Thoughts on a new rig

A

atamdr

n00b
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Jan 15, 2008
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So far, I have bought:

Corsair HX520

Cooler Master RC690

And what I'm planning to buy:

Gigabyte P35 DS3L + Q6600 g0 stepping

G.Skill 4gb ram

500GB Seagate 7200.11 HD

And either an 8800GT or an 8800GTS.

Either:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150261

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143119

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122045

Or save the money and get an 8800GT for around 230-240.

If I were to get the GTS, which one of these three would you recommend? Why?

The build I have here is pretty much at my budget, so if anyone can recommend a different build, I'm all ears (or eyes). I plan on gaming, watching movies, etc and don't want to upgrade anything for atleast 2 years, preferrably more. Although I'm not going to overclock initially, I'll probably end up overclocking when I feel like the system is bogging alittle, so I'd like there to be room for this.

Thanks,
atamdr
 
I'd go with the XFX due to the $10 saving as the cards themselves are identical so there is nothing wrong with picking the cheapest.

I myself have been out of the loop for quite some time so I'm in no position to advise you on any of the other details but anyways gl with the build.
 
all looks good. get the cheaper video card. a little overclock to gts will make the gts perform like the gtx. need the extra frames per second? gt is smaller while gts is bigger. gts or gt. that's really up to you.
 
Cheaper RAM can be had a Frys atm. A Corsair 4 gig set with similar timings has been on sale for $60-$70 for a while now, and there's currently an OCZ set for $55.
 
Markyip1 said:
Cheaper RAM can be had a Frys atm. A Corsair 4 gig set with similar timings has been on sale for $60-$70 for a while now, and there's currently an OCZ set for $55.
Click to expand...

I bought the OCZ set, thanks.

Hopefully they can overclock enough to reach the q6600's max on stock cooling.
 
Another question: Will I need a floppy drive? Or will I be able to do all driver/bios updates for the components I have listed through USB/CD/Windows? (particularly the motherboard)
 
atamdr said:
I bought the OCZ set, thanks.

Hopefully they can overclock enough to reach the q6600's max on stock cooling.
Click to expand...

Hehe, don't worry. The Q6600 will likely reach it's max on stock cooling before those sticks even reach their stock speed.

PC-6400 RAM runs at 800mhz, which calls for a 400mhz base FSB. Assuming you don't drop the multiplier (which really doesn't help you on an Intel setup, except when dealing with FSB holes,) and assuming you run RAM at 1:1 (again, anything else doesn't really give you added performance on an Intel setup,) then a 400mhz FSB will net you a 3.6ghz Q6600. Unless you have a golden G0 Q6600, the heat produced by 3.6ghz (and the voltage required to keep the proc stable at that speed) will be a good bit too much for stock cooling to handle.
 
You don't need a floppy drive. If you need to add specific drivers to you Windows CD, you can create a slipstream setup to a burned disk and go from there.
 
Thanks, so bios updates for the gigabyte motherboard listed can be done through windows?

Also, if I were to order an OEM version of the CPU, which air cooling should I go with? I'd like to keep noise level low as I will be watching movies on this system as well.

And on that note, I've been reading that the Seagate 7200.11 drivers are pretty loud, can anyone with the drive comment on this? Are there any other hard drivers I should look at?
 
Many motherboards offer tools to update the BIOS through Windows, but I've always been more comfortable running the update from a bootable disk. There is no reason why you can't burn a CD-R with a BIOS update. You still don't need a floppy disk.

My area of expertise on heat sinks at the moment is on the high end, geared towards OC side. Someone else should be able to recommend something quiet.
 
A little price...will I be able to easily remove the retail heatsink on the Q6600 if I want to change the cooling later?
 
You absolutely can remove the stock cooler later on. I just clean any excess thermal paste off the chip.

You're also correct that it can be pricey taking a good step up from the stock cooler.
 
The Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme is currently the best of the best as far as heat sinks go. The only thing that will cool a processor more effectively is a good water setup or an extreme cooling solution. That's why the TRUE is so expensive. The Ultima 90 is a step down as it's a bit smaller.

As far as noise goes, one compelling argument for getting a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme is that you can use it passively (re: without a fan) as long as you don't plan to overclock. Should your plans change later on, you can go from a silent cpu to an OC beast by just tacking on a $20 S-Flex fan or even a $5 Yate Loon.
 
atamdr said:
A little price...will I be able to easily remove the retail heatsink on the Q6600 if I want to change the cooling later?
Click to expand...

