Thoughts on possible Intel quad core build

[xpronic]

I gave my old system to my parents last month:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@ 2.6 GHz)
ThermalRight SI-120
Panaflo FBA12G12L1A 120mm
Corsair TWINX2048 - 3200C2PRO
Maxtor 200GB Diamondmax Plus 10
XFX 256MB 7900GS XXX
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Music​

Pretty solid system, but I recently got a bonus at work to add to my savings for a new PC build, so I wasn't at all too fussed about giving my parents the PC, since they did help me with my new car haha!

Anywho, I've been reading lots of reviews and forum topics about the parts I've listed below from this site, Hexus, Bit-Tech, AnandTech, and Custom PC so I believe the parts should all be up to scratch.


The Parts

• Case: Antec P182
  I had the P180 in my old system, so I thought I'd upgrade to the new one since the old one was superb.
• PSU: 620W Corsair HX
  Apparently they are Seasonic PSU's but with Corsair branding, and everyone seems to rate them very highly. Had a Seasonic in the old rig, and that never failed me.
  This PSU is also modular, so that's another bonus.
• MOBO: Asus P5K Deluxe/WIFI-AP
  Has very good features and an excellent overclocker according to various web reviews and from people who are currently using it to gain high overclocks.
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 G0 SLACR
  I would have gone with a dual core processor again, but with the price difference so minimal, it's a no brainer to pay £30 more for two extra cores!
• HS: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
  No brainer.
• HSF: Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Fan (1600 RPM, SFF21F)
  No brainer.
• RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2 PC2-6400
  I would have gone with a Corsair XMS 2 PC6400 RAM of some sort, but I've been reading that the Ballistix seems to help gain a high overclock.
• GPU: XFX GeForce 8800GTX 768MB DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI XT ED
  XFX always delivers in the graphics card department, and it's either this or the BFG 8800 GTX OC2.
• HDD: Samsung 500 Gb HD501LJ Spinpoint T166 - x2
  I was originally thinking of the 150GB Raptor (OS) with a Scythe hdd stabiliser and a single 500GB drive (Storage), but the price of the 150GB Raptor is just not worth it atm.
• DVD-RW: Lite-ON LH-20A1S-11C
  Apparently the fastest DVD-RW drive in the world. Yes, it's on my list for that reason alone lol!
• Sound: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
  I might swap the above with the Asus Xonar D2, but reviews for that card haven't set the world alight.

Parts that I've kept from my old system are: 24" Dell 2407WFP, Logitech DiNovo Edge cordless keyboard, Logitech MX Revolution cordless laser mouse, Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150MCE, and Logitech Z-5500 digital 5.1 speakers.

The new build will mainly be used for gaming and video encoding (Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier, After Effects). I do plan to overclock the CPU, and I'm looking at reaching 3-3.4GHz. Although I'd settle for a nice stable 3GHz overclock.


So with all that said, do you have any suggestions on what to change/remove, or am I good to go?

 

[Dangman]

Ditch the Asus mobo. The Q6600 can't really OC that high to begin with so it's a bit of a waste to go with it. At most you'll hit 3.6Ghz with extremely good air cooling. Also, you'll get better wifi performance if you go with an add-on wifi card. The Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R is a good choice or the Abit IP35 Pro for more OCing performance.

Other than that, good choices.

 

[engiNURD]

I agree, ditch the P5K Deluxe. If you still want Asus, the P5K-E is very similar, but much cheaper. I'd still suggest the two boards Danny mentioned instead of Asus. I, personally, went with the DS3R, since it fit my needs. Everyone is loving the IP35 Pro, though.

Take the money saved from the mobo, and apply it to an 8800Ultra, which shouldn't be much more than the GTX. It'll help when gaming on a 24" LCD at native res, lol. Plus, it can OC better than the GTX.

The P180 series has been updated to match the P182. The only difference is the finish, now. So, I'd go for the P180B if you can find it significantly cheaper than the P182.

If you're goin with Vista, the X-Fi should be left out. Look into the X-Meridian for better driver support in Vista.

If you were still looking for near raptor-like performance, but a more cost effective solution, go with a RAID0 array. These prices are in USD, but you can still get my point:

78MB/s: WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB, $160AR
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB, $80
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3300620AS 300GB, $60
52MB/s: WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB, $70

112MB/s: RAID0 'cuda's, 600GB total, $120 (ICH9R on P35-DS3R)

If you want fast sustained transfer speeds, a RAID0 array is your best cost effective solution if 65MB/s isn't enough for you. The 500GB Samsung you chose should be on par with such performance (65 MB/s).

