1st Home Made System - Check Me!! :D

You only need DDR2-800 ballistix for this rig considering how the Q6600 isn't a great overclocker, but even if you hit 3.6Ghz it's still only 400x9 which is 1:1 with the memory. Not a big issue, but if DDR2-800 will save you some money, then get it (Crucial is a good brand btw, good choice).

Good board, Good case, Good CPU, Decent HD (I've heard better reviews for Seagate), Good GPU (Though I'd recommend a GTS 512mb if possible).

I would recommend a Modular powersupply so you only have to use the power plugs you need for your system, rather than having dozens of unused cables hanging in your case. Corsair or Thermaltake make great modular PSU's.

Looks like you're overclocking the quad on a budget? Your best bet would be P35. Cheaper & easier to get 3ghz+ out of the quad. It can be done on 680i. IMO, no one should go SLI unless they have the money to throw around.

agreed 680i isn't a great choice, since it runs a lot hotter. Do you actually need the q6600? the E8400 is out and performs well in gaming. OCs a lot better too. I wouldn't recommend the tuniq tower since its fairly dated now. A thermalright Ultra 120 would perform better. A note on RAM

When using nvidia chipset they recommend you use SLI ready memory. I belive they void your warenty if you chuck in a different type, although i'm not sure of this.

what tier is that antec PSU? i don't recall seeing it on the tier 1/2/3 lists but it could just be my brain is going?

consider corsair 620 which is modular, quiet, and tier 2, or pcp&c silencer 610 or 750 which are tier 1.

i keep agreeing with achilles everywhere i go.  

maybe consider the GA-P35-DS3L unless you are doing RAID or dual graphics cards.

i think you can do better than the tuniq nowadays for more cooling and less money. tom's has a review of CPU coolers but i can't find the link. here is another nice review of cpu coolers with pictures too:

FrostyTech's CPU Cooler Review

the Q6600 runs 30watts more than the E8400 at stock (more of course if you OC it). If you need the 4 cores for video encoding, then you need it. not many games use 4 cores now. do any? i've not seen any posts ever about a game that uses all 4 cores. in a few years that will change i hope. the E8400 is fast and cool but is also out of stock everywhere. you can of course get one on ebay, where the ebayers are selling the $220 chip for $300.

Looks like a decent setup. As others have said above, I'd switch the board for a P35 one unless you plan on going SLI with 2 graphics cards. DDR2-800 for RAM would be fine. You don't need 1066 with the Q6600.

Right ok guys ive decided to go for the E8400 and IP35 PRO Motherboard with Scythe Mugen cooler?

How does that sound?

Check out this cooler, from the reviews I've found it's very good;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I think with the P35 board the Corsair 520 will be fine. best deal;
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w-sli-certified-modu...
Good luck finding the E8400.

cheers for teh luck chuck...just found some lol ahhhh UK online stores  

If the 650w Antec PSU is the Neo Blue then you're in good shape, it's got great reviews and is partially modular.

Call me crazy but I just can't bring myself to spend more then ~$100 on a case when you have options like the Coolermaster 690 and Antec 900 available. But to each their own, especially when it comes to asthetics  

That's going to be a sweet system, enjoy! And grats on finding an E8400 too

(Click on image to go to CPU cooler review)



So in the top 10 you are picking number 9. Runs hotter and noisier, and there are cheaper ones higher up that are much better. Just curious - Why?

Price?  

I think he'll find out shortly after he bought the mullet... err... Mugen.  

Im from the UK so our prices are more affordable than yours   i can get the P182 for £80 which is relatively inexpensive for such a good case.
I didnt go for any other CPU coolers becuase i couldnt find out where to get them tbh the thermaright ones are sold out everywhere and not many places sell the others. however ive sourced a HDT-S1283 for peanuts so im snatching that one!

In terms of keeping a pc future proofed which is the best route to go? Q6600 or E8400? I play alot of CSS and COD4 etc and also use the pc for college work and playing music etc. im warming towards the E8400 although it is more expensive and perhaps less advanced?

