Rate my Build

[OMGLAZERS]

Hey everyone, about to put in an order today for my brand new rig and I wanted everyone's opinion and suggestions. Alright, here goes!:

$217 - CPU: Intel C2D Conroe 2.13 Ghz ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115004 )
$104 - RAM: Corsair XMS2 2x512MB DDR2 675 mhz ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145539 )
$125 - Mobo: Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128017 )
$189.99 ($149.99 After Rebate) - GPU: XFV GeForce 7900 GS 256 GDDR3 PCIE x16 ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150208 )
$40 - Case: Coolermaster RC-330 ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119115 )
Cooling:
$5 - Logisys 120mm CF ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811999450 )
$5 - MASSCOOL 80mm CF ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835150007 )
$6 - Artic Silver 5 Thermal Paste ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835100007 )
$30 - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Fan ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835186134 )

The only thing I see to modify possibly is to drop down the CPU to the 6300, 1.8 something ghz version and the GPU to the 7600 or something, and use the $100 or so that I might save between it to bump up my RAM to 2 GB. Whats the opinion on that?

Also, I planned on OCing and cooling according to this guide I was recommended: http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/GUIDE-GHz-Core-Duo-Budget-System-631-Overclock-ftopict205223.html

Do I have everything ok for a nice OC rig? RAM/CPU in sync and such? Alright, thanks for any advice. Just want to make sure I spend my $650 wisely.

Thanks!

 

[OMGLAZERS]

Launch all bump for great justice (Sorry)

 

[wun911]

average build, but at a good price...

 

[OMGLAZERS]

average build, but at a good price...

I'm actually WAY over budget on this one.

College students are poor, and my current machine is so pathetic when put next to this one, it's a massive leap.

This wasn't meant to be a OMGAWESOMZS build;

I'm asking for a rating based on the parts themselves for a budget build.

 

[CrystalShip]

I'll just bring it up to bring to everyones attention. Your FSB is 800/1000 for your mobo while your ram is slower. I always thought your ram should be the same or faster than your FSB.

I would want 2 gigs of ram. I've read reviews, I think on this site that says 2 gigs is right and that is what I hear will run vista better.

 

[OMGLAZERS]

I'll just bring it up to bring to everyones attention. Your FSB is 800/1000 for your mobo while your ram is slower. I always thought your ram should be the same or faster than your FSB.

I would want 2 gigs of ram. I've read reviews, I think on this site that says 2 gigs is right and that is what I hear will run vista better.

I had planned on OC'ing the ram. The ram is 667 mhz, and at DDR2 that makes it something like 1200+ which gives me a little OCing overheard because the FSB is 1066 (with an x8 multiplier)

I thought I needed 800/1066 mhz RAM as well, but I was told differently. If you have a solid evidence otherwise, let me know.

See: http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1384215#1384215

for all the info I got on c2d ram

 

[chogo]

What are you planning to use for a power supply?

You could go the E6300 & 7600GT route and get 2GB ram but it depends on the objective of your build.

If it is mostly for gaming then E6300/7600GT makes sense if you plan to upgrade the video to a midrange DX10 card later on. Otherwise stick with the 7900GS and 1GB ram and hope that none of the games you are planning on running need more memory.

Also, it is highly likely that ram will decrease in price in the future so that you could add another 1GB later.

Ram: The ram you have selected should be fine for overclocking. The ram "rule" is to select ram that is inexpensive but has good timings so that you can maintain the low latency timings by bumping up the voltage when overclocking.

 

[OMGLAZERS]

What are you planning to use for a power supply?

You could go the E6300 & 7600GT route and get 2GB ram but it depends on the objective of your build.

If it is mostly for gaming then E6300/7600GT makes sense if you plan to upgrade the video to a midrange DX10 card later on. Otherwise stick with the 7900GS and 1GB ram and hope that none of the games you are planning on running need more memory.

Also, it is highly likely that ram will decrease in price in the future so that you could add another 1GB later.

I've got a PS already in a comp that im going to swap out and use. It's an Antec 450 W "True450" PS. I figured that would be ok. I mean, I know 500 is good and all but I don't have $50 for 50 more watts, really.

Will this be ok for an OC? I planned on keeping 1 Gig of RAM because, like you mentioned, RAM does drop drastically in price and I DON'T plan on upgrading to a DX10 card unless I can sell the one I plan on buying and get something equally as powerful in the midrange.