It will be easy to remove once you get the motherboard out of its case. :p Most quiet coolers will require backplates, since they achieve silence by using 120mm fans and large heatsinks w/ heatpipes. The large heatsinks are heavy, and therefore need a backplate. So, if you don't mind removing the motherboard later, then yes, its easy. If you'd rather not disassemble most of your computer just to put on a cooler, then get it from the start.

$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B CPU HSF (optional $7 Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit; recommended if using w/ quadcore)
$45 - Tuniq Tower 120 CPU HSF
$46 - Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU HS + FBA09A12M - Z ($3)
$55 - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU HS + Scythe S-Flex Fan SFF21E ($15)

The TR LGA775 Bolt Thru kit can be used with any LGA775 cooler that has the standard Intel-like push-pin mounting design.

I don't recommend a fanless solution. At the very least, use a super low RPM fan, instead. The Ninja is best for fanless because of its widely spaced fins. The Tuniq's stock fan is loud, but comes with a fan controller. The Thermalright heatsinks give you the freedom to choose any fan you want. As far as performance goes, these all perform similarly. I recommend the TR Ultima90 because its so easy to install, its much lighter and smaller than the others, and performs just as well as the others.

atamdr said:
...
Also, if I were to order an OEM version of the CPU, which air cooling should I go with?
...
Are there any other hard drivers I should look at?
Click to expand...

If you go with an OEM version of the CPU, it will only have a 90-day warranty. Whereas if you go with the full retail box, you get a full 3-yr warranty. So, I recommend getting the retail box.

Samsung HDDs are the quietest. WD drives are also quiet. I'd skip Seagate if you want quiet.
 
One word of caution from someone who just recently removed the Tuniq Tower backplate: it is very, very difficult to do, especially without some heating apparatus (re: blow-dryer) near by. If the motherboard it was on wasn't already dead, I would have been very worried about causing permanent damage.
 
Markyip1 said:
One word of caution from someone who just recently removed the Tuniq Tower backplate: it is very, very difficult to do, especially without some heating apparatus (re: blow-dryer) near by. If the motherboard it was on wasn't already dead, I would have been very worried about causing permanent damage.
Click to expand...

I would assume the "foam" material between the backplate and the motherboard would tear before any damage to the motherboard would occur... though, I could be wrong. I never exposed the sticky part of the foam on my Tuniq's backplate, lol. Needless to say, I've yet to uninstall a backplate, but yes, a blow dryer or heat gun should be used.
 
Thanks again for all of the replies.

I think I'll stick to stock cooling for now as I doubt i'd do any real overclocking for a while. I'm a pretty basic user, and just game whenever I have time, and would like to do so at the 1080p resolution. Once that starts bogging, then I'll start looking seriously at overclocking (I don't mind playing without AA, etc either, so hopefully I'll be able to do so for atleast a year or two with my setup.) I'd also like to have the 3 year warranty, and I'm already a couple hundred over budget so I'll just have to make do with the stock cooling for now. And to think I started out wanting a normal system with an 8500 or 8600gt, average c2d cpu, etc.

As for hard drives, which one would would be better:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052

My priorities would be:
1. reliability
2. quietness
3. performance

Or if anyone has one that I haven't listed
 
Samsungs are more quiet than WD's, IMO. WD's are more reliable than Samsungs, and Seagates are more reliable than WDs... IMO. BTW, the WD5000AAKS is on sale at Fry's, $90 in-store.
 
Imo you should wait , i know i am :) , My Friend purchased a Q6700 and gave me his E6600 to borrow , so im just gonna use that and wait it out.

Also The Seagate 7200.11 HD , is incredibly loud, i bought 2 , wish i didn't , i have the WD 500 drive also and thats way way quieter , i couldn't stand the noise of the Seagate so i sold both. It was making my whole case vibrate when i was encoding home videos and transfering files between the 2 drives.

Stick with the Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS or the SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB.

Also if im not mistaken the Seagate has firmware issues.
 
xglarmy said:
Imo you should wait , i know i am :) , My Friend purchased a Q6700 and gave me his E6600 to borrow , so im just gonna use that and wait it out.

Also The Seagate 7200.11 HD , is incredibly loud, i bought 2 , wish i didn't , i have the WD 500 drive also and thats way way quieter , i couldn't stand the noise of the Seagate so i sold both. It was making my whole case vibrate when i was encoding home videos and transfering files between the 2 drives.