680i Nvidia Mother Board (SLI)
Q6600 G0 Stepping & Tuniq Tower
400gb Western Digital Caviar
BFG 8800GT OC
Antec P182
4GB Crucial Ballistix 1066mhz
Pioneer DVD Drive
Antec 650w
Vista Premium 64bit

-If you are gonna go all out with OC'ing, I'd look for aTier 2 or better PSU, otherwise, I'd match the Antec 182 with an Antec Neo 650 PSU. I have had an issue with cable length once or twice a problem generally avoided when the case and OSU vendors are the same.
-Look at Tom's recent cooler review. The Thermal IFX-14 right seems the clear winner.
-Those are really old HD's. Get something latest generation. The Seagate 7200.1 rules the 500 GB / 750 GB category, the Samsung F1 the 1 TB category.
-The Asus DRW-2014L1T is newegg's 2 x winner of the customer choice award and supposedly has a "Special savings w/ media combo, ends 3/31"
-Corsair has had some real big deals on newegg of late with big rebates too.

Jack, this fellow is in the UK, so he does not order from newegg.

Wolfdale is less advanced than Kentsfield? How do you figure?

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentsfield#Wolfdale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentsfield#Kentsfield

As for e8400 being more expensive than q6600, it isn't Intel's fault. The e8400 stock is low to non-existent. The retailers are at fault by jacking up the price by 25%. On ebay, it's going $270US + shipping. I bought mine for $220 + tax. The MSRP was $200-ish.

E8400 is better at gaming at stock & overclocked. 3ghz vs. 2.4ghz. My 4ghz vs. average max 3.6ghz.

Might not be able to buy from newegg but I find it a good way to see what items currently have rebates offered by the manufacturer. The rebates are generally global.

I'm in the US, and all of the rebate forms I've seen have in fine print "Restricted to the US and Canada."

For example, here is the rebate form on the memory you suggested he buy because of the rebate: http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/...

I checked the UK web sites for that item to see if they had a rebate that perhaps was "Restricted to the UK" or some such, but none of them had a rebate at all. They were all about £35 ($70) which is what you would pay for the item in the US before rebate.

New Spec, does this look acceptable?

Gigabyte P35-DS4
E8400
Antec P182 Case
Corsair 620w
BFG OC 8800GT 512mb 675mhz
WD 500gb HD
Vista Premium
Sony DVD Drive
Tuniq Tower or Xigmatek HDT-S1283 undecided?
4gb Crucial Ballistix 1066mhz
AS 5

not bad. not bad at all.

-consider the 8800GTS G92 512MB (better cooler, better card)

-consider MX-2 instead of AS-5. Did you know AS-5 you are supposed to reapply it every 6 months? (No one does but thats in the rule book) However the main reason for MX-2 is that is the one that currently is winning all the contests for best TIM. as a side benefit, MX-2 is not electrically conductive so if a drop gets on your mobo it won't short it out and you can use it on your mosfets (AS-5 will short them out) if you decide to put little heatsinks on them.

-consider 800MHz RAM. The best you will probably be able to push your E8400 to on air cooling is 4GHz which translates to 890MHz on the RAM in a 1:1 configuration. just as the E8400 can be OCed higher than stock, so can the RAM, so don't worry that 890 is higher than 800. Good RAM won't have a problem.

are you going with vista 32 or 64? 32 you lose .5GB of your 4GB of RAM. 64 you have a tiny chance of incompatibility.

Look for MX-2 instead of AS5.

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/further_prod2.php?idx=140

You're good.

Again, I'm not saying "Buy this here", I'm saying "look around for rebates and deals". There are deals everywhere and they change every day. I gave a link to show an example of a deal that can be found. The memory market is depressed, there's an oversupply or product in a global economy, people are trying to dump stock.

You will always have to check the rebate terms and the laws applicable where you live. You will note that the rebate form you linked to states that it is a newegg offer and yet it still has no "residency restriction". It states: "Valid while supplies last for purchases made in the 50 United States and Canada." The restriction is where the purchase is made, not where the person lives. However it is also a restricted rebate not a general rebate in that the particular form is a newgg only deal......there is no Uk newegg.

And yes it will depend on the manufacturer. Kinda like when you buy something on the net and whether you pay sales tax on it or not will depend on whether the vendor has a functional office or place or business in your state. Some vendors have an actual European presence....other's products are there just as "imports". Some countries and states do not allow rebates so there will be other types of promotions. But if you don't look around, you won't find them.

I have often saw deals on newegg, downloaded the rebate form and then bought the thing somewhere else. I bought a PS3 for my kids on newegg but used a "get free stuff with your purchase" form that I downloaded from Target.

Here's another way to search for deals:
http://www.voucherheaven.com/