Upgrading to Q6600, please comment

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titaniumone

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Jul 11, 2007
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Hello all,

I'm upgrading my system and I'd like some feedback to make sure I'm going in the right direction. The main things I use my computer for are games, development (C and Java), and some graphic work (Photoshop and such). I do a lot of multitasking and max out my current system (both cpu and memory) very easily.

My current system:
AMD 3800X2 (socket 939)
2GB OCZ ram
8800 GTS 640mb
Antec Neo 430w PSU
Antec SX835II case (probably about 5 years old)
3x Seagate Barracuda harddrives

I'm thinking of buying the following components:
Silverstone Temjin TJ09B Black E-ATX Case
Zalman CNPS9700NT Copper CPU Heatsink 110MM Fan LGA775 AM2 S939 1250-2800RPM 19.5-35DBA Green LED
Arctic Silver 5 HIGH-DENSITY Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound 3.5 Gram
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit (x 2 of these)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R ATX LGA775 Conroe P35 DDR2 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 SATA RAID Sound GBLAN Motherboard
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120MM Cooling Fan 1200RPM 20.1DBA 49.0CFM FDB (x 3 of these)
Pioneer DVR-212D Black DVD-RW 18X6X18 DVD+RW 18X8X18 DL 10X SATA 2MB OEM DVD Burner No Software
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box

I'll be keeping my videocard (8800 GTS), PSU (Neo 430w), and harddrives for this new build, and selling all of the remaining old parts.

One thing I'm aware of is that 2x2GB is recommended over 4x1GB, but this ram is on sale (and has a MIR). It's $90 for the 4GB of Ballistix. The cheapest 2x2GB kit is G. Skill for $179. Double the price for what I consider to be a lesser brand doesn't seem like a great move to me, but I'm open to suggestions if 4x1GB is a really bad idea.

I would really like to try to get the CPU to around 3ghz if at all possible. I don't think this is a lofty goal, and I want to make sure it will perform well in games which are only single or dual core optimized. Hitting around 3ghz will make sure I'm no worse off than I would've been buying a good dual core instead of the quad core.

I'm concerned with onboard audio quality. I'm no audiophile, but I don't want scratchy sound with clicks or pops or other outright problems with quality. I especially don't want recording issues as my current board has serious problems with recording while playing back audio (eg using my mic in games).

So how does this look? Can you spot any inconsistencies with my selections or possible errors I may have made? Thanks in advance.
 
Ditch that Zalman. Go for the Tuniq Tower, Ultima90, or Ultra 120 extreme instead. The TR U120x is one of the best, but the Tuniq and Ultima 90 aren't far behind.
$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)

Don't forget a 3.5g tube of Arctic Cooling MX-2 or Arctic Silver 5, unless you have some already.

For the case fans, you could just get some $5 yate loon fans instead, which would save a lot of money. I don't consider case fans such critical components that they need to be uber reliable... just push a lot of air while being quiet, which the sleeve bearing Yate Loons do quite well. Since they're so cheap, if and when they fail, they're easily replaced.

Be sure to get the Q6600 from Clubit.com, since they guarantee the G0 stepping. It runs cooler and therefore OCs better.

I strongly suggest getting a better PSU, especially if you plan on OC'ing that Q6600. Go for at least the Corsair 520W modular PSU, made by Seasonic. Don't get it from newegg, they have it overpriced... check zipzoomfly, clubit, or buy.com instead.

The DS3R should have no problems with 4x1GB of those Ballistix. I've run both Ballistix and G.Skill NQ sticks in my system simultaneously without issues for a month. I'll be replacing the NQ sticks tonight with 2 more Ballistix, lol.

Since the DS3, onboard HD audio has significantly improved over older onboard audio solutions. I hear no clicking/popping/static with any of my newer Intel boards. Then again, I'm no audiophile either.
 
enginurd said:
Ditch that Zalman. Go for the Tuniq Tower, Ultima90, or Ultra 120 extreme instead. The TR U120x is one of the best, but the Tuniq and Ultima 90 aren't far behind.
$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)

Don't forget a 3.5g tube of Arctic Cooling MX-2 or Arctic Silver 5, unless you have some already.