 

[michaLcoughliN]

I gave my old system to my parents last month:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@ 2.6 GHz)
ThermalRight SI-120
Panaflo FBA12G12L1A 120mm
Corsair TWINX2048 - 3200C2PRO
Maxtor 200GB Diamondmax Plus 10
XFX 256MB 7900GS XXX
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Music​

Pretty solid system, but I recently got a bonus at work to add to my savings for a new PC build, so I wasn't at all too fussed about giving my parents the PC, since they did help me with my new car haha!

Anywho, I've been reading lots of reviews and forum topics about the parts I've listed below from this site, Hexus, Bit-Tech, AnandTech, and Custom PC so I believe the parts should all be up to scratch.


The Parts

• Case: Antec P182
  I had the P180 in my old system, so I thought I'd upgrade to the new one since the old one was superb.
• PSU: 620W Corsair HX
  Apparently they are Seasonic PSU's but with Corsair branding, and everyone seems to rate them very highly. Had a Seasonic in the old rig, and that never failed me.
  This PSU is also modular, so that's another bonus.
• MOBO: Asus P5K Deluxe/WIFI-AP
  Has very good features and an excellent overclocker according to various web reviews and from people who are currently using it to gain high overclocks.
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 G0 SLACR
  I would have gone with a dual core processor again, but with the price difference so minimal, it's a no brainer to pay £30 more for two extra cores!
• HS: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
  No brainer.
• HSF: Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Fan (1600 RPM, SFF21F)
  No brainer.
• RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2 PC2-6400
  I would have gone with a Corsair XMS 2 PC6400 RAM of some sort, but I've been reading that the Ballistix seems to help gain a high overclock.
• GPU: XFX GeForce 8800GTX 768MB DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI XT ED
  XFX always delivers in the graphics card department, and it's either this or the BFG 8800 GTX OC2.
• HDD: Samsung 500 Gb HD501LJ Spinpoint T166 - x2
  I was originally thinking of the 150GB Raptor (OS) with a Scythe hdd stabiliser and a single 500GB drive (Storage), but the price of the 150GB Raptor is just not worth it atm.
• DVD-RW: Lite-ON LH-20A1S-11C
  Apparently the fastest DVD-RW drive in the world. Yes, it's on my list for that reason alone lol!
• Sound: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
  I might swap the above with the Asus Xonar D2, but reviews for that card haven't set the world alight.

Parts that I've kept from my old system are: 24" Dell 2407WFP, Logitech DiNovo Edge cordless keyboard, Logitech MX Revolution cordless laser mouse, Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150MCE, and Logitech Z-5500 digital 5.1 speakers.

The new build will mainly be used for gaming and video encoding (Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier, After Effects). I do plan to overclock the CPU, and I'm looking at reaching 3-3.4GHz. Although I'd settle for a nice stable 3GHz overclock.


So with all that said, do you have any suggestions on what to change/remove, or am I good to go?

Ide say you've made a good decision. I'de say what you have here is going to be a sweet rig. Obviously there's going to be so many other opinions, but I believe you built a good machine on your own

 

[st4rk]

I gave my old system to my parents last month:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@ 2.6 GHz)
ThermalRight SI-120
Panaflo FBA12G12L1A 120mm
Corsair TWINX2048 - 3200C2PRO
Maxtor 200GB Diamondmax Plus 10
XFX 256MB 7900GS XXX
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Music​

Pretty solid system, but I recently got a bonus at work to add to my savings for a new PC build, so I wasn't at all too fussed about giving my parents the PC, since they did help me with my new car haha!

Anywho, I've been reading lots of reviews and forum topics about the parts I've listed below from this site, Hexus, Bit-Tech, AnandTech, and Custom PC so I believe the parts should all be up to scratch.


