Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R? and what to match with it - thanks

[K33]

I started to upgrade an old machine and bought:

Antec P160 Case
Asus 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 Graphics Card
Coolermaster RealPower 700W PSU

Looking at the way things have moved on I now want to go for a complete build.

Can anyone advise me of a mobo; intel quad CPU and memory?

I was thinking of going for the Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R?

I am not a high end user: I Use XP, (avoiding Vista but am sure I will be dragged there one day) I watch movies, use Office 2007, edit sound and photographs, maintain a website... but I am looking for a bit of future proofing.

I am totally lost – things have changed so much since I built my last machine!

Thanks folks any help appreciated.

 

[Zenthar]

What was your old machine (just to get an idea of how much of an upgrade we are talking about).
■Do you want/need RAID support?
■How many SATA drives do you think you'll need?
■How long do you plan on keeping this system?
If you don't want/need DDR3 support, go the "standard" EP35-DS3R (over the EP35C-DS3R). If you don't need RAID or plan on using at most 4 SATA devices, you can get the EP35-DS3L instead. If you want a chipset that is bit more up-to-date, get a P45 board like the EP45-DS3L, EP45-DS3R or Asus P5Q (Pro or standard).

 

[K33]

Hi Zenthar

I was on an Asus Model Asus A8N-SLi with AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200; 2GB of Corsair CMX1024. nVidia GeForce 6600GT. 4X Maxtor 300GB SATA drives. Not using Raid. (Maybe I should start using striped Raid.)

The system was fine for me... but the motherboard died and I guess I should move up the tree a little - future prrofing a bit.

Thanks for helping.

 

[K33]

More thoughts. With terabyte drives I wam unlikely to need more than four drives.

I would hopem to manage some 3-4 years with it.

I guess being able to jump up to DDR 3 would be an avantage (future proofing).

I probably only need 2GB of Ram now (Win XP untweaked) - but would look to going 4GB when I am forced to move to Vista.

Hope this helps.

 

[Zenthar]

IMO, DDR3 will only be useful with Nehalem and its on-die triple channel DDR3 controller. I suggest you stay away from DDR3 for now.

For RAM, check the prices, they are so low you might want to get 4GB right away (~75$).

For CPU, since your usage will be a bit more on the multimedia side, the Q6600 will be a good and inexpensive choice (~190$).

For the board, if you plan on upgrading the CPU once before discarding the PC in the 4-5 year, I would say get a P45 board like the Gigabyte EP45-DS3L, EP45-DS3R or Asus P5Q (standard or Pro); the prices vary from ~100-140$.

 

[K33]

Hi Zenthar
Great, I am beginning to get the feel for this.

DDR2 it is.

GA-EP45T-DS3R - with Q6600 - Great spec. and I can afford them too!

Any advice on the spec for the RAM to match this – (yes 4GB makes sense.)

Also what to cool the CPU with?

I really appreciate your help here - I was sooo lost!

 

[Proximon]

Yep. There are one or two lower priced boards around that support DDR3, but it's just a gimmick. The only people that should buy DDR3 right now are people that know they are upgrading to i7 (Nehalem) in 4-6 mos, and have lots of money to unload.

Zenthar gave great advice. Too bad about the Cooler Master, we would not have recommended that PSU.

You can always move up the ladder on the quad core if you like... Q9550 is at a good price at around $330.00. The Q6600 would be a significant upgrade for you however.

You could get a P43 board as well, but since you like to hold onto systems a while a well built P45 is probably better.

 

[Zenthar]

BTW, the GA-EP45T-DS3R is DDR3 and cost about 60$ more than the other. If you want something a bit better and don't mind spending a bit more, the Asus P5Q Pro would be a good choice.

For RAM, just get any good DDR2-800 with CAS4 (NewEgg link).

For cooling, the retail version comes with a stock cooler, it's free and unless you overclock or use the CPU heavily, it will get the job done. If you want something better, I suggest you go take a look at www.frostytech.com, the site has a top-5 and rates both cooling capacity and noise.

 

[Zenthar]

You can always move up the ladder on the quad core if you like... Q9550 is at a good price at around $330.00. The Q6600 would be a significant upgrade for you however.

IMO he won't need that much now and by the time he needs it, he might as well get the Q9650 when it will have dropped price to ~200-300$.

 

[K33]

This feels like very good advice.

Shame3 about the Cooler Master - is it powerful enough to handle this system with 4 SATAS?

Lastly - I have a Sound Blaster Audigy 4PRO - Which has served me well in the past.

Thanks for being so patient

Would you advise using this or going with the onbopard sound?

 

[Proximon]

Oh it's not about wattage, but rather voltage regulation, heat, noise... there's lots of considerations when buying a PSU. Cooler Master isn't precisely a junk brand, and some of their PSUs are good... not a brand that you can buy without research and usually once you do research you find a better PSU for less.

If it's actually one of the new "RS700" models it's not yet reviewed I think. At the price newegg wants for it however, it would have to be the finest 700W ever made.

As long as it's of average quality it will be fine. Even if its continuous operational rating was really 600W it would likely be enough for you.

 

[K33]

Oh, well - as long as it runs.

Should have come here before!

 

[K33]

I think I have got there:

I have been reading reviews on the kit you recommend – Good advice indeed - Thanks

Using my already existing:
Antec P160 Case
Asus 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTVOut PCI-E Graphics Card
4 X 300GB Maxtor SATA’s from the previous machine and making two of them striped RAID
Coolermaster RealPower 700W Modular PSU - SLI Ready
And other bits like Optical drives from my old machine

Adding advised:
Asus P5Q Deluxe P45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 DHX Memory

I have a Creative LabsSound Blaster Audigy 4PRO use this or the onboard sound?

Thank you Proximon and Zanthar both

 

[Zenthar]

There aren't many differences between the P5Q Pro and the P5Q Deluxe, make sure the extra you are paying will actually be for useful features or you might as well keep the money.

 

[K33]

Your great Zanthar - Keep the money it is!
Can you comment on the sound card tho'
Sorry to pester

 

[Proximon]

You should look at the P5Q -E if there was something you wanted on the Deluxe, such as eSATA. It's a very nice board (I own one) and is usually 10 bucks more than the Pro.

Sound card is always a hard call. If you have good speakers and tend to notice the difference in quality on these things, the Audigy will likely sound better to you.

If Creative updated Audigy drivers with the rest last month, I would say go for it.

 

[K33]

Yes- my PC routes a digital signal directly into a surround sound HiFi... I will put the card in... I just wasn't sure if onboard sound had moved ahead.

Thanks for the heads up on the drivers... Having said that I have found (over many years and a number of Sound Blaster Cards) that Creative can make an aweful hash with their driver updates... so many times I have had to go bak to the old drivers.

eSata would be good. No nothing special - just thought I would play safe and spend more - thanks for correcting that.

In saying thanks I would share with you that I have been working on another forum in my specialist field... someone asked why I was doing it for free... I told them because if we all do...

thanks

 

[K33]

All ordered as above with an arctic CPU chiller added at £300

Great

I will come back when it is built to give feedback.

Tho' I suspect the cooler master will fart, pop put out black smoke and sound like a 747 taking off... It will add character.

Thanks

 

[K33]

This system is great - works well and does all I currently need.

Thanks for the time and trouble.