For the case fans, you could just get some $5 yate loon fans instead, which would save a lot of money. I don't consider case fans such critical components that they need to be uber reliable... just push a lot of air while being quiet, which the sleeve bearing Yate Loons do quite well. Since they're so cheap, if and when they fail, they're easily replaced.

Be sure to get the Q6600 from Clubit.com, since they guarantee the G0 stepping. It runs cooler and therefore OCs better.

I strongly suggest getting a better PSU, especially if you plan on OC'ing that Q6600. Go for at least the Corsair 520W modular PSU, made by Seasonic. Don't get it from newegg, they have it overpriced... check zipzoomfly, clubit, or buy.com instead.

The DS3R should have no problems with 4x1GB of those Ballistix. I've run both Ballistix and G.Skill NQ sticks in my system simultaneously without issues for a month. I'll be replacing the NQ sticks tonight with 2 more Ballistix, lol.

Since the DS3, onboard HD audio has significantly improved over older onboard audio solutions. I hear no clicking/popping/static with any of my newer Intel boards. Then again, I'm no audiophile either.
Click to expand...

I know that the Ultra 120 and Extreme are the best heatsinks, performance-wise, but I've heard bad things about the QC (poor lapping on a lot of them, difficult to install and work with, etc), whereas I've heard nothing but good things about the Zalman, and it's about 90% of the performance of the Ultra 120(e). I don't like the Ninja much since it is so enormous and I've heard it can be a real pain in the ass to work with. I don't actually know anything about the Ultima but like I said I've heard a lot of good things about the Zalman.

For the fans, I just want powerful fans without them being obnoxious. These are very powerful for how quiet they are. On paper, they're better than the Yate Loons my store carries.

I'm Canadian, so I can't order from the store you recommended; I'll be ordering everything from Ncix.com, which has a very high volume and from their forums it seems only G0s are being shipped now.

I know the Corsair PSUs are excellent, but my modular Neo 430w ought to be enough. Using really over the top estimates on a few online calculators for all of my components I never even pass 400w (although that is close to 90% load on the powersupply when the system is at 100% load -- think that's too high?).

Good to hear about the RAM and audio. Thanks :)
 
titaniumone said:
I don't actually know anything about the Ultima but like I said I've heard a lot of good things about the Zalman.
Click to expand...

In my personal experience, the Zalman isn't worth its price. Here's a review of the Ultima90: http://anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3068

titaniumone said:
For the fans, I just want powerful fans without them being obnoxious. These are very powerful for how quiet they are. On paper, they're better than the Yate Loons my store carries.
Click to expand...

Yes, they're obviously better, but just not cost effective, IMO. However, its your money... I'm just letting you know that the Yate Loons perform similarly for a third of the cost.

titaniumone said:
I'm Canadian, so I can't order from the store you recommended; I'll be ordering everything from Ncix.com, which has a very high volume and from their forums it seems only G0s are being shipped now.
Click to expand...

Well you didn't mention that in your OP, lol. :p Nonetheless, the part names are the same.

titaniumone said:
I know the Corsair PSUs are excellent, but my modular Neo 430w ought to be enough. Using really over the top estimates on a few online calculators for all of my components I never even pass 400w (although that is close to 90% load on the powersupply when the system is at 100% load -- think that's too high?).
Click to expand...

Yah, but not much room for any additions nor a high OC. And if its old, you have to take into account capacitor aging and other stuff like that (performance drops over time). If its new, you should be set, but don't plan on adding much nor getting a high OC (especially with the Zalman, hehe).
 
enginurd said:
In my personal experience, the Zalman isn't worth its price. Here's a review of the Ultima90: http://anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3068

Yah, but not much room for any additions nor a high OC. And if its old, you have to take into account capacitor aging and other stuff like that (performance drops over time). If its new, you should be set, but don't plan on adding much nor getting a high OC (especially with the Zalman, hehe).
Click to expand...

