Another build.. after 6 years!!

[Stewrt]

Hello all.
OK now that these fast as hell new Intel chips are out, prices just dropped. Might as well grab one up. Need to upgrade the old 423 pin, P4 2.8.
Primary usage... Been playing Company of Heroes lately and have regained my love of gaming (kinda blows after you see it run on another machine at high settings). Also: Bitorrent, Video encoding, Office work, Crap load O' surfing, multimedia. Want this one to last 4 years with maybe a vid card upgrade.

Here's where I'm at: And the issues I'm on the fence about.


MoBo
Thinkin intel goes well with Intel. Have an Abit IC7G board in my present system. Hate all the tweakability (just seems to have lead to lack of stability). I just want it to work. I heard this board overclocks well, and very easy as well. Heard the model shipping needs a bios upgrade out of the box.

Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$229.9

Processor
Dual cores for some future scalability. Heard she overclocks nicely to 3.6 or somethin...

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6700 - Retail
$320.00

Memory
mushkin 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Chennel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996557 - Retail
$289.99
Cas Latency 5
Timing 5-5-5-12
Voltage 1.8V
Heat Spreader

Heat sink
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
$47.99

ZALMAN ZM-CS1 Clip Support for installation of CNPS7000 series onto Socket 775 - Retail
$3.99

Power Supply
Modular design issues?? 530W enough? any recogmendations on this subject greatly appreciated. Like the modular design idea (Clean). What are some of your guys' experiences with it?
HIPER HPU-4K530-MS ATX12V v2.2 530W Power Supply - Retail
$79.99

COOLMAX CR-550B ATX 550W "140mm Fan" Power Supply - Retail
$69.99

Any ideas for a vid card that will last me a year or 2? I heard new stuff is dropping on Monday the 14 of May. May wait and see till Tues about price plummets. Any models stand out to anyone that may be an awesome deal Price/Perf come that time?
All and all this has got me @ $1020. With 2 power supplies because I have no clue. Still need a new monitor and a Graphics card to add to this.

Thanks for any and all advice.
My primary concern here is stability. My 1 and only home desktop/power machine that I spend ~4 hours a day at.

Stewrt

 

[akhilles]

If your primiary concern is truly stability, you wouldn't want to overclock. o/c involves A LOT of stability testing. Failing one single test will result in instability. When the climate changes, your o/c is gonna need some tweaking. Unless the pc will be in an a/c'ed room 24/7/365. Or it will run on phase change (similiar to a/c).

The 6700 per se has plenty of speed at stock.

If you still want to o/c, dump the cpu coolers. They're loud as hell at full speed. Anything like typhoon, geminii, infinity, ninja & noctua would be quieter.

The ram is a question mark for overclocking. It ain't on the ddr2 ram list. If you want to be sure, get Mushkin XP2/HP2. i.e. 2 kits of 996523

Don't look at the wattage of a psu alone. It ain't everything. The combined +12v wattage is as important. Out of the two, the Hiper is the better choice.

What's the video card? If you're overclocking, you may be stressing the psu especially if the psu is barely enough for the build. The psu may not last as long as you expect. You might be better off with a top brand & plenty of power.

 

[Stewrt]

Thanks alot for your input man!!

I'm a lil concerned about the mobo. Seems there are 2 very similar models from Intel and nothing that has been released this year. I guess they put all their resources into Santa Rosa lately. I have heard rumors about an upgraded chipset for desktops in the pipeline. Just seems that what is avail is all prior to Core 2 release. I'd prefer some future scalability rather than being able to downgrade to a P4 with the same board. There is one that is Quad ready. But Just one!!
Some of the boards cap at 4Gig of Ram. This machine may be doing a bit of photoshop in the future. I'd dump in more if I thought it would help at that time.

As for the over clocking... It was something I kinda want not need to toy with down the line after she is up and running. Nothing extreme. maybe try and push her to 3.0 GHZ. Minor.. Thats an IF. Always in a climate controlled environment.

I'm gonna go looking for this DDR2 list. Please send a link if you can. And go and take a look at your recommendation for RAM.

I did a lil more reading on heatsinks/coolers last night. Not sure about the one listed.

What are your feelings about the vid card listed below? Not outrageous expensive. But should run COH and full everything. Can get replaced after mid performance DX 10 cards settle into a decent price point.


config so far, looking like:

Mobo: Intel??

Case: Kingwin 410 or 440 cant remeber

Boot Drive: 36GB Raptor boot drive Reuse

Mass storage: 750 Seagate Reuse

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700

PSU: Still undecided Like the idea of modular, But more cord connections more problems?

Video card: ?? Maybe: BFG Tech BFGR7950512GTOCE GeForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 OC Video Card - Retail $229

Thanks again man.

