E6600, E6700, Please Help! Building My Dream Computer :)

Deth

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I'm a step away from paying someone to help me :(

I've been reading through these forums and countless other articles for the past month trying to come up with the best computer I can afford, and I am still wary to buy a computer that may disappoint me in the end. So if anyone can please spare a minute to explain a few things, I would truly appreciate it.

I am trying to come up with the "sweet spot". I want to buy either the E6600 or possibly the E6700, and I want to OC it, but I want it stable with no problems. I will probably air cool the cpu using Thermaltake CL-P0310 120mm CPU Cooling Fan, unless someone can tell me a better fan that I should be using. I do not want to water cool it though.

I will also probably be using the EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard since I will be using a EVGA 768-P2-N837-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO HDCP Video Card. Unless you think another motherboard is better than that, and why please.


My main question is what kind of RAM should I be purchasing for either the overclocked E6600 or E6700? I was thinking about the CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory, 3-4-3-9, CAS 3 if I get the E6600, but I really have no clue what I should get. I guess the motherboard I was thinking about getting will let me overclock a locked processor without overclocking my memory. There is a feature/setting that you can put which allows you to UNLINK the Bus speed of your memory and the bus speed of your processor. You can then oc the processor with no affect to your memory.

So please tell me what the "sweet spot" is concerning which memory is best to buy for either E6600 or E6700 if I want the CPU's overclocked.

Thanks for any help. I'm doubtful I will get a response, but if I have to pay someone just to tell me what to buy, so be it.

Thank you! :eek:
 

Viperabyss

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I'm a step away from paying someone to help me :(

I've been reading through these forums and countless other articles for the past month trying to come up with the best computer I can afford, and I am still wary to buy a computer that may disappoint me in the end. So if anyone can please spare a minute to explain a few things, I would truly appreciate it.

I am trying to come up with the "sweet spot". I want to buy either the E6600 or possibly the E6700, and I want to OC it, but I want it stable with no problems. I will probably air cool the cpu using Thermaltake CL-P0310 120mm CPU Cooling Fan, unless someone can tell me a better fan that I should be using. I do not want to water cool it though.

I will also probably be using the EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard since I will be using a EVGA 768-P2-N837-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO HDCP Video Card. Unless you think another motherboard is better than that, and why please.


My main question is what kind of RAM should I be purchasing for either the overclocked E6600 or E6700? I was thinking about the CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory, 3-4-3-9, CAS 3 if I get the E6600, but I really have no clue what I should get. I guess the motherboard I was thinking about getting will let me overclock a locked processor without overclocking my memory. There is a feature/setting that you can put which allows you to UNLINK the Bus speed of your memory and the bus speed of your processor. You can then oc the processor with no affect to your memory.

So please tell me what the "sweet spot" is concerning which memory is best to buy for either E6600 or E6700 if I want the CPU's overclocked.

Thanks for any help. I'm doubtful I will get a response, but if I will have to pay someone just to tell me what to buy, so be it.

Thank you!
it really depends on how far are you going to take the processor. if you're going to be satisfied with 400FSB (E6600 = 400*9 = 3.6Ghz, E6700 = 400*10 = 4.0Ghz.) then any decent brand DDR 2 800 PC-6400 will be fine. i don't think the difference in CAS# will be significant enough to fork out an extra 50~100 USD.
 

Deth

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Thank you for the quick reply! :)

Some questions I have if you don't mind:

The FSB is rated 1066MHz for the E6600 and the E6700 correct?

So 266 * 4 = 1064
If I jack it up to 400, that'll be
400 * 4 = 1600MHz for the FSB. Is that too much for the motherboard? I don't understand how far I can go with this before its too much for my motherboard to handle.

Another thing I have a question about is the final MHz you are giving.
(E6600 = 400*9 = 3.6Ghz, E6700 = 400*10 = 4.0Ghz.)
Isn't 3.6GHz too much for the E6600? 4GHz too much for the E6700?
Using Air Cooling that is.

