New Build - What to get?

[sanchez_1960]

The last time I built a new system over 2 years ago, it wasn't as confusing as it is now.

I decided on an AMD last time and there was 2 top boards, I chose low latency DDR memory. Now i'm coming to build my latest system and everythings changed. Here is the things I know for certain:

- Intel Quad Core
- 4GB Memory

There seems to be about a choice of 3 chipsets and now DDR2 or DDR3 memory. If i was looking at the Asus side, what motherboard should I go for for performance and stability?

I'm probably looking at super low latency DDR2, so which mobo?

Then there is cooling, whats the best air cooling solution for silence and a bit of an overclock? I ran an XP-90 before, do the have a modern XP-120 solution that fits on the new chips?

 

[crhscoog]

First off what is your budget? Do you plan on gaming? If so what resolution?

 

[sanchez_1960]

Budget is £1000, so about $1800.

Yes, but only going to play COD4, i'm getting a 8800GT.

I will be playing at 1920x1200.

 

[crhscoog]

$1800 can get u so much

Here is what I think you should get:
Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 2.4Ghz (overclock it)
4gb (2x2GB) @ 800MHz (overclock it)
XP or Vista (64bit)
Corsair HX620 PSU
P35 motherboard like the ABIT or GIGABYTE (good oc'er)
Dual Optical Drive
Thermalright 120 Extreme CPU Heatsink
Scythe S-flex 120mm fans (to put on cpu heatsink and etc.)

*seeing how your budget is so high you could maybe even get the better and new 8800GTS 512mb and a decent water cooling system
*the Antec P182 (p180, p180, etc.) are pretty quiet midtower cases

 

[sanchez_1960]

After looking this afternoon, i've come up with virtually the same system as you suggested. Nice one, good job i'm on the right track

 

[engiNURD]

On Intel platforms, you won't notice the difference between CL4 and CL5, unless you're running benchmarks (and even then, its negligible), so don't pay a huge price premium for lower latency -- its not worth it. The sheer speed of DDR2 more than makes up for the higher latency (when compared to DDR). DDR3 isn't worth it right now. Its still not mature enough (speed is too low for such high latencies) and prices are way too high. DDR3 should be the norm when Intel intro's Nehalem at the end of this year.

If you're not into custom water cooling setups, I'd advise against water cooling. These Core2 builds can OC pretty damn far on good air cooling alone. The Q6600 G0 (aka "energy efficient" model) can typically reach 3.6Ghz on good air cooling. So, if you don't plan to go any higher, than all you need is DDR2-800; and you wouldn't have to OC the RAM.

/*------------- <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
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/

If you think you'll reach above 3.6Ghz, look for a G.Skill DDR2-1000 2x2GB 4GBPQ kit -- its usually the cheapest high speed 4GB kit here in the states.

Read the reviews for vidcards. Use gpureview.com. If you can find a cheap 8800GT, then I don't think the 8800GTS 512MB is worth its price premium. For example, here in the states, many people found an 8800GT for $208, while the cheapest GTS is probably at least $100USD more.