Building new pc

[Sinny]

Hi,im pretty new to building computers but i need some help, i want to make a computer ready for Direct X10, want it to last, freinds are telling me if i get a core duo i need to overclock it but from experiences it has lowered its life.

the setup im going for is

Intel Extreme BAD AXE DDR2 PCI-E Motherboard - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-016-IN

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz Processor - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-128-IN

Geil DDR2 pc6400 RAM 2GB (2x1GB) - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-058-GL

Enermax 500Watt ATX2.2 PSU -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-025-EN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=111

Western Digital 250GB Caviar S-ATA II - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-104-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=768

if their is anything wrong with that setup or i can get better please tell me as i dont want to make a mistake.

i am not going for SLI, just a single 8800gtz/gts when i have more money.

thanks

 

[coupe69]

Unfortunately computers are always evolving so whatever you buy will be out of date by the middle of next week.
you'll need to get a graphics card of some sort as I'm pretty sure the badaxe aint got onboard graphics, unless of course you already have a card from a previous system.
I would be inclined to go for a 680i chipset mainboard over the 975 if you're interested in the nvidia cards, something like this or this .

The e6600 is a good choice and should quite easily clock to 3ghz without killing it too quickly providing you give it good enough heat dissipation (ie a half decent heatsink and fan and a reasonable amount of airflow through your case.)

I'd also go for this corsair psu over the enermax.

Hard drive and memory choice is ok, i'm assuming you already have the rest of the parts you'll need like a case and optical drive(s)??

 

[Sinny]

yes i bought a Lian Li case a few months ago which had my rig in it untill my motherboard blew so i have been forced to use a laptop.

i can probably lend a graphics card of a freind untill i get a new graphics card which isnt a problem, if not i would just go for something cheap.

thanks for the feedback, oh and is their any place i can get a guide to learn how to overclock, i have a freind which can do it but i wont trust anyone other than myself to do it.

i have an old Celeron cpu to test on but generally need the knowledge as im willing to look well into it.

cheers, Sam

 

[Tetras]

You don't *need* to overclock an E6600, it is pretty darn fast to begin with and will be able to match a 8800 GTS/GTX just fine.

A lot of people go for the cheaper, lower clocked, 2MB chips (E6300/E6400) along with an overclocking board which gets them around 3 Ghz pretty easy.

I wouldn't let anyone overclock my PC, it isn't rocket science (very simple actually, just with a lot of caveats and requiring patience and time to test for stability) and though running them faster than spec can lower their lifespan the Core 2 Duo chips are clocked WAY lower than they are capable of and the kinda mobos OCers pick are designed to be run over spec.

If you do something silly like heavily overvolt or allow very high temps then sure you might fry it but if your sensible there is not really any risk and by the time the chip dies it'll be an antique.

I'd also recommend the Corsair over the Enermax, high quality components, 5 year warranty, very powerful +12v rails. I'd prolly choose a different board if I really wanted to overclock too but the Badaxe should be fine for your needs (as long as you don't intend to SLI, in which case you might wanna consider a more powerful PSU and a 680i chipset, despite their... issues). I don't think you'll suffer for it tho (a board without SLI) as by the time a 8800 GTS/GTX is sluggish there will be much faster, single cards out there to upgrade to anyway.

Consider a Seagate 7200.10 over the WD, they are very fast for regular drives and have a 5 year warranty.

 

[Sinny]

appreciate the response man, i wont be going for SLI because it is too much, especially considering i want a top end model that will cost me about £350+, i want the computer to be as stable as possible so is it worth getting the 620W instead?

and as i say im going to look heavily into overclocking as with anything, i will test overclocking a celeron which is been in my wardrobe for a few months and should work fine .

thanks for the info, Sam.

 

[Tetras]

The HX520 shouldn't have a problem with that rig (and some upgrades) but if you have the cash and plan on keeping it a long time then a little extra insurance wouldn't hurt (and give you extra upgrade potential).