Upgrading to Intel, recommendations for processor, motherboard and RAM please?

Cybertronic · 20 Jun 2007 at 02:08

As the title says, I'm after advice on what to purchase for my Intel upgrade

Currently, I'm looking at the C2D E6600 processor and for the motherboard, I'd like to have an Asus one since I quite like my Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard which I have currently. As for the RAM, I'm not sure on what to look at

I appreciate any advice, thanks

Slinky1989 · 20 Jun 2007 at 02:30

Processor there is a good choice as they are relatively cheap now and practically garuntee'd to hit 3.2-3.4ghz when over clocked

Motherboard you chose is a good choice aswell, I wouldn't go for any other chipset now with that around.

As for RAM well most people (including myself) would recommend the geil 2gb pc6400 pack as it clocks like mad and is cheap as chips.

Another good lot to check out would be the ocz pc6400 stuff which also clock well. Although from looking at other peoples results, crucial ballistix are pretty damn good too.

Jaffa_Cake · 20 Jun 2007 at 02:47

justinwilkin said:
As for RAM well most people (including myself) would recommend the geil 2gb pc6400 pack as it clocks like mad and is cheap as chips.

I wouldn't say it clocks THAT well, you can get a max of about 880/900Mhz out of it then it gets stuck.

Ballistix PC5300 will get 1000MHz easily enough and is cheaper ( by £2! ) than the Giel. Good if your overclocking. Or the Cellshock/G. Skill HZ also good ram for clocking.

Cybertronic · 20 Jun 2007 at 04:36

Thanks for your replies

Is there a specific Asus motherboard I should look at?

H0wz3r · 20 Jun 2007 at 08:32

Cybertronic said:
Thanks for your replies

Is there a specific Asus motherboard I should look at?

I have the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe which is based on the 975x chipset. Personally I think it's a cracking motherboard, despite the reviews suggesting you go for a P965 based chipset mobo instead. The reason for this is that the P965 mobos are supposedly better for overclocking yet the P975 can provide more than enough headroom for most overclocks.

If you don't like the sound of the P5W DH Deluxe, you can go for the P5B Deluxe which is the P965 chipset based mobo but as I said I would highly recommend the one I have.

robj20 · 20 Jun 2007 at 08:51

Any reason not to go for a P35 board, the Gigiabyte DQ6 i have is amazing.

Alex UK · 20 Jun 2007 at 08:55

I'd go for this...

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA804)
(£72.84) £61.99

Gigabyte GA_P35_DS3P (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£103.39) £87.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
(£150.39) £127.99

Sub Total : £277.97
Shipping : £8.25
VAT : £50.09
Total : £336.31

The motherboard is based on the new P35 chipset, which will support the upcoming 1333FSB CPU's, such as 'Penryn'. Although it's not Asus, Gigabyte do offer a wider range of P35 boards. The RAM is the highly clockable Ballistix as said above.

H0wz3r · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:00

I would err on the side of caution with DDR3 mobos at present, not least because you're paying a premium for a technology that has yet to prove itself fully?

Having never had a Gigabyte mainboard I can't say how overclockable they are but from the reviews I've read, they can be hit and miss. Anyone have any reviews on the P35 chipset yet?

robj20 · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:04

Neither of the boards mentioned are DDR3, i agree at the moment DDR2 is the way to go. So far my DQ6 is doing excellent, got my quad 6600 up to 2.9 and still going strong. Temps for the chipset are good the heatpipes certainly do there job.

H0wz3r · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:10

robj20 said:
Neither of the boards mentioned are DDR3, i agree at the moment DDR2 is the way to go. So far my DQ6 is doing excellent, got my quad 6600 up to 2.9 and still going strong. Temps for the chipset are good the heatpipes certainly do there job.

You're right, I read the 1333FSB speed and instantly thought 'DDR3' don't know why!

I've managed to get a very stable overclock of 3.0GHz from my E6600 and the temps are pretty good with a Tuniq tower HSF

Columbo · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:15

Can't understand why people keep recommending the DS3, its cack. Mines getting replaced ASAP.

robj20 · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:15

H0wz3r said:
You're right, I read the 1333FSB speed and instantly thought 'DDR3' don't know why!

I've managed to get a very stable overclock of 3.0GHz from my E6600 and the temps are pretty good with a Tuniq tower HSF

What temp are you getting under load? Im getting about 36C with water.

supernova9 · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:16

P35 chipset is the way to go at the moment, better potential for overclocking (particularly quad cores), much faster memory bandwidth, and more future-proof than the 975 chipset which it has been introduced to replace.

If you want an Asus board, the P5K Deluxe is a good bet, but if your budget can't stretch to that, I'd seriously recommend the Gigabyte P35-DS3R with support for DDR2 and DDR3. When latencies get tighter on DDR3, having a mobo like the DS3R will allow you to take advantage of it.

Why people are still speccing the 975 P5W board is beyond me, it's been superceded now.

supernova9 · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:16

ManCuBuS said:
Can't understand why people keep recommending the DS3, its cack. Mines getting replaced ASAP.

mine works fine, I think you might just possibly be in the minority, seeing as the Gigabyte boards have been specced many many times and you're one of the first I've seen saying it's anything other than great.

Columbo · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:21

supernova9 said:
mine works fine, I think you might just possibly be in the minority, seeing as the Gigabyte boards have been specced many many times and you're one of the first I've seen saying it's anything other than great.

Can't get any sort of overclock an my RAM. 800mhz = fine. 801mhz unstable. Stuck my RAM in a friends DFI and had it stable at 1000mhz within an hour.

This is the first time I've not bought DFI in a long time. I will not make that mistake again.

supernova9 · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:23

ManCuBuS said:
Can't get any sort of overclock an my RAM. 800mhz = fine. 801mhz unstable. Stuck my RAM in a friends DFI and had it stable at 1000mhz within an hour.

This is the first time I've not bought DFI in a long time. I will not make that mistake again.

I've managed to clock my RAM fine. Like I said, maybe you just got a dodgy board, that happens in PC component land sometimes.

H0wz3r · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:32

robj20 said:
What temp are you getting under load? Im getting about 36C with water.

My temps never go higher than around 30 - 32C tops with that cooler. Don't know about the chipset temps though.

robj20 · 20 Jun 2007 at 09:35

ManCuBuS said:
Can't get any sort of overclock an my RAM. 800mhz = fine. 801mhz unstable. Stuck my RAM in a friends DFI and had it stable at 1000mhz within an hour.

This is the first time I've not bought DFI in a long time. I will not make that mistake again.

One thing i noticed with my DQ6 is that the memory was unstable to start with thats because the boards default voltage is 1.8 the memory states between 2.2 and 2.35 it just didnt like it at first.

Cybertronic · 20 Jun 2007 at 11:08

Thanks for your replies

What's the difference between the Asus P5K Deluxe and the Asus P5KC? Apart from the cooling and motherboard layout visible differences, does the P5KC offer RAID capabilities?

supernova9 · 20 Jun 2007 at 11:46

Cybertronic said:
Thanks for your replies

What's the difference between the Asus P5K Deluxe and the Asus P5KC? Apart from the cooling and motherboard layout visible differences, does the P5KC offer RAID capabilities?

By the P5KC I'm guessing you mean the non-deluxe version? If so, they both offer RAID as far as I know, and the difference is mainly Wi-Fi and dual ethernet on the deluxe board, plus the prettier heatpipes.