Because I thought the E6700 was rated for 2.66GHz and the E6600 for 2.4GHz. What I mean by this is that I was reading that for the E6600, 3.2GHz is pretty extreme for air cooling and anything higher may be too much for the CPU. The voltage might be too high?

Will the fan I was thinking about getting be sufficient in cooling the CPU if I OC the E6700 to 4.0GHz? Can I keep these computers Overclocked like this for long periods of time with no problems?

If this is all true, I might buy the computer tomorrow. Thank you so much for your help! Please respond though, I'm curious of the dangers if there are any. And if I am worried for no reason.

Thanks!
 

rammedstein

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your mobo should do fsb1600 easy, the only mobo that has an unlinked cpu and memory is the dfi rd600, the 6600 and 6700 will probably *just* get to 3.6ghz on a nice air cooler, so probably no with that thermaltake one, get a thermalright ultra 120 or something, they are great and will almost guarantee you 3.6ghz, the e6600 and e6700 are good quality and won't require much/any vcore increase to get to 3.0ghz but might need a +0.1 or + 0.2 to get 3.6+, if you have good cooling that shouldn't be a problem. might want to consider some nice case fansto keep the airflow over the chipset good though.
 

aoe

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Firstly, it's difficult to recommend something that 'won't disappoint you in the end' as it's not clear from your post what you intend to use the PC for, nor what your expectations are. I'm guessing your a gamer though :D

The components you've listed will give you a top-end system that will perform extremely fast.

I do have some comments/recommendations:

E6600/E6700: I just had to make the same choice, and chose the E6600 as I couldn't justify the extra cost of the E6700 (even though the cost was not prohibitive). I read many reviews, and the overclocking potential of the E6600 appeared better than the E6700 to me.

Heatsink: I would tend to agree with the other posters - there are better heatsinks out there. Check the Overclocking Guide on these forums for some recommended heatsinks. I went for the Scythe Infinity after checking a number of reviews, and this seemed to outperform most of the others. However, it is big, so make sure you have a case capabale of supporting it.

Motherboard: I believe that will be a good choice. It's a fairly new chipset, and I don't know much about the overclocking potential of that particular board (although I would expect it to fair well, especially after a few BIOS revisions).

Graphics: I don't believe there is a better card available than the one you have chosen

Memory: Mainly depends on your intended overclock target, but as has already been stated, PC2-6400 (800MHz) will support FSB up to 400MHz with 1:1 FSB:Memory ratio (which would give an OC of 3.6GHz with the E6600 - 1:1 is generally accepted as being best for performance). I wouldn't expect a better OC than that on air (although it is possible, as every CPU is different, but I personally would be targetting an OC between 3.2 - 3.6GHz). There really is not much difference in performance between memory timings 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-15, so I personally wouldn't recommend spending big money on memory with aggressive timings, as it's difficult to justify the additional cost for such a minimal increase in performance.

I went for some PC2-6400 OCZ Platinum, and am very happy with it.

My current OC is in my sig, and this system flies compared to my previous Opteron 170 OCd at 2.65GHz (the difference is really noticeable even in day-to-day tasks).

Hope this helps.
 

Deth

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Thanks for your help :)

Yeah, I'm a gamer. I wanted to get an awesome computer and I wouldn't mind saving a few bucks rather than paying an extra thousand dollars if I didn't have to.

Should I consider 2 identical harddrives for RAID-0 configuration? I hear the performance increase isn't really that much and I would probably save another $100 if I only bought 1 harddrive.

You talked me into the E6600. I'll probably OC to 3.4GHz like you did because for some reason 3.6GHz seems a bit much. And I'll save like $200 or so.

The memory I will probably get now will be CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop. Its about half the price of the previous memory I was thinking and according to you, the performance should be similar. The timing for this is 4-4-4-12. Is that similar in performance to 3-4-3-9? Both are DDR2 800.

