New rig - feedback please

KalGor

KalGor

KalGor

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11 Oct 2004
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This is going to be a gaming machine but also used for some vid editing and all the other usuals (internet blah blah), but primarily its a gaming setup.
Not planning to do any overclocking (at least initially).

The main points im wanting feedback on are really the processor, RAM (amount) and if I really need to bother with the purchase of a sound card with this motherboard.



The setup:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.67GHz - Retail
---or---
Intel Core 2 Quadro Pro Q6600 "LGA775 Kentsfield" 2.40GHz - Retail

Asus Commando Intel 965 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

OCZ 2GB (2/4 x 1GB) PC2-8500 1066MHz SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel DDR2

Western Digital Raptor 74GB WD740ADFD 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache (from old system)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache (from old system)

BFG Nvidia 7900 GTX OC 512Mb (from old system)

OS - Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk



So in summary:
Since this is a gaming rig - really being built because it's time for an upgrade but i'd like it to be as "ready" as possibly for a few titles im waiting for (quake wars, Team Fortress 2 and of course Crysis) I'd like some feedback on the below please :)

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.67GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
---or---
Intel Core 2 Quadro Pro Q6600 "LGA775 Kentsfield" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

I still intend to go quad at some point in the future when more apps / games take advantage of it - but is the benefit currently (and in the immediate future) enough to make purchasing a quad core over the E6700 really worth while, or would it be more prudent to go with the Duo and when more stuff has released supporting the quad then get a higher spec quad core?

---

RAM, firstly the RAM ive selected any reason why not to go with it?
And secondly - with this being a Vista gaming system would I be right in understanding that I will probably be wanting to lean towards 4gig rather than 2?

---

Im not sure about on-board sound, ive never used it since... well ive never used it actually as ive always had a card laying around.
would I benefit much if at all from splashing out the little extra and buying a stand alone sound card - probably the one below ?

Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Soundcard - OEM

P.S. before anyone says I should think about a 8800 GFX card, im using the 7900 because I already have it - and currently it more than does the job for me. I intend on switching to a DirectX 10 enabled card down the road but not until A) I really need it and B) I can pick one up a little cheaper.

Thanks for any and all feedback.
 
Sounds good.

The Xfi gamer is a good sound card, have one myself and its awsome, switch on Gaming Mode and your away :-)

But ive heard Vista is not the best for gaming, got a few ppl who play HL2 and WoW and said its been a headache ever since the switch, some have down graded.

-ClaritY^
 
Hornchurch said:
If you're not going to overclock then you're waisting your money.
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That on its own has got to be the most stupid thing ive ever read - not backed it up at all. Unless it's going to be overclocked I just should never upgrade?? :confused:

And as it says im not planning on doing any overclocking initially - I shouldnt need too to run anything that i'll be running.
 
The core 2 duo's are almost designed to overclock the risk involved is minimal
on these chips you can put to 3ghz easily with a few celcius rise in temps
the asus commando is a waste of money the gigabyte ds3 is just as good
must be a reason a lot of us have the ds3?
I'd go for
Gigabyte ds3p
e6420 e6600 or the quad
Geil ultra or crucial ballistix
1950 pro
corsair psu
 
If you don't want to upgrade again for a while then I'd go with the quad core, if you don't mind and want to save a bit of money until they become more widely used then dual core is still more than good enough. However I wouldn't bother with the 6700, go for the 6600, save around £80 and if you feel it is lacking then overclock, it will have no problems reaching 6700 speeds and beyond.

4gb is fine for Vista, most games don't need it yet but Supreme Commander I believe can use it and quad core quite effectively.

Finally the motherboard is very expensive for a 965P based motherboard and it doesn't support quad core. It is good for overclocking but then so is the Gigabyte DS3P and that does support quad core, not to mention it costs about £60 less. :)
 
CPU - the e6700 is terrible vfm. I have my e6600 running faster than that for less than an e6700. As suggested get any of the following CPUs - e4300, e4400, e6320, e6420, e6600, Q6600 (if you have money to burn).

Mobo - Asus P5B deluxe, P5N or GB DS3P or DS4

RAM - Any regular PC6400 left at stock will be fine for most systems.

