new build

[hjjfffaa]

hello people of tomshardware forums
im looking at parts for a new build and they are the following
CPU: Intel Q6600
Motherboard: ASUS P5E Premium X48 Socket LGA 775
Graphics Card: unsure, (please recommend a nvidia 8800 series)
RAM: also unsure
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620 watt
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200rpm
Sound Card: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
DVD drive: LG 20X DVD+R E-IDE
Case: Thermaltake Armor Series Black Full Tower w/ 25cm side fan, two 120mm fans F/R, and two 90mm fans F/R
please suggest any changes you think are necesary but the case is pretty much non-negotiable. i will probably do some moderate to extreme overclocking so if you can recommend a good cpu heatsink and fan. thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[SuicideSilence]

Well do you have a budget? that would make things easier.
Nice PSU choice though.

 

[akhilles]

What's your budget, games you play & monitor resolution? Is it going to be overclocked?

 

[tbonelowe]

I would recommend Crusial memory, I have Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

- - - - - -
Palit 8800GT Super 1GB 700/950 SLI
E6600 @ 3.6 1.47v
Asus P5N-e SLI @ 400
GSkill 2x1Gb DDR800
WD 74GB Raptor
Audigy ZS
Hiper TypeR 580 PSU
Antec 900 v.2
LG L226WTY-BF
3Dmark06 16200

 

[hjjfffaa]

oh im sorry, i have a budget of $3,000 (U.S.) For games i haven't really had any good ones that don't require alot of power so i'm basically building this to be able to play games like crysis, cod and other things like that. my current monitor resolution is 1280*1024 but im probably going to upgrade soon to a higher resolution like maybe 1920*xxxx

 

[akhilles]

Crysis & CoD4 are pretty taxing on the GPU. And at the future higher resolution of 1080-1200.

Assuming you're the kind of guy that maxes out everything in games, and you're not upgrading in a few years:

E8400/E3110 (same thing)
ASUS P5E3 Premium
2X1GB DDR3 1066-1333MHZ
9800GTX
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620 watt
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.11 SATAII
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
LG 20X DVD+R E-IDE
Thermaltake Armor Series Black Full Tower

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=2069&l1=3&l2=11&l3=640&l4=0

Since you're gonna overclock the cpu moderately to extremely, I suggest you look at a pre-built watercooling cpu cooling kit like:

Swiftech H20-220 Compact CPU Liquid Cooling Kit
Corsair Nautilus 500 Water Cooler

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g30/c83/list/p1/Liquid_Cooling-Water_Cooling_Kits.html
http://www.jab-tech.com/Water-Cooling-Full-Kits-c-58.html
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=202
http://www.petrastechshop.com/wacoki.html
http://www.svc.com/water-cooling-kit.html

or if you're comfortable with DIY kits:

Petra'sTech CoolKit Elite - Rev.2

Or better yet, a TEC kit which uses more power to cool better than H2O:

Ultra ChillTec Thermo Electric CPU Cooler
CoolIT Freezone Refurb $150 US or new $180

http://www.coolitsystems.com/ (click where to buy, buy direct)
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=202&products_id=21604

The best cooling would be phase change for $700-$1000+ per unit. It's basically an AC for PC. Sub-zero temps. But some cpus won't work due to cold-bug (cpu stops working at certain temps). LN2 & DICE for less are not maintenance-free (babysit the cooling as long as the pc is on). So a H2O or TEC kit would be the best for most every cpu. You can overclock the E8400/X3110 to 4.2-4.5ghz on H2O/TEC. On air, it's 4.2ghz tops.

 

[hjjfffaa]

hey you think i could modify an old air condition or mini fridge cooling system to cool a processor and since i do alot of mulitasking should i get a quad-core (or get a low price dual core and wait for the Q9550)?

 

[chuckm]

I would wait for the new platform if you really want DDR3. There is an interesting article on Tom's homepage about DDR2/DDR3. I am not basing my opinion strictly on that article though, just don't think you gain anything over DDR2 for the price you have to pay.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/04/09/toms_ultimate_ram_speed_tests/

These coolers are really getting a following, to me water and computers don't go together;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=50012151%2040000574&Manufactory=12151&bop=And&SpeTabStoreType=0&CompareItemList=N82E16835233003%2CN82E16835233012

 

[akhilles]

No, don't do that. Unless you're an engineer kind of guy. Even so, you'd have to babysit the DIY cooling which can crap out anytime.

Go with a pre-built h2o or tec.

 

[hjjfffaa]

ok well how about the quad core?

 

[akhilles]

Breaking news: phase change for the mass for $300 US + $35 shipping direct from OCZ. Read through RyderOCZ's posts who is among the 1st to have the unit up & running. He says there's no temp change at idle & load. That's pretty good for $300. It's not as good as the high-end $600-1000 ones in terms of cooling power & quality, but it's def. better than Thermaltake's upcoming phase change. That guy might work for OCZ, FWIW:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183881

If you game more than work, go Wolfdale. Otherwise, pick up Yorkfield or Kentsfield.

 

[hjjfffaa]

which of those quads is easiest to OC?

 

[akhilles]

Don't know about easiest which largely depends on the mobo/bios. If you're asking which cpu can hit the highest o/c, Xtreme for $1000+ a piece. Best bang out of the two I listed would be Kentsfield for $250 now & $200 on the 20th. Q6600 is x9 & can hit 3.6ghz (9x400) easily on good cooling. Q9300/9450 are x7.5 & x8 & they'll need higher FSBs to reach 3.6ghz (7.5x480/9x450) and that will need better ram (PC2-1066+). In overclocking, lower FSBs = less voltage on vFSB/vNB/vSB/vSPP = less heat on chipsets. 500mhz is pretty high. 400mhz is easy.

 

[jsc]

If you are going to use any kind of liquid cooling, I would suggest swapping out the conventional wall outlet and replacing it with a GFCI outlet.

I confirm akhilles' figures or estimates, whichever they may be, about the Q6600.

I have a Q6600/TR Ultra 120 Ext. in a Gigabyte EP35-DS3P breadboarded on my work table. Loaded with Prime95 at 1.45 volts, it will run at 3.6 GHz. However, the motherboard temp alarm, set to 70 deg. C, occasionally goes off. And temps under load sit at about 65 C. That's too high for my comfort. Ambient is about 24 C.

At 3.3 GHz and 1.35 volts (where I will settle), temps are running at about 52 - 55 C. on the four cores. I would not be surprised if temps rise a little after installing the system in a case - Antec 900. I suspect that with really good cooling, this particular chip will run at 3.8 GHz.

 

[hjjfffaa]

whay would i want a gfci outlet?

 

[akhilles]

To prevent electrical shocks/fires? But you can get a non-conductive coolant.

 

[hjjfffaa]

oh right, yea i guess that would help