Please help finalise new OC sys

SweetSorrow

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Jan 17, 2007
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Hi guys.
Im new around here, been reading the forums lately and thought I'd sign up to ask you all for some help with a new system I'd like to build.

I plan to do moderate overclocking with the system (close to 1:1 with RAM), so I'd like to make sure everything looks OK to you OC experts :D.

First off, Im in Australia, so all prices will be listed in AU dollars and I have a max budget of $2000 AUD, although I'd like to keep it lower if possible.

Heres the specs I'm planning:

PART PRICE
----------------------------------------------------------------
CASE: Antec P150 $225.00 AUD
PSU: Antec NeoHE 430W /w case
CPU: Intel E6400 (OEM) $264.00 AUD
CPU FAN: TT Big Typhoon VX $65.00 AUD
HDD: Seagate 320GB/16mb $130.00 AUD
RAM: G.Skill NQ 2GB ddr800 $340.00 AUD
MOBO: Gigabyte DS3Pro $200.00 AUD
GPU: HIS x1950xt $389.00 AUD
OPTICAL: Pioneer DVR-111DSV $46.00 AUD
Thermal: Arctic Silver 3.5g $8.00 AUD
----------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL: $1667.00 AUD
---------------------------------------------------------------

I have a couple of questions also.
First, are these specs suitable for the moderate overclock I am aiming for?

Second, I have an option to get G.Skill NS Ram instead of the NQ for $50 less, however it says its only compatible for intel chipsets. On one website it said only P945 and P975x and not P965, where as on another it said all intel chipsets. I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge on compatability of this ram with my mobo?

Third, this is a graphics question so I'm not sure if I should post this is a different thread, but Im not sure what graphics card to get. Im debating over the x1950xt ($389 AUD), the x1950 Pro /w arctic cooler ($295 AUD), or perhaps waiting for the 8800 GTS 320MB if it is going to be released in FEB.
Just so you know, I game at 1280x1024 and I dont plan to get Vista until late this year, or early next year when I will also upgrade my vid card. So the Vid card I get has to last me a year.

Lastly, the CPU I am thinking about is an OEM, its ~$40 AUD cheaper than the retail version. Is it worth getting this instead, or should I get the retail?

Thank a lot for the help, and sorry for the long anoying post.

Cheers!
 

neiroatopelcc

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Oct 3, 2006
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Check the video charts on the tomshardware.com main page (right side) to decide which vga card u want.
cpu: oem vs retail - it's the same chip, with oem you just don't get all the junk you don't use anyway.

I don't know about price, but if the s3 and the ds3 don't cost about the same, I'd go with the normal s3 - the only difference is the gel filled caps on the ds3, and they won't do anything different than the s3 model except last longer - way longer than you'll be keeping the board.
 

SweetSorrow

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Jan 17, 2007
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Hey mate, cheers for the reply.

I've been looking at the charts, just not sure at the moment. Im running a FX 5900 at the moment, so anything is going to be a massive improvement :p .

I also did a bit more searching about the OEM, and aparently the ones I was looking at buying are old revisions of the chip (A1 and A4 revisions), which aparently arn't as good at overclocking? so I might just pay the extra and grab the retail.

About the S3 or DS3 for the mobo, I want to get the DS3Pro as it has onboard firewire, which the S3 does not. That's the only reason I was planning on geting it, otherwise I would have gone for the S3.
Is there any other mobo I should be looking at with firewire support? (Sorry I should have mentioned this before).

Also, any idea about the RAM or not? If it does work with P965 boards, that would be great.

Oh, and there's no glaring things that will prevent me from overclocking this build?

Cheers again for the help.