Q6600 Build - Pick My Parts! [Best Bang For Buck]

qmalik

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Oct 20, 2007
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OK, I am finally going to click the buy button within 1-3 days. Here is what I have found - please check this build for me and leave a comment! If you know of better parts or prices do tell me! Also, help me pick the right PARTS!

Case: ~$100
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021
Antec Nine Hundred: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec%2b900

RAM: ~$100
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267
Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220293

CPU: $179-$199
Q6600: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0287043
Q6600: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0257938

After Market CPU Cooler: $37
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&Tpk=Xigmatek%2bHDT-S1283

MOBO: $85-100
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006307&prodlist=celebros
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008509&prodlist=celebros
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007760&prodlist=celebros

Sound Card: $30-60
Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102002
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006

Keyboard/Mouse: $7 + $37

LITE-ON SK-1788: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823107120
Logitech MX518: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178
Logitech MX310: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104136

Speakers: $60-80
Logitech X-530: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121126
Logitech X-540: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006

Thermal Paste: $6

Arctic Silver 5: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

ALREADY HAVE:

Video Card: 8800GT

HD: 75gb Raptor + 500gb Seagate

CD DRIVE: Standard DVD Player

PSU: 430 Earth Watt


QUESTIONS:

- Which of those 3 RAM sets should I buy?
- Are both Q6600 in links above a G0 version? What are the differences between those 2 Q6600s?
- Which Case should I buy?
- Which After Market CPU Cooler should I buy?
- Can GA-EP35 OC just as well as GA-P35?
- Should I change my PSU (which I already have)?
 

blacksci

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Jan 25, 2008
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Just dont go with patriot, they arent on the approved list of gigabyte. Check the forums or reviews and see if anyone is getting go versions from there. I would go with the antec 900 case, but im partial, i already have one and it works great. Look at toms reviews about cooling to see where your cooler of choice was rated if it was reviewed. The mobo's are the same chip type, there going to perform the same, a p35 chips can oc safely to 3.6 gigs with no trouble, which is all your going to get out of a q6600. Your antec eartwatts power supply should be sufficent, i have the 500 and it works great, antecs power supplies, even if relabled, which has never been proven, have great reviews, and are quite durable, but then again, im partial here, i have the 500 earthwatts.
 

lambofgode3x

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ram: personally, i'd go with the corsair if those three were my only chioces, but i'm partial to these. gskill makes good ram, its cheaper than what you were looking at, and also runs at ddr 1000 rather than 800...make sure to check compatability though

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

CPU: if you look closer at the choices, the oem version is sold out, and the retail version is for in store only, so unless you live close to a microcenter, dont bother...the only difference between the two is the oem comes with just the processor and no cooling fan. retail includes a cooling fan. i'm actually waiting for the oem to come back in stock at microcenter so i can pick one up myself. ;p

Motherboard: should be good for what you're doing unless you want to go sli or crossfire later...if you can find some wiggle room in your budget, try to get either an sli or crossfire mobo for the future if you want...if you dont care about that, then also try looking at a DFI Blood Iron. proven for overclocking, very stable, and a well rounded board. if you want to go with the crossfire option, look at the MSI P35 Neo2-FR. another great overclocking board and has crossfire capability. you can run an nvidia card in it, but no sli.

links:
dfi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038

msi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130098

Cooler: for 40 dollars, look at a tuniq tower. they're amazing coolers and they're cheap now.

Case: it think you'll really like the armor. its big, roomy, and is very solid overall. great case. another plus is that it has more than enough room for water cooling if you decide to use water later on. only problem with the antec 900 is that its small and gets very very cramped pretty easily.

speakers and sound card: both of your choices are really good, speaker wise. they have good bass and the audio quality is great, especially when you figure in price. as for the sound card, you may want to see if you can find more money to get something better. those cards aren't really much better than your built in sound. i would recommend these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001

i personally lean twards the ht omega. amazing card...look up some reviews of it and see for yourself. also, a side note, the asus sound card is pci-e.

just my 2 cents
 

htoonthura

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May 21, 2006
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i am currently using corsair xms2 dhx 4 gb with q 6600 Go from microcenter on Ga P 35 Ds3l. I am happy with my 3.2 G oc q 6600. I would recommend you corsair. No issue with this board. I am now running 4-4-4-12 at stock voltage.

I can not say for sure these two CPUs in your post are Go. But, i got g0 from them back in march. One of them in your link is oem ( without fan) and the other one is retail version with fan.

I would recommend you upgrading your psu to at least corsair 550 vwx ( not sure of exact model) that i am using now. It is super quiet.

Have fun building computer.
 

lambofgode3x

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it is actually a pretty good deal, and the board is a fairly good overclocker. i've seen reviewers getting that board to almost 500mhz fsb. as for the ram, that doesnt overclock very well, but who knows, you might get lucky. ocz is usually pretty good with the overclocking stuff. this is all considering that you're going to overclock...even if you arent, its still a good deal, and you can go sli when the g200 series comes out...if you want to ;p

edit: the q6600 is still a pretty damn good chip, especially for the prices its being sold for today.
 

qmalik

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Oct 20, 2007
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Thanks shadow, im fact I just bought:

Corsair XMS2
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283
Q6600 (might return for Q9450...still not sure)
Logitech X-540 (got it for $59)

My real concern is...

(1) P35-DS3L vs EP35-DS3L...I heard EP35 has latest bios...and higher limit on ram OC or something. But I also hear people are having OC problems with the EP35....I am not sure if that is true or what...kinda confused on which to get.

(2) I am still debating Q6600 vs Q9450 and if it is worth the $100 premium...

(3) Audigy SE ($30) vs. X-Fi XtremeGamer ($60 after rebate)

(4) TT Armor vs. Antec 900 vs. TT Armor+MX for the case

(5) PCI-E 2.0....P35 dont have it....Im just afraid ill regret that...whats the cheapest pci 2.0 mobo?
 

qmalik

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so what do u recommend?
 

lambofgode3x

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teamlosigp, i have to respectfully disagree. with 4 gigs of ram, you could effectively disable your paging file, which is stored on your hard drive. ram is much faster than your hard drive.

by all means, ram is so cheap, you might as well pick up 4 gigs of ram, even though windows will only see 3.5 gigs
 

ksmith624

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I'm with lambofgode3x...

With 32 bit Windows you will only see from 3-3.5GB of RAM depending upon how many devices you have connected to your pc...hard drives, optical drives, videocards, etc - as they also have a form of "RAM" they use.

It is true that if you have 4GB or more RAM you can effectively disable your paging file, but beware that can lead to system instabilities if you have programs running that collectively decide to use more than 4GB of system memory.

If you upgrade to a 64bit O/S, then you will be able to "see" up to 128 GB of RAM (I know a desktop system of that nature is impossible, but that's just speaking in mathematical possibilities).

...if you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's good to do a little research as 64bit operating systems are not perfect... then when you have a more comprehensive understanding of the matter you can make a decision that will benefit your personal needs when it comes to the software you run...hope this helps for future builds (as it sounds like you've already bought the components).