Isn't the Thermaltake CL-P0310 120mm CPU Cooling Fan also known as the Thermaltake Big Typhoon as listed on the Overclocking Guide? I like that it has a lot of copper in it compared to the fan a previous poster recommended which had none.

I just hope this system can handle the EVGA 768-P2-N837-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO HDCP Video Card coming in at $650. I'm almost considering buying a cheaper video card so everything is balanced out, lol.

Again, thanks for your help! Please reply with any more comments if you can. Anyone :) If all goes well, I will order this computer tomorrow. Thanks so much! :D
 
Raid can result in roughly 25-50% more performance, but at a slight increase in risk to data loss. In the end, it's really up to you to decide if you want raid. Some people swear by it, others swear against it...

Ram timing difference between the 2 types of ram will be negligible at that speed, especially if you are overclocking. You would most likely have to relax the timings anyway, and would pretty much lose any advantage of the faster ram.

If you are going to purchase the Typhoon cooler, I would recommend the Typhoon VX version. I would also encourage you to research the Tuniq Tower 120, Cooler Master Gemin II, or the Thermalright Ultra 120 ( as was already mentioned), as well as other heatsink/fan combos that may work better for you.

Hope that helps...
 

aoe

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Well, I think with those components, you shouldn't be disappointed.

RAID 0: You can get lots of discussions on this. I personally love having RAID 0 for my OS and Programs (excluding games), but I wouldn't run RAID 0 without having at least 1 other disk for my data files. You will notice faster load times for OS and programs and faster file transfer rates, but it won't make games run faster as such - only when the game needs to retrieve data from the disks will you notice an increase in speed (if your games are installed on RAID 0). However, it's just a nice-to-have and by no means necessary. If your trying to save some money, I would skip this.

OC expectations: Whilst I have managed to achieve 3.4GHz quite easily, don't 'expect' this with your CPU. All CPUs are different, so there is no guaranteed OC. However, these CPUs are great overclockers, and there are lots of things to try to get a higher OC if your prepared to spend time on them.

Memory: As has already been stated, the cheaper memory with slightly lower timings will provide almost the exact same performance. The only way you would be able to notice the difference would be with a synthetic benchmark - it certainly wouldn't be noticeable in day-to-day tasks.

Heatsink: I should apologise here. I didn't recognise the model code, and hence did not realise it was a Big Typhoon. This heatsink has a very good reputation, and looks pretty cool too. This will stand up with the best on performance. If that's the one you like, I would stick with it.

Graphics: I just had to make the same decision. Whilst I wasn't really restricted by budget, I chose to go for the EVGA 8800GTS KO AC3 640MB. My main reasons were:
a) My current PSU is 580W - the 8800GTX has some pretty demanding power requirements
b) I'm upgrading from a 7800GTX, so the difference for me will be massive
b) Having chosen EVGA as the card manufacturer, I can always upgrade to the 8800GTX within 3 months and only pay the difference if I decided I wanted/needed the extra performance.

Also bear in mind that the 8800 has no direct competition from ATi at this time, so prices are somewhat inflated. If a competitive product comes out within the next 3 months, prices should drop (or a better model may be released), and you could then take advantage of EVGA's warranty to upgrade if you wanted.

Just a couple of other points. Now we've saved you some money, have you considered any of the following:
Sound card
Speakers
Case mods

Well, good luck with the new build and OC.
 

Deth

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Thanks for the help all, I really appreciate it! I'm ordering the computer as we speak, but I will check back for any last minute comments you guys give me. :wink:

aoe did it again, talked me into getting a Sound Card. I haven't bought a Sound Card in ages so hopefully this will be worth it instead of using the onboard sound. Thinking about getting the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card.

I'll probably go for RAID 0 because I want to see what all the fuss is about. I have flash drives, DVDs, and online storage I can save important information on, so that isn't my concern.

