily overclocked.

Think about it, the 2.66Gz E6750 can be OC'd to 4.0ghz with just high-end air cooling. The 2Ghz E4400 can hit 3.2Ghz with a decent HSF. In the past, you needed a pretty decent water cooling setup to hit these kinds of OCs. Now you can do it with a $30 to $60 HSF.
 
So...
As of now, the only question I have regards this mobo's space requirements in a mid-tower case. I could go with a full tower to be safe, but I really think a full tower will seem huge.

I imagine I would have enough room for my components in a mid-tower, so I was just wondering if anyone here has experience with fitting this mobo and compatible components into a mid-tower. I am looking at the CoolerMaster brand FYI.

P.S. Enginurd... I appreciate your suggestion for a CPU, I bought the e6750. (I probably would not have found it otherwise!!!) :p

I ... am ... excited! Too bad I get paid so little!
 
No prob, someone else would have mentioned it if it weren't me. ;)

Full towers are nice because of all the room you get, but then you need extra long cables, lol. Mid towers are ok as long as you don't cramp a whole ton of stuff into them. For the Cooler Master cases, I'd suggest the Centurion 532, Centurion 534, or the RC-690.
 
Update:

Mobo: Abit IP35 Pro
CPU: Intel e6750
Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500
Compound: Ceramique

On it's way:
Memory: 4x Crucial DDR2 800

I thought the Zalman would be lighter than those you suggested, enginurd. Overall it is about as heavy as the stock heatsink, so I am satisfied.
However, I was reading reviews on the Coolermaster cases and the screwless design isn't for me. I would rather have very tight and secure connections, WITH SCREWS! :)
I should have done more research, but oh well.... Now I'm just digging around looking for a decent case and PSU!

I am thinking a modular PSU, but I am not sure whether to buy one with a case or separately. Frankly, I wouldn't trust a built in CPU with all the money I am pouring into this project!

I will see what kind of case and PSU threads there are on this forum now. Peace.
 
The Zalman 9500 is overpriced for its performance, imo. The Ultima90 is much better and costs nearly the same. Its also very easy to install. Here's a review:
http://anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3068&p=7

hophead said:
I thought the Zalman would be lighter than those you suggested, enginurd. Overall it is about as heavy as the stock heatsink, so I am satisfied.
Click to expand...

530g: Zalman CNPS9500
460g: Thermalright Ultima90 (and the Panaflo fan isn't that heavy)

FYI, max weight stated by Intel for LGA775 boards is 550g.

With the Coolermaster cases, you can still use screws. You don't have to go screwless. Besides, the motherboard still needs screws, so even if you wanted to, you couldn't go completely screwless, lol.

There are only a rare number of cases that come with good enough PSUs to even consider using, so don't plan on using a bundled PSU from any case.

PSU FAQ: http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1036

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

The crowd favorites are the Corsair 520W and 620W, but don't get them from newegg. Check buy.com, clubit.com, and zipzoomfly.com instead. They're much cheaper there.
 
hophead said:
Update:

Mobo: Abit IP35 Pro
CPU: Intel e6750
Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500
Compound: Ceramique

On it's way:
Memory: 4x Crucial DDR2 800

I thought the Zalman would be lighter than those you suggested, enginurd. Overall it is about as heavy as the stock heatsink, so I am satisfied.
However, I was reading reviews on the Coolermaster cases and the screwless design isn't for me. I would rather have very tight and secure connections, WITH SCREWS! :)
I should have done more research, but oh well.... Now I'm just digging around looking for a decent case and PSU!

I am thinking a modular PSU, but I am not sure whether to buy one with a case or separately. Frankly, I wouldn't trust a built in CPU with all the money I am pouring into this project!

I will see what kind of case and PSU threads there are on this forum now. Peace.
Click to expand...

Great motherboard choice, maybe look into a Q6600, they are not too much more. For a PSU i would go with the 620HX, i got one with my new build and its great. Very quite and cool. Plus its modular. (See Sig)
 
I think I am going to pick out a power supply last. As of now I am not even sure how many hard drives I want to go with. One is fine, but it can't hurt to have another as a backup/auxiliary. I need to calculate all the power requirements for each component, how many amps for each rail, etc.

