Just pulled the trigger on E6600 - coming from AMD camp

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wfalcon

[H]ard|Gawd
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Sep 7, 2000
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I've been doing LOTS of digging and research and have my planned build. So far I've got:

CPU - E6600 Conroe
RAM - 2x1GB DDR2-800 Corsair
PSU - Enermax 500W Modular (dual 12V rails @ 22A ea)
Sound - Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music
HDD - 250GB 7200RPM SATA
Video - ATI Radeon X1900 XT
Mobo - Asus P5B Vanilla (haven't pulled trigger on it yet)

Now, as to the mobo, I know that only 965 and some 975 support Conroe. Some folks will say go with the 975 for Crossfire support, but I have no plans to run Crossfire. Also, I have no need for a lot of the whiz-bang features (RAID, WLAN, dual GigE, etc.) on the more expensive boards. I chose that one because I absolutely hated the lay-out of the Abit boards (Especially the placement of the IDE and floppy connectors). I'm still debating on between the Asus and the Gigabyte 965 boards though. Is there any reason I should be considering the 975 boards again (other than Crossfire)?

Seondly, before folks mention going with a different CPU, I chose the E6600 over the E6400 because: (1) I will not be overclocking any time soon, and (2) flight sims seem to like the extra cache from the benchies I've seen. (Was $357, so I didn't get ripped by Newegg.) Wife won't let me build again anytime soon, so this rig must last!

My main questions though lie with the RAM. Will I see any noticable impact from using the CAS4 vice the CAS5 Corsair? (Trying to save cash where I can.)

Also, is this PSU going to be enough for the single vid-card? Is there a difference between PSUs with 20+4pin main connectors and 24 pin main connectors?

Any other feedback on my build? Trying to stick to a budget.

Sorry for the questions - it's been a while since my last build - during which, techs have changed. (My old comp is still running AGP.)
 
Used to be twice as many people in AMD forum, now it's reversed so by my counts AMD converts are 3/4 of the Intel forum. :D It's ok, they were just better for awhile it wasn't a religion. :p

Where'd you get a 6600? :eek: I got the DH deluxe today, so I'm about to pull the trigger on a E6400.

edit: Missed the newegg. Thats some luck right there. I would have done the same as well as most it's just not easy to come by. Nice build. I'm paying more for the Asus P5W DH Deluxe. I already have Crossfire x1900's in my AMD rig so it's an easy choice. Most of my other hardware is the same too. Just a bigger psu for my Crossfire. Nice build you got. Which Corsair? The 5400 c2pro or whatever?
 
texuspete00 said:
Used to be twice as many people in AMD forum, now it's reversed so by my counts AMD converts are 3/4 of the Intel forum. :D It's ok, they were just better for awhile it wasn't a religion. :p

Where'd you get a 6600? :eek: I have a DH deluxe now, so I'm about to pull the trigger on a E6400.
Click to expand...

Same Had the DH Deluxe looking for a 6700 :eek:
 
Yeah, I have a comment, having gone from nearly what you're using now to your proposed build. You're going to be very happy. The E6600 is markedly faster in most everything I do. What res will you be gaming at?

Other than perhaps some benchmarks, you probably will not notice the difference in RAM timings.

E
 
texuspete00 said:
Used to be twice as many people in AMD forum, now it's reversed so by my counts AMD converts are 3/4 of the Intel forum. :D It's ok, they were just better for awhile it wasn't a religion. :p

Where'd you get a 6600? :eek: I got the DH deluxe today, so I'm about to pull the trigger on a E6400.

edit: Missed the newegg. Thats some luck right there. I would have done the same as well as most it's just not easy to come by. Nice build. I'm paying more for the Asus P5W DH Deluxe. I already have Crossfire x1900's in my AMD rig so it's an easy choice. Most of my other hardware is the same too. Just a bigger psu for my Crossfire. Nice build you got. Which Corsair? The 5400 c2pro or whatever?
Click to expand...


where did u get the dh from?
 
Wow...that's quite a rig you've got planned there. It makes my X2 4400+ hang it's head in shame. :( Nah..not really, I'm good for now. :D From what I understand, Intel is less sensitive to tight ram timings but of course that info could be from the last generation and I really have no idea about Conroe.
 
Well, I was able to slowly acquire the X-FI Xtreme Music and 250GB HDD over a long period of time, and those will be making the transition from my current rig to my new one. (Wife will inherit on-board sound and an 80GB drive. :D Also, I can't really complain about the wife keeping the purse strings tight since I'm actually building this rig a year earlier than originally planned. :cool:

Anyway, seeing the rising prices at Newegg, MWave, and finally ZipZoomFly convinced me that I couldn't pass up $357 at http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4893660 - it's a preorder, but should ship in 6 days. I almost snagged one of the E6400s they had in-stock, but decided to fork over the extra $90. I was originally trying to budget in a drop-in X2 CPU upgrade for the 939 system I'm passing to the wife, but I would've had to sacrifice the X1900XT. :p
 
Well to actually ADDRESS THE QUESTION (guys!!!!) ;)

I'd say it looks like you have some good choices there. I'm not that familiar with the 2MB vs 4MB cache in flight sims, but I'll take your word on it. From what I have seen with regular game/apps its a 5-10% increase at SAME CLOCK SPEEDS. I'm not sure its worth the extra cash. Although when new engines come out (U3) that might change the story.

Oh and DO try to OC it a bit. From what I have read getting an 800Mhz+ out of that chip with standard cooling and no change in voltage is rather easy.

On that we will move to your RAM. From my readings you will only see 1-3 FPS change with tight RAM settings. However, having looser settings will allow for higher OCs thus negating any advantage to the tight settings (and in fact usually outpacing the tight RAM). A good choice on the DDR2-800 as again, you can get a nice OC with little effort/cooling. Plus you save a few $$$.

Mobo looks good (just CONFIRM that it is Conroe compatiable ..... the right version and all that). Only thing about that is you state "You don't plan to run crossfire" and also state that "this thing has to last a few years" when refering to why a 6600 over a 6400. I would suggest that getting a Crossfire board MIGHT be worth the extra $$$ as you can then ADD another ATI card in the future to make the rest of this rig last even longer. Be it for additional FPS or (as ATI has hinted) physics in newer games. Just a suggestion to think about.

Solid power and the rest is coming over from the old rig and they look just fine.

All in all a good rig .... what kind of monitor you using though?

It would appear that the X1900XT is running around $350 putting it in the 7900 GT/GTX range. Not sure if you have a REASON to stay with ATI (other than you like them .... not knocking it, I like nVidia and will stay with them until I have a GOOD reason not to) but with the AMD acquisition (it was NOT a merger) things can get kinda .... iffy. nVidia is also talking about the "religating the old video card to physics while letting the new one do the graphic work" idea so, there it is for what it is worth.

Anyway, IF you decide to change to the E6400 that would leave some more $$$ for getting a crossfire/sli board or even a second video card to actually do crossfire/sli with.

Either way enjoy, don't worry about it too much, and everything I have just said may be entirely wrong.

;)
 
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