Last check before order

[pelson]

Hello everybody!

I have these parts at home, and as you can se, i need a good motherboard and memory for them.
So i turn to you experts for assistance when choosing them.

Antec P182B Performance One Gun Metal Black

Corsair 620W HX 120MM

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 6MB S775

2 x Western Digital Raptor X 150GB 10K RPM 16MB SATA

Asus GeForce 8800GTS 512MB PCI-E

As you se, I've ordered two harddrives, so Raid0 is needed on the motherboard.
I'm not gonna use SLI/Crossfire.

I've been looking at the Gigabyte P35-DS3R which seems to be perfect for my needs.
Memorys are harder to choose, but i think i'll get some Corsair since they seem to get alot of positive feedback.
Corsair Dominator 2x2GB PC8500, but they're quite hard to find in Sweden tho.

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050R

Ok, thats it.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance
//Pelle

 

[akhilles]

The Dominator is overpriced. The mobo is open box. No good. Buy brand new.

Pick out a few choices & post them here. I'll narrow it down.

 

[Zenthar]

Simple comments:
■PSU: Since SLI is ruled-out, get the 520HX instead unless the price difference is negligeable.
■MB: Good choice, you might want to take a look at the "EP35" version.
■HD: Could you detail your needs for Raptor RAID? Raptor's strength is not volume transfer, but access time; going RAID increase access time, but also volume transfer so you might just be killing your extra investment. Moreover, since you only have a RAID array, all applications will compete for I/O time including OS. If you absolutely want Raptor and/or RAID, get a 36GB Raptor for the OS and get 4 Seagate 7200.10 drives in RAID 0 or 5 (data security).
■CPU: Just not sure the 0.16GHz is worth extra money over E8400. I would rather put the money in extra cooling and overclock.
■RAM: That RAM is only good for extreme overclocking. Depending on you needs you could probably get 8GB of RAM for that price. Any good DDR-800 RAM can be used to overclock up to a 1600MHz FSB.

 

[pelson]

Simple comments:
■PSU: Since SLI is ruled-out, get the 520HX instead unless the price difference is negligeable.
■MB: Good choice, you might want to take a look at the "EP35" version.
■HD: Could you detail your needs for Raptor RAID? Raptor's strength is not volume transfer, but access time; going RAID increase access time, but also volume transfer so you might just be killing your extra investment. Moreover, since you only have a RAID array, all applications will compete for I/O time including OS. If you absolutely want Raptor and/or RAID, get a 36GB Raptor for the OS and get 4 Seagate 7200.10 drives in RAID 0 or 5 (data security).
■CPU: Just not sure the 0.16GHz is worth extra money over E8400. I would rather put the money in extra cooling and overclock.
■RAM: That RAM is only good for extreme overclocking. Depending on you needs you could probably get 8GB of RAM for that price. Any good DDR-800 RAM can be used to overclock up to a 1600MHz FSB.

Hello and thanks for the response, much appreciated!

Just to clarify, the link on DS3R to newegg.com is just for you to know what MB im talking about, in other words, im not gonna order it from there.

As for the PSU its was only about 10$ between 620W and 520W, so i felt it was worth it.

Now about the raptors, I've read you gain ALOT by doing Raid0. Just watch this guy testing them with Raid0: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFM1kp_E03E

Ok, about the CPU, its almost Impossible to get your hands on a E8400 here in Sweden and I cant wait until it arrives in 1 month or so, so i just couldnt resist buying the E8500 when i found one.


Ok, lastly, the memory. I've read for hours now but i just can't decide!.
If i want the Corsair linked to above, i have to wait atleast 1 week until it arrives in the stores. But one thing is for sure, its gonna be Corsair or OCZ, and its gonna be 4GB total. Thats what i know.
PC6400 or PC8500?. I will overclock, so i want memory thats good at it.

By the way, i have to order the memorys tomorrow, which should i take?

 

[Zenthar]

For 10$, go for the 620W .