I guess I am going with the case now then (unless the size of graphics cards varies greatly and I should choose that first).I'll get a Coolermaster because they are cheap and will hopefully do the trick if i screw in the PCI cards.

Then of course, the graphics card. I am going to start with a single card, ATI unless someone makes a valid case otherwise. (HIS has good price/performance balance if I remember correctly.)

But I did have another question. On the ip35 pro, you may notice the second PCI-E slot has a power connector to (theoretically) increase the bandwidth from 4x to 16x? I don't think you would need to connect this unless you had dual graphics cards... correct?

Sorry I just got home from work and I'm not really coherent! :rolleyes:

Edit: I just found this case on newegg. Still researching it, but it seems perfect for the price. (I am looking for USB/firewire at bottom because I believe the USB connections are at the bottom of my mobo and most cases have the ports at the TOP!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047
 
Will your case be on your desk, or on the floor?

and are you still going with the Zalman? lol.
 
Well I have the Zalman now. I like the style and it seems like the weight is well distributed.
I would buy a different type if it made that much of a difference. I will be overclocking, but I won't be trying for world records like some do. :rolleyes:

As for case, you have me sold. I will buy one each of the E 330 and the C 534. The one I like most will go in the new build. The other I will try to fit an Asus P4SD-VX mobo into. That board came with a Vaio RS-420 or something. (lol) :)
Last year around this time I replaced my PSU, graphics card, and memory in it. Not blisteringly fast (AGP 8x, 2GB DDR memory) but good enough to support the monitor upgrade. However, thanks to Sony I couldn't find a power supply small enough to fit in the proprietary PSU slot. Therefore, the PSU sits on top of the tower. :( Dustball city!

The case is going to be on a large desk next to a 22" monitor. The floors in my house are often too dirty for a floor case. :D
The resolution on my monitor is x1050 so I think one $200-300 card would be plenty.

P.S. Danny Bui I appreciate the heads up on the fan size for that other case. I should always remember that a 120mm fan is quieter than an 80mm.

TUNIQ TOWER 120: 3.20 lb
SCYTHE NINJA PLUS: 3.00 lb
THERMALRIGHT ULTIMA 90: 2.50 lb
THERMALRIGHT ULTRA 120: 1.74 lb
ZALMAN CNPS9500 w/ fan: 1.20 lb
e6750+box+heatsink+fan+manual:1.6-2 lb. :p
 
LOL... since you already have the Zalman, stick with it. :p

Since your case will be on top of the desk, the USB on the bottom is fine.

Check svc.com... the cases might be cheaper there, depending on shipping.
 
hophead said:
I have a question:

Does overclocking a cpu realistically shorten it's lifespan if the temperatures are kept at the same level or lower than the temps at stock speeds?
Click to expand...

I've had my 2.4Ghz P4 Northwood overclocked to 3.2 for over 4 years now. Even was at 3.4 for a small time.
Answer your question? ;)
 
Ok, newegg was the lowest on the two cases after shipping. I just ordered them. I decided to go with just 2GB of Crucial for now. So I will order that in two weeks.

This is how it is shaping up:
Abit IP35 Pro
Intel e6750+Ceramique+Zalman 6500
2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2 6400
Coolermaster Elite 330 or Centurion 534

For graphics card I read an enginurd reply to another person's post and the recommendations were coincidentally helpful. I have decided to go with just one graphics card. GDDR3/PCIx16 seems to be most appropriate. Looking at the choices on newegg alone, it seems I could go with a 8800gts 640mb Nvidia or hd2900xt 512mb ATI flavor.

Am I on the right track here? I just have to decide which card suits my personality more? :p
I've heard the GTS is a better overclocker from here:
http://it-review.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1435&Itemid=1
(June 2007) :)
 
I suggest Arctic Cooling MX-2 instead of Ceramique, unless you already have a tube of it, hehe.

Yah, for a 22" LCD, either of those cards would be good.
 
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