I bought some really nice BOSE speakers for my computer from Best Buy last year. Think it's a keeper for now.

Not sure what kind of Case mods I would want for the computer.

I'm leaning towards getting the Thermalright Ultra 120 thanks to rammedstein. Thanks for the links!

You convinced me size does matter in some cases. lol. The Thermalright Ultra 120 is HUGE, hope it fits in my Case!
 

Deth

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Thanks for making my dream become a reality. I finished ordering the new computer and I made some last minute changes. I want to make sure my logic is in order and if I made any bad choices. If you see something I shouldn't have bought or didn't really need, please tell me. Thank you.


I wanted the best computer for gaming at a reasonable price.


1. Many of the computer components I want, such as the video card and the fan, are quite large and may not fit in a mid tower. I decided to go with a full tower for the extra space, additional fans and more efficient air flow. I decided on the NZXT Zero Black/Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case. I hear Aluminum keeps your computer components cooler inside the case vs a steel case and this case packs a whopping 8 case fans. (1 x 80mm top fan, 4 x 120mm side fan, 2 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 120mm front fan) The reviews from customers were also very good for this case, always a plus.


2. I wanted the computer to boot up and load fast. I also wanted games to load fast. I decided on 2 Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drives configured in RAID 0. I hear WD Raptors are top of the line when it comes to HD performance, and the RAID 0 will give me even more performance. A lot of reviewers noticed their computers booting up twice as fast than before with this set up.


3. I knew I wanted the best CPU I could get and I wanted to OC the monster. After reading countless reviews and listening to some fantastic forum members, I decided to go with the Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor. Hopefully with all these case fans and an awesome heat sink + fan, I can OC it with no problems.


4. So what kind of CPU heatsink/fan did I end up getting? Well, after listening to rammedstein and checking out the article on Thermalright Ultra 120, that was what I wanted! Unfortunately, it was sold out on Newegg.com so I had to try to get either something better or similar. My eyes were fixed on the Thermalright SI-128 CPU Cooling Heatsink. It looked awesome, similar and it was more expensive. Now I just needed a good fan to go with it. I decided on the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan, it incorporates some Sony technology that allows it to be super silent while doing its job well. I also bought some Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound because I hear thats the best of the best when it comes to thermal compound.


5. Some say when it comes to gaming, the #1 factor is how good your video card is. Well, I wanted the best of the best, no exceptions. I got the EVGA 768-P2-N837-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO HDCP Video Card. If that doesn't impress me, then I do not know what will.


6. I needed a great motherboard that will complement my computer and the video card well. It also needs to be able to OC with no problems. I decided on the EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard.


7. What's a great computer without some decent memory? After debating over the options, I ended up getting some CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4.


8. I want a PS that will have more than enough power for all these components and then some. I believe Thermaltake Toughpower 850W W0131RU – NVIDIA QUAD-SLI APPROVED, FOUR +12V RAIL READY is up to the task.


9. A last minute decision for me was a sound card. If it helps the overall performance of the computer and delivers awesome sound, I'm all for it! I decided on a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card.



If you had to spend about $2500 on a new computer just for gaming. What would you get instead? These were my choices and hopefully every penny was well spent. :eek:


Thanks for the help everyone, let me know what you think. :)
 

aoe

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That all looks good to me. I'm sure your going to enjoy building and OCing that :D

I only have 1 comment, and that regards the disks. Raptors in RAID 0 absolutely fly (I have them in my system). However, do you have (or are you planning to get) another disk to store data?

I like to keep my OS and program files separate from my data files, as the data files will quickly fill up the disks, reducing read/write times generally. Not a huge problem, but if your really going for performance, spending another 50-100$/€ (not sure what currency you use) on a 'basic' 250-500GB SATA (7200rpm, 16mb cache) to store all your data files will help keep that RAID 0 nice and clean, and keep the speeds up.

