New PC build

greencreeper

greencreeper

greencreeper

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Joined
18 Jun 2006
Posts
62
I've posted here before, seeking advice on a build, but cash flow issues prevent me from going ahead. But now I have cash :D Would appreciate comments/thoughts...

  • Lian-Li PC V1000 PLUS Silver Aluminium Midi-Tower (No PSU)
  • Enermax Infiniti 720W EIN720AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
  • Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
  • Gigabyte GA_P35_DQ6 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
  • GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) x2
  • BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB ST3500630AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
  • Pioneer DVR-111DSV 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - (Silver) OEM
  • Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Soundcard - Retail
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk
  • Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775)

I've been researching and asking on other forums, and have honed it down to the above.

I wasn't sure about the motherboard - was either the Asus P5K or the Gigabyte. I then read that thread where it was found that the Asus was held together with glue and bits of rubber, and sounded more like a school science project. So that put me off. I also wasn't sure about the memory - whether to go for 4 x 1GB or 2 x 2G.
 
Jaffa_Cake said:
However: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-084-SA SATA optical drive will perform slightly better
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Noted, thanks.

[edit] The case is silver so would need a silver drive, though I think there is a front plate for the case??

Jaffa_Cake said:
IMO the Giel stuff isn't cheap enough anymore to be worth getting over some slightly more overclockable RAM such as Ballistix PC5300 or the G. Skill HZ PC6400 this is assuming you are overclocking.
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Yes - should have stated what I want the build for. It'll mainly be gaming and the Internet, plus the occasional Word document. So I'm favouring features and reliability over overclocking potential. I have about £1500 to spend.

Jaffa_Cake said:
Would also be tempted by the P35C DS3R Mobo for the DDR3 support. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-086-GI
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Yes - one of the boards I considered. I actually agonised over the motherboard. It was features v upgrade potential. Given that my current PC has no upgrade potential, other than a skip surround, I figured that some upgrade potential was better than none, and came down on the side of features. My thinking was that I'd just need to buy a newer board when DDR3 prices reached current DDR2 levels, and who knows if, by that time, a newer board wouldn't be needed/desired anyway.
 
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greencreeper said:
It'll mainly be gaming and the Internet, plus the occasional Word document. So I'm favouring features and reliability over overclocking potential. I have about £1500 to spend.
Click to expand...

Ok, i've done a quick spec for that budget and heres what I came up with:

1426spec.jpg


Thoughts welcome from all.
 
greencreeper said:
Interesting. Is the MHz of memory more important than the timings? And a Xeon quad core. It does look nice.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I failed to explain that choice of RAM properly.

The Intel CPU's tend to be very MHz hungry and timings make very little difference, this is the opposite to the AMD's.

The choice of that ram was purly because it overclocks like a complete monster. Expect an overclock to about 1050MHz with ease. Assuming you are going to be overclocking, if you are not the Giel PC6400 is a very good choice.
 
That's useful to know. Overclocking looks complicated, though if it's simple case of changing a few settings, I'd give it a go. I was intending buying 4GB of RAM but wasn't sure about 4 x 1GB or 2 x 2GB. Various pros and cons.
 
4x 1GB
Pros:
- Better ICs used which can clock higher at lower latencies

Cons:
- Risk of putting too much stress on the memory controller, so you might have to lower the frequency (a lot of people have found they can only run their memory frequency at 333Mhz with a 4x 1GB configuration)

2x 2GB
Pros:
- Less stress on the memory controller so you're pretty much guaranteed you can run the memory at their rated frequencies and timings

Cons:
- The ICs used aren't as good ('noticed they usually come with low stock frequencies and high timings?) so you can't overclock them as much

However, you might actually have more luck overclocking a 2x 2GB set, because the motherboard might not run 4x 1GB at a very high frequency.
 
greencreeper said:
Hmmm. Not many 4GB kits out there. Possibly the Corsair DDR2 XMS2 Dominator DHX PC2-6400C5 TwinX?
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If your using XP pro then theres really no point in 4gb because windows simply can't use it.
 
Mansize_tissue said:
Got a keyboard and mouse?
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Yeah - Microsoft optical mouse, and Logitech keyboard (lots of buttons I rarely use). The monitor is a 17" CRT but it'll do for now - a monitor I can afford any time. I like to try a keyboard before I buy, so I have to venture into high-street stores and fend off salesmen.

I was expecting to find a PCI DAB Radio card I could install, to add radio - can't seem to find one though. I'd have thought they'd be popular :confused:
 
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