Another New Build Thread: E6600

Mark228

Mark228

Mark228

Associate
Joined
13 Feb 2007
Posts
130
Location
Costa Del Sol
Hi folks this is my first post and I need some of your expert advice on a build I am planning. I've only ever really upgraded twice (some time ago now) and am a little overwhelmed at all the choices that are out there now! I was going to stick with AMD but after spending hours reading on here I think I will probably go with the following:

CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

Motherboard: I have seen good comments about the P5B Deluxe but am looking at the Abit AW9D-MAX Intel 975X (Socket 775) if anyone has any comments on that?

RAM: Seen the bad comments on the GeIL but it's tempting at the special offer this week on the 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C5 800MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit? Or there's also an offer on the Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) too?

HDD: Haven't really found anything yet (been on here hours reading) but has to be fast, cool and QUIET.

VIDEO: ATI Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ 3 TURBO SILENT Heatpipe 256MB? (I don't play that many games but may be interested in trying "World of Warcraft" online etc or some games in future - I have a Radeon 9250 128mb atm in this pc).

Cooler: Arctic Freezer 7 pro?

Case: Can't decide, am currently looking at: NZXT Lexa Classic: Arctic Cooling T1 Pro (I want dust filters and quietness).

Soundcard: X-fi Xtreme Gamer retail (on offer atm)? Or the X-fi Xtreme music OEM?

PSU: (If I get a case without one) Akasa Ultra quiet 500W Paxpower.

I also want a WiFi router/firewall.... ideas?

I have up to around £1200+ as a budget (but would like to pay less if I can obviously lol) and I mainly want a really QUIET PC as this old thing I'm on right now is just pure noise.

This is my basic list I have put together through reading through the forums and on OCUK site what do you guys think and could I improve any of the things I'm looking at or need to add anything else?
 
Hi Nick, so a good report on the GiEL then I guess, a tough decision.

HDDs I am looking at Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 NCQ 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache or more promising is the Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200KS SATA-II 16MB Cache. I know there are faster drives but I really am sick of HDD noise on the pc I have right now.

Also might go for the 512mb version of the ATI Radeon X1950 Pro in case I Crossfire? Just wondering if the motherboards I am looking at will be ok with the other hardware.

edit: And looking at the reviews of the 512mb it looks like I'll have to up my PSU from that 400watt if I go that route..
 
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The Samsung Spinpoints are the generally the quietest HDD's AFAIK.

You might want to get the 8800gts as it out performs the x1950 pro.
 
You only read a few bad reports on Geil memory because so many damn people have bought it from OcUK. It's gernerally decent stuff. I'm running it at 850Mhz on 4-4-4-12 timings and that's not pushing it.

Cooler: Arctic Freezer 7 pro is fine unless you wanna do a huge overclock
 
I'm also looking at the Coolermaster Ammo 533 case and tempted by the Asus Vento :rolleyes: I basically need to figure out now if either of the two MBOs will take Crossfire if I decide to buy another card in future (gonna go read the blurbs again) and to work out a case that will fit all this into it - and I'm not finding it too easy to work all this out atm. :p Some help please! :confused:
 
Will_3rd said:
The Samsung Spinpoints are the generally the quietest HDD's AFAIK.
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Nice, I just read the reviews Here and they sound pretty good so I may go for the 320gig of one of those I think, thanks!
You might want to get the 8800gts as it out performs the x1950 pro.
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You mean This one? I admit I know next to nothing about video cards but was looking at the 512mb ATI "turbo silent" at £158, is the 8800 (at 320mb) worth the extra £30? Sorry I'm confused there are so many different ones :confused:

And just in case I do decide on dual graphics in the future it looks like the Abit AW9D-MAX Mobo is the only option out of the two I listed (unless there is a better one to consider)?
 
My experiences with E6600/680i/8800gtx/Vista

Mark,

I joined this forum to pass on my not inconsiderable experience over the past two months or so with my new E6600/680i/8800gtx build. Like you I hadn’t upgraded recently and so did a lot of research before taking the plunge. The list below is what I came up with, and I list some of my experiences with each component since then. My budget was a little higher than yours (but did include a monitor), but I will admit to have added a little to it since then; Vista, and an extra SATA hard drive. I tried to save money by reusing spare/old components (DVD Writer, keyboard, mouse, Amp and speakers, Router and operating system) and I also didn’t buy a separate sound card; instead I’m reliant on the MB audio.

My goal was to build a quick gaming system that could be upgraded by adding to rather than replacing components – you’ll see this in my choice of bits. And all of my components are from Overclockers, with excellent service to date.

I am using my original Windows XP Home, and Vista Home Premium on two different drives. Email, Office applications and Internet on Vista, Games on XP. I will move over to Vista fully once drivers are available for my Steering wheel, joystick etc, and all the games run on Vista.

I have dabbled with overclocking, my aim to achieve 12000+ marks on 3DMark06 (XP Home), which I achieved by overclocking CPU, graphics and memory. I have now throttled back to give a stable, cool and relatively quiet system, @ 3.375GHz. Frequencies, voltages and temperatures are given below where available.