I also find it very useful when upgrading/reinstalling, as I keep all the installation files for my programs on the data disk so I have them readily available after a reinstall of the OS.

Just a thought.

Enjoy the new system, and I hope all goes well with the OC.
 

Deth

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I dunno how you do it aoe, but you make perfect sense and I must buy another harddrive for my data files. 8O I want to add it to the order I already sent in to Newegg and add it to my bill, but I dunno if that is possible. Hate being charged with extra shipping if they do that.

So will the decrease in performance be noticeable if I keep my harddrives defragged? Whenever I hear performance decrease, I panic! :D I don't have that many data files too. Perhaps some word documents, a few zips and movie files.
 

joewho

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Looks Good. If you are not going SLI or CF. Then The Gigabyte DS3 v3.3 is about $120. Mushkin sells its 4Gig set of PC8500 for $600. But unless your running Vista it make little differance. They also have a PC85OO Set for $260 2Gig. Anyway my $.02.

Wish I had your system. Mine was tops last year or so.
 

rammedstein

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that build is perfect, if i was looking to build a new one it would be very similar, the creative x-fi cards are aesome, i just bought an x-mod for my mp3player
 

aoe

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I dunno how you do it aoe, but you make perfect sense and I must buy another harddrive for my data files. 8O I want to add it to the order I already sent in to Newegg and add it to my bill, but I dunno if that is possible. Hate being charged with extra shipping if they do that.

So will the decrease in performance be noticeable if I keep my harddrives defragged? Whenever I hear performance decrease, I panic! :D I don't have that many data files too. Perhaps some word documents, a few zips and movie files.

If you don't have that many data files, then it probably won't be that noticeable. I currently have around 170GB of data files (mostly music, videos, and software).

There's another reason though - I don't like to store any files I don't want to lose on a RAID 0 array. Now, maybe I'm being over-cautious, but there is a slightly increased risk of disk failure for the RAID 0 array (2 disks, either could fail) - although I have never had a disk failure to date, so I still consider this risk to be minimal. Saying that, any disk can potentially fail, so I also have an external hdd to backup my important files.

Another option would be to partition the RAID array and use the 2nd partition for data files. You can always add an extra disk in the future if you like, and then just move all the files across.

It's still a good idea to have an external disk to backup any files you would not wish to lose, whichever solution you choose :)
 

Deth

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I hear the 2 WD Raptors in RAID 0 produces a lot of noise and heat. To combat these problems, I purchased 2 ZALMAN ZM-2HC2 NP(Noise Prevention) Heatpipe HDD Coolers. A bit overpriced, but all the WD Raptor owners really love this product and swear by it.

Nothing wrong with a powerful, silent gaming machine.

I use a 2GB flash drive to store all my important files on. I also burn DVDs with programs and data I want to save for the future. I love Lightscribe too. :D

My philosophy is, if you can't risk losing important information, save it on a flashdrive and/or DVD rather than another Harddrive. The portability alone is worth it.
 
Deth,

Per your request.....my thoughts on your new computer....

Overall, you have a system there that MANY of US here at THG would envy. Very NICE!

But...to be thorough...I will try to add a few tidbits to your thoughts on it...

-Cases-More fans don't necessarily translate to better cooling. When it comes to cooling, you must be aware of airflow, which is measured in cfm (cubic feet per minute) and sound volume which is measured in db (decibels). Sometimes, less fans with better airflow can be quieter, and better on your system. I would suggest doublechecking and then RE-checking the cooling aspect, especially if you will be overclocking.

-Hard Drives-That combo of 2x WD Raptors is about as good as it gets for ANY raid 0 setup. You should be pleased with it. As a matter of fact, that is exactly the setup I am sporting on this computer as I write this. Much like was stated prior to this post, I also suggest a non-raid storage drive....just in case.

