OK then: E8400 System! Buying parts on Boxing Day Sale

[OlSkoolChopper]

Thanks to the guys who were helping me out confegure my Q9550 system (especially roadrunner196970 who is an amazing guy and a great friend... a huge BEEP BEEP to him!). But it seems that whatever the reason, the genearl agreement now is that the Yorkys are delayed and the Wolfys are coming on Jan. 20. Ncix Canada is having a big Boxing Day sale (to you former Colonists who have cut your ties to the mother country, that's Dec. 26... Canada's version of Black Friday) and I want to buy most of the bits for my new systm and then just plug in an E8400 in Jan.

So... here we go. Please remember that if it aint for sale at ncix I wont buy it as i want to get everything shiped all at once to save costs. Im trying to do this on a bit of a budget so I'll still have money for buying booze for New Years.

- 4 GB and possibly 8 GB RAM. Please recomend timings, brands, whatevers.
- Mobo. I know that the Maxmus Formula is the way to go but I'd really love to save a hundred bucks here and go with a good P35.
- OC. MILD MILD MILD!!! 3.4 would make me as happy as a pig in s***. Don't want to set records. I need stability and longivity as this rig has to last me to Nehalim time.
- Ultra120Extreme. What other air does anyone need to buy? BTW, can you use a 140mm fan in this?
- 8800GT card 512. Whichever one is on sale. I think the 1920x1200 monitor I'm going to buy needs a dual DVI, but these cards can all run it, right?
- PSU to run the whole thing. Reasonable price.

Extra stuff...

- Anyone know of a 2xWAN load balancng broadband router that is cheap (aroudn $50) and works? I want to plug in my cable modem and my ADSL.
- What USB stick do you recomend to make the best use of ReadyBoost?
- I have a Vista Business 32 that I got preinstaled on my Lenovo which I'm going to be hitting with a slegehammer. Do you know if there is any LEGAL way to transfer that to my new system while getting the 64bit version? Otherwise I have to just buy it. Yuck. I hate giving Bill Gates more money.
- Anyone in Canada have a masive full tower case standing at least 30" that they want to sell cheap? Minor scratch/dent ok.

I'll be happy to help you guys in any way I can! Even if its just to send you lots of pix of naked babes on choppers! :lol:

 

[jbj190]

As for the power supply, I recommend an Antec Earthwatts 500W

Memory: Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 4-4-4-12

Motherboard: DFI Blood Iron, Gigabyte P35-DS3L/R/P, Abit IP35. Boards have different features but all of the 3... er 5 boards above are excellent choices.

4GB of RAM is more than enough for now.

Extra Stuff:
Don't use Readyboost.
You need to buy a copy of Vista.

Why a full tower case? The CM690 mid tower I have is enough to stuff everything that I can possibly use with a computer in there.

(Yuck, Canadian stuff is still expensive )

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

Thanks for the info jbj190! That Antec looks good but I was thinking I needed at least 650W to run this rig with the fans and all. If that's not the case, then the 500W will be fine!

The RAM looks good but any way I can get someting that will still work ok with a mild oc but is a bit less expensive? That stuff is almost $50 a stick. Ouch. Won't any of that 4GB for a hundred bucks stuff work? I'm broke!

The P35 DS3 mobos are only listed at ncix as parts of stupid combos and not available individualy. The DFI hemoglobin looks good and so does the IP35. Any reason to go with the IP35 Pro over the garden variety one?

I like to stuff my stash in my tower in case of raid, and I don't mean hard drive raid either... nah, I just like the look of a big honkin tower that is wide enuogh to take a U120Ex and high enough to stick up over my desktop!

Actually ncix is one of the better ones for expnsive. Their prices are all over the place, but they have some decent prices like Q6600 at $268 and they had a 8800GT 512 for $228 a week ago! I think an American buyer'd hard presed to get those prcies stateside.

 

[jbj190]

I was looking at the NewEgg prices for the Ballistix while thinking ncix. Yeah, as long as you don't need to go over 400FSB, any DDR2-6400 RAM will do.

The Antec 500W handles up to 408W on the 12V rails so unless you plan to go Tri-SLI anytime soon.

The IP35 Pro basically has more features than the vanilla variety. If you need firewire (and don't want to get a firewire card) or more than 4 SATA drives, go with the Pro.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

My main man roadrunner has instructed me to set the fsb at 377 on the Asus AI on a P5K SE board (nice and cheap... just over a c note) so I'll shop around for the PC2-6400 to get a good deal on 4GB. Thanks for the info ont he Antec. Sounds like a great PSU and I hope it goes on sale on Boxing Day! Don't need firewire and I'm only going with 2 SATAs so I should be fine. Thansk!

 

[jbj190]

I chuckled at your avatar. It seems like Intel's 45nm quad is growing on you.

So what are your picks now?

 

[gamebro]

HEY CHOPPER!!!

Is that candy bar OVERCLOCKED!?

Also, is it fat free, meaning no AMD preservatives in it? =D


Otherwise, I know you said you want a mild overclock for long life and stability, but comon! The 8400 can go much higher then 3.4ghz! Heck, I am willing to bet it is very stable and safe to keep it at 4!

http://en.expreview.com/?p=68

These guys got it to 4ghz on air cooling, and it seemed to be very safe and stable.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

jbj140, yes, its a great candy bar, nutritous and delicious and only causes indigestion to AMD stockholders. I was all sold on the Q9550. I wanted one really bad and wanted to be the first kid on the blok with one. But I just cant wait until Feb-Mar. Right now I'm almost 99% decided on the suggestions you and roadrunner have made:

Antec Earthwatts 500W (or PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad if I can use it with Nehalim) + 4GB PC2-6400 + P5K SE + E8400 @ FSB 377.