This is my story.

CPU: E6600 OEM: Seems fine. Highest OC achieved without trying too hard 3.7GHz @ 1.475V. Temps 60C @100% load with Intel Thermal Assessment Tool. Now running at 3.375GHz (Fsb (QDR) 1500MHz x 9 multiplier), 1.325V, Temps 57C full load (TAT), 44C idle (TAT), and still achieving over 11000marks using 3DMark06 (Vista). Intel quoted thermal limit for the E6600 is 60.1C, and it is this that forms my upper temperature limit. Note that the MB temperature monitor 5 to 6 deg lower than TAT.

HSF Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro. Excellent value for the money and PC Custom recommended HSF. No complaints. CPU fan active control from the MB keeps it quiet.

Motherboard: EVGA 680i (P24 Bios). No real problems here, mainly niggles some of which are really annoying. NVidea Ntune doesn’t work very well in XP with the adjust MB settings not running at all. However in Vista it does work. Power saving features don’t work in either OS, with the MB Bios appearing to forget subtleties like hard drives, USB, SATA, audio etc.

You have to reconfigure the entire Bios to get going again. It’s a dream to OC with too many options to list here. The ability to unlink memory frequency from FSB enables you to concentrate on one thing at a time.

Memory: Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB). EPP capability means aggressive timings are automatically selected (4 4 4 12), and the MB auto voltage setting is 2.1V. Had it running at 950MHz @2.2V.

Graphics: BFG 8800GTX. A quick card that refuses to be overclocked using NTune. So I use ATIs ‘ATITool’ v0.26, and quickly ran it at 670/1300 vice the default values of 576/900. This obviously helped with the decent 3DMark06 scores. ATITool only works in XP though.

Power supply: Enermax 850W. Looks great with obvious quality, and it came out well in recent PC Custom magazine tests. Sufficient capacity here for adding another graphics card or quad core CPU later.

Case: Akasa Eclipse 62 Aluminium Case - No PSU. A big case with plenty of room for the PSU and graphics card. No fans supplied so I use two Scythe S-FLEX 800RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3/4 pin, one in the front and one in the back. You can’t hear these running. No rubber mounting for the hard drives so sound isolation is essential if you have a noisy drive, and the screwless fasteners are for people with more powerful fingers than me.

Drives: Initially bought an Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 NCQ 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (0A33435) with the intention of using my old IDE drives the one spare IDE channel (the other is taken by the DVD). It was very noisy until I downloaded the drive adjustment software from Hitachi, and now it’s silent. This drive has XP loaded on it, and is selectable at boot up without having to go all the way into the Bios.

My further purchase of a WD Raptor 150GByte 10000rpm beast has Vista loaded, but it makes a real racket, especially in the Akasa Eclipse case magnifying the sound of the heads seeking. No Hitachi style acoustic management options here so I may have to rubber mount it. A quick drive that’s very noisy in my case.

I bought some IDE/SATA interface boards on EBay, the kind that fit onto the back of the IDE drive, but they didn’t work with my MB/IDE drive combination. This is the main reason I bought the second SATA drive. I now make do with an IDE/USB cable (off EBay), and a separate power supply, and make use of my old IDE drives as backups.

In all I'm delighted with no real concerns. I'm glad I didn't skimp on the graphics card as it's an impressive thing. Using the system described above, every game I have is maxed out on detail (at 1680x1050 resolution), and GTR2 is a completely different experience.

Glad to answer questions but bear in mind I'm an enthusiastic amateur with the knack for sussing things out.

Happy researching.

Tony
 
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Mark228 said:
You mean This one? I admit I know next to nothing about video cards but was looking at the 512mb ATI "turbo silent" at £158, is the 8800 (at 320mb) worth the extra £30? Sorry I'm confused there are so many different ones :confused:
Click to expand...

The 8800 is much better than an x1950 Pro, let me just say you will kick yourself if you get the x1950 Pro. Plenty of people on here are selling their x1950 Pros after owning them for a few months in preference to a 8800 GTS.

Mark228 said:
And just in case I do decide on dual graphics in the future it looks like the Abit AW9D-MAX Mobo is the only option out of the two I listed (unless there is a better one to consider)?
Click to expand...

Don't bother with dual graphics, there is plenty of very fast single cards out there. That said, I'd go for a P5N 650 SLi Mobo, then a P5B or DS3/4 in that order (not because of dual graphics, but because they're good generally).
 
Mark228 said:
You mean This one? I admit I know next to nothing about video cards but was looking at the 512mb ATI "turbo silent" at £158, is the 8800 (at 320mb) worth the extra £30? Sorry I'm confused there are so many different ones :confused:
Click to expand...

Your just looking at it's VRAM the 8800GTS is far better then the ATI card your talking about.

Mark228 said:
And just in case I do decide on dual graphics in the future it looks like the Abit AW9D-MAX Mobo is the only option out of the two I listed (unless there is a better one to consider)?
Click to expand...

