rate my Q6600 build

[TexasVol]

I am building a machine for video editing and general computing. I also want to experiment with OC'ing. Please give me your thoughts. In particular, I am looking for cooling advice...but buying from AVAdirect so my choices are about 8-10 options.

config so far:
# ANTEC, Performance One P180 Silver Mid Tower Computer Case, ATX, 450W PSU
# ASUS, P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP, LGA775, Intel P35
# INTEL, Core 2 Duo Q6600 Quad-Core, 2.4GHz

???
# TUNIQ, Tower 120 CPU Cooler, Socket 478/775/754/939/940/AM2, Aluminum

# MUSHKIN, 2GB (2 x 1GB) eXtreme Performance PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz w/ EPP CL4 (4-4-3-10)
# SEAGATE, 320GB Barracuda 7200.10, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
# LINKSKEY, LKA-CR15B Black Internal 19-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5" Bay, USB
# MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32-bit, OEM
# + Some cheap video card

 

[yay]

One thing, dont use standard PSU's that come with cases, they will ussually die after build and take somthing important with it. This is more important when overclocking, so i recommend getting a 500watt mid range PSU, dont go extreme as your not getting a extreme Graphics card.

Rest of your setup looks alright.

 

[sharp910sh]

what graphics card are you getting anyway. i would go for the x1950 pro, if you want a cheap mid range card. or the x1950 xt much better card but only a bit more money.

 

[Dahak]

I would go for the 8800gts 640,or wait for the price of the GTX to come down.With the advent of the 8900 series video cards,and DX10.0b,the 8800gtx should be a steal,once they are both released.Just a thought.Goodluck.P.S.I would opt for a better power supply,if for no other reason than future proofing yourself.However,450watts,even with 30amps on the 12volt rail is still not enough to run todays machines with any real reliability.Especially with the number of fans and hard drives some people have.Add to that a high end CPU amd video card,and you have the makings of a small power house.

Dahak

M2N32 SLI DELUXE MB
ATHLON64 X2-5600+
EVGA 7950GT KO
THERMALTAKE 850WATT PSU
2X1GIG DDR2 800 MEMORY
WD SATA2 80/250GIG HD
RAIDMAX SMILIDON GAMING CASE
XP MEDIA CENTER EDITION
ACER 22IN. WS LCD

 

[chowner]

I'd get a Mac they are super duper awesome!

 

[WR2]

Look at the ANTEC Sonata II w/ 450W PSU or ANTEC Sonata III w/ 500W PSU cases and maybe save $50-60.
The case PSU is a decent choice, if not top of the line. It's high quality and stable. TomsWiki PSU ratings
Your CPU and motherboard choices are good.
The Tuniq cooler is excellent but for $40 less you could get the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro. Its much easier to install and has the thermal compound already installed.
The Muskin memory looks good. You could easily substitue the Corsair XMS PC2-6400 CL5.
The video cards at AVAdirect looked a bit over priced to me but the XFX 8500GT $90 would be a decent choice.
Add a DVD burner to your list and you're on your way. My advice is to shop locally for a keyboard/mouse and speakers to be sure you get something that feels/sounds right to you. Once you find something you like then you can order online to complete the system.

Ok, I did find another XFX 8500GT video card for $60 after rebate

 

[Matt4109]

chowder thanks for the help.

Get a different power supply. Although 450 is more than enough to power your system, included psus are low quality.
If you are video editing then you need a good gpu. People have already recommended good ones. Get some cheaper ram, around $80, because you wont see a performance difference from the ones you have unless you have a better gpu. Spend the extra on a better gpu.

I would reccomend waiting until september and getting a evga card so that you can upgrade it when the new series comes out in november with evga's step up program.

 

[Kraut]

I'm wondering if sticking to Windows XP is the best bet for now for video editing (more serious stuff). Have had Vista for a couple of weeks, and am apprehensive about my usual software running on VISTA. Also video editing gobbles up hard drive space. 3250 GB alone won't hack it. Two 500 GB is where you might as well start cause you will end up there at a min.

 

[TexasVol]

Thanks for the advice. I'm figuring I will quickly need more disk space, but with disk prices coming down, I'll wait a little and get something cheaper later. For video cards, I have a 128mb card that I bought a couple years ago that I will use for now, but I have some good ideas from y'all on that point.

On the case, how do the cooling properties of the Sonata II and III compare with the P180?

 

[WR2]

I just happened to notice the Seagate 320GB and 400GB are the same price at the moment. You might want to jump in and order one of those 400GB before that changes, even if its not from your preferred source. 320GB & 400GB Seagate HDs

Cooling is all about getting the warm air out and the cool air into a case. Without a big bad video card generating lots of heat and also blocking airflow it's hard to imagine either case having a cooling problem. The Sonata III has one fan at the back (plus the PSU fan) and the P180 has 1 fan at the back and another at the top.
This techpowerup Antec Sonata III review is worth looking at.
A THG review of the Antech P180

 

[WR2]

For video cards, I have a 128mb card that I bought a couple years ago that I will use for now

Just check to make sure its a PCI-e video card. The new motherboard has no AGP slots.

 

[zdvil]

Just a heads up.

For my p5k I had to manually set the voltage for the ram to 1.9 in order to get dual channel using both yellow slots.

I have the Mushkin xp2 996523 set, and the 404 bios. If you have any troubles with Mushkin then check out their support forums, they're pretty good.