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Need advice about a new system

R

Rilee

n00b
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
6
Hi all!

I'm putting together a new system for myself primarily for gaming. I was hoping that you guys could give me some advice on a few components. I'm not really interested in overclocking the system beyond what comes out of the retail/OEM box, so that shouldn't be a driving concern. That said, a lot of the advice I've used to assemble this proposed system was culled from forums like this one. If there's a place where I'm spending money to get a premium component that's only advantage is that it can be overclocked easier/more safely than another component, I'd love for you to point it out.

Case: Silverstone SG01
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-520HX
CPU: Intel C2Duo E6750
Cooler: Silverstone NT06-LITE
RAM: 2GB Patriot eXtreme DDR2-800
Video: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS (320MB)
HDD: 160GB WD Caviar SATA 7200 RPM
DVD/CD: LITE-ON SATA Drive
Motherboard: ?

I'm planning on running Vista Home Premium.

I'm particularly not sure what CPU/Motherboard set to run. I looked through the "good" list in the FAQ, but aside from the overclocking options, I wasn't sure how to judge them against each other. I see the E6750 CPU is newly available, and that it runs a 1333 MHz FSB. Most of the boards in the FAQ only list 1066 MHz FSB support on their product page, however. Should I drop back to the E6600 so I can run with a more polished MB? Also, does it make sense to pair ddr2-800 memory with such a higher FSB, or should I look at faster memory?

Any advice is appreciated. The only thing I'm really 'tied' to is the 8800GTS. Everything else is changeable.
 
For the motherboard, hands down, get the Gigabyte.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005399

You will be limited a little bit in overclocking by the case and the lack of ventilation. Heat will build up in there.

I would cut the CPU back to an E6400 or 6420 and shoot for 400x8.

For the RAM, I would get some DDR2 1000 since you will need to run the RAM at DDR2 1000 to be successful in this board.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85242

I am using this RAM in my Gigabyte and it works well.

You will need a HSF with a fan. Personally I think the best for the application is the Silverstone NT03 with the exhaust out the back.

You will have to do some research to see what else will fit, you will be somewhat limited due to space limitations.
 
PClark99 said:
I would cut the CPU back to an E6400 or 6420 and shoot for 400x8.
Click to expand...
I don't know much about overclocking,so I'll try to keep up. I'm thinking the 400 is the FSB freq and the 8 is some kind of multiplier, right?

PClark99 said:
For the RAM, I would get some DDR2 1000 since you will need to run the RAM at DDR2 1000 to be successful in this board.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by successful? Ability to overclock?


PClark99 said:
You will need a HSF with a fan. Personally I think the best for the application is the Silverstone NT03 with the exhaust out the back.
Click to expand...
I was under the impression that the NT06 worked with the PSU fan (pretty well according to reviews I've seen), so it wasn't exactly a passive component in this configuration. You're saying that it's not good enough?

This is not D9 memory !
Click to expand...
I don't know what this means. Is it a timing thing or a manufacturing process?
 
The Gigabyte board for the C2D will do you good. If you aren't overclocking much you can go with the ASUS which works too.
 
Rilee said:
I don't know much about overclocking,so I'll try to keep up. I'm thinking the 400 is the FSB freq and the 8 is some kind of multiplier, right?


What do you mean by successful? Ability to overclock?



I was under the impression that the NT06 worked with the PSU fan (pretty well according to reviews I've seen), so it wasn't exactly a passive component in this configuration. You're saying that it's not good enough?


I don't know what this means. Is it a timing thing or a manufacturing process?
Click to expand...


400 is the FSB and 8 is the multiplier. By successful, yes I meant overclocking. If you can afford the higher rated CPU and do not plan on overclocking, PC6400 will be ok.

D9 is the type of chips on the RAM stick. D9 is micron which is typically the best RAM, at least for enthusiasts. The OCZ sticks I linked have D9. As far as degrading, as long as you don't pump a lot of voltage through them they will work fine.
 
Okay, I understand and will look into the things you guys have mentioned.

One more question: I notice that you're mentioning only 1067 MHz CPUs. Is that because they're more mature/stable/OC friendly? Is there something about the 1333 MHz chips that makes them less desirable? I ask because the price difference is small, and If I'm not going to be OC'ing to a huge extreme, doesn't it make sense for me to get a faster stock CPU/MB pair?
 
I think the gigabyte board will work fine with the 1333 chips.


If OC is not where you are going to be, get the best chip you can buy, if you ever want to OC later it can still be done.
 
Something else to consider. You plan to use VISTA you say. *If* you plan to go with a seperate sound card, and many people do, get a sound card that works with VISTA. From what I have read the newer Creative Xi-Fi models have a driver problem with VISTA. The problem lies with Creative from what I'm hearing and not Microsoft. However I have heard that the older Creative Audigy2 ZS sound card works fine with VISTA. Its a good card so it would be fine for gaming. There are other card makers that work with VISTA too.

You may want to read up on VISTA/Sound card problems and posts so you can be sure to avoid any potential problems. Look in the Audio or possibly the hardware section of HF for more info.
 
Protip: Get the 6550.
1333MHz FSB chip, running at 2.33GHz (7x333), 4MB L2 cache, and damn sexy at $200.

Any RAM letting you run up to DDR2-1000 will allow for maximum theoretical headroom of 3.5GHz. (not necessarily rated for DDR2-1000, mind you). Any stick with D9's on it (reference list here) will generally run 1000-1200MHz @ 5-5-5-18 2-2.2v. Maybe even 4-4-4-12/4-5-5-15 @ 2v for DDR2-1000.

And I'd trust the DS2R over the P5K-VM when it comes to 1333MHz chips.
 
Okay, thanks a ton, everyone!

I wasn't aware of the sound card issue with Vista, so I'll definitely read up on it, thanks for the heads up.
 
Skott said:
Something else to consider. You plan to use VISTA you say. *If* you plan to go with a seperate sound card, and many people do, get a sound card that works with VISTA. From what I have read the newer Creative Xi-Fi models have a driver problem with VISTA. The problem lies with Creative from what I'm hearing and not Microsoft. However I have heard that the older Creative Audigy2 ZS sound card works fine with VISTA. Its a good card so it would be fine for gaming. There are other card makers that work with VISTA too.

You may want to read up on VISTA/Sound card problems and posts so you can be sure to avoid any potential problems. Look in the Audio or possibly the hardware section of HF for more info.
Click to expand...

Creative does have working vista drivers now, with the XFi Extreme Music anyway.

Honestly, the onboard audio should be good enough for most people even if all of Creative's driver bugs are not ironed out.
 
PClark99 said:
Creative does have working vista drivers now, with the XFi Extreme Music anyway.

Honestly, the onboard audio should be good enough for most people even if all of Creative's driver bugs are not ironed out.
Click to expand...


They got working drivers now? Thats good. I been hearing (reading) complaints about using X-Fi and VISTA. Good to know they finally fixed it. Thanks for the info. :)
 
Skott said:
They got working drivers now? Thats good. I been hearing (reading) complaints about using X-Fi and VISTA. Good to know they finally fixed it. Thanks for the info. :)
Click to expand...

You are welcome.

They are the most recent ones available for download on Creative's site.

I am using Vista Ultimate 64bit and they work fine for me.
 
I was reading a thread that the DTS wasnt working now with the new patch. Have you experienced this problem? Some features were blocked out too where they werent before. There seems to be some confusion over this.
 
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