The below is also very good, but admittedly more expensive.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-001-BG
 
Wow thanks for the replies guys I really appreciate it as I've been reading on here for hours trying to figure out what to get lol! I'll reply to some in a few but just adding something for my notes (and any comments) while I have the page open.


Mark228 said:
As for PSU I guess I'll need something like this Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU unless there is an equally good cheaper option (or better at similar price option).
Click to expand...

I've seen This PSU the OCZ GameXStream 700w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 which is priced similar to the Corsair, is that going to be a better option? Can someone explain to this n00b what ATX2 is please? :rolleyes: I guess this depends on if I am going to need an "SLI ready" PSU.

p.s. I can up my budget if need be but don't really want to go over £1500 for a PC (even tho it is my main entertainment- I don't watch or own a TV so I guess I can spend money on a decent PC instead of a HDTV). ;)
 
Mark228 said:
p.s. I can up my budget if need be but don't really want to go over £1500 for a PC (even tho it is my main entertainment- I don't watch or own a TV so I guess I can spend money on a decent PC instead of a HDTV). ;)
Click to expand...
lol, yet another person raises their original budget. I think most of us end up doing that. :p
I can say for sure you won't regret whatever you decide upon, everything proposed is real fast kit
 
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £169.99 1 £169.99
Asus P5N-E SLi nForce 650 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £69.99 1 £69.99
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £173.99 1 £173.99
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) £114.99 1 £114.99
Enermax Liberty 620W ELT620AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU £89.99 1 £89.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £5.99 1 £5.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB ST3500630AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £79.99 1 £79.99
Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Aluminium Midi-Tower Case - Black £49.99 1 £49.99
NEC AD7170S Serial ATA 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.99 1 £18.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66I-00715) £61.99 1 £61.99
Titan Vanessa-L TTC-NK25TB/SC (RB) Heatpipe Cooling Fan (462/478/754/939/940/LGA775) £25.99 1 £25.99
Sub Total : £861.89
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri) Shipping : £10.95
Vat : £152.75
Total : £1,025.59

I just purchased the above spec, sitting in its delivery boxes next to me at work now :)

Add yourself a sound card to this and its about what you wanted no?
 
masslac said:
Epic first post. :D
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Agreed! :D And helped me make a few decisions too, great post Tony thanks. :)

Gunda, we are indeed looking close spec here. Wondering if your Enermax Liberty 620W is better than the Corsair I'm looking at too.

OK here is my new updated partial list with pricing, if anyone can do a better spec then please show me a basket/list as I've read a lot of this forum and know you guys know what you are talking about! :D


Memory: Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) £170.36 inc VAT

MB: BFG nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £176.24 inc VAT

CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £204.44 inc VAT

PSU: Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU £103.39 inc VAT

Graphics: BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £199.74 inc VAT

COOLING: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) £16.44 inc VAT
OR
(Titan Vanessa-L TTC-NK25TB/SC £30.54 inc VAT)

DRIVE: Samsung SpinPoint T HD401LJ 400GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £85.76 inc VAT

DVD: Samsung SH-182MRSMN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Beige,Black,Silver) - Retail £22.31 inc VAT (?)


£978.68 so far


I can't decide on a case and it obviously has to be able to fit all my goodies in! :rolleyes:
-----------

CASE: NZXT Lexa Classic Series Ultra light Aluminum Midtower £84.59 inc VAT
OR
Akasa Eclipse 62 Aluminium Case £103.38 inc VAT
OR
CoolerMaster Ammo 533 Aluminum (No PSU) - Silver £50.51 inc VAT
OR
Coolermaster Mystique 632 Black £82.24 inc VAT
OR
Coolermaster Wave Master - Black £88.11 inc VAT
OR
Asus VENTO 7700 Gamers Case Blue/Black/Silver £105.74 inc VAT
Or
Antec Titan 550 Tower Case - 550w TruePower PSU £113.39 inc VAT (With this option will the included PSU be ok for my needs thus saving me money on the Corsair?).
OR
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming case £68.14 inc VAT


---------------

other bits:

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £7.04 inc VAT

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium OEM - do I go 32 or 64? I'm guessing 32 at the moment right? £72.84 inc VAT

Belinea 2225S1W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver £211.49 inc VAT

I'll maybe post in the Networks forum about what Wifi/router/firewall to get but I am on NTL modem atm but am moving soon to where I can only get ADSL so dunno what to get.

OcUK is only ten minutes away from me so I'll be picking all this lot up once I get around to making a final decision on the case etc. Hurry up and help me decide LOL
 
Although the BFG 680i is a great board, it looks expensive next to the P5N 650SLI, TBH. If you got cheaper PC6400 RAM as well, you'd be able to afford a 8800 GTX, which would show much more benefit over the corsair ram or the 680i motherboard.

Also, consider the 183 DVD writer (next one up from the one you've chosen), as it is sata and faster.
 
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