New Gaming System

H

Heyday

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
218
I am looking to build a new gaming PC in the next 2 months. I am having trouble choosing a processor/motherboard to use in this system. I am building it to play the new MMO's coming out this fall such as Fury, Warhammer Online, and Pirates of the Burning Sea, so I want a system that will play these games well. I will probably get a nvidia 8800gts for the video card and 4GB of 800mhz RAM.

Here are the processors I have been looking at with prices from newegg:

AMD X2 6000+ $170
AMD X2 5600+ $150
Intel E6600 $221
Intel E6550 $183

Are the intel processors worth the higher prices? I am not planning on doing an OCing. Which of these processors will have the best bang for the buck for my purposes. If you have another processor in mind let me know. I also need some suggestions on motherboards to go with the processors.

Do you think there will be any reason to wait 2 months before I decide on a processor, such as new releases or price drops?
 
Go for either of the Intel processors they OC really well. Also I would drop to 2gb of RAM and try to find the money for a 8800GTX. Also remember to get a good PSU.
 
I think the best bang for the buck processor at the moment is the E6750 for $209 at mwave. But if you're not planning to actually order for another two months you might as well just wait until then to get into choosing parts, as new releases and price changes will probably affect your choices.
 
First, you should know that both the brisbanes and conroes OC very well. I'm not sure how easily the brisbanes are to OC, but the conroes are so easy, a caveman can do it. ;) Also, if done right, you don't lose any stability/reliability/longevity. A modest OC on an E6750 would be a simple change of the FSB from 333 to 400, and maybe a slight voltage bump, but thats it. Then you've gone from 2.6Ghz to 4.2Ghz, with the change of two settings! Just keep things near stock voltage (or at stock), and you'll have nothing to worry about.

Anyhow, if you're dead set against OC'ing, stick with AMD. Their lower prices are great, and AMD has stated backwards compatibility with AM2+ and AM3 CPUs. Though, if you have the cash, I'd go for an Intel setup and a slight, easy OC.

$190 - E6750 (microcenter or ncixus)
$130 - GA-P35-DS3R
==========
$320

E6750: 8 * 333 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK
E6750: 8 * 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800 << Good OC

I'll let someone else pitch AMD, hehe.


Though, you should know, a lot can change in a couple months... so revisit this thread when you're ready to build.
 
If all you have is $50 for a PSU, then go for the Goodpower 500W. I'd go with the Enhance 5150GH from eWiz.com if you have $70 to spend on a PSU. If you have $100, the Corsair 520W from either buy.com or zipzoomfly would be better than that FSP.
 
PSU is a really bad part to skimp on... A bad PSU could lead to the end of every component in your system. The Corsair 520HX is my recommendation.
 
Ok, I think I have decided on my system.

I already have these:

Cooler Master Centurion 532 - $48 - $20 rebate
Corsair 520w PSU - $99.99 - $25 rebate

I will get these very soon if nobody changes my mind:

Scythe Mine rev. B - $38
AS Ceramique - $4
Scythe S-Flex 120mm fan - $15
OCZ PC2-6400 2GB Platinum rev. 2 - $100 - $40 rebate
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R MB - $139
Seagate 250GB hard drive $74.00

These will be the last I order, and I hope for a sale/price drop/good rebate in the meantime:

Core 2 Duo e6750 - $200
XFX 8800GTS 320MB - $300 - $30 rebate

I am still open to any suggestions on this build. After reading some more on OCing, I think I may give it a try on this build.
 
The X38 boards are due September 9th, and the new Nvidia boards in November. So, if you plan on waiting a few weeks or a few months you might have better options at your hands, but if not thats cool too.
 
Anyone have any comments on my cooling selection?

If there are no other suggestions I will order the stuff from svc.
 
Thanks for the info Danny, ordered the Scythe Ninja, ceramique, and two scythe s-flex fans from that site. Got better cooling and saved a few bucks.

Now I'm going to wait a week or two to order the video card, MB, processor, and memory. I hope I can hold out that long.
 
Duro said:
PSU is a really bad part to skimp on... A bad PSU could lead to the end of every component in your system. The Corsair 520HX is my recommendation.
Click to expand...

Funny, my experience with the 520HX was precisely the opposite. The damn thing fried and my POS off-brand 500W replacement functions much better.
 
krameriffic said:
Funny, my experience with the 520HX was precisely the opposite. The damn thing fried and my POS off-brand 500W replacement functions much better.
Click to expand...

Nothing's perfect... and you can't please everyone.

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
-Bill Cosby
Click to expand...
 
It is time to finalize this build. My patients has worn thin.

I already have these:

Cooler Master Centurion 532 - $48 - $20 rebate
Corsair 520w PSU - $99.99 - $25 rebate
Scythe Ninja rev. B - $36
Scythe S-Flex 120mm fan x2 - $26
OCZ PC2-6400 2GB Platinum rev. 2 - $95 - $40 rebate
Seagate 250GB hard drive $70.00

The final pieces:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R MB - $130
Core 2 Duo e6750 - $200
EVGA 8800GTS 320MB - $290

Are those last options good bang for my buck options, or are there any other suggestions. I don't want to go any more expensive than this.
 
I just run a 19in monitor, so 320 should be fine. It will save me $100 and from what I've seen on benchmarks, there is little to no difference.
 
Those last options are your best bang for the buck parts IMO. I say go for it.
 
I agree, those are good bang for buck parts. If you don't think you'll need RAID or those extra SATA ports, the DS3L or IP35-E is even cheaper!
 
Thanks for all the input on the build guys. I ordered the parts, and they should all be here by early next week. I can't wait to get started on this build.

I'm sure I'll have more questions for you all when I get into some OC'ing.
 
I have the system up and running, and I'm loving it so far.

I gave my first attempt at overclocking, and here is what I have:

oc.JPG


Running stable at 3.2Ghz at stock voltages. Temp is 35C at Idle and 52C at the peak load.

I tried to tighten up my memory timings, but it failed the blend test. Probably wouldn't notice any difference anyway.
 
Looking good!

You're right, you wouldn't notice have noticed the tighter timings
 
Heyday said:
... Running stable at 3.2Ghz at stock voltages. Temp is 35C at Idle and 52C at the peak load. ...
Click to expand...

Temps are a tiny bit high for stock voltage and a Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B. What's your ambient room temp and case temp?
 
Room temp is a cool 72F, haven't measured the case temp. By stock voltage I just mean I didn't change any of the settings in the BIOS. I guess it is running at 1.280V by what cpu-z is telling me. I could try to lower it, but I think that is fairly low, if it is correct.

The only thing I could see causing the high temps is a bad seating of the heat sink. The only way I can see to make it better is to get a new mounting system.

Any suggestions?
 
I didn't need it, but the Thermalright LGA775 bolt-thru kit worked for my friend. Before getting it, just double check your ninja mount. If you slightly pull up on the pins, they shouldn't release.

At 3.2Ghz and stock voltage (VID = 1.35v), I think I was idling around 22°C and reaching 43°C duing load with an ambient room temp of 22°C. Though, Im using the Tuniq Tower. However, when I was OC'ing with my E6400, I got the same temps with both coolers. Actually, the Ninja was slightly better than the Tuniq, so that build has the Ninja in it, lol. All temps measured with CoreTemp.

If re-seating the HSF doesnt help, get the bolt-thru kit. When removing the HSF, make sure the thermal paste pattern on the bottom of the HSF matches the pattern on the chip -- indication of good contact.

It may also be that your chip runs hot. My E4300 runs a tiny bit hotter than "usual."
 
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