My First Build! (Take 2!)

iRace

iRace

iRace

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Joined
30 Sep 2008
Posts
21
Sorry my first post included prices from another website! I thought this was just the main forum overclockers use! Didn't realise it was an actual shop too!

Anyway heres my first build that i want to get... please let me know if theres anything you would change or upgrade? Or any alternative parts?
I think everything is compatible??

Basically I want a Core2Quad, 500GB+ HDD, 4GB RAM, Blue-Ray, Decent sound card for surround sound watching movies, Good graphics card to play the newest games (such as COD etc), Vista (Home Premium at least), the fastest wireless card that works with vista, and all of it must be overclockable obviously!

Processor
Intel Core2Quad Q6600
2.40GHz Bus Speed 1066MHz
95W Edition Energy Efficient

Motherboard
DFI LanParty DK P35-T2RS

Hard Drive
Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB SATA II 7200rpm 32MB Cache OEM

RAM
Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 Non-ECC Unbuffered - CL5(5-5-5-18)
800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2

CD Drive
LG Blu-Ray + HD-DVD-Rom Combo
16x DVDRW Black SATA

Graphics
MSI 8600GT Silent edition 256MB
DVI HDTV PCI-E H.264 DX10
*Large Heatsink Could Get Hot

PSU
Arctic Power 700W
With PCI-E, 4x SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors

Sound Card
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme
PCI-Express - OEM

OS
Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit

Cooling
Gigabyte GH-WIU02 3D Galaxy II (Socket 775, AM2)
Copper Liquid Cooling System

Wireless Card
D-Link AirPlus Xtreme-G 108Mbps
Wireless PCI Adapter DWL-G520
Not sure about Vista Support?

USB Card
Newlink 5 Port USB 2.0 PCI Card
4 External Ports and 1 Internal Port

Case
NZXT Apollo Black Gaming Case
(Cos its cheap!)

Thanks in advance!
 
^ answer that, and welcome to the forum ;)
That 8600GT graphics card is not up to playing the latest games. Depending on your current monitor and budget we can recommend some others things.

And i doubt you ll need a usb card? most new mother boards have about 4 on the backplate.
 
Well my budget is as close to £700 as I can get! lol
Without comprimising too much... and I'm about £70 over with that setup!
I don't mind upgrading parts at a later date?

I know its not ideal but it will be my media/gaming setup as I will be using a 42" LCD HDTV as my monitor (hence the blue-ray drive etc)

Whats an i7?
What would be a better graphics card and how much would i need to spend?
 
i suppose its not much use buying the newest ones anyway cos they just rape you for them! might aswell wait until the price drops like they always do and stick with the Q6600...
does 95W Edition Energy Efficient mean its better or worse than others?

so what graphics cards do i need to be looking into?
 
iRace said:
i suppose its not much use buying the newest ones anyway cos they just rape you for them! might aswell wait until the price drops like they always do and stick with the Q6600...
does 95W Edition Energy Efficient mean its better or worse than others?

so what graphics cards do i need to be looking into?
Click to expand...

All q6600 now a days are the energy efficient version. It has the the G0 stepping instead of B3 which is much better.

Gfx wise 4850/4870 is a good choice.
 
K after looking at your build I have noticed 3 main problems

Firstly water-cooling kits are the spawn of Satan!

Air cooling has moved leaps and bounds in recent years & for most users & OC’ing its fine. And based on your build you really don’t need to be OC’ing even if you do air cooling will handle it fine.
The only reason to water-cool a rig like this is if you’re living in an area of high ambient air temperature i.e. 30c plus.

Cooler 1

Cooler 2

If cooling & sound is your aim number 1, if good looks while being cool is your aim cooler 2.

Second “Arctic Power 700W” Who Anyone Anyone at all…..
I have no idea why people insist on skimping on the one part that can explode :P
Better psu

Lastly Graphics well I cant say anything really

Better choices around the same price.