 

[lostandwandering]

Take a look at the NForce 680/650 mobo's. They are newer than the 975 and are good at OC'ing. The Hiper PSU doesn't provide a lot of power over the +12V rails. Take a look at the Corsair HX520. It will give you plenty of power to OC and add a killer GPU. Speaking of which, don't bother with the 7950. It's not all that great. Stretch your budget a little more and grab yourself an eVGA 8800GTS 320mb, on sale at newegg.com for 259.99.

 

[easyg]

Take a look at the NForce 680/650 mobo's. They are newer than the 975 and are good at OC'ing. The Hiper PSU doesn't provide a lot of power over the +12V rails. Take a look at the Corsair HX520. It will give you plenty of power to OC and add a killer GPU. Speaking of which, don't bother with the 7950. It's not all that great. Stretch your budget a little more and grab yourself an eVGA 8800GTS 320mb, on sale at newegg.com for 259.99.

OP said that his main concern was platform stability. Well you can't beat the 975X chipset for rock solid stability, and it overclocks well enuf.

 

[lostandwandering]

Yes, and in his second post he stated:
"mobo: Intel??"
Which to me sounds like he is looking for other options. I gave him other options. The new Nforce boards don't seem to have many stability issues anyway.

 

[VideoQuasar]

If you are going to mess with overclocking, and then settle in after an upgrade with a new proc, then with no intention of OC'ing again...get an E6400 and clock til your bored of it. Settle in then, and get a Q6700 and live out your computers life, which will be a long time.

I built a computer for someone with that mobo and it is excellent and very stable. It is built for years of service.

 

[kukito]

I'm a lil concerned about the mobo. Seems there are 2 very similar models from Intel and nothing that has been released this year. I guess they put all their resources into Santa Rosa lately. I have heard rumors about an upgraded chipset for desktops in the pipeline. Just seems that what is avail is all prior to Core 2 release. I'd prefer some future scalability rather than being able to downgrade to a P4 with the same board. There is one that is Quad ready. But Just one!!

If you want an Intel branded motherboard then the BX2 is the only way to go if you want to overclock. It also supports Core 2 Quad. It's not guaranteed to work with Penryn, the newer, faster, cooler chips Intel is close to releasing.

While I agree with you in general about the stability, remember that several manufacturers offer motherboards with Intel chipsets (like your current one). Those can include the older 975 series, the newer 965 series (don't ask) and the upcoming P35 series (Bearlake). The P35s, which support Penryn, are already available from some vendors (link) but not yet from Intel itself. There are many motherboards available that support the Core 2 Quad, including Intel branded P965 boards. Those offered by vendors other than Intel will allow huge overclocks.

 

[warezme]

If you are going to mess with overclocking, and then settle in after an upgrade with a new proc, then with no intention of OC'ing again...get an E6400 and clock til your bored of it. Settle in then, and get a Q6700 and live out your computers life, which will be a long time.

I built a computer for someone with that mobo and it is excellent and very stable. It is built for years of service.

He will get more value if he gets a E6400, OC it to run circles around a 6800 than wait 6mo' or so and drop in a Quad Penryn 45nm in the same socket...., like I plan to do.

 

[Stewrt]

Thanks for your patients with me thus far. You guys have been a big help.
Because of you'all I think the: EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - $279
Is my choice for Graphix. Think it will be a bit better than the 7950 price for performance.

And I'm going shopping for power supplies again after I read up on a spec overview article.

Ok I'm pretty much settled on the C2D E6700. Thats just done. Especially with recent price drop.

Screw the over clocking. I dont know what I was thinking. I've played with it in the past with bad results. I'll just get the 6700 for the higher clock and let her run like that.

This Mobo stuff is still boggling my mind. So damn much. And since when does a company make a Model # 965 come out after 975!!!! I thought I was getting the lastest with the 975. Confirmed that in one of Tom's guides. Thanks. Would have gone right past me if you had'nt mentioned it!!!

What I need/want in a Mobo: Maybe you guys can better guide me if your more aware of what is available.
An Intel Board and chipset is still my preferred option. (Stability) I've heard to many good things about the combo.

-Form Factor: ATX
-Gigabit ethernet
-Sata 300 support
-My CD and DVD roms Are IDE So I'll need 1 IDE interface to run those.
- DDR2 800 support Dual Channel
-1066 FSB obviously
-I'd like 4 RAM Dimms
-Firewire 800 would rock. I only seem to see 400 though.

They pretty much all offer that. Trying to find a problem child in the bunch or a top performer is difficult.

Thanks again,

Stu

 

[Stewrt]

OK Think I found the Mobo..

Intel BLKD975XBX2KR


Thoughts???

 

[VideoQuasar]

You can get the very latest CPU magazine. It has a very good shootout on power supplies (both high end and midrange), plus the facts what makes a good one "a good one".

that is a very good mobo my friend.