Stick with the Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS or the SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB.

Also if im not mistaken the Seagate has firmware issues.
Click to expand...

The 7200.11 firmware issues are easy to solve, as long as you grab the correct firmware drivers from Seagate. As for HD noise, it's very subjective; I know people who believe that the 7200.11 is quieter than the 7200.10.
 
atamdr said:
Okay I just stumbled upon this, and now I'm thinking if I should cancel my Q6600 order and wait it out....

http://www.tankguys.com/product_info.php?products_id=1791

What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

That really depends on whether or not you plan to overclock. The Q9450 has a lower multiplier than the Q6600, which means that despite the chip running cooler than the Q6600, it will be a good deal harder to overclock to high speeds. For example, a Q6600 can reach 3.6ghz with a 400mhz FSB--achievable on many if not all good motherboards. However, that same 3.6ghz OC on the Q9450 needs a 450mhz FSB, which is right at the max of the best motherboards. If you ever decide to go all out and try for 3.6+-4ghz OC, you will likely need a Q6600 G0. The Q9450 will in almost all cases top out at 3.6ghz. Anything higher will be very difficult to achieve. It's really a shame, because all things being equal, the chip itself is capable of a 4-4.5ghz OC rather easily. However, the lower multiplier turns the motherboard into a roadblock, and people who want a 4-4.5ghz OC on a Penryn / Yorkfield quad will need to shell out for the $1000 extreme chip.

The benefits of the chip, assuming you don't OC or OC much, is that it runs cooler and uses less power. Also, it's been reported that due to architectural tweaks, the Q9450 will run about 5-10% faster than a Q6600 at the same clock speed. However, given that the chip isn't due out for another couple of months, and that when it does come out it will be $100 more than the Q6600, is it really worth waiting?
 
There was a "Showstopper" bug (Intel's words) that caused the quad cores to be pushed back to an ambiguous "Q1 2008." Most people are expecting late February or March.
 
Another question: Would I need a sound card, or will the onboard audio be enough?

I'm going to be watching movies and playing games on this machine, and I have the logitech z5500 speakers, and would like to get the most use out of them.
 
Try the onboard HD audio first. If you don't like it, buy a soundcard. Don't buy it if you don't need it, though.
 
Agreed. There's no reason to buy if you find yourself happy with on board sound. Given that, a Creative or Auzentech X-Fi will probably produce better results with high end speakers, especially if they are set up in a surround sound configuration.

Note that X-Fi drivers and Vista haven't gotten along for a very long time, but things are significantly better now with drivers released this last fall. Nevertheless, an X-Fi may likely be put to better use under XP, which has better support for hardware sound generation. Furthermore, Microsoft eliminated the APIs in Direct X 10 necessary to enable hardware based sound enhancement, i.e. EAX. Creative has released a program for Vista called Alchemy AL. This is an emulator which converts EAX code to Open AL code, which is still supported. Note that while this work very well for most games, it's not as trouble-free as EAX via Direct X as in the old days.
 
I'm going to have a proper surround setup. I remember reading that with directx 10.1, games will be able to have true 5.1 surround. Will the sound card have to be able to support this, or will current sound cards work?
 
Most motherboards nowadays have onboard 5.1 surround sound, so take everyone else's advice and try the onboard sound first. (If you choose Vista, then you may be better off that way.)
 
Well...got the PC built! Everything seems to be working fine, love the speed, games look awesome, movies look awesome.

Now time to get a little out of this g0 chip.

I'm a complete n00b to overclocking, I'm running stock cooling, but my place is well air conditions, and from what I've read, the q6600 can handle nice overclocks on even stock cooling.

Are there any guides I can read to walk me through the process?

I also have the BFG 8800gts that seems to be factory overclocked, would I be able to push that as well?

TIA
 
You can't go too far on stock cooling with a Q6600, IMO. Anyhow, head over to the Overclocking subforum and there's a sticky at the top of the thread listings on how to OC a Core2 chip.
http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2

No pics of the build?!?! :(

Yah, you could push the BFG further if you wanted. Make sure it stays cool enough, though. Try RivaTuner from guru3d.com.
 
Great

All I have with me is my crappy phone cam.....but...here are some quick snapshots..

Haven't had a chance to set up the 5.1 yet...and yes, very messy desk, and a book/pamphlet as my mouse pad.

img294pb0.jpg


img296bu5.jpg
 
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