4670

9600gt

And if you can push your budget a bit get this 4850 worth every penny.
 
that arctic power psu was £41 so I wasnt exactly skimping! just didnt know what to look for in a psu???

ok so air cooling will save me a bit more money than a water system then?
i chose the water cooling just to get the max out of it - my friend says he can overclock 20% faster with the water cooling???
 
First thing when looking for a psu is a decent brand.

Water cooling is only better at the very high end, I personally have a 20% OC on air.
 
cart-2.jpg
 
OK those add-ons are do-able...! Like it, keep the ideas coming! :P

Barkeep: Are those Corsair Dominator's better than the Corsair 6400C5 G that I've already chosen?
640GB HDD would be nice but the 500GB i have chosen has a 32MB cache, i assume this is REALLY what i want??
The case is a nice cheaper choice though. :)
And I've gone for the core2quad over the core2duo (call me a badge whore!) lol but i understand its the most overclockable intel quad?

What wireless card is 108Mbps or faster and definately works with Vista? I suppose most people use ethernet cables and don't use wireless cards for their home pc's...?
 
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mmm

Capture-114.png


no blue ray, as it really really wouldnt fit.

very very fast wireless card.

gamer x-fi card with EAX 5.0 (essential to gamers)

the 640GB HDDs are much faster than the 500GB, so i chose that.

brilliant RAM at a superb price, will allow the Q6600 to hit 3.6GHz.

amazing mobo, and very easy to OC with, which cannot be said for the DFI.
 
how come the blu-ray won't fit? isnt it just the normal cd drive size?

thanks for the wireless card! good price too!

i don't understand how the G.Skill RAM is better than the Corsair? Enlighten me please! :)

how is the 640GB with 16MB cache HDD faster than the 500GB with 32MB cache?
i'll get it if it is faster obviously!!

my mate swears by DFI mobos?? however i havent oc'd before so cant be sure myself!

oh also... are there any decent "bluetooth" cards so that i don't have to have an annoying usb dongle hanging out all the time???

+ how many fans do i NEED to have? 1 for the cpu and???
 
Last edited:
UPDATED NEW SPEC SO FAR: £712 !!

Processor - Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.40GHz

Motherboard - DFI LanParty DK P35-T2RS

Hard Drive - Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB

RAM - Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2

CD Drive - LG Blu-Ray + HD-DVD-Rom Combo

Graphics - HIS ATI Radeon HD 4850

PSU - Antec EarthWatts 500W PSU

Sound Card - Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme

OS - Windows Vista Home Premium

Cooling - Scythe Ninja II CPU Cooler

Wireless Card - Edimax EW-7728IN 300MBps

Case - Antec 300 Three Hundred Case
 
iRace said:
how come the blu-ray won't fit? isnt it just the normal cd drive size?
as in it wouldnt fit intot he bugdet with the better items i chosse :D

thanks for the wireless card! good price too!

i don't understand how the G.Skill RAM is better than the Corsair? Enlighten me please! :)
becuase its cheaper :)
how is the 640GB with 16MB cache HDD faster than the 500GB with 32MB cache?
i'll get it if it is faster obviously!!

this is due to the 500GB HDDs having a250GB platters, where as the 640GBs have 320GB platters, the bigger the platter, the faster the HDD

my mate swears by DFI mobos?? however i havent oc'd before so cant be sure myself!
DFIs are birlliant for seasoned OCers, but for newer OCers their BIOS can be very veyr scary and hard to use, ASUS IMO have th best, most friendliest BIOS out there
oh also... are there any decent "bluetooth" cards so that i don't have to have an annoying usb dongle hanging out all the time???

+ how many fans do i NEED to have? 1 for the cpu and???
Click to expand...

the cooler for the CPU has a fan already,t he ANtec 300 has no fans at the front and you can put 2 fans there, SO, thats why i added those 2 extra fans.
 
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