 

[kukito]

Go for the BX2 board or maybe this one if overclocking is out of the question.

http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/dp965lt/index.htm

Personally I would go with one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128323

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131045

The GA-965P-DQ6 is my motherboard and I can vouch for its performance and stability, even when overclocked.

Hope this helps.

PS: The Core 2 Quads are due to come down in price during the 2nd half. The Q6600 will cost more or less the same as the current E6700. That will help tremendously in video encoding tasks.

 

[Stewrt]

Unfortunately I cant wait for prices to come down any more. Been waiting long enough. My system has just been a bit plagued lately. Had some thermal issues to fix, she acts buggy from time to time, doesnt multi task like I would like. Yeah yeah some of that is Windoz... I keep her pretty clean though. Have to with what is in there to work with.

I was planning on running this system in 32 bit mode. What is this crap I just read about 32 bit not being able to address 4Gig of memory. I thought 4 was the max for 32 bit?
Still working on choosing memory... Just wanted to get 4 gigs and get that out of the way. Looking into one of you guys' recommendations.


OK power supplies:
Think I got a couple of winners here: You all see a favorite? I'm liking the modular.

Thermaltake W0116RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 750W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0116RU
$189.99

ZALMAN ZM600-HP ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: ZM - 600HP
$149.9

Thanks again all,
I'll be back when I have a couple of memory bits figured out.
This is exciting!!!!!!

Stewrt

 

[VideoQuasar]

OK power supplies:
Think I got a couple of winners here: You all see a favorite? I'm liking the modular.

Thermaltake W0116RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 750W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0116RU
$189.99

ZALMAN ZM600-HP ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: ZM - 600HP
$149.9

Thanks again all,
I'll be back when I have a couple of memory bits figured out.
This is exciting!!!!!!

Stewrt

now I know your pricing. I suggest you go with a PSU manufacturer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151028

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

it's your build my friend, we (I) can only suggest the best available so you know there are options.

 

[lostandwandering]

Those would be good choices. Other ones to consider would be:

Corsair HX620
or
Corsair HX520
The Corsair PSUs are manufactured by Seasonic so they have the same excellent quality. PCP&C is one of the most recommended PSU companies here. Personally, I think you would be fine with the $114 HX520 though.

 

[justjc]

It is true that Windows, in the 32 bit versions, won't use all of your 4 GBs of RAM, but they will be able to run with them. The only way to get full support for 4 GBs is to go 64 bit, which the processor will have no problems doing.

 

[notherdude]

I notice that you are giving up on overclocking. But hang on a sec. OC the current crop of Intel chips to a middle ground degree (say for eg. running the e6600 at 3.0 to 3.2 ghz instead of 2.4) is VERY easy and the chips are easily capable of running that fast with near perfect stability.

There is a guide for doing that here at this site. http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Core2Duo-Overclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html

A coulpe of BIOS settings, a single reboot, and instant stable 3 gig, guranteed.

 

[Tbps]

If absolute stability is your goal, you might also consider going with ECC memory. The Intel D975XBX2 motherboard is their only current desktop offering that supports it. Since it has four memory slots, it uses unbuffered modules instead of the more expensive FB- or registered modules.

Here's an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134113

 

[Stewrt]

OK Taken alot of input. weighed what everyone has said. Which has made me go and learn alot more.

Think this is the final config... Minus the parts I'm pulling from my old system.
Let me know if there are any Major errors anywhere.

Thanks again all!!!

Oh yeah, just gonna use the stock heatsink till I decide on something...



Intel BLKD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - OEM
Model #: BLKD975XBX2KR
$209.99 $209.99


EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Model #: 320-P2-N811-AR
$279.99


CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CMPSU-620HX
$169.99


Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6700 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6700
$320.00


mushkin eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) with EPP Profile Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996523 - Retail
Model #: 996523
$174.99


SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: 226BW
$318.99

Subtotal: $1,473.9

 

[akhilles]

http://ramlist.ath.cx/ddr2/

That list is kinda outdated, but still used a lot by people. There are new ram modules not listed there yet.

BLKD975XBX2KR is the best Intel mobo, imo. It's called bad axe 2. You can google its reviews & you'll see what I'm talking about.

Your revised is much more polished.

If you ask me, I'd pick PCP&C for psu. That's just me. Some brands suggested above are pretty solid.

 

[magus_gr]

On the motherboard side, I think this is a much better option for the price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131025

Note the cooling system, the eSATA port, 2nd gigabit ethernet port and WiFi functionality. In my experience with the first incarnation of the Bad Axe, stability is good but not exceptional, and I doubt you'll see a difference between an Intel and an ASUS board running at stock speeds.

Also, I strongly believe you should wait AT LEAST 2 days, to see the reviews/benchmarks on ATI's new offerings, and any further impact they may have on 8-series prices.