- Feb 29, 2008
- 17
- 0
- 18,510
Okay guys, I'm a long time AMD guy who would like to build an Intel system, but I really don't know enough about Intel products. I currently have a AMD XP 3200+ single core processor(can you believe it, I ran Crysis with this old thing), ASUS A7N8X Deluxe board, 2 Gigs of Crucial Ballistix, Creative SB X-Fi Gamer card, ATI AGP X1950 Pro 512 MB video card, a WD 74 GB Raptor, WD 500 GB HD, WD 750 GB HD, 2 DVD Burners, a Antec Case, Antec Neo 430 Watt PS, and a Jet Cooler. I also run a 21" Sony Trinitron CRT monitor that I love and will be keeping, no LCD screen for me. This system can still do most of the things that I need, but can no longer be upgraded any more. I need to get away from the single core processor and I need to get something with PCI instead of my AGP bus. Oh yeah, I am still on Windows XP SP3.
I have been holding out for the last year for AMD to come out with something to make me get excited about them and it just hasn't happened, so now Intel gets my next build. I plan on using the computer for movies, tons of gaming, Civil 3D 2008 (power hungry beast of a program), AutoCAD 2008-2009, maybe some Maya if I get the time. I don't do any overclocking on my parts and don't intend to in the future, so that is not an issue. I also have no interest in SLI or Crossfire as I would rather have one fast card than mess with 2 or more slower cards, plus they sell the dual cards if I needed it. I'm basically after a system that will allow me to run my programs and games and keep me happy until something better comes along, I'm not concerned with building a system to last for 3-4 years like most people. I try to upgrade system components yearly if there is something better that is compatible with my system. The price of the new parts isn't really an issue, but I'm not going to buy the extreme parts because it's not worth it for the little bit of performance gain.
So here goes for my new build, this is what I will be keeping:
Case: Re-using my Antec case, it's big and has plenty of room and air flow, possibly upgrading to either an Antec 900 or 1200 down the road.
Monitor: Re-using my 21" CRT monitor, it has an awesome picture and great color, will eventually buy a new LCD monitor, waiting til I can either get something really big for Bluray movies.
Burners: Re-using my two LG burners for now, plan to upgrade to Bluray when the price is more reasonable, probably be a year from now
Sound Card: Re-using my Creative X-Fi, it's only about a year old and it sounds great with my 7.1 speaker system.
Also re-using my HP printer(like new still), keyboard and mouse(they're 3 weeks old)
New Parts for the build:
CPU: Intel Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz, open to suggestions for other processors if there is a good reason for it.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX2. The price is great and Tom's gave it passing colors on there last cooling tests. I won't be doing any overclocking, so I think this should be sufficient. Any suggestions on something else, let me know.
Motherboard: Socket T something or another. I have no idea on this one, I need some input. I would like something that has the latest features, especially PCI Xpress 2.0 for future upgradeability.
Memory: 4 GB's of DDR2 RAM, still using XP otherwise I would go to 8 GB as Civil 3D is a memory pig. I have always used Crucial but would be open to other manufacturers. Eventualy will switch to Vista 64 bit, so I will probably get a 2x2 memory kit for now. Also what speed should I get as I've seen a lot of discussion this topic.
Power Supply: Probably get a new one as my Antec Neo is only 430 watts, we'll see what you guys come up with for system parts and go from there.
Video Card: Something high end, Nvidia 8800 line looks good, but might wait and see what ATI and Nvidia come out with in June. I'm interested in seeing how the new ATI card does.
Hard Drive: I might get a new 300 GB VelociRaptor when they come out, for use as the OS drive. I took my 74 GB raptor out of my system as my games were using too much space. I have had it out for about 2 months now and I have noticed a drop in access times for programs, so apparently it does make a difference versus a standard hard drive. I will also be getting a new 500 GB to 1 TB drive for storage. My engineering projects take up tons of space. I have 1.25 TB on my current system and I am out of room. Not sure what I want here, I really like WD but open to suggestions. I don't do RAID yet, I probably should but I do back-up the really important stuff to a extra hard drive.
