New Workhorse Conroe PC - Suggestions Please

[Btrice]

Hello all, I have spent the last week/week and a half reading through the posts on this forum (because due to forum email sending errors I could not activate my account) and I was hoping to pick your highly knowledgeable brains on a setup I want to build as my main system for home (replacing a dying Dell 5100 series laptop).

This is what I'm thinking so far:

C2D E6600
ASPIRE) MX-PLEASURE-BK Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W dual fan
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
XFX PV-T73G-UDE3 Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3
OCZ Gold 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM

I want to keep the costs down as much as possible. This needs to be a complete system with monitor and such, going through Newegg I priced the above plus monitor and extras (kb,sata power connects, thermal paste, etc) and assuming $350-$375 for the E6600 at around $1300 before shipping. I would like to keep it around that area.

I absolutely HATE games so that is not a concern. (The only reason I chose 7600GT was is seems to be middle of the road and probably the high point on price/performance, even though I doubt I would utilize it fully)

The major reasons for building this machine are to replace the 4 year old POS I am currently using and the ability to work at least a bit from home instead of the office all the time(I use an advanced physics simulation that makes mprime look like using calc.exe).

I would like to at some point (maybe not right away) OC this guy, but keep it at 9x400 at the most. Here are the questions/concerns I have come up with after reading all these threads:

1) MB: DS3 or AB9-Pro? I've seen a good bit of results with the DS3 but it also has its issues. Before this 5100 I built many machines and ABit WAS my brand of choice, but I hear they have the bed recently. I know this is asking you guys to predict the future, but if anybody can do it, it would probably be you all: After both boards get up to some pretty rock solid BIOS releases, which do you *expect* to be the better value board? -- Please don't suggest any $250+ MBs to me, I don't want them.

2) If I went with the DS3 it seems it has an issue initially posting with RAM that needs to be run over 1.8v? Should I be concerned with this, as I would have no other RAM around to test? I also saw on Anand about the value 667 RAM being able to be clocked up a good bit, but I was hesitant if I could reliably get that to work if trying to take my system to 9x400 in the future.

3) Also I have read about possible issues with using 4 stick of RAM in a P965? The only reason I am going with 1 GB in my initial buy is a cost consideration, but if 4 sticks is not going to work, maybe I need to bite the bullet and buy 2x1GB upfront, but only if absolutely necessary. (Before you ask, the simulation I use is great on memory management, I have never had an issue on the workstations at the office with 1 GB, it has always been the CPU that is the bottleneck).

4) I want to air cool this guy (no water or anything else). I have seen a couple of different suggestions, but some have had reservations such as the ease of connection, size, price, etc. The ones that people seem to be liking (again correct me if I am talking out of my ) are Ninja, Tower, Ultra-120, Zalman zp-somethingorother.

5) I know you folks have been innundated with these types of posts, so any help you can give me would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
B

[Tallman]

Hello all, I have spent the last week/week and a half reading through the posts on this forum (because due to forum email sending errors I could not activate my account) and I was hoping to pick your highly knowledgeable brains on a setup I want to build as my main system for home (replacing a dying Dell 5100 series laptop).

This is what I'm thinking so far:

C2D E6600
ASPIRE) MX-PLEASURE-BK Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W dual fan
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
XFX PV-T73G-UDE3 Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3
OCZ Gold 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM

I want to keep the costs down as much as possible. This needs to be a complete system with monitor and such, going through Newegg I priced the above plus monitor and extras (kb,sata power connects, thermal paste, etc) and assuming $350-$375 for the E6600 at around $1300 before shipping. I would like to keep it around that area.

I absolutely HATE games so that is not a concern. (The only reason I chose 7600GT was is seems to be middle of the road and probably the high point on price/performance, even though I doubt I would utilize it fully)

The major reasons for building this machine are to replace the 4 year old POS I am currently using and the ability to work at least a bit from home instead of the office all the time(I use an advanced physics simulation that makes mprime look like using calc.exe).

I would like to at some point (maybe not right away) OC this guy, but keep it at 9x400 at the most. Here are the questions/concerns I have come up with after reading all these threads:

1) MB: DS3 or AB9-Pro? I've seen a good bit of results with the DS3 but it also has its issues. Before this 5100 I built many machines and ABit WAS my brand of choice, but I hear they have the bed recently. I know this is asking you guys to predict the future, but if anybody can do it, it would probably be you all: After both boards get up to some pretty rock solid BIOS releases, which do you *expect* to be the better value board? -- Please don't suggest any $250+ MBs to me, I don't want them.

2) If I went with the DS3 it seems it has an issue initially posting with RAM that needs to be run over 1.8v? Should I be concerned with this, as I would have no other RAM around to test? I also saw on Anand about the value 667 RAM being able to be clocked up a good bit, but I was hesitant if I could reliably get that to work if trying to take my system to 9x400 in the future.

