Summer Project: Speed Machine

beef5stew

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May 8, 2008
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I've been in the Market for a new Machine, but decided I'd have more fun to build my own. I did this once before and liked the result...until I slowly canibalized that machine to build a few others. My current rig is a pure budget machine, so I'm looking to go higher end, primarily a speed machine to do some video editing, and some gaming.

I spent the last 4 weeks researching, and I think I came up with how I'm going to spend my summer. Before I pull the trigger, I'd like your opinion.

Case: ThermalTake Armor VA8003BWS Black w/ 25cm Side fan.
This thing has some incredible air moving options with the addition of pre-drilled holes for liquid cooling options in the future. Case is huge, but that allows for alot of future growth and room to play around.

CPU: Intel E8500 Core 2 Duo. I know that the price/performance to the E8400 is a little out of whack, but I'm going to OC..so I'd like to start with the fastest 45nm stock I can find.

Video: EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video. Best rated all around. Not too familar with Video Cards, btu I think this one has all the "must haves"

MB: ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard: Great OC capability, supports the faster chipsets. Built in RAID options.

Hard Drives: (2) Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive setup as RAID 0. Alot of pros and cons with setting up RAID. All my personal data will be backed up to network storage, so I don't have much concern about failure. I'm trying to squeek out some extra performance by using the RAID options.

Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory. Great latency, good reviews. and options to expand RAM by using only 2 slots

Heat Sink: Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Heatsink. Old roommate has one. Ugly as all heck, but if you have the right amount of airflow (which I will with about 5 fans) it performs like a champ.


I'll use existing keyboards/monitors/Powersupplys/etc. I have tons of them around from previous experiments.

I'm leaning this rig towards speed on some full load benchmarks over pure gaming. But have also designed for faster disk response.

Beefstew!


 
I would choose DDR2-800 RAM. The P35 chipset, and that mobo in particular (I've got one), may have problems with DDR2-1066.
It looks like you're describing the older G80 version of the 8800GTS video card. You want the G92 version of it.

I like the Abit mobo. Among its nice little extras are FIVE case fan headers, SYS and AUX1-AUX4, which can all be controlled with Abit's uGuru application (or the BIOS). There's a rear panel CMOS reset, which is convenient if you are fumble-fingered or have poor eyes like I do now.
 

FHDelux

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Jan 25, 2008
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My personal preference is:
-Asus Maximus Formula Mobo
-Q6600 + Thermalright Ultra 120
-8800gts OC editions 512MB

I have built a couple of these things and everytime i hit 3.6Ghz on the overclock. Usually I average about a 14.5k 3dmark06. The dual core CPU is good for getting raw Ghz, and at 4Ghz you will probably score about the same 3dmark as the Overclocked quad, but the quad core just has an unbelievable amount of processing power. After using quads ill never go back to dual, esspecially with Vista.

Maximus Formula Motherboards have whats called load line calibration, comes in handy when overclocking alot because you dont have to worry about your vcore dropping out under full load, plus the fsb cranks up there so you can get good Ghz out of low multiplier chips.

Your video card selection is dated, the 320MB and 640MB cards dog compared to the new 512MB cards.

A note on your Heatsink selection as well. I have used probably 30+ heatsinks in this core 2 era...Thermalright Ultra 120 is the best thing i have ever used. It fits nicely in most motherboards and has a crazy number of heatpipes.
 

beef5stew

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Thanks for the feedback, yeah I grabbed the wrong link for the EVGA card, it will be the G92 version. I've had good luck with EVGA in the past, so I think I'm going to stick with them.

I did look at the Asus Fomula and the Striker Mobos. Both of them are within my price range, but I couldn't find any significant advantage to them over the IP35 Pro. They both have RAID capability, OC controls are pretty good on both, and I have the option to go to Quad in the future if I REALLY need to. I looked at the type of apps I run, and dont' think I'll be able to really max out a quad for the next few years.

I do have Vista 64 Ultimate...I wonder if I can get a boost on that with a Quad over the Duo.
 

FHDelux

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Vista is 1000 times better with a quad then with a dual IMO. I think it runs smoother than XP with a dual core.

The main advantage to the Maximus/Rampage formula motherboards is the load line calibration. When you overclock and go 100% CPU usage, or playing a game hard, you pull more current, that causes the vcore to drop. I happens a lot on quad core processors, load line calibration makes the voltage stay at whatever you set it at no matter what happens. If the vcore drops out, your processor could get unstable or lock up.

Also the IP35 is an Intel P35 chipset, if you are buying a 'speed machine' P35 is on the low end now. X38 has some good overclocking abilities and supports higher fsb ratings in my expirience.

I have owned a ton of motherboards and the Republic of gamers motherboards (maximus, rampage) are just great, ill never buy anything different again.
 

beef5stew

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I liked the P35 chipset because of it's proven track record, but I have to admit, I am concerned about the dated Technology. My "backup" pick is the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 Intel® X48 + ICH9R Chipset. This mobo is brand new technology, so I'm not sure I want to be a first adopter of that technology. What are your thoughts on that board? (assuming a Quad)

I looked at the Quads on the market and I think I might be able to score a Q9450 for not much more than the E8500. Still using the 45nm technology.
 

Agreed.
 

mihirkula

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You're kidding right?

OP...the E8500 won't give you much performance difference compared to E8400.