-CPU-Good choice there. I don't see any problems with that. I has 4 mb (vs lesser processors that have 2mb) L3 cache, is an excellent overclocker, and is overrall touted to be the best processor for your buck at the current time.

-Heatsink/Fan-Again, another excellent choice. Not exactly the Thermalright Ultra 120 there, but not far off either. The fan you chose...again...I use that same fan for my HSF, as well as case cooling. I believe you will find it an excellent match. Arctic Silver 5 (AS5) is never a bad choice for thermal grease (Thermal Interface Material, or TIM), but if you will be overclocking, any help you get in cooling is important. I would suggest checking out Arctic Silver CMQ-22G ceramic-based thermal compound, as it improves your heat transfers slightly better than AS5.

-Video-That certainly is top-notch. The only thing I would add to that is that you want the ACS3 if you want that particular card. It appears that your card will have it, but I would double-check, just to be sure.

-Motherboard-Very good choice, yet again. However, the 680i is touted as an enthusiast board, and can be very overwhelming if you don't know exactly what you are doing. The Gigabyte 965P-DS3 might be something you may want to look at if you don't feel you are ready for the 680i. The DS3 is labeled as an entry level board, but is very popular among enthusiasts for the ease of overclocking the C2D processors. The DS3 also costs about $100 less than the EVGA 680i.

-Memory-The C2D E6600 processors tend to be very efficient with ram. In most cases, PC4200 is recommended to maintain a 1:1 FSB/Memory timing. Your choice, the PC6400, is a very good choice. Again, this choice mirrors my own choice of ram, as this is exactly the same type of ram I am using. The PC6400 is basically 2 steps above the memory requirements you need, and if you so choose, you could run this memory asynchronously (sp?) and get better performance. You should find this well suits your needs, including for overclocking. Very flexible.

-Power-Again, a very good choice. Your choice of PS is from a good name, is a stable PS, receiving good awards, and appears to even be futureproof, for at least the near future. Some may call that PS overkill, but I can see no fault for buying now for your next build...

-Sound-Yet another nice choice. I can see no fault with that. The XtremeGamer's would be pretty much the lowest cards I would recommend, and offer great value for the price. The only bad thing about this, is that MS Vista support is lacking. You would want to keep tabs on this issue.

Overall, I believe you will be VERY pleased with the performance of your computer. I believe it would be very close to the way I would spend $2500. I give it my personal thumbs-up! Good luck with it!
 

Nossy

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Hrmm.

I'd drop the raptors. Barracuda is all you need, For the money you spent on two raptors you can use it to setup some barracudas in Raid 10.

I'm running fine with my stock E6600, runs everything fine and cools. I'll OC when it's necessary (maybe when UT3 and Crysis comes out). E6700, waste of money.

I'd skip the 680i chipset and go with P965 or 975X. Esp since the MCP is a crapper Raid performer. Hotter. Consume more power. Crappy driver support. And seriously dual card setup is overated unless you look to drive a 30 inch high res monitor. AND in some games you wont get it to run stable unless you disable SLI!

I'd go with a PC Power and Cooling 720W.
 

Deth

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I should have my new computer by Friday. I'm very excited and I have high hopes for this set-up. Hopefully everything will be shipped, working and nothing will be missing. For now, I might as well comment on your comments.

Groveling_Wyrm: Thanks for the info, I appreciate it! :D Yeah, I know it doesn't mean much by having more fans. But, without actual numbers, I have only my logic, common sense and tons of reviewers commenting on how much they like the case and any flaws.

So..
- Aluminum Case is a plus (compared to Steel case)
- Full size Tower is a plus (more space to work in)
- Lots of reviewers commented on how all the fans are so quiet and it has good air flow. A few even mentioned that their components were cooler than their friend's set-up with the same components, just a different case.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the video card has ACS3. That's what I saw on the box in the picture.

