Quad Core Q6700, Windows Vista Premium, what's next?

[zodiacboyscorp]

Build Update: Items with a * have already been purchased. (Looking for price per/performance)

Build Update:
* Processor - Q6700 (quad core)
Ram - 4 GB Ram (Ram still not decided on, looking for price/performance)
Video Card - Undecided: I'm not a gamer, so not sure if I need one right away. Feel free to enlighten me.
* Motherboard - DG33TL
* Power Supply - Antec 650W True Power Trio
Hard Drive - WD5000AAKS (Almost Sure On) - Fast 500gb HD
* Operating Software - Vista Premium 64-bit
* Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP
Fans - 3 Yate Loon 120mm / 1 EVERCOOL EC8015 80x80x15 mm (Not sure these fans are needed since I'm not overclocking yet) - Though it might be nice to have one to cool the hard drives and one to cool the motherboard.
Fan Controller if I decide to get other fans
Memory Card reader with USB in the front


Personal notes:
I don't plan on over clocking
I'm not a gamer though I probably will play the next Worlds of Warcraft
I do a lot of multitasking, use Photoshop, Dreamweaver, video encoding, micorosft office while doing research, etc...

What am I still forgetting, what to I need?

 

[VoidPhantom]

Right now there is really no need for 4GB of ram, so I would rather choose the 2GB one.
60

Your power supply should really be good for now since you won't need a killer graphics card, and even then the only way to get pass 500 is going SLI/Crossfire. So keep it unless someone says get more cause I'm not familiar with quad core.

If you don't care about looks for a case, get this one:
Cooler Master Centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
45

With those two out of the way, you have $395 left over.

With what you're doing, I'd recommend an ATI HD2600 because you have vista for DX10.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102700
100

SO, you will have around 280 left to spare. If you want you can go and buy some other things like a new fan or something just to kill some money.

EDIT: And yes, your motherboard if fine
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121316

 

[SuperiorRobot]

get a 8800gt, best video card for the money hands down, and id get an arctic 7 cpu cooler, 20 bucks and itll be nice and quiet, and if you choose to oc later you can

 

[VoidPhantom]

Thing about the 8800GT is that it is made for a mid-range "Gaming" graphics card, and with programs like Photoshop and Dreamwaver, thats kinda like overkill. And its rival the ATI HD 3800 is about to come out.

The Arctic 7 CPU cooler is good on newegg, but seriously, I doubt you would need that for the programs you run.

EDIT: Besides that, the card itself costs around $270-330
And I think the quad might be pushing your PSU to the limit, so you might need to get something like 600W just in case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182032
70

 

[tawilson]

I have an Antec HE 550w, q6600 and ATI x1900xtx (so loud) with 2gb ram and 2x Raptor 74gb HDD, 2x DVD drives, 2x case fans and it runs everything without a hitch, so I don't think you need to upgrade your powersupply. antec tp 550 is a great ps anyways.

I agree that 8800gt is overkill (cant find it anyways) so any card at about $150 will do just fine (2600xt or equivalent from nv).

I also disagree about the ram, though with a catch. As most of you know, xp/vista 32bit will only allow you to see around 3-3.25 out of 4gb of ram, depending on programs running, the memory size of your video card, etc. etc. Regardless though, both photoshop and dw will benefit from more ram, i guarantee you, and since ram is so cheap lately, i would recommend 2x2gb. and if you want vista 64bit, you can use all 4gb, but thats a personal pref. (follow the instructions on the included insert in Windows Vista Premium to obtain a copy of vista 64-bit for around $10).

no overclock = no need for aftermarket hs/fan so stock fan will work just fine (does on mine).

case is preference, but i have had a marvelous time with the CM Ammo case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119098

only 75 bucks too.

how you got that bundle for $250 i would really like to know, however.

 

[zodiacboyscorp]

You know I have an Ati X850xt...granted it's not perfect, it could hold me over untill the 8800gt is in my price range.

Any more suggestions? You guys are a great help and I appreciate it.

BTW: If you work retail or in tech services you can join intel retail edge. Took me 2 hours and one live event (company paid for my time to boot) to get enough points for the bundle at that price.

