New PC spec - A few questions

trefaes

trefaes

trefaes

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26 Dec 2006
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In typical holiday fashion, my aging PC decided to fry after what seemed like a power surge on Christmas day :mad: (hard drive and fans seemed to spin but nothing displays, even after trying a different gfx card, monitor etc.), so I've finally decided to go for something new, with a £500ish budget, I've came up with this spec so far:
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (Retail)
- Asus P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi
- OcUK 1GB (2x512MB) PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II
- XFX GeForce 7300le PCI-E
- Cheap case with cheap 350w PSU

I don't mind going budget on the graphics card, memory, case and CPU for now, knowing that I'll definitely be upgrading them when I can afford it, and that the CPU and motherboard will last quite a while.
A few questions I'd like answered before I end up ordering though:
- Is there anything else I need or is recommended in addition to these components for a working PC? Cables, fans, etc.?
- I have a 200gb IDE Seagate Barracuda which I'd like to keep using until I can replace it, would this work acceptably with the P5B?
- Will the cheap 350w PSU suffice until I can afford an upgrade?
- Although I've never overclocked before, I'd like to give it a go with this config, is it recommended to buy a third-party cooling system before I even give it a go, or will the retail heatsink be ok for a slight boost?
- How does the 7300le compare to my current 9600 Pro? Are there any better options for a budget gfx card?

I think that's about it... :p

Thanks!
 
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How long will it be until you can afford to upgrade? If it'll be a while, I rekon you'd be better off getting a cheaper CPU and better GFX Card. For example, E6300 and O/C to 2.4Ghz or more, and then with the spare cash you could get an X1950 Pro.
 
It'll only be a month or so before I can get a new gfx card, so that's not too much of a problem, although saving some cash by getting a E6300 might be a nice idea...
Will a E6300 actually O/C to 2.4Ghz with this config? Would I need additional cooling or a better PSU?
 
Well I'd never trust a cheap PSU with my components. The chances of it blowing up your PC aren't high, but they're high enough. I think you should put £60 towards a decent PSU. It's also something that probably won't get outdated for a long time, so you can use it in your next build too :) Also, 350W isn't really enough nowadays. You want 500W minimum IMO :)

And E6300 will go up to 3.5Ghz! They're excellent processors for overclocking from what I've read and a majority of peoples experiences. I'm recieving mine on the 29th so will be documenting what happens around then. I'm getting a Gigabyte mobo so don't know a lot about your Asus as I haven't read into it. But from what I do know, it's as good if not better than the Gigabyte mobos. Might wanna confirm that with someone more knowledgeable with that mobo, though.

As you've got 800Mhz (400Mhz in reality) RAM there, you can push the CPU from its default 7x266Mhz (1.8Ghz) up to 7x400Mhz, so with your setup I wouldn't expect more than 2.8Ghz from it. You'd have to get better RAM if you want more than 2.8Ghz as I wouldn't be comfortable overclocking value RAM - e.g. get branded Corsiar, etc, RAM.
 
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Great advice, thanks.
Sounds like I'll definitely be going for the E6300! :)

Would the E6300 package with:
- Intel Core 2 DUO LGA775 E6300 1.86GHz Retail
- Gigabyte 965P DS3
- 1GB GeIL PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Kit
and an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro be suitable for getting as much power for the price as possible? :D

Does anyone know if there's any major advantage, either for overclocking or otherwise, to getting a DS4 or my original plan, a P5B Deluxe over the DS3?

Now a decent gfx cards fits the budget, I've been looking at the x1950 like furnace suggested, seems like a great card and the Sapphire seems like a great bargain, so unless there's any other suggestions I'll throw that in too :)
 
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I would be careful with that cheap 350W PSU. I have bought value PSU'd in the past and regretted it. 350W won't be enough like what furnace said. I would go for an Antec, or Enermax PSU.

Looks like a good system apart from that, you don't need to worry about cables and fans and stuff you should get them with the retail boxed items like the CPU and the motherboard should come with sata cables!

What kinda budget you on for the graphics card?
 
