Last Decision! Ordering Soon!

[k-]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 $217.97

Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 ATX LGA775 $145.22

Ocz Platinum Xtc PC2-6400 2GB $273.47 - $30 rebate
I'm curious about this 2.1V ram. Would it boot up right away with the mobo? or do I have a tweak it with some genetic ram

Antec P150 Quiet PC ATX Tower Case w/ Neo HE 430W $168.30
This powersupply is good right? (3 12V with 48A)

Sapphire Radeon X1950 XT 625MHZ PCI-E $297
I'm wondering which one I should get between this and GTS..

Pioneer DVD-RW $38.91

MITSUMI FLASH Reader $23.76

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB SATA2 $72.05
good enough

$1289.85 Canadian
all from www.directcanada.com

How is it?
Thanks

 

[ProSlayer]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 $217.97

Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 ATX LGA775 $145.22

Ocz Platinum Xtc PC2-6400 2GB $273.47 - $30 rebate
I'm curious about this 2.1V ram. Would it boot up right away with the mobo? or do I have a tweak it with some genetic ram

Antec P150 Quiet PC ATX Tower Case w/ Neo HE 430W $168.30
This powersupply is good right? (3 12V with 48A)

Sapphire Radeon X1950 XT 625MHZ PCI-E $297
I'm wondering which one I should get between this and GTS..

Pioneer DVD-RW $38.91

MITSUMI FLASH Reader $23.76

Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB SATA2 $72.05
good enough

$1289.85 Canadian
all from www.directcanada.com

How is it?
Thanks

RAM - Stay away from OCZ as above posted

Video card - Go with the GTS if you can, it is MUCH better!

Case/PSU - It's a rule of thumb never to buy a case w/ a psu. The PSU is usually low quality and burns out within three months.

 

[k-]

yeh but they sell NEO HE (High-Efficiency) PSU seperately as well.

but in this case, it just comes with it..

 

[AMDThunder]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 $217.97

This cpu is $180 at newegg.com with free shipping. Can almost get a 6400 for that price.
Check newegg for the S3 mobo as well. only $116.99 + shipping.

Don't know where you're shopping, but they're too high.

Between newegg, mwave and pricegrabber, you should be able to come up with some better deals.

 

[minioschall]

yea that corsair posted above is nice, and id go with newegg and try to find yourself some combos w/ discounts.

 

[sprite]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 $217.97

This cpu is $180 at newegg.com with free shipping. Can almost get a 6400 for that price.
Check newegg for the S3 mobo as well. only $116.99 + shipping.

Don't know where you're shopping, but they're too high.

Between newegg, mwave and pricegrabber, you should be able to come up with some better deals.

Can you read ?

It says he's buying off a Canadian site. And those are Canadian dollars.

 

[AMDThunder]

Can you read ?

It says he's buying off a Canadian site. And those are Canadian dollars.

Doh! Sorry. See what I get for trying to help?

 

[HibyPrime]

I don't know if its cheaper including shipping, but these parts are cheaper here (canadian store):

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=011667&cid=999.243

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=011028&cid=MB.157

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=010267&cid=RAM.475

Others suggested not to use OCZ ram, I honestly don't know much about ram, but it's cheaper at this store none the less..

 

[k-]

I don't know if its cheaper including shipping, but these parts are cheaper here (canadian store):

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=011667&cid=999.243

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=011028&cid=MB.157

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=010267&cid=RAM.475

Others suggested not to use OCZ ram, I honestly don't know much about ram, but it's cheaper at this store none the less..

the first link you got me is X1950PRO, not X1950XT and about the mobo, yup it is cheaper.

and the memory you picked, is actually $20 more than my ram since mines 266 - 30 = $236

thanks


Can anyone tell me what disadvantage i would get choosing a X1950XT over GTS? in VISTA?

is there a REALLY big difference? I ONLY play at 800 x 600
(cs:s, cs 1.6, bf2 .. stuff)

 

[RyanMicah]

DX10 capability. With an 8800GTS you better not be playing on 800X600 or I'll have to come up there and kick your Canuck ass.

 

[MrMr]

I'm curious about this 2.1V ram. Would it boot up right away with the mobo? or do I have a tweak it with some genetic ram

Do all you can to stay the hell away from OCZ RAM. It sucks big time with 965 mobos.

You will most likely need a cheap RAM stick to tweak the settings if you want the OCZ to somehow work.

I would pay few extra $$$ to get this RAM.

Or get this Corsair.