The Parts

• Case: Antec P182
  I had the P180 in my old system, so I thought I'd upgrade to the new one since the old one was superb.
• PSU: 620W Corsair HX
  Apparently they are Seasonic PSU's but with Corsair branding, and everyone seems to rate them very highly. Had a Seasonic in the old rig, and that never failed me.
  This PSU is also modular, so that's another bonus.
• MOBO: Asus P5K Deluxe/WIFI-AP
  Has very good features and an excellent overclocker according to various web reviews and from people who are currently using it to gain high overclocks.
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 G0 SLACR
  I would have gone with a dual core processor again, but with the price difference so minimal, it's a no brainer to pay £30 more for two extra cores!
• HS: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
  No brainer.
• HSF: Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Fan (1600 RPM, SFF21F)
  No brainer.
• RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2 PC2-6400
  I would have gone with a Corsair XMS 2 PC6400 RAM of some sort, but I've been reading that the Ballistix seems to help gain a high overclock.
• GPU: XFX GeForce 8800GTX 768MB DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI XT ED
  XFX always delivers in the graphics card department, and it's either this or the BFG 8800 GTX OC2.
• HDD: Samsung 500 Gb HD501LJ Spinpoint T166 - x2
  I was originally thinking of the 150GB Raptor (OS) with a Scythe hdd stabiliser and a single 500GB drive (Storage), but the price of the 150GB Raptor is just not worth it atm.
• DVD-RW: Lite-ON LH-20A1S-11C
  Apparently the fastest DVD-RW drive in the world. Yes, it's on my list for that reason alone lol!
• Sound: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
  I might swap the above with the Asus Xonar D2, but reviews for that card haven't set the world alight.

Parts that I've kept from my old system are: 24" Dell 2407WFP, Logitech DiNovo Edge cordless keyboard, Logitech MX Revolution cordless laser mouse, Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150MCE, and Logitech Z-5500 digital 5.1 speakers.

The new build will mainly be used for gaming and video encoding (Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier, After Effects). I do plan to overclock the CPU, and I'm looking at reaching 3-3.4GHz. Although I'd settle for a nice stable 3GHz overclock.


So with all that said, do you have any suggestions on what to change/remove, or am I good to go?

Your rig is extremely similiar to mine, you'll love it.

 

[frogger42]

I agree, ditch the P5K Deluxe. If you still want Asus, the P5K-E is very similar, but much cheaper. I'd still suggest the two boards Danny mentioned instead of Asus. I, personally, went with the DS3R, since it fit my needs. Everyone is loving the IP35 Pro, though.

Take the money saved from the mobo, and apply it to an 8800Ultra, which shouldn't be much more than the GTX. It'll help when gaming on a 24" LCD at native res, lol. Plus, it can OC better than the GTX.

The P180 series has been updated to match the P182. The only difference is the finish, now. So, I'd go for the P180B if you can find it significantly cheaper than the P182.

If you're goin with Vista, the X-Fi should be left out. Look into the X-Meridian for better driver support in Vista.

If you were still looking for near raptor-like performance, but a more cost effective solution, go with a RAID0 array. These prices are in USD, but you can still get my point:

78MB/s: WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB, $160AR
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB, $80
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3300620AS 300GB, $60
52MB/s: WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB, $70

112MB/s: RAID0 'cuda's, 600GB total, $120 (ICH9R on P35-DS3R)

If you want fast sustained transfer speeds, a RAID0 array is your best cost effective solution if 65MB/s isn't enough for you. The 500GB Samsung you chose should be on par with such performance (65 MB/s).

Yeah... what he said. I agree 100%.

 

[Markyip1]

I agree that you've done most of the work quite well. It'll be a great rig. Just swap out the Deluxe WiFi moBo for an ABIT IP35 Pro or Gigabyte DS3 or P5K-E (if you need need need ASUS) as Danny Bui and Enginurd have suggested.

Mark.

 

[xpronic]

Ditch the Asus mobo. The Q6600 can't really OC that high to begin with so it's a bit of a waste to go with it. At most you'll hit 3.6Ghz with extremely good air cooling.

That's why I went with the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme heat sink lol. On second thoughts though, I don't really need the wifi, since I have a wireless router.

Also, you'll get better wifi performance if you go with an add-on wifi card. The Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R is a good choice or the Abit IP35 Pro for more OCing performance.

Other than that, good choices.

Do you think I'll be able to hit 3.6GHz with the Abit mobo and the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme?

Take the money saved from the mobo, and apply it to an 8800Ultra, which shouldn't be much more than the GTX. It'll help when gaming on a 24" LCD at native res, lol. Plus, it can OC better than the GTX.

There isn't that much to be saved from switching to the Abit IP35 Pro (£10 tops), and the Gigabyte mobo lacks eSATA, so I won't be getting that.
The card I listed above is pretty close to 8800 Ultra speeds, but I guess for £40 more, the MSI GeForce 8800 ultra 768MB isn't that much of a premium to pay for a better card and higher overclock. I did lol at some of the prices of the other 8800 Ultra cards though. £480 for the top of the line XFX 8800 Ultra card is just verging on the ridiculous!