The ncix sale starts in 24 hours and 30 minutes so we'll see if any of this stuff (except CPU) or something close to it goes on a big discount and I'll scoop it up.

gamebro, yup, the bar is overCHOCed to 450 kcal, has a FudgeCore of 1.55, and has High-K Nuts... kinda like me!

I'm a wuss, ok? I cant take any chances of frying my CPU before Nehalim forces me to spend another couple of thou upgrading everything again. With my luck, Id have some richass pimp client looking over my shoulder while I'm desiging his $40K bobber when a puff of blue smoke comes out of my case. I'm scared s***less of mesing with the voltage but don't mind doing a touch of FSB manpulation as long as its safesafesafe!!!

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

The ncix boxing day sale newsletter just arived in my inbox.

It's not telling you what the prices are but these will likely be good deals. Damn, i hate to see that Q6600 on there just when ive decided to wait for an E8400!!! It might come in at such a good price that I can't resist it and then I'll just go ahead and buy it! ncix already has it listed at $268 so much cheaper than that woudl be a helluva deal!

What do you guys think of that OCZ memory and that 8800GT? If you tell me that they're good, I'm ordering them in 20 hours and 25 minutes from now!

 

[jbj190]

They're fine.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! thanx jbj! 10 and a half hours left until I grab em (as bob Barker used to say... if the Price Is Right!)

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

Jsut checked again and ncix doesn't have the U120eX but they do have the Tuniq tower which seems to be very close to the same perf. Good price too. maybe with any luck they'll drop it even further in 10 hours and 20 minutes and then the Visa card will get a real wrokout!

 

[o1die]

I say "good for you". You've waited and let temptations pass you by until the price is right.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

Thanks o1die... and if the price still isnt right in 8 hours and 50 minutes I'm going to wait some more!!! I dont have money to burn. If i did, I would have brougth home that blond from the bar last nite but she would have set me back about as much as the 8800GT, 4GB RAM and a good PSU!

(Not sayin' it wouldnt have been worth it... dang she was hot...)

 

[jbj190]

Unless you're going to push the chip to the limit, you don't need the top performing cooler. I suspect that the stock cooler or Arctic Freezer Pro will suffice.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

Unless you're going to push the chip to the limit, you don't need the top performing cooler. I suspect that the stock cooler or Arctic Freezer Pro will suffice.

Yeah, but I just love the look of the huge honkin Tuniq Tower and the fifty bucks woudl only have bought me about three minuts of that blond!

 

[roadrunner197069]

I would of took the blond for 3 minutes and kept the stock cooler.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

I would of took the blond for 3 minutes and kept the stock cooler.

Yeah, but it woudl have been 3 minutes of blond for a lifetime of the virus that keeps on givin'! That's not my idea of a Xmas present!

 

[roadrunner197069]

Put some Noton Anti Virus on before you upload to her download.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

Dude, I'd need a bulletproof firewall with her!

 

[gamebro]

LOL! WHAT THE HELL!? =0

I'd say the blond should have to pay you if her hard drive is that badly infected with viruses......

Otherwise, I agree with others here, ya don't need a tunic tower if you don't plan to OC to your limit. If you only go to 3.4ghz as you mentioned in that other thread, the stock cooler should be all you'll ever need. The E8400 runs very cool compared to current 65nm tech.
But then again...... why do men drive harleys?.... For looks (partially)... So I guess if ya want a big slab of metal in your case, go for it lol =D

 

[cnumartyr]

Yeah, but it woudl have been 3 minutes of blond for a lifetime of the virus that keeps on givin'! That's not my idea of a Xmas present!

To be honest with you, considering that you've said you aren't going to do an insane overclock on the E8400 I would seriously consider a Q6600 considering the relative ease of getting it to 3.0 GHz and even 3.2 GHz (aftermarket cooling obviously).

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

gamebro, it's her PSY slot that's infected... problem is that she was makin' my drive hard and I was so drunk I almost didn't care.

Dudes ride $30K Harleys that go slower and handle worse than $5K riceburners because it's the feel of all that funky metal betwen your legs! i won't oc over 3.4 or so but dang, I want to look at my mobo and see a huge freakin industrial swamp cooler on the CPU. Same reason why I want a 45nm part. Just so i can sit in my office and say... y'know... I got a 45nm CPU aint I King S***? Yeah, so i'm shallow. So what?

 

[cnumartyr]

gamebro, it's her PSY slot that's infected... problem is that she was makin' my drive hard and I was so drunk I almost didn't care.

Dudes ride $30K Harleys that go slower and handle worse than $5K riceburners because it's the feel of all that funky metal betwen your legs! i won't oc over 3.4 or so but dang, I want to look at my mobo and see a huge freakin industrial swamp cooler on the CPU. Same reason why I want a 45nm part. Just so i can sit in my office and say... y'know... I got a 45nm CPU aint I King S***? Yeah, so i'm shallow. So what?

I don't know bikes, I know cars.. so I'll make this comparison.

My Q6600 is a bored and stroked 302 to 347. Your dual core 45nm is a Turbo I4. Sure, yours is more technological.. but I have more torque and more cylinders. You can always add more boost.. so can I. But you can never make up for the lack of those 4 cylinders. Plus I can always strap a whipple on top of it.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

Your right dude, aint no substetute for cubic inches!

Watch out for them twinscrew superchargers. They'll rip the guts out of your bottom end! (yes, that is a slightly homoerotic alusion but I am curently intoxicated and I am empheticaly not gay.)

I'm only thinking E8400 because of all the Yorky delay stories/potential FUD floatin around. The latest news from ncix certainly has me wondering if I might not be the proud owner of a Q9550 on Jan. 20 though...