Review my build please post any thoughts suggestions currently my budget is around 450$ Nothing over 500$. I would appreciate if you would be kind to answer my questions also Hard Drive wise i will be using my old IDE one until i get a SATA 3.0gbs on later on and i'm thinking i might need a power connector. Ram wise i am still on XP and will not be moving to Vista until i get 3gigs atleast over the next few months. I also will be using CD drives that i already have and will be putting my old X-FI soundcard in it.
What i am planning to put in it :
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz
ASUS P5K EPU LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
Can this motherboard run SLI since it has two PCI-E slots?
Does it matter that my processors FSB is only 1066 and the stock BIOS FSB on the board is 1333?
Will i have to change out my PSU if i wanted to go with a card such as the 8800 which requires a 6 pin connector or do they make a converter for that too? (Pretty sure i will have to if i go sli thats if i can go that route)
The P5K has two PCI Express x16 slots, the blue one is routed to the northbridge’s 16 lanes and is at full speed all the time, the second slot coloured black runs off the southbridge at x4 speeds. While this isn’t the most ideal configuration for a balanced Crossfire setup, it works and if you want to run say two X1950s in Crossfire it’s perfect.
No problem with the E7200 CPU and the motherboard. Your P35 motherboard isn't SLI capable. It's a Crossfire (ATI) motherboard. For just $10 more I'd recommend the Biostar TForce TP45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138123
Will i have to change out my PSU if i wanted to go with a card such as the 8800 which requires a 6 pin connector or do they make a converter for that too? (Pretty sure i will have to if i go sli thats if i can go that route)
Molex connectors should be included with the video card.
No problem with the E7200 CPU and the motherboard. Your P35 motherboard isn't SLI capable. It's a Crossfire (ATI) motherboard. For just $10 more I'd recommend the Biostar TForce TP45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138123
The motherboard and PSU will allow you to setup 2x HD 3750 in Crossfire mode.
The E2200 2.4Ghz should be able to overclock near 3.0Ghz with the stock Intel heatsink & fan.
Message edited by WR2 on 06-25-2008 at 04:29:28 PM
Also, on the video card look at the superclocked version 8800gs, looks like a decent card, and I think newegg has an XFX version overclocked pretty high from the factory for like 90 bucks after the rebate. That's also giving you call of duty 4 if I'm not mistaken. Ought to kill that 8600 your looking at.
Go with an expensive PSU now. PSU prices do not change much, however CPU/Mobo/RAM/Video card prices do change alot. So it makes more sense to buy a real good PSU now, and get bottom feeder items for the rest.
So if i went with an 8800 what dimensions do i need to fit that thing in there case wise? Or can someone point me to an el cheap preferably 30-39 bucks that it can fit in if possible?
So if i went with an 8800 what dimensions do i need to fit that thing in there case wise? Or can someone point me to an el cheap preferably 30-39 bucks that it can fit in if possible?
8800GT(S) can fit in just about any Mid tower ATX case. Just don't mount a drive near it.
So even though the memory standard is 1066 on the Biostar mb it can still support the 800 standard ram with no problems? And it'll be just a little bit slower?
So even though the memory standard is 1066 on the Biostar mb it can still support the 800 standard ram with no problems? And it'll be just a little bit slower?
No problems at all!
Just a smidge slower and a very slight overclock on the CPU from 2.53 to 2.66Ghz. for example, would make up the difference in performance.
Message edited by WR2 on 06-26-2008 at 03:12:20 PM
Hard Drive wise i will be using my old IDE one until i get a SATA 3.0gbs on later on and i'm thinking i might need a power connector. Ram wise i am still on XP and will not be moving to Vista until i get 3gigs atleast over the next few months. I also will be using CD drives that i already have and will be putting my old X-FI soundcard in it.