The P180 series has been updated to match the P182. The only difference is the finish, now. So, I'd go for the P180B if you can find it significantly cheaper than the P182.

It's actually £2-3 more expensive than the P182!?

If you're goin with Vista, the X-Fi should be left out. Look into the X-Meridian for better driver support in Vista.

I've read about the driver problems, but they have released some drivers to solve the sound problems with new ALchemy & X-Fi Vista drivers.

If you were still looking for near raptor-like performance, but a more cost effective solution, go with a RAID0 array. These prices are in USD, but you can still get my point:

78MB/s: WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB, $160AR
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB, $80
65MB/s: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3300620AS 300GB, $60
52MB/s: WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB, $70

112MB/s: RAID0 'cuda's, 600GB total, $120 (ICH9R on P35-DS3R)

If you want fast sustained transfer speeds, a RAID0 array is your best cost effective solution if 65MB/s isn't enough for you. The 500GB Samsung you chose should be on par with such performance (65 MB/s).

I think I'll stick with the Samsung drive I've picked. Don't really like the fact that the fault tolerance of a Raid0 configuration is low. I'll just partition one of the drives to 1/5 of it's capacity and load the the OS there. The other partition will be used for storage along with the other drive.

 

[engiNURD]

Do you think I'll be able to hit 3.6GHz with the Abit mobo and the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme?

Definately.

There isn't that much to be saved from switching to the Abit IP35 Pro (£10 tops), and the Gigabyte mobo lacks eSATA, so I won't be getting that.

Well, if there isn't much to be saved, then go with whichever you like. Check the mobo forums, though. I've read there are a lot of problems with the Asus boards, and Asus support is subpar these days.

FYI, the DS3R comes with 2 eSATA ports on a PCI bracket, along with 8 SATA ports. So, you can essentially convert 2 of them into eSATA, right out of the box.

It's actually £2-3 more expensive than the P182!?

Really? Thats it? That sux, lol. Here in the states its $30USD difference before rebate: $160 vs $130. However, there's usually a sale and rebate for the P180B, making it $70AR.

Don't really like the fact that the fault tolerance of a Raid0 configuration is low.

Yah, I was worried about that, too. So, I just backed up all the important stuff onto my external drive. However, I've only had a RAID0 array fail on me once in the last 5 years ( :::knocks on wood::: ).

 

[troisanh]

ip35 pro as others have stated.

 

[xpronic]

Well, if there isn't much to be saved, then go with whichever you like. Check the mobo forums, though. I've read there are a lot of problems with the Asus boards, and Asus support is subpar these days.

I will go with the P5K-E since it's even cheaper than the IP35 Pro, and the money saved from that has been put towards a 8800 Ultra. If I have a problem with the board, I can always send it back to Scan who are top notch e-tailers. Their RMA service is one of the best in the UK.

FYI, the DS3R comes with 2 eSATA ports on a PCI bracket, along with 8 SATA ports. So, you can essentially convert 2 of them into eSATA, right out of the box.

Would I be able to fix the eSATA PCI bracket, sound card, TV card, and 8800 Ultra graphics card onto that mobo without things getting too crowded? I ask this, because my Western Digital My Book has the eSATA connection as well as USB 2.0, and I want to make use of the eSATA connection.

Yah, I was worried about that, too. So, I just backed up all the important stuff onto my external drive. However, I've only had a RAID0 array fail on me once in the last 5 years ( :::knocks on wood::: ).

Hmmm, 5 years eh? Out of these two drives, which one would you recommend for a RAID0 array:

Samsung 320 Gb HD320KJ Spinpoint T166 = 640 GB
or
Samsung 160 GB HD160JJ Spinpoint P80SD = 320 GB​

That will bring me to 4 hard drives. 2 set up for Raid0 to accompany the single Samsung 500 GB HD501LJ Spinpoint T166, and the Western Digital My Book 500GB Premium ES Edition external hard drive.

Funny thing is that I can get 3 320 GB drives for the price of 1 150 GB Raptor X. :|

 

[engiNURD]

For a RAID0 array, I'd use the 160GB drives. Yah, raptors are pricey, but they can't be beat when it comes to seek time.

