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[Solved] Intel i5 Choosing Mobo, Memory and PSU

Forum Motherboards & Memory : Memory - [Solved] Intel i5 Choosing Mobo, Memory and PSU

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Best answer from mongox.

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Hi all, and thanks in advance.

Well my P.C is dead, and i am looking for buying a new one.

After 4 days of reading and watching videos. I have some open questions in regard to my new Mobo, Memory and PSU.

About Me:
Reliability and Stability are vary important to me.
I use Virtual Machines & dual boot (linux, Windows Xp *for now).
I need a firewire socket.
I am using Photoshop professionally.
I play "Second Life" (3D online Game).
I am not a great fan of manual overclocking and cooling devices (i don't care if it happens automatically :-) ).
I am planing on 4 GB (2GBx2) memory size.

Chosen CPU:
Intel® Core™ i5.

Chosen Graphics Card:
Nvida 9800GT 1000MB PCI (it is a "Second Life" game limit i wanted the GTX 260 )
*** i may be wrong about that
See Second Life System Requirements : http://secondlife.com/support/system-requirements/

Chosen Hard Disk:
Segate, 1 TB, 7200 rpm.

*Note: I may be wrong, but these are my understanding for now.

Lets start with the memory.

*X.M.P - the ability to change the memory frequency on the fly.

"One Channel Per DIMM" - Means that the CPU cannot use one DIMM (Memory Stick) in parallel.
-- NOTE: the CPU can still use two identical DIMMs (Memory Sticks) in parallel.

i5 Memory Limits :
Memory Max Voltage:
According to Intel CPU spec, DIMM voltage below 1.65V is recommended to protect the CPU.
-- More then that and you may damage the CPU. or fry it!.
-- This limit may have to do with the "Memory Control" shifting to be part of CPU.

Memory Max frequency:
1333hz (can be overclocked higher)
-- NOTE: When using frequencies higher then 1333hz or When using *X.M.P there is a limit of "*one Channel per DIMM"

Many of the memory manufacturers companies come up with a new "Low Voltage" version of their DDR3 memory sticks made especially for the i5 and i7 cores.

My memory should be i5 compatible.

Open Questions:

1. What is QPI ? ( *Intel boards like Intel P55KG use QPI Bus Type. )
* Whats is the ASUS P7P55D Pro Bus Type ? Whats the difference ?

2. According to the "About Me" Should i choose Intel P55K , ASUS P7P55D Pro or the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 Mobo ?

3. As i like automatic overclocking is X.M.P worth to bother finding ? (I will use two identical 2 DIMMs)

4. Is the PSU "FSP 600-80GHN 600W" sufficient for my setup ?
* I use UPS as there are many outages where i live.
* Any comments or recommendation are welcome.

Many Thanks
TechSgin

Message edited by techsgin on 09-30-2009 at 01:53:33 AM

Add a reply

Quote :

X.M.P

Sounds like you'd like it.

Quote :

Memory Max Voltage: According to Intel CPU spec, DIMM voltage below 1.65V is recommended to protect the CPU.
Memory Max frequency:
My memory should be i5 compatible.

Don't break the 1.65V limit. And memory at this or under is likely to be higher quality and newer design also.
i5 compatible being listed is not a big deal, just means the company's marketing folks have added it.

Quote :

1. What is QPI ? ( *Intel boards like Intel P55KG use QPI Bus Type. )

Don't know, seems to replace the Front Side Bus designation.

Quote :

2. According to the "About Me" Should i choose Intel P55K , ASUS P7P55D Pro or the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 Mobo ?

Both are good manufacturers. I'd search thru the forums here for those makers and read anything that comes up under the model names. Both sites are good. (Sorry, I'm an AMD person!)

Quote :

4. Is the PSU "FSP 600-80GHN 600W" sufficient for my setup ?

There's a fellow in the Gigabyte forum that knows all the dirt on the various Gigabyte boards - and can likely explain QPI. Might post about the boards there and see if he bites - bilbat's his name.

You can do better than fsp, but if you're not overclocking the 600w will be ok; corsair is still better for high end video cards, having a higher 12v rail rating. For the board, I suggest you get a combo special at Fry's or microcenter if you live near them, so you can return them. Newegg charges a 15% restocking fee on most returns; frys charges nothing if you have all the original packaging and accessories. I even returned one without the original receipt, but it's best to save it. If you want to buy from newegg, read some reviews and decide which board to gamble on. Not much feedback yet. I prefer crucial, corsair, or samsung memory. Get some with lifetime warranty. I also recommend you download some motherboard manuals and read the memory section, or go to the manufacturer's website and look for tested memory. I like asrock boards for value; asrock is an offshoot of asus.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to o1die

o1die wrote :

Thanks for the advice.
But I am not living in the US. :-(
" ... Newegg.com does not currently ship internationally; we only deliver to locations within the United States and to Puerto Rico... "

Sound like heaven buying a P.C in the US. :-)

Message edited by techsgin on 09-30-2009 at 02:01:13 AM

Reply to techsgin

Best answer

Quote :

X.M.P

Sounds like you'd like it.

Quote :

Memory Max Voltage: According to Intel CPU spec, DIMM voltage below 1.65V is recommended to protect the CPU.
Memory Max frequency:
My memory should be i5 compatible.

Quote :

1. What is QPI ? ( *Intel boards like Intel P55KG use QPI Bus Type. )

Don't know, seems to replace the Front Side Bus designation.

Quote :

2. According to the "About Me" Should i choose Intel P55K , ASUS P7P55D Pro or the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 Mobo ?

Both are good manufacturers. I'd search thru the forums here for those makers and read anything that comes up under the model names. Both sites are good. (Sorry, I'm an AMD person!)

Quote :

4. Is the PSU "FSP 600-80GHN 600W" sufficient for my setup ?

There's a fellow in the Gigabyte forum that knows all the dirt on the various Gigabyte boards - and can likely explain QPI. Might post about the boards there and see if he bites - bilbat's his name.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by mongox on 10-01-2009 at 12:12:59 AM

Reply to mongox

mongox wrote :

Quote :

X.M.P

Sounds like you'd like it.

Quote :

Memory Max Voltage: According to Intel CPU spec, DIMM voltage below 1.65V is recommended to protect the CPU.
Memory Max frequency:
My memory should be i5 compatible.

Quote :

1. What is QPI ? ( *Intel boards like Intel P55KG use QPI Bus Type. )

Don't know, seems to replace the Front Side Bus designation.

Quote :

2. According to the "About Me" Should i choose Intel P55K , ASUS P7P55D Pro or the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 Mobo ?

Both are good manufacturers. I'd search thru the forums here for those makers and read anything that comes up under the model names. Both sites are good. (Sorry, I'm an AMD person!)

Quote :

4. Is the PSU "FSP 600-80GHN 600W" sufficient for my setup ?

Should be fine. Plug in all your goodies into this site to make sure. Generally, you want at least 150W of the PSU availabe after building. And get a 2 rail PSU.
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

There's a fellow in the Gigabyte forum that knows all the dirt on the various Gigabyte boards - and can likely explain QPI. Might post about the boards there and see if he bites - bilbat's his name.

Thanks

Reply to techsgin

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