Help neede for a noobie

matt6r

matt6r

matt6r

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Joined
12 Dec 2008
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Location
West Yorkshire
Hi everyone, My names Matt :), and his is my first post. I am planning to build my son a gaming computer (my first attempt) for playing COD4, crysis and Guild wars.
I have been reading through the threads till my eyes have gone fuzzy, and you guys go so in-depth about builds it's got me a bit confused.
I've got a GTX260 graphics card, a WD caviar blue 250gb HD,a Jeantec 700W psu, and a DVD read/write.
Now I need a mobo, cpu and 4gb of memory.


Do I go Q6600 quad core or stick with a good dual core?

Do I use an Abit pro or an Asus P5, or a gigabyte?

What memory should I use?

Should I upgrade XP to vista 64bit?

Aarggh! :confused: Please help, I am gratefull for all your advice and views.
Cheers, Matt.
 
Hello Matt, welcome to the forum.
About 3 weeks ago, i was in the same position to you. What parts to get? Whats the best?
First thing: 4GB RAM Can only be used on Vista 64bit, so yes defonately upgrade to Vista 64bit.
I have got a E8400, Dual Core, and this plays everything, easy to overclock and at a decent price.
As for Mobo's im not an expert, as this is myleast knowlageable part of building a computer so i wouldnt be able to help you there, sorry.

CPU:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-192-IN

I still havn't built my PC yet, so this might not be the best parts to get, but see if people agree with me first.
 
Hi matt. Seems that a good combination is the following

Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX (2x2GB)

If you wanted to spend more you could get faster ram such as:

G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

And if you wanted to overclock the cpu you will want an aftermarket cooler.

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)

The arctic freezer 7 is a good cooler and is under £20.

Yes an upgrade to vista 64bit is a good idea. You will get full use of your 4gb of ram and also dx10 etc.
 
Personal i would drop the Q6600 for the E8400, the E8400 is perfect for gaming. Just what you need, ill be playing those games you are, and i've taken the E8400, everyone said itll work fine.
 
Thanks for the quick replies.
I am unsure about the mobo chip sets, do I want p35 or p45?
I thought I'd go for the quad core because more stuff will be available in the future to make use of it. I know that dual core are fastest for games now, but that will change in the future?
Memory has this behind it eg; CL5 (5-5-5-18) What am I looking for?
Matt.
 
Go with a P45 motherboard. Asus P5Q are decent boards.

Those 5-5-5-15 and 5-5-5-18, etc. are just the RAM timings. Look at Corsair or OCZ PC2-6400 RAM.
 
JellyMonsta said:
First thing: 4GB RAM Can only be used on Vista 64bit, so yes defonately upgrade to Vista 64bit.
his might not be the best parts to get, but see if people agree with me first.
Click to expand...

Wrong. XP 64bit can use 4GB RAM which is what I am currently running.

However returning to topic, for a purely gaming pc then a higher clocked dual core will provide more performance than a quad. SO I'd recommend the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400/E8500
Asus P5Q Pro P45 Motherboard
4GB DDR2 GeIL Black Dragon RAM.
 
JellyMonsta said:
Thats what i said?
Click to expand...

It is indeed. I dunno what he thought you said :)

Edit : Hang on. I get it now.

Yeah, he's pointing out that BOTH XP64 and Vista64 can use up to 128GB of memory. Which is a fair point, XP64 is often overlooked, and people tend to look at the move from 32bit to 64bit as the move from XP to Vista.
 
So I think this is what I want to go with my GTX260 -

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
(£155.24)
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£103.49)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK)
(£73.59)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 64-Bit - OEM (66G-02141)
(£71.29)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)
(£18.39)

What are your views?
 
Ok cheers.
What do I want to look for in memory to go on the P5Q mobo.
The RAM lists timings and voltages, what do I want?
 
Well I've finally bought all the bits (I think).
Asus P5Q-E mobo
Q6600 quad core
Akasa 965 cooler
4gb Patriot viper exteme 800htz cl4 RAM
Nvidia GTX260 graphics card
Jeantec 700W psu
WD blue caviar 250 HD
Vista ulimate 64-bit
dvd drive
standard packard bell ATX tower case (may need bigger one, or one with better cooling options?)
I've read through the guide at the start of this thread, which is very good, but is there any other suggestions or advice before I start the build?
I'll be back to get advice on installing the vista and drivers for SATA etc;)
 
matt6r said:
Well I've finally bought all the bits (I think).
Asus P5Q-E mobo
Q6600 quad core
Akasa 965 cooler
4gb Patriot viper exteme 800htz cl4 RAM
Nvidia GTX260 graphics card
Jeantec 700W psu
WD blue caviar 250 HD
Vista ulimate 64-bit
dvd drive
standard packard bell ATX tower case (may need bigger one, or one with better cooling options?)
I've read through the guide at the start of this thread, which is very good, but is there any other suggestions or advice before I start the build?
I'll be back to get advice on installing the vista and drivers for SATA etc;)
Click to expand...


Good system, bet your son's acheing for it, its been a month :)

As for tips, go slowly and if your unsure about anything ask.

Good luck.
 
hp7909 said:
You sure everything will fit & get sufficient cooling? Do yourself/rig a favour & get this ;)
Click to expand...

Got a bigger case now with 4 fans:)
Gonna start the build on Wednesday.

I can't see any thermal compound supplied to assemble the cpu to the mobo and cooler, what should I get?

Will it be a noticable improvement if I use 8gb of RAM rather than 4gb?

Cheers.
Matt.
 
Last edited:
There will already be thermal paste pre-applied to your cooler. This stuff is generally fine unless you're really going to o/c heavily.
I personally wouldn't bother with 8GB - do you need it? 4GB is more than ample for general home/gaming use.
 
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