The expansion card ordering on the P35-DS3R is:
PCI-E 1x
PCI-E 16x
PCI-E 1x
PCI-E 1x
PCI
PCI
PCI

So... The Ultra would take up PCI-E 16x along with the next PCI-E 1x. That leaves the top and bottom PCI-E 1x slots available. I assume your TV card and sound card are both PCI, so they'd take 2 out of the 3 lowest slots. So, your e-SATA bracket would have to kill one of the 2 remaining pci-e 1x slots.

The P5K-E is a good choice.

 

[echn111]

That's actually quite a good list of parts. You've done your research well. Main thing I'd add would be to go Vista-64 and get 4 Gigs RAM.

If you can get an Ultra for £40-$50 more than a GTX, that's fine. But any more and the Ultra isn't worth it as it's essentially just a 8800GTX with slightly better memory. A user overclocked GTX will normally be faster than a factory overclocked Ultra for a lot less.

You may want to consider the Auzentech Prelude soundcard when it comes out in a week or so as it should be a superior version of the X-Fi card. (and yes, Vista X-Fi issues are largely resolved).

 

[engiNURD]

I agree, don't pay too much for the Ultra. Keep in mind its a revised core, so it OCs better since it runs cooler.

 

[xpronic]

For a RAID0 array, I'd use the 160GB drives. Yah, raptors are pricey, but they can't be beat when it comes to seek time.

Thought so. Thanks for putting me in the right direction. Just one more question about Raid, I heard that you need to have a floppy drive installed to setup a Raid array whilst you're installing Windows...is this true? If it is, it's no problem since I have one of those 7 in 1 drives that include a floppy drive lying around somewhere.

That's actually quite a good list of parts. You've done your research well. Main thing I'd add would be to go Vista-64 and get 4 Gigs RAM.

If I go with Vista 64, will I still be able to run my 32 bit applications/games on it without any problems, or will I have to buy 64 bit versions of the same applications/games again? I've had a look at the 4 GB kits available, and my budget can only stretch to these two kits:

OCZ 2x2 GB PC2-6400 Gold Gamer eXtreme XTC Edition
&
Corsair 1x4 GB PC2-6400 QuadX XMS2​

If you can get an Ultra for £40-$50 more than a GTX, that's fine. But any more and the Ultra isn't worth it as it's essentially just a 8800GTX with slightly better memory. A user overclocked GTX will normally be faster than a factory overclocked Ultra for a lot less.

It's only £30 more, and with the money saved by going with the cheaper P5K-E, it's only costs £2 more!
Only problem I see with the MSI 8800 Ultra I've picked, is that I don't know how far they can be pushed with a manual overclock. I've always bought XFX graphics cards, and been able to overclock it further easily lol.

You may want to consider the Auzentech Prelude soundcard when it comes out in a week or so as it should be a superior version of the X-Fi card. (and yes, Vista X-Fi issues are largely resolved).

It all boils down to its EAX capabilities tbh. If it isn't up to scratch, then I'm sticking with the X-Fi. That's the only reason I'm not getting the Asus Xonar D2. That card matches the top X-Fi card everywhere, but kinda loses out when it comes to EAX in games. Shame, because it looks brilliant with the different coloured backlit connectors.

I agree, don't pay too much for the Ultra. Keep in mind its a revised core, so it OCs better since it runs cooler.

Moving to the P5K-E mobo practically paved way for the 8800 Ultra. £2 price difference!

 

[echn111]

Vista-64 will run both 32 and 64 bit apps. One of it's advantages is that it can handle 4Gigs+ of memory.

The Auzentech Prelude handles the very latest EAX. It should as it is built around the x-fi chip.

 

[xpronic]

Vista-64 will run both 32 and 64 bit apps. One of it's advantages is that it can handle 4Gigs+ of memory.

Well that's settled then. Also which of the two 4 GB kits should I go with? The 2x2 GB OCZ or the 4x1 Corsair. Logic would tell me to go with the 2x2 GB OCZ....

The Auzentech Prelude handles the very latest EAX. It should as it is built around the x-fi chip.

That card is £30 more than X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro going at £120! I don't see the point in spending extra on it tbh, with the PCI-E versions of the X-Fi cards on the horizon which will further drive down the price of the current PCI X-Fi cards.

 

[engiNURD]

I've always used a floppy drive for XP installations with a RAID array, but I've heard other people use memory sticks. I'm not sure about Vista, though.

 

[xpronic]

OK. Thanks for all the extra info and tips everyone.

I'll be ordering the revised parts of my new PC over the weekend. Got Vista 64 today at a cheaper price by buying it through the company I work at. Almost 40% off.

Shame I can only order software through them.