For the CPU, have you tried to find a Xeon E3110? They are exactly the same thing, I know, I'm using one right now on a DS3L board, so you should have no trouble with your DS3R.

For RAID, you will always get about a doubling of performance going for RAID0, you can check Tom's article. But you have to know that those performance will only imply loading of games (not actual gaming performance) and file manipulation. You won't notice a drastic performance anywhere else. I just don't know how much of a boost you will get from doing a RAID with Raptors instead of other drives. You can give it a try, but I think that money could be put to better use ... we are talking about 350$ worth of drives here .

For the memory, get some CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB(2 x 2GB), OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) or OCZ Titanium XTC 4GB(2 x 2GB). Take note of the part # as they sell different "variants" with exactly the same look.

 

[pelson]

Alright, thanks for the response!

I just found these:

OCZ DDR2 PC6400 4GB KIT, Reaper X HPC, 2x2048MB, Heat Pipe, (CL4-4-3-15), E.P.P

Looks quite good, i must say.

What do you think?

*Edit*

Damn, i found these aswell: OCZ DDR2 PC8000 4GB KIT, Reaper X HPC, 2x2048MB, Heat Pipe, (CL5-5-5-18), E.P.P

They must be the One, or?

 

[Zenthar]

The Reaper X are nice, but you have to know that you will not be able to put 2 of these side by side on you motherboard. You won't have any problems for 4GB since, for dual channel, they will be 1 slot apart, but it means you won't be able to have 4 of them to make 8GB. This might not be of much impact to you, but it was the argument that made me go with the "normal" Reaper over Reaper X.

I've read some reviews and many people seem to be able to run the Reaper (not X) RAM up to 1066MHz (533MHz base clock). It should be more than enough unless you consider yourself a heavy and serious overclocker. For example, if I was to overclock my E3110 (3GHz) to 4GHz, I would probably need to to run my RAM "only" to about 900MHz (450MHz base clock). I'm no overclocking expert, I overclock mainly to prolong the useful life of my systems, you might find better answers on the Overclocking forum. My opinion is that you don't need anything over DDR2-800 for "descent" overclocking unless you want to push your system to the limit.

 

[Zenthar]

If you want the exact RAM I'm talking about (and own ), the Part# is OCZ2RPR800C44GK.

 

[pelson]

If you want the exact RAM I'm talking about (and own ), the Part# is OCZ2RPR800C44GK.

Zenthar, i think I've decided now!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227277

What do you think?
Will they work on the DS3R? because it supports PC8500 and PC6400, this memory is PC8000.

Alright, when youve answered and confirms it. I order directly!

By the way, thanks for taking youre time helping!
//Pelle

 

[Shadow703793]

I recommend you get DDR2 800. Many users have reported problems with native DDR2 800+ RAM on P35-DS3x boards.

My recomendations:
Crucial Ballastix DDR2 800
or other quality DDR2 800.

 

[pelson]

I recommend you get DDR2 800. Many users have reported problems with native DDR2 800+ RAM on P35-DS3x boards.

My recomendations:
Crucial Ballastix DDR2 800
or other quality DDR2 800.

No, are you sure?

Because i just got in love with the ReaperX PC8000.
When youre saying people having problems with it, isnt it when people use 4x1GB ram instead of 2x2GB. Thats what I've heard.

 

[Shadow703793]

Yes. Im pretty sure. Many people seems to have this problem with DS3R/DS3L. What you could do is just get DDR2 800 and OC it to the same level, which is done pretty easily. People do not seems to have a problem OCing DDR2 800 to the same level though. Weird. You should probably go with DDR2 800 2*2GB from Patriot, Corsair or any other good brand. And also the DDR2 800+ RAM are usually just normal DDR2 800 RAM that is factory OCed.

 

[pelson]

So, will these be better you think?

OCZ DDR2 PC6400 4GB KIT, Reaper X HPC, 2x2048MB, Heat Pipe, (CL4-4-3-15), E.P.P

Thanks!

*Edit* If not that, wat Corsair memorys do you recommend?