New user 1st build mobo advice needed please

[vibe]

Hi all,

1st post.

About to do my 1st build, and need some help with mobos, I’m not a complete IT Rtard but no 1337 either. What I want to build is a high spec system for mainly gaming, then once I have all the parts running just how I like (and the cash), one day I’ll start to experiment with overclocking. I’m after SLI and Quad Core and willing to pay.

Because of funding initial build will be done using key parts, with a few recyled from old rig replaced as can be with higher specs. So far its…

NEW
Thermaltake Armor w/25cm side fan
Thermaltake LCS on CPU and NB
Pentium Quad Core 6600
2x 10k 150GB SATA HDs in RAID 1
RAM (yet to be decided)
PSU (yet to be decided 1,000 watts ish)

OLD
8600 256MB
6600 256MB GTX (clearly not SLI but want to use multi VDU)
1 or 2 500MB SATA HDs (to be used for storage drives) RAID 0


I have had a good look on sites for mobos and don’t mind spending the money for a top end one, but am unsure what one. Have looked at EVGA 680i have also looked at a load of Asus mobos including striker extreme and a number of boards that are named by chimps picking scrabble chips out of a bag!

I’m told by friends that Asus boards are not recommended for noobs on 1st builds as very unstable, high DOA, and very complex settings. Have also seen fair bit of neg feedback on EVGA regarding OC potential. Help please

Any and all advise/tips/faults/comments/reasonable abuse is much appreciated.

Ian
PS – while you’re at it any tips on PSU or RAM again don’t mind paying for it so long as I’m unlikely to have over complex problems and will support my future plans in the dark arts of overclocking.

 

[Maziar]

and who are your friends who have told u that about ASUS ?
they are wrong, ASUS makes solid board ( i'm not saying that because i have ASUS , u can ask any one)

 

[aevm]

Welcome aboard!

The eVGA 680i A1 is the most popular SLI board. Every board will have some negative feedback, but it's usually an item smashed by the mailman or some incompatible (and cheap) RAM causing the problems. I'd still go with it. My second choice would be Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus. It's good, just less popular. True that Asus boards have complex settings that can get newbies in trouble, but that doesn't really make them bad. Gigabyte makes boards that overclock themselves, ideal for newbies, but they don't overclock as well without the fine controls.

For RAM I'd say Crucial Ballistix 2x2GB DDR2-800. Maybe DDR2-1066, if you find a good price, but that will only help once you overclock.

Please don't insult my Q6600 by calling it a Pentium. It's 75 times faster than the Pentium it replaced

RAID 1? Just curious. Lots of people do RAID 0.

Get a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme cooler and a SFF21F fan for it. You don't have to do this now, but when you start overclocking it will make a HUGE difference compared to the stock cooler.

PSU for 8800 GTX SLI and overclocked quad .... Normally I'd say PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad 750W. However, with the pumps for liquid cooling and the high-performance disks you probably need more. Maybe Thermaltake Toughpower 850W is best here. I don't think you really need 1000 watts though. Are you going to end up with a lot of disks and PCI cards and USB devices?

 

[Maziar]

i say get DDR2 800 instead of 1066 , isnt that better aevm ? DDR2 800 will OC very good and also he can save few bucks

also for PSU , both PC&POWER COOLING SILENCER QUAD and TT ToughPower are good choices , also OCZ 850W is very good too

 

[aevm]

i say get DDR2 800 instead of 1066 , isnt that better aevm ? DDR2 800 will OC very good and also he can save few bucks

also for PSU , both PC&POWER COOLING SILENCER QUAD and TT ToughPower are good choices , also OCZ 850W is very good too

Yeah, DDR2-800 will do fine for moderate overclocking. He should only go with 1066 if it's very close in price. I only mentioned it because he said "overclocking" 3 times in the original post :lol:

Why I'm not sure about the Silencer Quad 750W - I read a user review where a guy had an overclocked Q6600, 2 8800 GTX cards, 7 hard disks, 12 fans, plus a few other goodies. The Quad wasn't able to handle all that so he replaced it with a Toughpower 850 and was fine. Of course, there are tons of people out there who have the same thing but with only 3 hard disks and 5 fans and the Silencer does all right. It really depends on where this system is headed.

 

[Maziar]

Was it a newegg guy or someone in this forum ?

 

[aevm]

Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ryType=0&Pagesize=100&SelectedRating=-1&Page=

Here's exactly what the guy says. BTW, I was remembering wrong, he had a qx6800, not an overclocked q6600. They do consume about the same, I think. Not that it matters any more, with a crazy machine like his. MY feeling is that the OP would be fine with the Silencer 750W, unless he plans to do what this guy did.

Pros: That feeling of WOW! I am now opening a box with the PCPC label on it. It powers some serious hardware very quietly. Attached to the cable end of the psu is a nifty bracket that can be used to tighten it down to the bottom of a case, or if used in the normal upper position, can be used to zip tie other annoying cables to. Will power ANY computer out there...except mine and other nut jobs like me out there.

Cons: Not enough power...it was fine at first, but like a good newegg customer I put more and more into my case. It can't power: qx6800 proc, 680i mobo, 4gb Corsair 8500 c5d (w/fan), 2x 8800gtx oc2, Razer AC-1, 4x 500gb hdd, 3x 750 hdd, 2x dvd burners, 4x cold cathode 12" lights, 12x 120mm case fans, Xion Fan controller, and Thermaltake Media LAB.

Other Thoughts: RMA staff is awesome, KUDOS to Ray Combs. I asked them to really test my psu for errors due to all the lack of pwer issues I was having. They were quick to respond AND stay in contact with me. After a little prodding I found out that PCPC will indded make custom cable lengths and/or cable sleeving for any customer. The only catch is you must buy it directly from them, and pay a small fee for the service. No complaint in the quality of their service to fix a problem...complain lies in UPS who seems to have lost my psu upon it's return to me.

 

[Maziar]

He maybe right , but unfortunately the newegg reviews arent very trusted,right ?

 

[aevm]

True, some are complete idiots. There was even one that explained that there are 1023 bits in a byte, and 3 out of 12 had found his review helpful. :lol: :lol: :lol:

This guy is right, I checked. I ran his config through the power calculator at
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
and got 886 W. The Silencer 750W can deliver 825W if really necessary, but not for long and with low efficiency and high fan noise.

I did the calculations again with a Q6600 (overclocked to 3.2 GHz, vCore 1.4V) and 3 disks+2 DVDs and no cathodes and only 5 fans, (but still with two overclocked 8800 GTX). I got 687W. That should be fine for the Silencer 750W.

 

[Maziar]

u r just like me aevm , u and i always will have a prove for what we are saying
also there was a guy @ newegg and he said he had a Duron (i dont know which model exactly) and he was playing oblivion with 200 fps lol :lol:

P.S , u r right about the silencer , it can provide that power , but it will become noisier with lower efficency