That's exactly why I wanted the motherboard! "an enthusiast board, and can be very overwhelming". I'm enthusiastic just listening to you talk about it! I'm one of those rare types that would rather spend the day going through the BIOS and studying each option and reading the MB manual before going to bed. It's like a game in itself! :p

I'm not sure if I mentioned it here, but I also wanted this motherboard because it would be "future proof". In case I wanted another identical video card, I can take advantage of SLI technology.

I didn't intend on OC'ing the ram or the video card. Just the CPU for now.

Yes, again on the PSU. "Future proofing" my set-up :p

Thanks for the thumbs up, glad I didn't make any really stupid mistakes that will keep me up late at night! :)


Nossy: Being a hardcore gamer, I tend to value performance over data safety. Data redundancy would be great if my intentions were to use this computer solely for business, but that is not the case. I will still use flash drives and DVDs to lower the risk of losing important files. But, my current logic is that 2 Raptors in Raid 0 has better performance than 4 Barracudas in Raid 0+1.

I'm not familiar with MCP? What is MCP? So the 680i chipset will not perform RAID 0 to its fullest potential?


Answer:
Nvidia developed a new so-called MCP (Media and Communications Processor) for its nforce 6 chipset for Intel processors.
 

Deth

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I knew I might have made a stupid mistake..

I read about an issue this morning regarding the new 680i MCP Southbridge and it's poor performance with regard to data transfers at high speeds, notably in high-speed RAID 0 arrays.

During their tests, they ran up against a bottleneck on the 680i's MCP, saying "At the same time, Nvidia's nForce 680 chipset somehow showed a 110 MB/s bottleneck, which we still couldn't overcome." That pointed me to another article, The Southbridge Battle, which shows they received similar results in an earlier test.

I've spent the last 3 hours trying to find more information on this, and have come up relatively empty handed. All I've seen is rumors that it's the software that Tom's uses has a fluke with the nVidia hardware, or that the MCPs aren't tweaked to provide higher throughput. I certainly have seen a lot of "This board has so many features it'll make you slap your grandmother!" type which highlight Gigabyte's quad-NIC, or ASUS's LCD POST indicator. Both of which, I could care less about, really.

I ask because I'm currently spec'ing out my next PC, and this issue causes me much hesitation in wanting to purchase an 680i-based chipset, since it's going to put a big bottleneck on my drive speeds.

I am also aware that it's relatively rare to see drive utilization like these tests create. But, I don't see the point in purchasing a motherboard as expensive as the 680i series, purchasing two high performance drives, then going through the trouble to set up a RAID 0, when it won't net any performance gain because the southbridge can't support it. And frankly, when drive access tends to still be the largest bottleneck to any system, I'd rather squeeze all the performance I can out of my drives.

I'm trying to figure out if this can be traced to a logic error, an underpowered chip, related to the SATA corruption issue, a bug in the firmware, testing software biases, or any number of other possible issues.

Does anyone have any good sources information on this topic?

Is this getting fixed? Did I just waste money getting 2 WD Raptors in RAID 0 only to faced with a 110 MB/s bottleneck caused by my MB?

The only good thing is that I figured out what MCP is. The bad thing is, Nossy was right. I might have just wasted good money on 2 Raptors because my MB stinks.
 

aoe

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Mar 29, 2007
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I'm not familiar with MCP? What is MCP? So the 680i chipset will not perform RAID 0 to its fullest potential?

MCP = Media and commiunications processors - generic term for the onboard chips controlling the SATA/PCI/PCI-e ports and stuff.

Regarding RAID performance on the different chipsets, I found this review comparing the ICH7R amd nForce4 chipsets (couldn't find one with the new nForce 680i chipset). There are small differences, but I don't think those differences are significant.

Of course, a separate RAID controller (of good quality) will always beat an onboard RAID controller, but I personally can't justify the additional cost (300+ €/$).

ICH7R has Matrix Raid, which allows RAID 0 and 1 with only 2 disks, but that's not something I would use.