3) Also I have read about possible issues with using 4 stick of RAM in a P965? The only reason I am going with 1 GB in my initial buy is a cost consideration, but if 4 sticks is not going to work, maybe I need to bite the bullet and buy 2x1GB upfront, but only if absolutely necessary. (Before you ask, the simulation I use is great on memory management, I have never had an issue on the workstations at the office with 1 GB, it has always been the CPU that is the bottleneck).

4) I want to air cool this guy (no water or anything else). I have seen a couple of different suggestions, but some have had reservations such as the ease of connection, size, price, etc. The ones that people seem to be liking (again correct me if I am talking out of my ) are Ninja, Tower, Ultra-120, Zalman zp-somethingorother.

5) I know you folks have been innundated with these types of posts, so any help you can give me would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
B

Hi and welcome.
Just a few things come to mind reading your post.
The 965 chipset boards seem to love the lower multi processors ie..6300 and 6400.
It is a not-written-in-stone theory that : 6300 and 6400 go with 965
and 6600 and 6700 go with 975 chipsets

Also, you don't mention a PSU. dont skimp there.

Lastly, you say your simulator is cpu bound. If is not cpu bound after your upgrade, then it may become memory bound after so I would give 2*1gig of ram some more thought.

Sorry I can't offer more help


Oh, BTW, I am using the Scythe Mine III cooler and it works fine

[charlie]

There's great 2 x 1gB kits out there for $175ish...

With no gaming why not go 7600GT>7600GS and save $70? And put that into a Antec or Enermax reliable 450w PSU.

[Btrice]

Thanks for the help guys. As for PSU the Aspire case comes with their 500W PSU, I know its not top of the line, but it will be fine until I am ready to overclock and I like the case but can't seem to find it by its lonesome.

I am thinking that the extra L2 cache is going to be a dealmaker in terms performance in this simulator. That is why i wasn't looking at the Allendales (in all honesty though even a stock clocked e6300 would perform like something out of Star Trek compared to my POS laptop ).

See in not playing games I know NOTHING about graphics cards, and all benchmarks are obviously in games I am not familiar with or just dont care about.

The only visual stuff I do is Photoshop and some video editing for my friend's youtube-like site he has. Will a 7600GS be sufficient? Cause saving $70 on that would allow me to spend an extra $20 and get the 2x1GB OCZ gold, which would make me happy, as long as the 7600GS doesn't completely suck in terms of price/performance.

[charlie]

from a review:
The XFX 7600GS is a good example of what kind of performance you can expect from a mainstream video card today. And it's a good one. The card is on Newegg today for a price of $143, putting it squarely against a X1600XT in price category. XFX has overclocked their card to a very nice 500MHz; just 50MHz slower than the 7600GT and 100MHz faster than NVIDIA's reference clock. Performance was faster than the ATI card and short of a 7600GT in most cases with F.E.A.R. being the exception.

The card played games well at the moderate resolution of 1024x768 and 1280x1024 without AA and no Anisotropic Filtering. If you want those features I would suggest a 7900GT or a X1900XT card, as they'll play any game available today with those settings. SLI mode allows you to play much like a 7900GT would and allows you to turn on the AA and AF features.

Newegg has this eVGA 7600GS at $110... avoid the Chaintech it's clocked lower.

[Btrice]

from a review:
The XFX 7600GS is a good example of what kind of performance you can expect from a mainstream video card today. And it's a good one. The card is on Newegg today for a price of $143, putting it squarely against a X1600XT in price category. XFX has overclocked their card to a very nice 500MHz; just 50MHz slower than the 7600GT and 100MHz faster than NVIDIA's reference clock. Performance was faster than the ATI card and short of a 7600GT in most cases with F.E.A.R. being the exception.

The card played games well at the moderate resolution of 1024x768 and 1280x1024 without AA and no Anisotropic Filtering. If you want those features I would suggest a 7900GT or a X1900XT card, as they'll play any game available today with those settings. SLI mode allows you to play much like a 7900GT would and allows you to turn on the AA and AF features.

Newegg has this eVGA 7600GS at $110... avoid the Chaintech it's clocked lower.

Thanks man. Yeah I just was looking at the eVGA one, I believe I will switch that into my wishlist. I also noticed the memory clock of the chaintech, not worth saving $3

[charlie]

And cheap PSU's are dangerous to your rig... be careful.

At least some Antec cases come with bundled ANTEC PSU's... that's the cheapest I'd go.

[charlie]

If you want to do HARDCORE number crunching... I'd suggest the 2gB, E6600 and maybe an aftermarket Cooler.

The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 and the Thermalright Ultra90 are both $25 and would be quieter/cool better than the OEM fan.

