New system: choice?

[french_guy]

I want to build a new system….
Right now, I’m using a Core 2 Duo E6750, overclocked @3.0Ghz
My wife uses an old AMD cpu and has some problems, so I’m thinking I could give her my current system and build another one more powerful
I’m not a hard core gamer (but I like to play with some “old” Call of Duty games), and my main activity is to convert DVD into .iso files with DVDShrink, or convert DVD into DivX
What should be a good choice for the CPU:
I5 750, X4 955, X4 965 or X6 1055?
Will I see great improvement compare with my current c2d 6750 @ 3.0Ghz?
I want to use a mATX board…..Any recommendation?
How much RAM do I need? DDR2 or DDR3?
I also want to keep it at a reasonable price

And last question: I’m using XP SP3…Do I really need to pull the trigger for Windows 7? 32 or 64 bits?

Thanks

 

[MadAdmiral]

What's your budget? Assuming you can afford anything that's reasonable, I would go with the X6 and 8 GB of DDR3, with Winodws 7 Home 64-bit.

Here's the exact build (assuming you need everything):

CPU/RAM: X6 1055 and G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $310
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $120 (for 8 GB total)
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 $80 after rebate (not a fan of mATX)
HDD: Seagate 7200.12 1 TB $80
Case/PSU: Antec 300 Illusion and Earthwatts 430W $105
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $22
HSF (if OC): Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $35 (with free card reader)
OS: Windows 7 Home 64-bit OEM $100

Total: $852

 

[french_guy]

My local store offers $50 off of a motherboard if I buy a X6 1055T
So I can get a Gigabyte 880GM-UD2H + X6 1055T for $250
Is it a ggod choice, or should I stick with Intel and the i5 750 for ~$30 more?
Thanks

 

[MadAdmiral]

The X6 is going to be a lot better for the productivity. The i5 is going to better for gaming. I'd stick with the X6 for your uses.

That board would be fine, especially for the price.

I just noticed I didn't stick a GPU in the build. Crap. If you need one, drop the extra 4 GB of RAM and pick up the HD 5770. That should bring the price (with the other board) to $862.

 

[french_guy]

Do I really need a HD 5770 knowing I'm not a hard core gamer
Right now, I have a 9600 GT....What would be a better card, but still "cheap"?

 

[french_guy]

But still, what would be a noticable upgrade, but at a reasonable price?

 

[MadAdmiral]

@wasabiman: I didn't set the OP up with a Crossfire build because he's a non-gamer. You would need a different board (about $50 more), a bigger PSU (a 650W generally runs $75), but the case is solid for Crossfiring anything below the 5850.

I wasn't sure if you had a GPU already. I would honestly keep the card you have now until it stops doing what you need it to do. And since you don't need a GPU, you can get the extra RAM.

 

[french_guy]

Problem is I will give my current system with the 9600 GT to my wife...
If I want to keep the card, I'll to buy a cheap one for her
Or I can buy something better for me, but still at a reasonable price
What card(s) would you recommend?

 

[MadAdmiral]

The cheapest card I'd recommend is the HD 4670. After that, the HD 4770, GeForce 9800 GT and HD 4850 are the best bets. Those are the only ones under $100 I'd look at.

 

[french_guy]

I just bought the cpu (X6 1055T) and the mobo (GA 880GM)
What type of RAM do I need: DDR2 or DDR3? What speed?

Thanks

 

[MadAdmiral]

DDR3, and speed doesn't really matter. The G.Skills I linked to earlier would be great.

 

[matt314]

I would highly recommend you get Windows 7. It is leaps and bounds ahead of XP, you will most definitely not regret getting it.

 

[french_guy]

OK...but should I go with 32 or 64 bits
I mainly do video encoding with DVD Shrink, DVD43, Hand brake, Mediacoder, divx encoding, etc...and some gaming but not that much (Call Of Duty 1 and 2 for example)
And do I need more than 4Gb of RAM?

 

[MadAdmiral]

64-bit definitely. 32-bit would limit you to under 4 GB of RAM, which is not a good idea.

Having more than 4 GB of RAM would greatly increase your encoding speeds. Do you NEED it? Probably not, but the benefits would be nice.

 

[matt314]

You can always get 4GB now and if you are satisfied with the speed then stick with it, and if you want a bit more juice, get another 4. In either situation go with 64-bit, theres not many 32-bit programs that aren't compatible with 64-bit operating systems so there's really no loss.

 

[french_guy]

1 more question: If i want to install Win7-64 bits onto a SSD, what size should I get?
I've heard 32Gb shoulb be enough and even leave some room for few other applications...Is that correct, or should I definitely fo for a 64Gb?
I was thinking about the Kingston "V" series:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139133

 

[MadAdmiral]

Generally, you should leave 20% free space on the drive at all times. Windows 7 itself takes at least 16 GB. I wouldn't get anything under 64 GB.

 

[french_guy]

Well, waiting for my stuff
I ordered the 64Gb Kingston SSD "V" serie
Hope Win7 will install easily....!!!

 

[french_guy]

OK, I've received everything but have problems with my install...
My system is:
AMD X6 1055T
2x2Gb G Skill ripjaw 1600 CAS7
Gigabyte GA-880GM UD2H
Ssd Kingston 64Gb V serie
Power supply BFG 450 Watt
Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit
I also have 1 HDD HITACHI 1Tb 7,200 rpm but it's not installed yet

The install was painfull, even accessing the bios was not easy...I had sometimes some freeze, or some "parasite" on the screen...I even 1 time heard some strange noise from the monitor. My monitor is HDMI, and I have a DVI-HDMI cable. I even tried with a HDMI-HDMI but had the same issue
I was finally able to install Win7 on the SSD, but then I regularly have some random shutdowns (then a blue screen with some white text explaining that windows encountered an error). Or I my computer freezes and I have to reset it
What can be the issue? My RAM? I've read that the Ripjaw was Intel oriented, and AMD users had some issue
I was able to flash the bios of the motherboard, and I have now the latest version...Didn't improve the problem

Where shoudl I look 1st?
It's not my first install by far, but this us the 1st time I have that type of problem
Should I change the RAM, or the mobo?
I'm lost...!!!

 

[MadAdmiral]

What error message are you getting?

Chances are that it's not that the RAM is defective, it's that it's not set at the appropriate specs. Go into BIOS and change the RAM settings from "Auto" and manually set the speed, timings and voltage.

 

[french_guy]

What should be the optimum settings for that type of memory, and the rest of my components?
I tried 8-8-8-24 and 9-9-9-24, but same results
I didn't change the other parameters becuase wans't sure...

 

[MadAdmiral]

If you picked up the sticks I linked to, they should be at 1600 mhz, 7-8-7-24-2N, 1.65V.

 

[french_guy]

What the "2N" means?

 

[MadAdmiral]

It's the command rate. And I'll be honest, that's about all I know about it. If possible, I would set that to the correct setting in BIOS. If it's not there, you probably don't have to worry about it...

 

[french_guy]

Well I have issue with my 2x2 g-skill memory
I will return them to Neweg for a refund
My question is:
For the same price, should I go again for the same memory (Ripjaws Cas7) or buy the cas9 that have very good customer reviews as well?
Don't want to go with the instability issue again
Will I see big difference between Cas7 and Cas9?

Thanks