New build: need advice. My knowledge is dated

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hassler

n00b
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Mar 16, 2008
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Hi all,

I'm really PC oriented, but tend to only stay up to date when I'm planning a new build. That said, after lots of reading and research I think I've come up with something that'll hold me for a long while. I game but primary purpose of the box will be various Virtual Machines.

CPU: Q6600 <- Deadset on this.
MB: Abit IB35 Pro <- Probably more extravagant than what I need. I may eventually OC, still undecided.
RAM: Mushkin 2x2x2 GB DDR2 800 5-4-4-12 timings <- 8GB is decided on, figured a little better timings and lower voltage would help if/when I OC?
PSU: Corsair 620HX <- I like modular and this should meet/exceed whatever I throw in the case.
DVD: Lite-ON burner <- Got a few that are 2-3 years old, never a problem
Sound: Auzentech Prelude <- Nothing but great reviews about this card. Breaking from the Creative mold.
HSF: Looking at the Tuniq Tower or ZEROtherm Nirvana <- Leaning toward Tuniq but open. Suggestions?
Thermal paste: AS5
Case: P182 <- I like the sound deadening and gonna give the separate PSU chamber a whirl.
HD: I've read about the Seagate 7200.11, but dont need a 500 or 750 for an OS drive. Suggestions?
Speakers: Klipsch GMX A 2.1

GPU: I've already got an 8800GTS that'll be transplanted
LCD: Already have an LG 22". May pick up another at a later date.

Thoughts on the HD or HSF? I can't wait to move into a new system. My P4 2.2 and Opty148 will be jealous.

Thanks guys!
 
If space is not an issue on the HDD then a Seagate 160gb - 250gb SATA 300 drive will do. Any of those two HSF will do nicely.
 
dude, awesome build.

i got the zerotherm nirvana with the AS5 paste, right now my idle temps are 25 25 25 22. probably about 70 degrees in my room.

why not get dual seagate 500's?

the more i reply to threads, the more i see it is impossible to see any way but my own. sometimes. every day.
 
looks pretty good to me. go with the zerotherm nirvana and well get a 320gb harddrive. it doesnt cost too much and its not too low in space either. make sure you get 64bit os to run that much ram.
 
Which features do you need on the motherboard... more than four SATA ports? eSATA? RAID? If you want something cheaper than the IP35 Pro, here are a few suggestions:

MSI P35 Neo2-FR Intel P35 ATX Motherboard - $111
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL Intel P35 ATX Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $122
ASUS P5K-E Intel P35 ATX Motherboard - $140
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $150

Many people would recommend the Nirvana as the better CPU cooler, but you can't go wrong with either one.

Western Digital has release a new single-platter 320GB hard drive. It's much faster than the competition, but retailers are mixing them in with the older two-platter 320GB drives. (There's an eBay store which guarantees the single-platter HDs, but at a much higher price than on NewEgg.) The serial number to the single-platter 320GB drive is WD3200AAKS-00B3A. But if you're planning on using various VMs, then the added storage capacity of a 500+GB drive woundn't hurt.
 
DDR2-800 is enough to get a Q6600 to 3.6Ghz, which is about the best you can realistically hope for on good air cooling. DDR2-800 runs at 400Mhz. The Q6600 is a 9x multiplier chip; 400x9 = 3600. You want a 1:1 FSB to RAM divider on Intel platforms -- running the RAM faster gains you nothing and puts further stress on your RAM and memory controller.

I wouldn't pay /any/ considerably price premium for anything lower than CAS5. If you can get CAS4 for another $10 and really want it, fine, but the only place it will ever make a difference is in benches. I suspect you're paying way more than ~$140 for that 8GB of RAM. Find some cheaper sticks.

Even with the Klipsch I don't really think you need the Prelude. Realtek HD audio has come a long, long way. With up to date drivers, it's really quite good. I've got the same speakers, and I do like them. I'd suggest you try with the onboard audio, and if you find it isn't up to the task, /then/ get the Prelude... or a second hand original X-Fi XtremeMusic. Practically the same card for ~$50 instead of $160+.

The ZeroTherm is the better HSF of those two.

I'm with tiraides on everything but the DFI BloodIron recommendation; if you go DFI get the P35 Dark P35-TR2S. The BloodIron has a weaker power regulation subsystem, which is more important with the quads.
 
I agree with Silent on all points. Concerning the motherboard, however, the DFI P35 boards are certainly very popular, but if you are new to OCing I would suggest you look elsewhere. The DFI boards are great OCers, but they can be very overwhelming to the novice as their BIOSes are geared for extremely fine-grained tuning.

The IP35 Pro is an excellent quad-core OCer, as are boards from the ASUS P5K series. The Gigabyte DS3L, DS3R, and DS4 are also very popular choices. However, if you go with a lower-end Gigabyte model, you will want to upgrade the chipset cooling if you plan on overclocking.

Good luck with the rig.
 
Hard drive - consider the WD3200AAKS-00B3A. Here is a HD Tune result, last image in this post:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1032208286&postcount=10

Newegg has some of the older non-B3 revision of this drive mixed in with their stock apparently and it's not worth getting. There are a few places out there that guarantee the B3 revision. The B3 has 320gb platters and that density translates into some pretty impressive numbers. There is a 640gb version with 2 platters also, and all of those are faster versions, but it sounds like you don't need the space.
 
Thanks guys for the opinions!

Regarding the prelude, I'm dead set. I've run into issues with onboard audio in the past and figured I'd do it right this time.

I'll be running vista 64bit. Now if only Cisco VPN client worked with 64bit :(

HDs: I've got plenty of em, just figured I'd get something new for an OS drive.

I'll be going with the Nirvana.

MB: I don't need esata, handful of SATA ports will suffice as most of my storage will be delegated to my servers.

Thanks again! Pulling the trigger on all of it tonight!
 
I'm assuming you're talking about some AC97 codec or similar? Seriously, the modern Realtek HD audio is a major improvement.

Also, a second-hand X-Fi XtremeMusic (older full height card) for ~$50 will do just as well as the Prelude. You aren't using a bunch of different input-output options or anything fancy like that and it seems Creative has /finally/ sent out some drivers that aren't outright horrible. No reason to spend $100 more on what is for most intents and purposes the same hardware.
 
hassler said:
Yup... the AC97 *shudder*
Click to expand...

The HD Audio standard is a massive improvement over AC97. Wait on the soundcard, try the onboard with some up to date drivers first and see what you think. I'm guessing you'll be pleasantly surprised.
 
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