You need to stop living in the past. The issue with OCZ was that it ran at 2.1 volts and the motherboard only put out 1.8 on startup. That was FIXED A LONG TIME AGO. I'm using OCZ Gold XTC and My Giga 965 S3 for over a month now. Put in the sticks and booted NO PROBLEM. As a matterof fact I'm running them @ 475(950) 1:1 and have had it as high as 500Mhz. So please revise the info you give out on these.

 

[k-]

heh 800x600 FTW

so if i play 800x600 or maybe 1280x1024
X1900XT would be fine right? (cs1.6, cs:cz, cs:s, bf2)

and Id like to use vista in the future as well, would i be having trouble running vista with E6300 and x1900xt?

 

[RyanMicah]

With any X1900 you should be able to play at 1280x1024 in almost game including Oblivion so long as your other system components keep up ok. If you average 30fps+ in games the game is playable. A lot of people play at 25fps or so and do fine, although to me that's fairly choppy.

Vista will run fine using an X1900 card, but you won't be able to play DX10 games without a DX10 card.

 

[still_life]

Do you reckon they'll bring out new games with DX9 and DX10 compatability???

 

[RyanMicah]

I'd be surprised there weren't some good DX10 games out in a year or so.

 

[k-]

I'd be surprised there weren't some good DX10 games out in a year or so.

Okay, So ive decided to get the rig as i proposed

and for the PSU, it can hold x1950xt easy right? (3 12v lines, 16A each. 48A total)

Neo He 430w

 

[RyanMicah]

Now just isn't a good time to be buying low wattage PSU's...go for at least a 750w, they can be found for $130. It's also not a great time to buy a video card really, as DX10 cards will be getting cheaper in just a couple months time, and you'll end up wanting one. They do pretty good at stomping current cards. The 8800GTS is like $450, and provides you with a platform to play future DX10 games. How much is the X1950 you're looking at? I'd say wait a couple months, and if you're that hard up for a video card, try finding a used or refurbished 7600GT or something. You can find a card to play most games for under $100. Just consider it a very temporary card.

 

[k-]

Well I DO have to buy a computer at the end of the month because thats when my dads buying some machines and stuff. so I wouldnt really WANT to wait.

the x1900xt is $300 CAD
and GTS $530 CAD (which is really cheap compared to other places)

I might just spend $200 more bucks on it.. hmm

 

[HibyPrime]

I don't know if its cheaper including shipping, but these parts are cheaper here (canadian store):

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=011667&cid=999.243

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=011028&cid=MB.157

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=010267&cid=RAM.475

Others suggested not to use OCZ ram, I honestly don't know much about ram, but it's cheaper at this store none the less..

the first link you got me is X1950PRO, not X1950XT and about the mobo, yup it is cheaper.

and the memory you picked, is actually $20 more than my ram since mines 266 - 30 = $236

thanks


Can anyone tell me what disadvantage i would get choosing a X1950XT over GTS? in VISTA?

is there a REALLY big difference? I ONLY play at 800 x 600
(cs:s, cs 1.6, bf2 .. stuff)

Didn't pay enough attention :/

If you play at 800 x 600 on an 8800 or any 1900 series, I will come and smash your computer. I play most games at 1280x1024 (or 1440 x 900 if I'm using the widescreen) on a mobility x1600 and it runs fine...

If you can afford the 8800GTS it will be much better in the future. You wont see much of a difference right now, but in DX10 games there will obviously be a difference.

 

[chogo]

What are your objectives for this system? Gaming? Vista? Quiet? Budget? Overclocking?

This info will help with recommendations.


Motherboard: good for overclocking but no RAID, eSATA or firewire support. Suggest Asus P5B-E if any of these are important to you (try to get the 1.02G rev vs 1.01G).

Memory: The OCZ ram price has dropped but appears unavailable. Make sure to get some with a CL4 latency for best overclocking potential (eg. 4-4-4-12). Major brands such as Corsair, OCZ, Muskin, G.Skill, and Kingston are all good.
OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4-5-4-15

Power Supply: The NEO HE that comes with the case has been reported to be unreliable with the Antec Sonata II case so YMMV. Suggest getting a brand name such as Antec, Enermax or OCZ in the 500+W range.

Graphics Card: Good card but you could get an X1950 Pro and save $60 for about 85-90% of the same performance. Another alternative is to get a XFX 7600 GT for about $165 and then later upgrade to a DX10 card when the prices undoubted drop to more reasonable levels.