[psyconut713]

to watch youtube videos and use photo shop you could use.....Onboard!

lol, so the 7600GS would kick its ass!

I know you dont think that PSU is a draw back, but it will be, but you could always get one next year, so its not the biggy. But deffinetly go with the 2x1GB OCZ Gold, you'll love yourself for it. i would say to wait a few weeks, see the results of the offical baords before you buy them, but you can get the CPU, case, monitor, GPU, Tuniq Tower, and RAM ready, get what you can installed, then just slap in the mobo when you get more reviews/choices.

[Tallman]

If you are not gaming the 7600gs is fine
Photoshop will love the 2 gigs of ram though

[Btrice]

Thanks again guys. Based on your suggestions, this is what I have come up with in my Newegg wishlist. Changes highlighted:

Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$49.99

1 Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$149.99

1 eVGA 256-P2-N541-TX Geforce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$109.99

1 Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply - Retail
$79.99

1 OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ2G8002GK - Retail
$199.99

1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$94.99

1 Rosewill RK600 Silver/Black USB Wired Slim Keyboard - Retail
$9.99

1 NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM
$31.99

1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
$5.99

1 THERMALRIGHT Ultra-90(P4LGA-775) CPU Cooling Heatsink - Retail
$34.99

Subtotal: $767.90
+$375 E6600
+$150 Monitor
------------
$1292.90 before shipping (there is a $40 rebate on the memory if I buy it buy the 15th though)

Do I need anything else that you can think of?

Edit: Removed SATA power connectors.

[psyconut713]

no need for the SATA adapters any more, the PSU has got them

[Btrice]

no need for the SATA adapters any more, the PSU has got them

Brain spaz on my part, thanks for catching that

[charlie]

great build.

Just CONSIDER the BEN-Q 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor. It's $295 and displays 1680 x 1050 gorgeous 8ms refreshed lines.

[psyconut713]

not a problem, when are you going to oder this stuff?

[psyconut713]

i think for 150$ thisa monitor is the best bang for your buck

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824224007

[Btrice]

i think for 150$ thisa monitor is the best bang for your buck

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824224007

LOL, Are you remoting into my machine by chance? I was just looking at that one.

I may buy all the small stuff including the memory in the next week or so.

I actually have to talk to this guy who owns a small computer shop next to my Uncle's restaurant. I helped him unload a shipment a couple weeks ago, he doesn't have any high end parts but I could probably talk him into giving me a deal on things like the monitor.

As for the size, a 17" is probably as large as I will go. I have been dealing with the small laptop screen for 4 years now and it has been adequate. I had a 19" CRT before and while it was nice, it was unneccesary. Just as long as I can do 1280x1024 I don't mind how small it is. (I have actually been considering putting my skills to use and ripping the LCD out of the laptop and rewiring it as an interim solution )

[psyconut713]

did i move the mouse? i'm sorry

[Btrice]

did i move the mouse? i'm sorry

Well I was a little curious when the newegg page inexplicably changed to whitehouse.com, but thats it

Well just made sure Newegg would ship to my work address, so that is good, much more room to build up the machine here

[psyconut713]

i was looking for news on george bush, and found a picture of georgia's bush, lol

[Btrice]

lol :plays classic TV cheesy joke sound: whaa whaa whaaaaaaa:

I am starting to get a little PO'd about this whole RAM situation. This DS3 seems to have all kinds of problems with it. I just don't know if that board is worth it.

[psyconut713]

like i said, give it a lil while, let the "offical" barods come out, see what is said on here, then get one. thats the best way, its how i got my opteron, found a good stepping on here, then bought it off of ebay

[Btrice]

like i said, give it a lil while, let the "offical" barods come out, see what is said on here, then get one. thats the best way, its how i got my opteron, found a good stepping on here, then bought it off of ebay

Yeah I definitely plan on waiting for it. I just worry that by the time I am ready to make my decision, if I were to choose the DS3, if Gigabyte has fixed the problem there will not really be any way to see if the versions at wherever I buy it from has shipped with the newer BIOS or if they are old stock. I am just concerned with being able to Post when I get it. As for overclocking, I don't mind waiting for a more mature BIOS.

[Vric]

Thermaltake Power supply are hated here.

Look in the PSU subforum, all the info are there.

I wouldn't plug any of my computer parts on a psu that was given free with a case (unless the case is from antec)

Edit: 1 Thermaltake TR2 are considered one of the worst PSU. There is many better psu you can get in the same price range.

[[XC] DragonOrta]

A Thermaltake PSU? That's way more of a chance than I would ever take with that kind of a computer. The Big Typhoon is the only Tt product that I would ever think about spending money on.

If you are really looking for a PSU at that price, go for the Antec Truepower 2 550W.