Recording/Gaming Rig!

Dozoy · Jan 12, 2009

Wow, I haven't posted here in quite some time!

Itchyeyes · Jan 12, 2009

1. What is your budget?
2. Will you be reusing any parts? Which ones?
3. Will you be overclocking?
4. What size of monitor will you be using with this machine?

Also, it would help if you would label your parts list and provide links and/or prices for each component.

Dozoy · Jan 12, 2009

starams5 · Jan 12, 2009

Dozoy,

I take it you don't like RAID. Would that be safe to say?

Dozoy · Jan 12, 2009

Just dont have any experience with it. Care to explain?

Dozoy · Jan 12, 2009

Also, I hear that LGA 775 is a dead socket type now. Thoughts?

starams5 · Jan 12, 2009

I was just curious when I seen one HDD. Everyone has their own preference and I respect that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundant_array_of_independent_disks

starams5 · Jan 12, 2009

I just checked out your MB, nVidia Chipset, nVidia MediaShield. It would be easy to set up a RAID stripe but you would need two identical SATA HDD's. A RAID configuration is faster than a single HDD or two HDD's w/o RAID, but can have it's cons as well. Put it this way and I'm only speaking for myself, I'm hooked and I can't go back.

Dozoy · Jan 12, 2009

Well, I'd rather not use RAID because I may decide to throw 1 or more hard drives into multiple computers. I'm also starting to think about the Sugo 03. The V350 has some design quirks. Or maybe just going for the full tower. Mini ATX is restricting my artistic vision

Dozoy · Jan 12, 2009

starams5 said:
I just checked out your MB, nVidia Chipset, nVidia MediaShield. It would be easy to set up a RAID stripe but you would need two identical SATA HDD's. A RAID configuration is faster than a single HDD or two HDD's w/o RAID, but can have it's cons as well. Put it this way and I'm only speaking for myself, I'm hooked and I can't go back.

Could I use a RAID array for my OS and such and then just use a larger HD for storage?

starams5 · Jan 12, 2009

Ya, like I said it can have it's cons as well. I prefer the RAID0 (stripe). If I lose a HDD, everything is gone, wiped out. I don't have an external HDD so what I do is keep my personal data Software, music, etc; backed up to my second computer. My "D" drive on both of the computers are virtually the same. What lands on one desktop gets FTP'd to the second computer. A pain in the butt? Yes. Time consuming? Yes. But I've been doing it for a few years now and I'm used to it. Maybe one day I'll stop being so cheap and buy and external HDD.

starams5 · Jan 12, 2009

Dozoy said:
Could I use a RAID array for my OS and such and then just use a larger HD for storage?

You sure can. These days you have many different options. You can put two drive on a stripe and add as many HDD's non-RAID as your MB can support. You can even mix ATA/SATA but I wouldn't recommend it, but that's just me.

Dangman · Jan 12, 2009

- The Q9400 is only 7% faster than the Q6600 and only uses 30W less than the Q6600 at stock speeds. Decide if that is worth the extra $80. IMO it is not.
- Ditch the OCZ RAM. You save $50 by just going with two of these RAM sets:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $40

Dozoy · Jan 12, 2009

Danny Bui said:
- The Q9400 is only 7% faster than the Q6600 and only uses 30W less than the Q6600 at stock speeds. Decide if that is worth the extra $80. IMO it is not.
- Ditch the OCZ RAM. You save $50 by just going with two of these RAM sets:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $40

I saw the Q6600 after I posted my OP. Thanks for letting me know about the GSkill! I've decided to go with a PC-V1000Z. Mini ATX is a bit constricting. I'm going to update my OP soon.

Dozoy · Jan 13, 2009

Just updated my OP

Dangman · Jan 13, 2009

Ok, now that you have room inside the case, swap out the Silverstone PSU for the better quality PC P&C 750W:
PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W PSU - $120

RAM wise, go with this RAM set since A) it's $27 cheaper than the OCZ, B) DDR2 1066 RAM is total overkill for the Q6600 even if overclocking is a factor, C) comes with free shipping and D) DDR2 800 RAM is all that you need for the Q6600.
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $40

HSF wise, I recommend this better cooling HSF instead:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37 & Retention Bracket - $8.50

Dozoy · Jan 13, 2009

Danny Bui said:
Ok, now that you have room inside the case, swap out the Silverstone PSU for the better quality PC P&C 750W:
PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W PSU - $120

RAM wise, go with this RAM set since A) it's $27 cheaper than the OCZ, B) DDR2 1066 RAM is total overkill for the Q6600 even if overclocking is a factor, C) comes with free shipping and D) DDR2 800 RAM is all that you need for the Q6600.
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $40

HSF wise, I recommend this better cooling HSF instead:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37 & Retention Bracket - $8.50

Check my first post. It is current with what I want for the build. The reason I didn't go with a XP-120 or other large cooler is because of the weight. This PC will get moved around a little more than a typical home computer, not too much more but more all the less.