Someone from another forum (was either vrforums or devhardware forums) has got 3.2Ghz on a Gigabyte DS3 with a E6300.

So if you're looking so save more money I don't think you'll be missing out on much by getting a DS3. You'd probably be best just writing down what each mothorboard has and seeing what best fits what you plan to put in your PC. Personally I've gone for the DS4. Honestly, my reasons for that over the DS3: The chipset cooler looks cool and the bios is a "Dual Bios" which I figured is better than a "Virtual Dual Bios" on the DS3. So for me there was no real techinical reason for getting the DS4 over the DS3.
 
mishima: My graphics card budget is whatever I have left after buying the CPU and mobo :) Is there anything you'd recommend that's a bit cheaper than the x1950?

Trying my hardest to strike a nice balance of components for the budget here, so how about I strip my old PC of it's Antec 330W PSU and get
- Intel Core 2 DUO LGA775 E6300
- Gigabyte 965P DS3
- Corsair 1GB DDR2 XMS2-5400C4 TwinX
- Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB

Would the Antec 330W be enough if I didn't overclock?
This way I can get a decent PC with a real PSU for £500 and rather than splashing out on a graphics card at a later point, I can get a new PSU and overclock the E6300...
 
Thanks for the link, it estimates 222w for that config so I guess my Antec 330w should do the job for now, that's a relief :)
If I don't need to go for a PSU then that Sapphire fits the budget just nicely... and it sounds like a damn nice card.

Thanks a lot for your help anyway, it seems I'm finally coming close to making a decision :D
 
I think you might of missed a few things off, I make it 450W. Thats including dual core CPU - 6300. 2 sticks of DDR2 RAM. X1950 graphics card. 1 DVDRW. 3 USB devices etc. Missed out the HDD too, so it should be arond that - 450W-500W

I would recommend going for a 500W PSU. Antec or Enermax are very good!
 
I can still only get around 239w with that calculator :p
System Type: Single Processor (it does say "Multicore CPU counts as a single processor.")
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1860 MHz Allendale
CPU Utilization: 100% (Worst case scenario)
Not Overclocked
RAM: 2 sticks DDR2 SDRAM
Video Card: ATI Radeon x1950 Pro
1 x 7200RPM IDE Hard Disk
1 x SATA Hard Disk
1 x DVD-RW Drive
3 x USB Devices
No additional PCI or PCI-E Cards
And the fans don't seem to make any real difference...

What am I missing?

I do plan to get a Antec or Enermax PSU in the next month or so, I just can't fit it in my budget right now and I'm getting desperate without a PC :D
 
After a lot more contemplation I've decided to throw a Enermax Noisetaker 535W PSU into the setup, after realising my current PSU only has 4 and 20 pin power connectors :rolleyes:

One thing I'd like to know now I've sorted most things out is the difference between the OEM and boxed retail version of the C2D E6300. I realise I'd not get a heatsink with the OEM version, but I'm planning on ordering an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, which I assume would replace the retail heatsink altogether anyway. What else would I be missing out on with the OEM version?
 
trefaes said:
What else would I be missing out on with the OEM version?
Click to expand...
A set of instructions and a little sticker plus boxes you have to throw away or store. As you're ordering the ACF7, go OEM. There is a school of thought on here that says it's better to buy the retail package and keep the bits you don't use as it'll be easier to re-sell the CPU. I say cobblers. :D

Jonathan
 
In a new build you really should be looking for 2gig RAM. Maybe look at the Gskill PC6400 CAS4 kit which comes in at around £176inc.
 
Thanks all, I'll be going for the OEM then as I can probably sell it on to friends no matter what ;)
As for the RAM, I'll be sticking with 1gb for now and getting another gig when some more cash comes in, I've coped with 1gb up to now.

I'll throw this question in this thread to save making another:
In the last few months of having used my old, decrepit computer which has been having stability problems for ages (30-50% CPU usage taken up by DPCs for some reason), our power usage has almost doubled, and now I've stopped using it, it's returned back to normal, is it possible that the PSU was drawing a lot more power than was actually needed?
 
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