New build advice

bremen1874 · 21 Oct 2008 at 17:44

I've started making fairly heavy use of virtual machines as part of my work as a programmer and my existing 3.0Ghz P4 is struggling. I've decided that it's time to get something a little more modern. It's a few years since I last assembled a PC myself so I'm rather out of touch with the current kit.

Processor wise I'll probably go for a moderately OC'd Q6600.

I'm a bit lost when it comes to the motherboard/memory/PSU.

The machine won't be used for playing games so I don't need anything special for the graphics; I've got an 8600GT going spare that should be more than adequate.

Any suggestions as to the rest of the components?

Thanks.

GSDog · 21 Oct 2008 at 17:48

Hi and welcome to the forums.

You don't say what your budget is?

bremen1874 · 21 Oct 2008 at 18:13

Hopefully not more than £400 for the processor, motherboard, memory and PSU. If there's a good reason to spend anymore then I will.

bremen1874 · 22 Oct 2008 at 00:43

People seem to like the P5Q motherboards. Are these a safe bet and is there much of a performance difference between the various versions?

I'd like eSATA which within my budget appears to narrow the choice down to the P5Q-E or the P5Q Deluxe. These two boards appear to have virtually identical specs except for the number of phases the power regulation uses; is it worth spending the extra for the 16 phase version?

At the moment I'm looking at something like the following which would just about fit within my £400 budget.

Q6600
P5Q (E or Delux)
HX 520W PSU
4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500
Heatsink

I've got all the other parts required to complete the machine.

Does anyone have any recommendations that'd help me to come up with a final shopping list?

Thanks.

GSDog · 22 Oct 2008 at 12:16

Hi bremen.

I haven't been building PC's for a few years now and only for the last 2-3 weeks have been learning about all the new hardware since then, but I will try to help you the best I can until someone more experienced comes along.
You might have better luck getting a spec in the Offical SPEC ME thread here;
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17899307

Tell them what you're looking for and hopefully someone will help out.

The P5Q boards do look very popular and they seem like great boards (I will be buying one very soon with my build). I don't think there are any major performance differences between the various versions, but the Pro, E and Duluxe versions will obviously have more feactures. There are quite a few reviews on the net about these boards, so if you search google for the board you are looking for I'm sure you will find some decent reviews.

I can't answer your second question so hopefully someone else will.

Your spec looks decent and you will probably benefit from the Q6600 being a programmer. You will probably get a more detailed spec and help in the SPEC ME thread.

Good luck and sorry I couldn't be of more help!

Pneumonic · 22 Oct 2008 at 14:21

The 16 phase power on the P5Q-Deluxe is only needed for seriously overclocking Quadcores, the P5Q-E will be more than enough..

RAM wise you are better to look at 6400 as this will be plenty and you wont have to overclock the RAM unless you plan on running the Q6600 at over 3.6ghz, you might consider 8gig of RAM if you are running a lot of virtual machines

Heatsink wise an AC7 (here) would be plenty for a 3.2/3.4ghz clock

The PSU is a good choice

bremen1874 · 23 Oct 2008 at 02:50

Thanks for the input.

I probably will install more memory later but 4GB will do for the moment.

I would like to OC the Q6600 but something around the 3GHz should be more than sufficient for my needs; in fact it'd probably be fine running at stock speeds.

I've got used to using SFF HP desktops that are virtually silent; the loudest item most of the time is the Raptor seeking. I'd like to keep the new machine as quiet as possible and I've got not idea how loud the AC7 is. Would buying a more exotic heatsink such as the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme and using a low rpm 120mm fan be quieter and provide equivalent/better cooling?

Thanks again.

GSDog · 23 Oct 2008 at 12:00

bremen1874 said:
I've got used to using SFF HP desktops that are virtually silent; the loudest item most of the time is the Raptor seeking. I'd like to keep the new machine as quiet as possible and I've got not idea how loud the AC7 is. Would buying a more exotic heatsink such as the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme and using a low rpm 120mm fan be quieter and provide equivalent/better cooling?

Thanks again.

There is a review on silentpcreview of the AC7 here;
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article285-page1.html

It seems it's pretty loud on full speed and can't be adjusted without a fan controller. They also say that temps suffer quite a bit when the fan is turned down.

I am also going to be building a PC soon and like you I want my PC to be quiet. A Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme would be quieter than an AC7 if fitted with a quiet fan.
But then the XP-120 is quite a bit more expensive.

EDIT: Hmm, a review here suggests the AC7 is silent...
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/freezer7pro/

The major thing that is noticeable with this cooler is the sound level is nearly inaudible when installed inside of your case and this is always a plus in my book.