My new E6600 Setup. Any advice

[Mizerie]

Hello everyone,
This is my first post here. I have been following Tom's Hardware, TGDaily and these forums for many months now as I prepared to buy a new system. My current PC is over 5 years old now and I just cant handle the poor performance anymore..not to mention the inability to play any games newer than StarCraft, hehehe.

About 4 days after Conroe's release I purchased my new PC from www.cyberpowerpc.com . I know, I know, you all are going to say, why the hell didnt you build it yourself? Well its not that I cant, its just that I dont want to, time constraints and having to order all those parts seperately just gives me a giant headache. CyberPower has perfectly resonable prices and when I price out everything on NewEgg the price difference really isnt that big. This is what I got:

Processor - Core 2 Duo E6600
HSF - Standard Intel LGA775 cpu fan and heatsink
Mobo - ASUS P5N-SLI nForce 570 Chipset LGA775
RAM - 2GB PC6400 DDR2/800
Power - SuperAlien 500 Watt w/ speed control
Graphics - Nvidia 7600GT 256MB PCI Express

Those are all the major parts, nothing else has any significant value when you look at the performance of the machine.

I still havent recieved my computer yet, it is expected within the next week or so, but I have gotten really involved in these forums (thats why I signed up today) and have read about alot of things that are getting me worried about my latest purchase.

First, I am worried that Cyperpower doesnt have my processor in stock and will claim it is on backorder. I better not have to wait like Dell customers are having to wait....thats for sure.

Second, I will be checking to make sure that "defective" cpu heatsink is seated properly so my cpu doesnt idle above 50 C like some people have been saying.

Third, Because of the above statement I am thinking I might just buy an aftermarket cpu fan a heatsink. Any suggestions on which one? Id like to keep the cost around $30.

Fourth, I am considering doing some overclocking. Possibly push the cores to 3GHz so do you have any tips for me to make that happen? Im not sure if the mobo I got will even do it.

Thanks everyone for all of your knowledge and support. You guys sold me on the Conroe chip and its abilities.

-Miz

 

[gOJDO]

Everythign on your setup is excellent, except the mainboard

 

[The_Abyss]

Getting an E6600 and then only getting a 7600GT is pointless if you intend to game.

Get a lower CPU and a better graphics card.

 

[Mizerie]

SupremeLaw:
Thank you, I did report the issue to CyberPower. I await their reply about what they are doing in regards to my order before they deliever it to me to prevent any issues.

gOJDO:
yeah im sorta kicking myself for not upgrading to little higher end delux version of the Asus mainboard. I know I wont be able to compete in the extreme overclocking department.

Abyss:
Its ok. I am not by any means a true gamer and probably never will be. I have an 11 month old dauther and another on the way soon. Casual gaming will be what I do. I have some friends that play the Guild Wars game and I intend to join them. Most of them have PC's that are over a year old with Single Core AMD processors and 5 or 6 series Nvidia cards and it looks amazing on their PCs....I am sure I will be able to keep up I was sorta wanting the 7900GTX but I was not prepared to spend the extra $320 for that card. I saw no significant advantage to the 7900GT card.

==============
Either way I fully expect my new equipment to blow my mind for years to come as this stuff is WAY above par when compared to my current 5 year old PC.


Still looking for advice on a specific brand of heatsink and fan for my new machine.

-Miz

 

[DeMonOfElRu]

Still looking for advice on a specific brand of heatsink and fan for my new machine.
-Miz

Mizerie ... most modern aftermarket HSF are vertically oriented.
Eg Sonic Tower - Absolutely exellent performer and rather cheap.
The Scythe Ninja - the BEST performer according to a lot of reviews.

However , my recommendation is the Big Typhoon. This blows air downward onto the motherboard to cool the components around the cpu socket like the voltage regulators. If you're overclocking .. then the voltreg would be a major factor in getting stability (not mention the health of your mobo in the long term).

Big Typhoon is actually more efficient than the Zalman 9500Cu if you put exactly the same fan on the Typhoo.

Coincidentally, most all people consider the Zalman 9500Cu to be the best, but also the most expensive usually. But do consider my reasons above too before buying the Zalman.