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tgabe213

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I'm planning on ordering in the next 2-3 days. Gaming consists of cod4. Monitor resolution is 1680x1050. Often, there is quite a bit of multitasking with quite a few windows of everything open. Visual Studio 08, Firefox, WMP11, etc. I already have a monitor, keyboard/mouse, hard drive, and CD/DVD drives

Here's what I've got so far..

Finalizing...

Thermaltake Armor Junior - $100
Asus P5Q-E P45 Motherboard - $160
C2D E8400 - $190
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - $37 and LGA 775 Bolt Thru kit $5
XFX 8800GT - $120 AR
Western Digital 320GB AAKS - Already have
Corsair 520HX PSU - $75 AR
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1000 - $85
Samsung 20x - $27

Am I missing anything?
 
The GA-EP43-DS3L looks like it'll fit your needs, along with a PCI eSATA bracket from newegg. The GA-EP45-DS3R also looks good, and it comes with the eSATA bracket.

How long do you plan on keeping the CPU? If its longer than 2-3 yrs, go with the Q6600.

$37 - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler (optional: $7 - XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit)
$50 - ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm CPU Cooler ($10 MIR)
$59 - Noctua NH-U12P Universal heatsink
 
I think my plan is to keep everything for a few years, but I know that won't actually happen.

Also, where else can I get that bolt thru kit? It's OOS and not back in for a while.

What's the biggest difference between these two boards? Price is about the same.
 
If the memory standard for that board is DDR2 1200, does that mean it is the max?
 
tgabe213 said:
Also, where else can I get that bolt thru kit? It's OOS and not back in for a while.

What's the biggest difference between these two boards? Price is about the same.
Click to expand...

I think Newegg was the only one who carried it.

The boards look about equal, feature-wise. They both have eSATA (DS3R via a PCI bracket). The Asus has only one PS2 port. The Asus has better chipset/mosfet cooling, for better overclocking without the need for additional cooling. The Asus has a 3rd PCI-E 16x slot, but most likely runs at 4x. I'd double check with the Asus site, but its so frkn slow. For that reason alone, I'd go with the Gigabyte, lol.

tgabe213 said:
If the memory standard for that board is DDR2 1200, does that mean it is the max?
Click to expand...

ignore that newegg field. The board supports DDR2-667 upwards, since higher clocked RAM can also run at lower speeds. The DDR2-1200 just means there is a multiplier to go that high, but getting that speed RAM is only need for breaking records. If you go with the Q6600, all you need is DDR2-800, and thats enough for a near max OC on that chip (3.6Ghz). If you go for the E8400, all you need is the G.Skill DDR2-1000 4GB kit for $85, and that will also allow for a new max OC on that chip.

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

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

E8400: 9 × 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK
E8400: 9 × 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Nice OC
E8400: 9 × 445 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-890 << Good OC
E8400: 9 × 500 = 4.5Ghz, DDR2-1000 << Great OC
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/
 
So basically, if I get that RAM ( which I will, I knew I forgot something), it would be a prime OC to get the 8400 to 4.5ghz?

Still a little confused on the whole ram/cpu thing when OC'ing (haven't made it that far yet)

Also, what is the very tiny little port on the GB board by the USB ports?
 
You replied too quick! Just edited my post with this

"Also, what is the very tiny little port on the GB board by the USB ports?"

And by getting faster RAM, that eliminates my need to OC the RAM itself, yes?
 
Its a mini firewire port.

tgabe213 said:
You replied too quick!
Click to expand...

lol

tgabe213 said:
And by getting faster RAM, that eliminates my need to OC the RAM itself, yes?
Click to expand...

lol, looks like I replied too quickly again. Yes, it eliminates the need to OC the RAM to achieve 4.5Ghz or less. Now, your chip may or may not reach 4.5Ghz... as always with OC'ing, YMMV. ;)
 
Right, but I was just curious based off your cut and paste.

I'm curious, what's your reason for recommending the P45 boards? I may sound a bit ignorant, but I see people keep mentioning it to be a bad idea to buy a board that was JUST released (BIOS issues, etc).
 