Overclocking: For successful overclocking you will need an aftermarket HSF such as Sunbeam Tuniq Tower, Scythe Infinity or Thermaltake Big Typhoon and additional case fans (at least one input and one exhaust fan).

Another CAN store to look at is:
NCIX

Good luck with your build.

 

[k-]

What are your objectives for this system? Gaming? Vista? Quiet? Budget? Overclocking?

This info will help with recommendations.


Motherboard: good for overclocking but no RAID, eSATA or firewire support. Suggest Asus P5B-E if any of these are important to you (try to get the 1.02G rev vs 1.01G).

Memory: The OCZ ram price has dropped but appears unavailable. Make sure to get some with a CL4 latency for best overclocking potential (eg. 4-4-4-12). Major brands such as Corsair, OCZ, Muskin, G.Skill, and Kingston are all good.
OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4-5-4-15

Power Supply: The NEO HE that comes with the case has been reported to be unreliable with the Antec Sonata II case so YMMV. Suggest getting a brand name such as Antec, Enermax or OCZ in the 500+W range.

Graphics Card: Good card but you could get an X1950 Pro and save $60 for about 85-90% of the same performance. Another alternative is to get a XFX 7600 GT for about $165 and then later upgrade to a DX10 card when the prices undoubted drop to more reasonable levels.

Overclocking: For successful overclocking you will need an aftermarket HSF such as Sunbeam Tuniq Tower, Scythe Infinity or Thermaltake Big Typhoon and additional case fans (at least one input and one exhaust fan).

Another CAN store to look at is:
NCIX

Good luck with your build.

Thanks for all that.. Hm....
I'd Like to build it around $1500 MAXIMUM
and if possible i'd OC it until 2.5-7ghz range. Do I still need the aftermark HSF?

I did a couple of changes and made the gfx to a $524 8800GTS and dropped the memory to GOLD XTC 2gb 5-5-5-12 for $278.10 - $30 rebate

and came out with $1489.67

Now I need to find out a way to chop the case ($168) into a psu + case that holds GTS eeeekk...

oh and this rig is for ALL Gaming Vista Quiet Budget Overclocking and maybe even multitasking


do I really need raid? ( I actually DO want windows to load fast and things to run up quicker ... hmm)

 

[HibyPrime]

I think people have said the stock HSF will just bearly make it to 3.0ghz, so 2.5-2.7 should be reasonable.

 

[k-]

Okay! I've switched some things!


C2D E6300 $217.97

WD Caviar 160GB $72.05

Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 $145.22

Ocz Gold Xtc PC2-6400 2GB $278.10 - $30

Bfg Geforce 8800 Gts $524.30

Mushkin HP-550 550W ATX 12V 24PIN SLI $88.91
Much Better Right?

Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower $91
Curious about this one, read a REVIEWhttp://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=937 here and thought it was good.

I need an alternative price case.

CD-RW/DVD-RW/Flash Reader

ALL FOR $1504.65 - $30 rebate

 

[chogo]

Budget System thread: Budget Overclock

According to that thread you do not need an extra HSF but you do need the following:
1) Low latency memory PC2-5400 4-4-4-12 (This is very important to get a good overclock). This memory might do the trick: Muskin XP PC2-5300
Or you could go with the more expensive Corsair as specified in the thread.

2) Lots of case fans (to keep everything cool but it won't be very quiet though)


Raid: For the ICH8R (South Bridge raid chip) you need to install the Intel Matrix Storage Raid driver (provides NCQ and AHCI support) when installing Win XP (Press F6 during OS install). This allows full SATA2 speeds otherwise it runs much slower. The S3 motherboard comes with the ICH8 chip (no raid).


Overclocking:
FSB (stock) = 266 MHz
E6300 multiplier = 7
CPU Speed = FSB * Multiplier

For 2.5GHz, the FSB must be 360 MHz.
For 2.7Ghz, the FSB must be 385 MHz.

For a FSB:mem ratio of 1:1 you need memory that can run at these FSB speeds. DDR2-667 (333MHz) memory should be able to run at these speeds provided it has at least a CL4 latency.

My friend's system is limited to a FSB of 375MHz (375*8=3.0GHz) but he has a HSF (Arctic Freezer Pro 7) and E6400. I think the 2x1GB OCZ memory at 5-5-5-15 or HSF is the limiting factor in his system.

For maximum overclocking you need to keep the CPU below the thermal limit of Tc=61.4C.

 

[RyanMicah]

Will your mobo support quad core?