Please advise me on my new PC

richfos

richfos

richfos

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14 Aug 2008
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7
I've spent quite a bit of time reading reviews etc and I'm planning on buying and building the following. I would very much appreciate any comments - is this a good combination and could I spend a bit more on something to get a big gain? I'm particularly unsure about the video card.

I'm not too bothered about gaming performance (although I'm sure this will perform), just all round speed. I will be using the system to run a large number of instances in dynamips (Cisco IOS emulation software) and also some VMWARE virtual machines.

Antec P182 Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Gun Metal Black)

Hiper 630W HPU-4M630 SLi Certified PSU

** Overclocked Bundle ** Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard / Intel Q6600 Quad Core @ 3.3Ghz / 2GB (2x1GB) OCZ PC-8500 RAM / Tuniq Tower CPU Cooler

OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2N1066SR2GK)

Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail

Netgear WG311 54Mbps Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter

Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ) x 2 (RAID 1)

Samsung SH-S223Q/RSMN 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Beige/Black/Silver) - Retail

Samsung SM-2493HM 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black

Logitech Z-4e 2.1 Speaker System (970175-0120)

Soundgraph iMON VFD - Black

Enermax Aurora Premium Brushed Aluminium Keyboard - Black

Logitech LX6 Cordless Optical Mouse (910-000488)

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-Bit - OEM (66I-02059)

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Dont botehr the the bundle (get them separatly) as you can get 4gig of ram for about £50ish (in 2 2gig stick form) and most Q6600's colock to that anyway...

Hiper psus get monster bad stick here, save time and i told you so's and get a better branded one (costs more but its generally worth it), i personally am a big enermax fanboy but cosair and seasonic are also every good.

Finally get vista x64, there is no reason not to as your running 4gig of ram and brand new hardware (and 32bit programmes run as well as 32bit vista on it) :)
 
As above, don't get a Hiper, it WILL blow up!

Get the one in my sig, cracking PSU and ultra quiet.

Case wise, I'd get a Cooler Master HAF 932, they're due for sale imminently, but I know cases are a subjective thing and it may not be what you want.

Get 4GB of ram, and if you're not planning to run above 400Mhz FSB, not worth paying extra for 8500.

Another vote for Vista 64 if you're going for that OS.
 
Thanks for your help. I had considered getting the motherboard, processor, etc separately, so I will do that.

A few people suggested that I may have driver issues with 64 bit Vista, also am I likely to get any issues with buying different memory?
 
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Ok, based on what your suggestions I have separated the bundle and got a different power supply:

- Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
- Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- Tuniq Tower 120-LFB CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775)
- Coolermaster Real Power 520w Modular Power Supply


I've been looking at this motherboard forum to find out what memory is compatible with the Abit board. There are so many options I'm a bit lost, do I need to get the OCZ memory in order for the overclocking to work in the OcUK guide? I will go for 2x2gb but am also not sure what relevance the FSB speed has with the memory I should get. There is not an OCZ 2gb DIMM with the same specs as the 1gb one in the bundle?

Please make a recommendation on the memory to get, and is there a brand I should go for or avoid? Thanks again for your help.
 
Asus P45 boards are getting some good press round here too. Personally i would get a Corsair PSU but thats just my personal preference.
 
Ok, the P5Q is still in my price range. Is it best to go down this route or continue with the Abit motherboard and the overclocking?

How easy is it to overclock the P5Q in comparison to the Abit and do I need to take anything into consideration with memory etc...

Thanks.
 
The P5Q/Pro/Deluxe appear to be good overclockers too, main benefit is the PCI 2.0 which future proofs it somewhat. Memory choice will be pretty much the same tbh
 
Ok my final question - then I'll shut up!

I'm going to stick with the Abit board as I don't need PCI 2.0 and I'm not really going to use it for games.

GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (or the Cas4 kits)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-6400C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2
Click to expand...

So I'm going to buy the OcUK kit components separately. If I deviate from their recommended OCZ 8500 memory and buy one of the 6400's above will this affect the way I can overclock the machine? Did they not specify the OCZ 8500 in order to be able to overclock it?

Basically am I likely to experience any problems for a small saving?

Thanks for all your help!
 
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