New System I'm gonna build & OC - please give comments

[nila]

Howdy all,
About to build a new system and this is what I've decided to go with, looking for comments and feedback:
(Live in Aus so all prices are Aus and also obv. effects which bits can get for what price)

Case I already have a p180
Antec NeoPower 480 PSU
Hard drives - I already own several - SATA/SATA II ones (x4).


Motherboard I'm thinking about getting: Gigabyte: 965P-S3 - $169

(can anyone tell me what the DS3 has over the S3? I cant see any diff really except for like $60 so obviously I want to stick to the S3 and save the cash!
I presume the S3 is still good for OC'ing?)

CPU: E6400 OEM - $264
There are some 4Mb lvl 2 cache version of these floating around, they're around $35 more expensive - is this going to make any real diff to the system? I'm trying to be as careful with the $$$'s as i can. The system is already pushing the limits a bit.


Cooler: Thermaltake Big Typhoon $60
(heard this one is pretty quiet and also its really cheap)

RAM: GEIL 2048MB DDR2-800 TWIN PACK PC-6400 240-PIN DDR2 RAM - $374
(PC6400 800MHz CAS 5-5-5-12, Aluminum Heat-spreader)
Dont really want to spend any more than this for 2Gb. Can buy 3Gb for not much more and it'd probably make alot more diff to my overall system speed.

Graphics: 512MB 7600GS Gigabyte $169



Not a huge gamer, WoW is around as far as it goes so this graphics card is more than enough for me for a long time.


I live in Auss so the temp can get hot. Want to OC this but DONT want to compromise stability at all - want as fast as I can easily get where it's rock solid still and I dont have to worry it'll start crashing on hot days.

Appreciate any help as I'm totally new to OC'ing and have never tried it at all even though I'm a Sys Admin and so have alot of understanding of computers.

Thanks boys!

 

[yas]

seems like a good system to me 8O

 

[nila]

any comments on S3 vs DS3?

What about the 4Mb lvl2 cache vs. the 2Mb lvl2 cache?

Is that RAM good for OC'ing?
Any other brand name suggestions? Might get it in the US and have it shipped here as it seems to be ALOT cheaper over there than it is here.
Need suggestions soon though as might be able to get someone to bring it back for me

Good Cooler?

 

[1Tanker]

any comments on S3 vs DS3?

What about the 4Mb lvl2 cache vs. the 2Mb lvl2 cache?

Is that RAM good for OC'ing?
Any other brand name suggestions? Might get it in the US and have it shipped here as it seems to be ALOT cheaper over there than it is here.
Need suggestions soon though as might be able to get someone to bring it back for me

Good Cooler?

The main difference between the DS-3, and the S3 are that the DS-3 has solid capacitors(versus the standard electrolytic type on other boards). These are supposed to offer increased reliability, longer life, and handle the high voltages and heat, associated with overclocking, better. The S3 is still a very capable motherboard, and will save you a few bucks. GL

 

[nibenentt]

There is no 4MB of cache versions of the E6400, only the E6600 and above have 4MB of cache.

The only difference between the S3 and DS3 is that the DS3 has Solid capacitors, and a different network controller chip. one has the marvel 8053 network controller and the other marvel 8056 network controller. I'm most likely getting the DS3 latter this week, depending on how much dearer it is whole sale, thus have been loking in to these motherboards. (i need a motherboard for C2D, that has 3 PCI slots that don't get covered by a double height graphics card as getting a 8800GTS as my signature shows.)

Depending on how high you overclock it the S3 would still get a few years life with the DS3 adding a few more years to the life.

Not sure about that particular ram as never had it. The 2Gb of OCZ DDR2 667 Gold Edition XTC ram i'm using with the parts in my signature only cost me $369 AUD from photech a store in adelaide that will ship australia wide. This ram runs at 1.9v standard and OCZ warranty it to 2.2V +/- 5% so should allow you to get it above the standard speed of 667MHZ, i.e. above a CPU speed of 2.66GHz, to get 3.2GHz or higher you would need to get DDR2 800 as some 667MHz modules wont be able to run a 1:1 ratio of fsb:memory at this speed.
Some of the their other ram has pretty good prices. their website is

 

[nila]

Thanks for the replies.

As for the 4Mb lvl2 cache, there actually is some.
They weren't standard release versions but they are called ES and I googled them to confirm and several people have them and have tested them.

They were some type of special engineering models or something. I dont think they have them in the states and they're definitely not common but they are out there.

Confirmed with the shop too and they're def the 4mb versions they are selling.

 

[nila]

Well ordered the RAM (ouch that was expensive!!),

CPU, MoBo and Graphics are the next step!
This whole setup is gonna cost a fair pretty penny thats for sure!