Should I wait for DX10? I'm buying this thing because my current computer is about three to four years old, and I've got the money to get started on it right now. I guess I could wait till after winter break, but i'm buying this so I can enjoy my gaming between semesters at my university.

 

[celewign]

I heard a rumor that NVidia might throw out some cheap DirectX 10 cards. Patience might give a good reward in that case...
-cm

 

[Threshold]

I heard a rumor that NVidia might throw out some cheap DirectX 10 cards. Patience might give a good reward in that case...
-cm

I'll look for the source (no, not the Inquirer), but I remember reading that the lower-end DX10 cards won't be out til at least March.

I guess that depends on how patient he can be.

 

[OMGLAZERS]

I heard a rumor that NVidia might throw out some cheap DirectX 10 cards. Patience might give a good reward in that case...
-cm

I'll look for the source (no, not the Inquirer), but I remember reading that the lower-end DX10 cards won't be out til at least March.

I guess that depends on how patient he can be.

March = Fuck that.

Im buying this thing to play RIGHT FREAKING NOW I've got a month of vacation, a simple job and free time to catch up on my games. So, forget it.

 

[chogo]

I've got a PS already in a comp that im going to swap out and use. It's an Antec 450 W "True450" PS. I figured that would be ok. I mean, I know 500 is good and all but I don't have $50 for 50 more watts, really.

Will this be ok for an OC?

450W PS should be adequate for OC, of course more watts would be better.


OC: My friend's E6400 on an Asus P5B-E only made it to 3.0GHz (FSB=375MHz with Tc=60C) as it was limited by the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7. By going with an E6300, you could use the saved $$$ to buy a better HSF such as a Scythe Infinity or Tuniq Tower to get a higher overclock, otherwise the build looks good.

 

[OMGLAZERS]

I've got a PS already in a comp that im going to swap out and use. It's an Antec 450 W "True450" PS. I figured that would be ok. I mean, I know 500 is good and all but I don't have $50 for 50 more watts, really.

Will this be ok for an OC?

450W PS should be adequate for OC, of course more watts would be better.


OC: My friend's E6400 on an Asus P5B-E only made it to 3.0GHz (FSB=375MHz with Tc=60C) as it was limited by the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7. By going with an E6300, you could use the saved $$$ to buy a better HSF such as a Scythe Infinity or Tuniq Tower to get a higher overclock, otherwise the build looks good.

It hasn't been purchased yet; this is why I came to the experts; for help!

So if I dropped down to the 6300 and saved the $40 and put that into one of the two HSF you suggested, could I achieve better power? Bear in mind, more than power, i'd like stability.

If I dropped to the 6300 though as you suggest, and get the HSF, would I need to drop from 800 to 675 or keep it at 675 mhz for the RAM? Also, what about Zalmann HSFs? I've seen and heard lots of good things about them

 

[chogo]

One thing to note is that the 2 HSF's that I recommended are rather large and heavy so if you were planning to move your machine a lot then you might want to stick with the lighter Freezer Pro 7 (although that will limit your overclock somewhat). Also due to their height, there may be possible issues with them fitting in your case.

For max OC, you need to remove the CPU generated heat away using the most efficient HSF for a given price/performance.

DDR2-675 implies when at a FSB:mem ratio of 1:1, that the FSB is at 337.5MHz.

Now, CPU speed = FSB x CPU ratio so...
E6300: 338 * 7 = 2.36GHz
E6400: 338 * 8 = 2.70GHz

You could overclock the DDR2-675 memory to say a FSB=400MHz (equivalent to DDR2-800) to obtain...
E6300: 2.8GHz
E6400: 3.2GHz

Zalman makes good HSFs, they are more efficient than stock but not in the same league as Scythe or Tuniq. They are a little overpriced for their performance. The Arctic does a good job for the price and is also better than stock.

 

[ProSlayer]

You don't need the Arctic Silver 5 with the AC7 CPU Cooler.

 

[chogo]

You don't need the Arctic Silver 5 with the AC7 CPU Cooler.

That's right, the cooler already comes with Arctic MX-1 thermal compound pre-applied. It's advantages are that it isn't conducive as it has no silver and it doesn't increase capacitance. It is believed that AS5 and MX-1 perform similarly.

 

[OMGLAZERS]

You don't need the Arctic Silver 5 with the AC7 CPU Cooler.

Whoops, thanks for saving me some cash