Dangman · Jan 13, 2009

Dozoy said:
Check my first post. It is current with what I want for the build.

Yeah I know. Sorry, thought you had OCZ RAM still. Either way, ditch the Patriot RAM and go with the G.Skill RAM. Still recommending swapping out the PSU as well

Dozoy · Jan 13, 2009

Danny Bui said:
Yeah I know. Sorry, thought you had OCZ RAM still. Either way, ditch the Patriot RAM and go with the G.Skill RAM. Still recommending swapping out the PSU as well

The motherboard supports 1066.

Dangman · Jan 13, 2009

Dozoy said:
The motherboard supports 1066.

And? Like I said, DDR2 1066 RAM is total and complete overkill for the Q6600 even with overclocking planned. Simply put, Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs do not take advantage of the higher memory bandwidth offered by DDR2 1066 RAM and DDR3 RAM. Core 2 Duo based systems do not gain any more performance once the FSB and DRAM are at a 1:1 ratio. Some math:

Stated FSB/4 = Actual FSB
Actual FSB x 4 = Stated FSB
Multiplier x Actual FSB = CPU Speed
1:1 Ratio: 2 x Actual FSB = RAM Speed
1:1 Ratio: FSB = 1/2 RAM speed
Note that C2D systems don't see a performance increase with any ratio higher than 1:1

Q6600:
Multi x Actual FSB, Stated FSB, RAM Speed = Clock Speed
9 x 266Mhz, 1066Mhz, DDR2 533 RAM = 2.4Ghz <== Stock Speeds
9 x 333Mhz, 1333Mhz, DDR2 667 RAM = 3.0Ghz <== Good OC
9 x 400Mhz, 1600Mhz, DDR2 800 RAM = 3.6Ghz <== Excellent OC, About the Max

Technically you wouldn't even see a difference between DDR2 533 RAM and DDR2 1066 RAM with the CPU at it's stock speed. Hence why I recommended the DDR2 800 RAM: It offers enough head room should you ever want to overclock and it's the current best bang for your buck value.

engiNURD · Jan 14, 2009

I agree, DDR2-1066 is useless for a Q6600 system.

Dozoy said:
... The reason I didn't go with a XP-120 or other large cooler is because of the weight. This PC will get moved around a little more than a typical home computer, not too much more but more all the less.

The Noctua NH-C12P (730g) weighs more than the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (660g).

The height shouldn't matter with the Xigmatek ACK-I7751 bolt-thru kit. Now if Danny recommended the Tuniq Tower or TRUE120, I can understand... but the Xig is lightweight.

Dozoy · Jan 14, 2009

Check my original post, I changed it to a XP-90

The memory issue isn't a problem. I'd rather spend a little (what?$10?) more on decent 1066 and have better quality memory around when I want to upgrade to a better processor.

engiNURD · Jan 14, 2009

Dozoy said:
Check my original post, I changed it to a XP-90

The memory issue isn't a problem. I'd rather spend a little (what?$10?) more on decent 1066 and have better quality memory around when I want to upgrade to a better processor.

Heh, I thought I saw the XP120 in your OP. Anyhow, the XP90 w/ recommended fan is 470g, about 190g lighter than the HDT-S1283. You should also look into the HDT-S963, the 1283's little brother. It weighs in at 410g w/ fan.

RAM speed has nothing to do with quality... simply speed. Even if you upgrade to a better CPU, it will only take advantage of DDR2-1066 if it can handle 533Mhz FSB -- and I doubt whatever you upgrade to can handle such a high FSB unless its a dual core -- and going from a quadcore Q6600 to a dual core isn't exactly an upgrade.

Dozoy · Jan 14, 2009

enginurd said:
Heh, I thought I saw the XP120 in your OP. Anyhow, the XP90 w/ recommended fan is 470g, about 190g lighter than the HDT-S1283. You should also look into the HDT-S963, the 1283's little brother. It weighs in at 410g w/ fan.

RAM speed has nothing to do with quality... simply speed. Even if you upgrade to a better CPU, it will only take advantage of DDR2-1066 if it can handle 533Mhz FSB -- and I doubt whatever you upgrade to can handle such a high FSB unless its a dual core -- and going from a quadcore Q6600 to a dual core isn't exactly an upgrade.

I will probably just go with the S1283. I'm surprised with how light it is. Thanks for the reccomendation!

I forgot all about the FSB issue. Once again, I kinda took a break from computer hardware for a while and I'm now just getting back into it. Thanks!

As for and OS, I plan on dual booting Vista 64bit and XP 32bit. I'd like to take advantage of 8GB of RAM. Thoughts?

engiNURD · Jan 15, 2009

I used to dual boot... now I just have one system w/ XP, and one system w/ Vista, lol. I keep XP for all my older stuff (printer, scanner, kvm, etc). If you have nothing old (including sw), vista should be all you need... until win.7 comes out.

Recording/Gaming Rig!

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