E6300 Build - Please comment

[sim_uk84]

Hi, I wanna build a new rig that will be used for moderate gaming (mainly source and cod2), a little photo editing/graphics design and the other usual stuff (internet, movies, music etc). Ok here's wot im thinkin:

Intel Core 2 duo E6300
Intel DP965LT Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA-II 16MB
GeForce 7600 GT 256MB GDDR3
Hiper Type R 580W PSU
Thermaltake Tsunami case

Now for memory I was unsure because of the whole high freq v tight timings thing, which would be better?
Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value PC5300 667MHz CAS:3
OR
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS PC6400 800MHz CAS:5
bearing in mind the latter has slower timings and is slightly more expensive.

Im from the UK so there's probably little point in me giving my budget and where from and how much each component is, so if you could suggest any improvements that would stay roughly within the current scope of this system without increasing the costs dramatically (unless you really think it is necessary), I would appreciate it. Cheers.

 

[waylander]

Look fine but I'd change that psu to enermax, seasonic, ocz, silverstone or antec.

I personally like to OC so i'd go with the higher frequency so that it's more stable.

 

[sim_uk84]

Look fine but I'd change that psu to enermax, seasonic, ocz, silverstone or antec.

Im prepared to pay more if it means having a better, more stable psu but the impression I got was that the Hiper 580 is a good psu and where ive been looking it seems to be the best price/performance. Any1 have any experience with this psu? All of the brands you have mentioned seem really overpriced, I know the price reflects the quality but if the hiper would run this rig with no problems then I would sooner stick with that to make the build cheaper.

 

[kukito]

Intel DP965LT Motherboard

Intel motherboards, other than enthusiast boards like the Bad Axe, don't have as many overclocking options (if any) as boards from Asus or Gigabyte. Since you've chosen a lower clocked processor, getting something other than Intel will allow you overclock more. Check out this AnandTech review of the E6300 and E6400. I was stunned by the performance they were able to extract from these (relatively) inexpensive CPUs.

 

[aj6065]

Everything looks great. The PSU should work fine. I would go for the XMS RAM. The timings are looser, but the increased mhz will give you better performance.

 

[sim_uk84]

Thanks for the advice, I will probably choosing a diff mobo over the intel as I intend to overclock this baby at some point. Could u guys suggest a decent overclockable mb that doesnt have all the expensive extras like sli/crossfire, raid, dual gig lan etc as I wont be using these. BTW what is the E6300 equivalent to in AMD terms? 4200 X2?