GFX - you don't want to hear about 8800 GTS 320MB, but I'm sure you paid more than £200 for your 7800 GTX. The 8800 GTS is a good DX9 card foremost.
 
KalGor said:
Thanks for any and all feedback.
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I wouldn't bother with Quad-Core at this time, also I don't think 4GB is really necessary?

Following that advice you got an extra £300 to save, or perhaps flog your existing GPU add the £300 and buy yourself a new shiney GPU, thats gonna have a far bigger impact on your gaming than the extra ram or indeed an extra two cores.

Enjoy! :)
 
Ok thanks for the feedback thus far, I think I'll most certainly go the E6600 route for processor now, clock it a bit and wait until the software is there for the quads then go for the upgrade.

Save the money towards an upgraded GFX card further down the road when mine just doesnt cut it (as was the original plan :)

I've had three different Gigabyte boards go down on me in the past (I know its just totally luck based but it leaves a bad taste) which is why I was leaning towards the Asus. But I must have missread, thought it did support the quad :)
I was going to be getting the Asus for £123 including shipping but even at that price the DS3P is a massive saving.
If the DS3P is really as good as it would seem though would deffo save a bit of cash there.

As for RAM I had initially wanted to go with the ballistix 6400 but it's out of stock and I need to order the parts for this system relatively soon (business tax write off *grin*).
So for RAM the sugested
2x GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit


So that would make the updated setup something along the lines of:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz

Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3P (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

2x GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit

Western Digital Raptor 74GB WD740ADFD 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache (from old system)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache (from old system)

BFG Nvidia 7900 GTX OC 512Mb (from old system)

Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Soundcard - OEM

OS - Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk


Does that look a little better? Or is there still something you'd tweak?

Edit: hummm the comment about having a hard time in vista on various games is a bit of a downer, really want to give Vista a try. Just like the issues we had with XP with the initial releases really - so long as future games run its all good to me (might actually help me from going back to WoW - quit 4 months ago) :)
 
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You are right the Commando definitely does say quad core ready but somewhere along the line the specification is wrong, if it supports quad core it needs to be capable of 1333mhz FSB and the description doesn't state that it is. The Asus P5B Premium Vista Edition and the Gigabyte DS3P are the only 965P based motherboards that support that FSB speed according to the description on the OcUK page. I might be way off here but I was pretty sure 1333mhz FSB was needed for quad core.

Other than possibly an aftermarket cooler for overclocking it all looks good. I'd suggest any one of the following - Noctua NH-U12F, Scythe Ninja or Tuniq Tower. :)
 
The entire range of ASUS P5B-Series is quad-core ready, all of them can run 1333MHz-System Bus no problem, I'm trying to get mine stable at 2000MHz-System Bus :p

I don't know much about the Commando but it looks pretty similar to the board I am using (P5B-Deluxe/Wifi) which I paid £122 quid for last xmas, brilliant board, keep leaning towards ASUS :)

[edit] My mate just picked up the regular P5B-Deluxe (no wifi) for £100 and he is also flying!
 
Cheers for that although I still think that 1333mhz is required i.e. it should be noted on the technical specifications that they support it. Normally I do like Asus as I use their motherboards myself but their website has to be one of the worst ever for speed of loading. :)
 
Storm in and throw me back up in arms :)

I'd rather go with an Asus board tbh - i openly admitt it im an Asus fanboi so from the Asus selection which would you recommend (since everyone shunned my commando choice :P) ?

Im still going to be going the E6600 route and ill be nabbing a Noctua NH-U12F as well (going into an Akasa Eclipse - anyone confirm theres plenty of space for it?), go for a little bit of overclocking while waiting for the Quad.
 
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Big.Wayne said:
How long does it take for this page to load?
Click to expand...

About 3-5 seconds compared with about 30-40 seconds (as a guess) for the main Asus website. Interestingly the Commando doesn't appear to be listed on there though unless I'm being dumb again. :)

The Noctua and the Eclipse are fine together. :)

//edit any of the P5B models that have all the features you want is what I'd go with.
 
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