 

[VoidPhantom]

Unfortunately, I'm currently a college freshman with no job, but I will probably try to work at Best Buy or something over the summer.

Do I have to keep being employed to join the intel retail edge?

And like tawilson stated, unless you have a 64-bit OS, then you should get 4Gigs of ram to work with Adobe products. If not then 2Gigs is still pretty decent.

And everything looks good since you're not overclocking anything.

 

[zodiacboyscorp]

Sweet!

Well they verify your employment, so if you are seasonal for a week for black friday I guess you could do it if you wanted next year.

It comes with Vista Premium 64bit version, so I'll get the ram use.

Thanks for the reply...now what power supply...

 

[Totenkampf]

I keep getting the Corsair 520HX PSU recommended to me, but I will need the 620 for gaming

 

[geofelt]

Your mobo includes video, so you won't need a high powered video card if you are not a gamer.

The Q6700 can keep lots of simultaneous jobs running, and for that you need all the memory you can get. Just check with the G.skill web site configurator to verify that it will run on your mobo. Get the cheapest 4gb that will work, and use the vista-64 bit version. Your psu is ok. This is a micro atx board, so you can pick a smaller case if that appeals to you. You will not need much cooling, so get a case that visually appeals to you.

Use what parts you have. If I had any extra money left over, I would splurge on the biggest and best lcd monitor.

 

[zodiacboyscorp]

I just released an update to my system, looking for the finishing touches.

 

[StevieD]

I would buy 2x2 GB of RAM.


I played with my latest computer during set up. 1 GB worked. 2 GB worked even better. A lot better.

The improvement going to 4GB was next to non-existant. BUT that was playing with Vista64bit OS without any applications running. As soon as you crank up some applications the RAM usage starts climbing.

Right now, as I am typing this, I am consuming just under 2GB of RAM. Earlier today I had Adobe, Paintshop, Expressions and a couple other applications all open at the same time. I was cranking along at 3.6 GB of RAM. Then I did a RAR decompression of a 200 MB p_rn file.

Thus I would buy 2x2GB. Your upgrade path is cleaner should you want to go to more than 4GB, and the price difference between 4x1 and 2x2 is not that significant.

 

[apache_lives]

LOL so many people misinformed about PSU's, ratings, and requirements - ACBell 400w with E6600, 2gb, 8800GTS, 2hdd's etc - Perfect (ran for over a month in 3DMark)

HDD's - yes that series of HDD is nice.

Motherboard - I prefer ASUS or Gigabyte and Only Intel Chipsets.

Ram - save your self upgrading, get 4gb (will only show up as ~3.5gb in x86/32bit)

64 bit os's - do the research first.

 

[nukemaster]

LOL so many people misinformed about PSU's, ratings, and requirements - ACBell 400w with E6600, 2gb, 8800GTS, 2hdd's etc - Perfect (ran for over a month in 3DMark)

Spread that word.....

 

[Granite3]

Spread that word.....

Damn skippy!

Precious few systems out there sli, xfire, etc, that will not run on a quality 650 watt psu.

Fewer still without 2X gpu's that won't run fine on a 500-550W psu.

My old e6600, oc'd to 3.1, 8800 GTX oc'd to Ultra, watercooling setup, 2x sata 320, 2x dvdrw, plus fans, and axternals ran fine for 5-6 months on a TT 550W Toughpower psu.


Careful on that 64 bit OS, drivers for stuff are still tough to come by!

 

[zodiacboyscorp]

Since I have the 64bit version of Windows Vista Premium I was planning on getting 4 gb to start. 2x2gb dual transfer. I was wondering what the best bang for the buck is, and for a non over clocker what you guys recommend. If I plan on doing slight over clocking down the road, which on then?

I'm trying to learn from you guys and really want to have a better understanding on the parts so I can help others. That's why I come here, because you guys have the insight.

So Ram/Fans/Video Cards?

Is a videocard needed for me at this time, or is that a wait and see feature and more than suitable for watching movies and doing applications on the intergrated graphics?

Fans since I won't be overclocking should I stock up, or spend my money elsewhere, better monitor???Videocard???

Memory, which would you recommend for the budget builder.

If it weren't for the great deal. I wouldn't be upgrading. Still it's nice to learn.