Need some assistance on new components

[bozman]

Hi all....

I have been out of the "game" for a while and I need some help. I am not up on current processors, RAM and motherboards, so I am a little hesitant about buying these compenets without some opinions.

I am building a new, high-end gaming & photo/video editing machine. I am going to use some of the components out of my existing machine. This includes:

75 gig Raptor drives (x2)
250 gig Seagate drive (x1)
8800 GTS BFG video card (x1)
Dell 2407 WPF-HC
X-Fi Card
Analog Klipsch Speakers (I know, kinda old, but still sound great)

I want the latest and greatest quad-core processor (not necessarily the high-end part, but one with the highest FSB and cache available).
The best motherboard to support the processor that will OC with ease and is stable with 4 gig of RAM.
The best matched RAM available that is compatible with the motherboard and is able to be OC'ed sometime in the future.

Probably going to go with a mix of Linux & XP-64 (would XP-32 handle the 4 gig of RAM?)

I intend to hold on to this system for a while and will want to update the processor in the future while holding on to the rest of the guts of the system.

I am holding off on video until the new nvidia parts are released, then I may go SLI.

As for other stuff, I have already decided on the PC Power & Cooling Quad 750 psu and the new CoolerMaster Stacker.

Thanks in advance

 

[bozman]

Ahem..... No one has any words of advice?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.....

 

[engiNURD]

$276 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 2.40GHz 8MB L2 LGA775 BX80562Q6600 SLACR
$168 - abit IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ($20 MIR)
$90 - A-DATA 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2-800 ADQVE1B16K

If you think you'll need to reach a higher FSB in the future, go with these instead:

$115 - G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-1000 F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

 

[bozman]

Thanks enginurd..... I am looking at these now at Newegg.

 

[engiNURD]

Get the Q6600 from clubit.com since they guarantee the G0 stepping. The G0 stepping is newer than the B3. It requires less voltage and therefore runs cooler -- which is a good thing whether you're OC'ing or not.

 

[bozman]

Enginurd.... Thanks

I realized now that I maybe did not give enough information in my initial post, so I will repost everything again with more information…

Please remember I have been out of touch recently with the new tech out there, but from all of my reading, this appears to correct…

This is what I already have in an existing gaming rig:

75 gig Raptor hard drive (x2, SATA)
250 gig Seagate hard drive (x1, SATA)
8800 GTS (x1, BFG)
Generic DVD 16X burner
Generic CD 52X burner
Hauppauge WINTV-PVR 250

Goal of the new rig is for high-end gaming and photo/video editing.

I will be conservatively over clocking this system on air. Nothing extreme though for fear of corrupting video during transfer & editing.

This is what I intend to purchase for an interim upgrade:

- Intel Q6600 w/ GO Stepping
- ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard (selected this for the 1600 FSB support, should I be considering something else?)
- G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit

I have chosen the items to be purchased with the intent that in 6-9 months I will upgrade to the following:

Add 2 newly released nvidia cards in SLI (G92 series?)
Replace CPU with an Intel Yorkfield quad-core processor
Additional SATA hard drives (probably 2)
DDR3 ram (2 x 2 gig) < ------ Maybe

Am I safe with this intended upgrade scenario/path?

Oh, money is not really a concern, but I would like to get something relatively cheap now because my current system is painfully slow (Athlon 55-FX) AND knowing that new stuff is coming out in just a few months. The stuff I “discard” will go into a mid-grade system I will build for my wife (she is still using an over clocked 800 mHz Pentium III)

Thanks,

 

[engiNURD]

...
This is what I intend to purchase for an interim upgrade:

- Intel Q6600 w/ GO Stepping
- ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard (selected this for the 1600 FSB support, should I be considering something else?)
- G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit

I have chosen the items to be purchased with the intent that in 6-9 months I will upgrade to the following:

Add 2 newly released nvidia cards in SLI (G92 series?)
Replace CPU with an Intel Yorkfield quad-core processor
Additional SATA hard drives (probably 2)
DDR3 ram (2 x 2 gig) < ------ Maybe

You do know that in a year, Nehalem should be out, right? So any upgrade in the coming months is... bleh.

Also, the X38 chipset does not support SLI (no Intel chipset supports SLI), only crossfire. Also, keep in mind that SLI is only needed for high resolution 3D rendering. So, if you have or plan on getting a 1920x1080 LCD or higher, and want to game on it at native resolution, then keep SLI as an option. Otherwise, theres no need for it. There should be a single card solution that can still handle a 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200) LCD screen, and it should be more cost effective than an SLI setup. SLI as an upgrade path isn't worth it unless, again, a large LCD is in the future plans. There should always be a better single card solution, and you could sell your old card to help offset the cost. So, what size monitor do you have?

DDR3 should be worth it when Nehalem and its on-chip memory controller is out. Before then, I don't think its worth the price premium.

You don't need DDR2-1000 unless the yorkfield you plan to get has an 8x multiplier. Here's why...

/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings: (base FSB speed is SDR, or single data rate)
c × [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 × [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed (DDR: double data rate)
4 × [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed (QDR: quad data rate)

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is, for the most part, useless, so don't bother trying to do so. If the BIOS does it for you, just let it. All you need is a 1:1 config, though. Here's some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

Q6600: 9 × 266 = 2.4Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK speeds
Q6600: 9 × 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << Nice OC
Q6600: 9 × 378 = 3.4Ghz, DDR2-756 << Good OC, near max for B3 stepping
Q6600: 9 × 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC, near max for G0 stepping

Q9450: 8 × 333 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
Q9450: 8 × 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800
Q9450: 8 × 450 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-900
Q9450: 8 × 500 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-1000
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/

Keep in mind, many boards have trouble pushing 500Mhz FSB SDR with a quadcore CPU installed. While there are new chipsets planned for release (Eaglelake, P45, X48, etc), they won't be out for a while.

I'd skip the yorkfield/eaglelake if you pickup a kentsfield/bearlake right now unless you need another system. If you do it just for the sake of upgrading, you'll only see about a 10% improvement over your last setup... so it might not be worth it. The next big thing is Nehalem, coming Q4'08/Q1'09, unless intel slips the dates.