The Zalman is really expensive ($71) but like I said it's really easy to work with. The Ultima 90, if I pricematch it, is only $38 (!) and it does perform better but from the Anandtech article you linked it's only a tiny bit better and Anandtech doesn't talk about things like installation or build quality. How are both? For example, the Ultima uses clips for the fan, and I hate those clips -- they are so rotten to work with.

The fans are only $8 each with a price match I found, so I think they're well worth it.

The PSU I guess I ought to upgrade. I think I'll go with the Corsair line since they're nice PSUs and they're built by Seasonic anyways. 520HX ($88 AR) or 620HX ($119 AR)? All my specs are above, and you know my overclocking goals, so keep that in mind, with plans to add up to 6 harddrives total in the future.
 
The Ultima90 is easier to install, imo, than the Zalman (if thats even possible). The fan clips are easy -- they're not the clip-onto-heatsink type, but rather the clip-onto-fan type... did that make any sense? If you've seen the ninja, thats a clip-onto-heatsink type, while the Ultima90 has holes on the heatsink, and you actually clip the fan instead. Even if you didn't get all that, the Ultima90 is pretty simple to install. I suggest a Panaflo Hydrowave fan, or some other FDB type of fan (fluid dynamic bearing). The build quality on the Ultima90 is very good -- and the base of mine was good -- though not as good as my ninja's. My Tuniq has the worst base, but I'm too impatient to lap it, lol.

From my calculations, the 520W should be enough. However, if you think you'd like to push the OC higher than 3Ghz and if you think future vidcard upgrades would need more power, go for the 620W -- or stick with the 430W/520W for now, and just upgrade the PSU later when you do get 3 more HDDs and a new vidcard.
 
Okay, here's my updated list. Any other comments, anyone?

Silverstone Temjin TJ09B Black E-ATX Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS
Arctic Silver 5 HIGH-DENSITY Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound 3.5 Gram
2x Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R ATX LGA775 Conroe P35 DDR2 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 SATA RAID Sound GBLAN Motherboard
Pioneer DVR-212D Black DVD-RW 18X6X18 DVD+RW 18X8X18 DL 10X SATA 2MB OEM DVD Burner No Software
Thermalright ULTIMA-90 6 Heatpipe Cooler LGA775 AM2 CPU Heatsink *Fan Not Included*
4x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120MM Cooling Fan 1600RPM 28.0DBA 63.7CFM FDB
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX Triple 12V 50A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan 2X PCI-E
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box

I'm going with the F s-flex fans since 28dba shouldn't be very loud and 64CFM is quite a bit. Would I be better off dropping down to the E fans (20dba / 49CFM)? The price is the same.
 
titaniumone said:
I'm going with the F s-flex fans since 28dba shouldn't be very loud and 64CFM is quite a bit. Would I be better off dropping down to the E fans (20dba / 49CFM)? The price is the same.
Click to expand...

If the F model is too loud for your taste, a simple volt-mod will solve your problem. Go with the F and apply a volt-mod if you find them too loud.
 
How difficult is that?

Also, anyone use WD Raptor harddrives? I'm considering buying one to use as my application drive (Windows, installed programs, games, swap file, etc). Are they even remotely worth the price ($200 for the 150GB one)? Are they obnoxiously loud or anything?
 
titaniumone said:
How difficult is that?

Also, anyone use WD Raptor harddrives? I'm considering buying one to use as my application drive (Windows, installed programs, games, swap file, etc). Are they even remotely worth the price ($200 for the 150GB one)? Are they obnoxiously loud or anything?
Click to expand...

Volt-mods are easy... it just requires a micro screwdriver or a molex pin remover. For 5v, just switch the yellow and red wires. For 7V, just switch the red and one of the black wires.

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/other/137

My raptor is as loud as my Seagate drives. Whether they're worth the price is debatable and very subjective. Personally, I don't think they're worth the price, especially for my needs (I do a lot of drive-to-drive stuff, in which case, RAID0 is a better solution for me).

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)

As you can see, the 'cuda is twice the size and half the cost, for nearly the same performance. Stick them in RAID0, and you've got an even more cost effective solution. Though, the seek time of the Raptor can't be beat. If you have cash to burn, do so on a Raptor if you really want it. Otherwise, there are better cost effective solutions.
 
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