Okay, I just relized how long this post is and it's ridiculous. I hope I explained what I'm after and gave you guys something to go off. All suggestions will be appreciated and considered. I will probably be ordering this tommorrow evening, so you guys have some time to review it. Any more questions, I will check back periodically and answer questions.
I have been holding out for the last year for AMD to come out with something to make me get excited about them and it just hasn't happened, so now Intel gets my next build. I plan on using the computer for movies, tons of gaming, Civil 3D 2008 (power hungry beast of a program), AutoCAD 2008-2009, maybe some Maya if I get the time. I don't do any overclocking on my parts and don't intend to in the future, so that is not an issue. I also have no interest in SLI or Crossfire as I would rather have one fast card than mess with 2 or more slower cards, plus they sell the dual cards if I needed it. I'm basically after a system that will allow me to run my programs and games and keep me happy until something better comes along, I'm not concerned with building a system to last for 3-4 years like most people. I try to upgrade system components yearly if there is something better that is compatible with my system. The price of the new parts isn't really an issue, but I'm not going to buy the extreme parts because it's not worth it for the little bit of performance gain.
So here goes for my new build, this is what I will be keeping:
Case: Re-using my Antec case, it's big and has plenty of room and air flow, possibly upgrading to either an Antec 900 or 1200 down the road.
Monitor: Re-using my 21" CRT monitor, it has an awesome picture and great color, will eventually buy a new LCD monitor, waiting til I can either get something really big for Bluray movies.
Burners: Re-using my two LG burners for now, plan to upgrade to Bluray when the price is more reasonable, probably be a year from now
Sound Card: Re-using my Creative X-Fi, it's only about a year old and it sounds great with my 7.1 speaker system.
Also re-using my HP printer(like new still), keyboard and mouse(they're 3 weeks old)
New Parts for the build:
CPU: Intel Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz, open to suggestions for other processors if there is a good reason for it.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX2. The price is great and Tom's gave it passing colors on there last cooling tests. I won't be doing any overclocking, so I think this should be sufficient. Any suggestions on something else, let me know.
Motherboard: Socket T something or another. I have no idea on this one, I need some input. I would like something that has the latest features, especially PCI Xpress 2.0 for future upgradeability.
Memory: 4 GB's of DDR2 RAM, still using XP otherwise I would go to 8 GB as Civil 3D is a memory pig. I have always used Crucial but would be open to other manufacturers. Eventualy will switch to Vista 64 bit, so I will probably get a 2x2 memory kit for now. Also what speed should I get as I've seen a lot of discussion this topic.
Power Supply: Probably get a new one as my Antec Neo is only 430 watts, we'll see what you guys come up with for system parts and go from there.
Video Card: Something high end, Nvidia 8800 line looks good, but might wait and see what ATI and Nvidia come out with in June. I'm interested in seeing how the new ATI card does.
Hard Drive: I might get a new 300 GB VelociRaptor when they come out, for use as the OS drive. I took my 74 GB raptor out of my system as my games were using too much space. I have had it out for about 2 months now and I have noticed a drop in access times for programs, so apparently it does make a difference versus a standard hard drive. I will also be getting a new 500 GB to 1 TB drive for storage. My engineering projects take up tons of space. I have 1.25 TB on my current system and I am out of room. Not sure what I want here, I really like WD but open to suggestions. I don't do RAID yet, I probably should but I do back-up the really important stuff to a extra hard drive.
Okay, I just relized how long this post is and it's ridiculous. I hope I explained what I'm after and gave you guys something to go off. All suggestions will be appreciated and considered. I will probably be ordering this tommorrow evening, so you guys have some time to review it. Any more questions, I will check back periodically and answer questions.
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