New build - what do you think?

larry_cartman

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Mar 29, 2007
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Hi,

I spent an agonizing spring researching for what parts to buy for my new computer, but when I had finally decided on all the parts (based on an E6600 CPU) the Intel price drop was announced! So I waited and now that some time has passed I have to start over. :(

So I’m hoping you will help me as you have in the past and give me some feedback on the parts below. I apologise if my questions have been asked before. (If I read anymore posts my head will surely explode!)

I plan to use the PC mainly for recording music (with MIDI-sequencer, HDD-recorder and so on), gaming, and ”normal use”, maybe including some htpc’ing. I am not going to overclock.

CPU: First a stupid question: E6600 and E6700 are more expensive than the new and faster E6750. Is this simply because Intel has ”abandoned” the old generation CPUs, or are there any disadvantages to the E6750, or other reasons why someone would want to buy one of the old ones? (Bugs or something?)

Assuming that’s not the case, I then have to decide between E6750, E6850 and the old quad core Q6600. I have tried looking at the CPU charts at Tom’s - http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html - but that left me little wiser. There are so many benchmarks, many of which point in different directions, and besides I’m not sure how much they mean in practice. What do you think? Should I just go with the cheaper E6750 or would my money be better spent on one of the others - and which one?

MOBO: Back in May I had decided on the Asus P5B Deluxe. Is that also a good choice now - and for the CPUs I’m now considering?

Interestingly, on Asus’s homepage it says: ”Intel® Quad-core CPU Ready”. But seven lines below it says: ”Compatible with all FSB1333/1066/800/533MHz CPUs except Quad Core”. I’m not really sure how to interpret that? (In regards to wheather it supports Q6600). :/

(http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&l4=0&model=1295&modelmenu=1 )

RAM: Since I’m not going to overclock I should get RAM that is synchronous to FSB, and from what I understand that should be DDR2-667 if I go with E6750 or E6850, or DDR2-533 if I go with Q6600. Have I got that right?

Video card: In May I had decided on the ASUS Geforce 8800GTS - probably the version with 320 MB RAM. Is that still a good choice or has something better come along in the same price range?

Case: I had decided on Antec Performance One P182. Still good?

PSU: I was thinking either the Corsair HX620W or the 520W. Any better ones out there now? And if not, do you think the 520 will be enough? (I don’t think I will be using more than 2 hard drives.)

Other than that I was leaning towards a Hitachi DeskStar T7K500 250 GB HD and a Pioneer DVR 112D DVD. I will probably get Win XP to begin with, but maybe Vista down the line.

Thanks for reading.
 

deusex

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E6750 is a good CPU,especially for OCing..

The P5B was a good mobo - however, you'll want to be futureproofed - I suggest getting the DS3 Gigabyte P35 mobo.

Great case, even better PSU.


The 8800GTS looks good - I'd do eVGA though.
 

Solariscs

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Get the newer technology CPUs, they are better. I agree with Deus, go with the Gigabyte P35 DS3 series boards. There are a few models to choose from, depending on what you need and want.

For Ram you can get DDR2-667, but it gives you no room for ocing or anything in the future.

The GTS 320 is a good choice since it's a great card, but doesn't cost too much, meaning it will hold you over till the new cards arrive and allow you to save up money to get a newer gen card when they come out.

For your needs the Corsair 520W should be just fine and give you a little more power for the newer gen video cards.

If you have any questions, let me know. you can msg me any time on aim or yahoo, Maximus9102.
 
We've already had two threads about the best CPU for recording music in the past couple of weeks. The conclusion was Q6600 in both cases. You may need to get some newer software to really benefit, but it's a good idea anyway. The quad will also do better in some games. It does better in video encoding and compressing than any dual core.

Another vote for the GA-P35-DS3R.

Yes, Intel has ”abandoned” the old generation CPUs, that's why E6600 costs more than E6750.

You could get the Patriot DDR2-800 that's $66 at newegg right now for 2x1GB.

Video card: get the 8800 GTS 320 MB if you have $300, the 8800 GTS 640 if you have $400, the 8800 GTX if you have $500. They're all good. I would say the GTS 640 is less bang for the buck than the other two but I'm sure there are people here who disagree.

P182 is great.

How much will you pay for the Deskstar? A good 500 GB Seagate 7200.10 or WD5000AAKS is around $110, excellent value.

 

deusex

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FYI, you can find the 8800GTS 320MB if you look around for low $200s...and the 640 for low $300s..

Depends on your res - the 8800GTX should be out of your range, money or power, from the looks of your pc.
 

larry_cartman

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Hi,

I've tried searching the forum extensively but I could only find the thread "New Music PC Spec" by adam subtrak.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/244717-13-music-spec

Could you point me to the other one, please? (Do you remember what it was called, or when it was posted, and in what forum?)

Thanks.
 
Sorry, I give up. I spent 20 minutes trying to find that thread again. The Search feature needs to be fixed.

Anyway, the debate ended with the conclusion that Q6600 was better than E6850 in that particular case because the particular software used by that poster was already optimized for quads. I guess it depends on what software you use yourself. Long-term, I'm sure the quad is a better use for $300, but right now your own software may only use one core and then the E6850 would serve you better just because it has a higher clock. What software do you have?

Maybe you could just get a cheap E6550 for now and upgrade to a Penryn Quad in February or March. Then you get both the higher clock and the 4 cores. Or get a Q6600 and overclock it.

 

larry_cartman

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Okay, thanks for the effort anyway. :)

Anyway, the debate ended with the conclusion that Q6600 was better than E6850 in that particular case because the particular software used by that poster was already optimized for quads. I guess it depends on what software you use yourself. Long-term, I'm sure the quad is a better use for $300, but right now your own software may only use one core and then the E6850 would serve you better just because it has a higher clock. What software do you have?

I'm planning on getting Cubase, but it's been so long since I've used it that I don't really know anything about the current versions. I've been reading the official Cubase forum for hours trying to find out what's the best choice for Cubase, but it just left me more confused. And I have a hunch that the post that I just spent several hours writing to said forum is so long and confusing that it won't get any replies. ;)