Yah, I agree with that. The only reason I still recommend them right now is because its a simple die shrink, so its not so different from the P35, which was a very stable chipset at release time.
 
enginurd said:
The GA-EP43-DS3L looks like it'll fit your needs, along with a PCI eSATA bracket from newegg. The GA-EP45-DS3R also looks good, and it comes with the eSATA bracket.

How long do you plan on keeping the CPU? If its longer than 2-3 yrs, go with the Q6600.

$37 - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler (optional: $7 - XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit)
$50 - ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm CPU Cooler ($10 MIR)
$59 - Noctua NH-U12P Universal heatsink
Click to expand...


Will this bolt thru kit work with the xigmatek?

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lgbowiscsp.html
 
Ah yes. I'm considering reusing what I have. Got any good recommendations? There are WAY too many to look through.
 
just saying that the corsair 520hx is temporarily sold out so you can't use the $10 google checkout thing... so i guess it's $85 now?

i'm also buying this psu but I need to pay tax too :(
 
tgabe213 said:
Just curious because it does not give the option for DDR21000
Click to expand...

I'm assuming thats for OC'ing the RAM only by raising the DRAM multiplier? Your link above took me to a logo image, no review or anything. In any case, keep the RAM at a 1:1 ratio if you're OC'ing, which means leaving the DRAM multiplier at 2x, so the ratios/speeds I posted above will be the values corresponding to the listed OCs.
 
So you ALWAYS want that ratio to be 1:1? Lower the speed of the ram to match the cpu if oc'ing?

I should have just asked that earlier, I was already wondering.

Here is where the picture came from
 
I don't care for the Thermaltake Armor cases. (Those stupid flaps on the front just annoy me.) Otherwise looks pretty good.
 
Dan_D said:
I don't care for the Thermaltake Armor cases. (Those stupid flaps on the front just annoy me.) Otherwise looks pretty good.
Click to expand...

Personal preference ;) A friend has the fullsize and I really like it a lot.
 
Well if your base FSB is higher than the rated RAM speed divided by two, you won't be lowering the speed of the RAM to match the CPU, you'll be OC'ing the RAM and therefore raising the speed... so no, not ALWAYS. :p In most cases, yes, you want to lower it if you're oc'ing and the OC speed doesnt need the max ram speed. Since RAM is so cheap, the ideal thing to do is buy RAM that will already run at the rated speed you're looking for, which will save you from the trouble of having to OC the RAM.
 
tgabe213 said:
Personal preference ;) A friend has the fullsize and I really like it a lot.
Click to expand...

But those flaps are retarded, serve no purpose, squeek, and rattle. Its' beyond me how anyone can be ok with that design. To each their own I guess. :confused:
 
Dan_D said:
But those flaps are retarded, serve no purpose, squeek, and rattle. Its' beyond me how anyone can be ok with that design. To each their own I guess. :confused:
Click to expand...

Yea, but there's more to the case than just those flaps. Rattle? I don't know about you, but my case stays on my desk and doesn't move. :confused::p
 
tgabe213 said:
Yea, but there's more to the case than just those flaps. Rattle? I don't know about you, but my case stays on my desk and doesn't move. :confused::p
Click to expand...

I've heard those cases rattle even sitting on a desk. Those flaps get loose over time and they rattle and squeek. They are really quite annoying and stupid looking. There are cases out there that are as good or better that cost around the same money that aren't as goofy.

Just my opinion. If you are happy with it then that's all that matters. Personally I'd never get one unless it was free, and even if it was free I'd probably just take it out into the country and shoot it. (I love shooting computer hardware. Now if I could only rig a clay pigeon thrower to hurl 680i SLI boards I'd be in business.) :cool:
 
Dan_D said:
I've heard those cases rattle even sitting on a desk. Those flaps get loose over time and they rattle and squeek. They are really quite annoying and stupid looking. There are cases out there that are as good or better that cost around the same money that aren't as goofy.

Just my opinion. If you are happy with it then that's all that matters. Personally I'd never get one unless it was free, and even if it was free I'd probably just take it out into the country and shoot it. (I love shooting computer hardware. Now if I could only rig a clay pigeon thrower to hurl 680i SLI boards I'd be in business.) :cool:
Click to expand...

+1 to the 680i. Striker Extreme ftl!
 
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