please check spec before I buy

ChrisBuck

ChrisBuck

ChrisBuck

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2 Aug 2006
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I have an Barton 2500 oc to 2900 shuttle system but I am looking to upgrade. Hence I am thinking of buying the following spec system. Could someone have a look over it so I can be sure that in theory all the kit works together, or someone could suggest something better for similar money?

Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-061-GI), thought about a DS4 though
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-128-IN)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 400GB 4000KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-076-WD)
BFG GeForce 7900 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-018-BG)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) (HS-017-AR)
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-108-CS)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (E85-04026) (OS-002-MS)
LG GSA-H10NBAL 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-043-LG)
Total £1,174.65
Would I need any additional wires? Thermal paste? CPU shim etc?

Looking to buy something that is fast at av encoding and has lots of storage spce. I chose the 2.4ghz conroe because it has 4 mb of cache. Could someone suggest a case thats not to big but good at ventilation and noise reduction? I know some of the items are on back order, I can wait.
 
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Welcome to the forums, basically all compatible but I would make the following changes. Change the graphics card for an X1800XT 256mb, it comes in at ~£150 so it is cheaper and doesn't have the reliability problems of the 7900gt(you might be lucky because not all are problematic but enough are to make it worth considering) plus it is as fast or faster. The hard drive for a Seagate 7200.10 because they are faster I believe. I'd probably change the Ram for some GSkill 6400 CAS4 stuff, I don't know much about Ram but it is cheaper and as well specified plus it has a good reputation for overclocking.

The DVDRW I might change for an NEC or Pioneer but that is personal preference really, as for case Antec Sonata II is worth a look with included PSU or Lian Li PC-7 but you will need to buy a separate PSU(I'd probably recommend a Tagan 530w or similar).
 
Stick with the corsair RAM if you're getting the Gigabyte motherboard. I was gonna get the G.Skill 6400 NR kit but they have problems with the Gigabyte.

*edit - avoid the gigabyte's full stop, I thought it was just G.skill they had problems with.*
 
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So I should avoid the Gigabyte motherboards all together? I didn't know that there are problems with them, I had only good things about them. Could anyone suggest another motherboard/ram combo that supports conroe's and is stable and good at oc'ing.

Current spec - subject to changing motherboard and/or ram (which is highlighted).

Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU (CA-040-AN)
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS4 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-062-GI) another brand?
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-128-IN)
Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) (HS-017-AR)
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-108-CS) another brand?
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (E85-04026) (OS-002-MS)
LG GSA-H10NBAL 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-043-LG)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB ST3400620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-083-SE) - x2
 
The performance of that Wester Digital hard disk is going to be far behind that of a compatibly priced Seagate 7200.10. The disk you have spec'd is £113.75 (£133.66 Including VAT at 17.5%). Swap it for a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB ST3400620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-083-SE) for £107.95 (£126.84 Including VAT at 17.5%)

For an even better deal get a pair of 250 GiB or 320 GiB 7200.10 drives for almost as much or slightly more.
 
They're good boards when they work, there's a memory issue at the moment, take a look here:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...14&page=1&pp=30
Click to expand...

Darn, I had a real itch to buy a new system. What about an Asus or other mobo? Or should I just wait for the issue to be resolved and still get a Gigbayte board?
:( :confused:

Fenderbass86 - just read your post whilst part way through writing this note. Could I still get a Gigabyte board with this ram then?
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-092-CS) - is that the CS5 ram? If I understand this right, is that cas5? If so, seems high to me.... was aiming for three or four, but I guess there is not that much difference?

Hence would this spec work from the get go?

Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU (CA-040-AN)
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS4 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-062-GI)
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-128-IN)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) (HS-017-AR)
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-092-CS)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (E85-04026) (OS-002-MS)
LG GSA-H10NBAL 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-043-LG)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB ST3400620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-083-SE) x2 - might swap this to two Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-078-SE)
Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO)
 
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