BlueMak

I am considering buying some new parts and build a new PC for myself, and the current pc to give to my mother, and no, she doesn't "need" anything this powerful.


Ok, to the questions.

1) Is the LGA775 future proof for at least 2 years? I don't want another S939 "experience". Is Intel going to release a replacement socket soon?

2) As you can see I have a X2 4400. Would getting a Core 2 Quad be a waste of money? It is double the money from a Core 2 Duo and I am not sure about the performance difference, or even the performance difference to the X2 4400.

3) http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.526902 This mainboard looks nice and relatively good priced, while I have found a review of it (from the news section of DH) I am not 100% sure if they are the same model. The one in the link above has a MCP at the end of its name and I have no idea what it stands for.

4) I will probably use 1 floppy, 1 dvdrwDL, 1 8800GTS, perhaps soundblaster x-fi fatality (thinking of using the onboard sound but probably won't), 3 or 4 internal HDD (max 2x300, 2x500), probably 2 GBs RAM. Would a 550 or 600W power supply be enough? I have a thermaltake 500W with my current system (only the 2x300 HDDs and the rest on the left) and I don't see any power problems.

5) Any suggestions, advice? Oh, and I am NOT going to overclock anything on it.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Judas

1) While i won't say for certain, the LGA775 seems to being sticking around, the current P35 and the model after in the roadmap appeared to being LGA775

2) Quad core will definitely have it's benifits soon, specially running a windows vista OS and with more and more programs coming out, considering that intel is REALLY pushing for quad core support from many programs. It'll come much quicker then support for AMDs x2 came.

3) I can't really say much about the board, i personally have a gripe with nvidia nforce boards, i've yet to own one that hasn't given me some form of problem, being completely unstable or weird bios issues or just general incapabilities with some devices.

4) The more power you can purchase, the better, a 550-600 watt should be good enough for sure.

5) Suggestions? Well with the fast approaching launch of the barecelona cpu's perhaps waiting a little while (as when they launch, the intel quad core cpus should start dropping in price again possibly). Other then that, not really sure....

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Lowfat

1.) LGA775 is on intels roadmap for quite some time. Likely until they start to use a integrated memory controller (mid 2009ish?)

2.)If you really want a quad core, wait for 2 months. July 22nd a Q6600 will be dropping in price to under $300....

3.)Can't say I've heard much for nvidia's OEMs 650i boards. However if you are even slightly considerring a quad, definately skip it. Nvidia chipsets + C2Q overclocking is very poor. Stick with as P35 board (Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4R is a good lower end board), they go much higher for FSB on quads than another other board out there.

4.) As for the power, 500W likely will be enough, really depends on if you are going to be overclocking the the CPU or not. C2Q's are power hogs once overclocked.

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BlueMak

The thing is I am not interested at all on overclocking. I have no desire in investing in other than stock cooling system and/or risking the hardware. So if that is the main/only problem with the 650i boards, I don't mind at all.

INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6700 or E6600? I can find them with 80 euros difference, the cheaper one is at ~200. Is the E6700 really 1/3 "better"?
I wonder if even the E6600 is in fact that much faster than the X2 4400 to worth the price.


The EVGA NFORCE 650I ULTRA 775 feels like the best value for money, costs a bit less than 80 euros.

For RAM I am between GEIL GX22GB8000UDC DDR2 PC2-8000 1000MHZ CL4 2GB (2X1GB) ULTRA DUAL CHANNEL KIT at 166e and OCZ DDR2 2GB (2X1GB) PC2-7200 PLATINUM SLI-READY EDITION DUAL CHANNEL at 202e. My problem is that I never heard of GEIL before so I don't know if they can be trusted.


Also, suggestions for Case (with plenty of room) and Power Supply (500W-650W)?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Randomletters

Under $300 you say? *Saves his pennies, Daddys getting a nice rig again*

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<----------- Sexy Budget Rig stats to the left.

Judas

The E6400 is marginally faster then the x2 4400+ i had, if not noticeably faster...

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BlueMak

I guess I could wait till 22nd of July. Though I seriously doubt the prices will fall that fast in Greece.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Judas

i'm still waiting to see what Zardon to reveal what he gave a sneak peek at....

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temeteus82

two xeons

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BlueMak

What do you think of this system?
Am I forgetting anything?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

PangingJr

i'm okay with you on the GeIL DDR2 Ultra 1000MHz (PC2-8000 DDR2-1000) 4-4-4-12 Dual channel kit... as my understanding, this RAM is already overclocked from factory with the factory (100%) tested for CAS 4-4-4-12 at upto 1000MHz and with whatever voltage the IC's requires (could be 2.3V or 2.4V, depending on the ICs uses, and the GeIL's design. the info of voltage requirement to run it at their tested spec is commonly printed on the RAM package). if you don't want to overclock your processor, i think, you however can still trying it with X4 memory multiplier and with 5-5-5-15 at 1066MHz which could reduce its voltage requirement to around 2.1/2.15V.
however, i don't know at this point whether or not your motherboard (whatever it is that you decided) will have compatible issues with this particular RAM (but, usually not),
you may want to check around the internet or GeIL's or your motherboard maker to make sure, especially if you have problem with returning it...

and this is just me thinking and no further comment... i'm not okay with you on that motherboard, instead, i would choose to use Intel P35 based board.

BlueMak

The P35 boards are at least twice the price of the 650i. Does it justify the difference?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

PangingJr

how much of that board in USD?

what about this board, have you checked ?
GA-P35-DS3R -- Intel P35 + ICH9R Chipset, Dual Channel DDR2 1066 (may need to overclock RAM and adjust memory multiplier in BIOS)
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...me=GA-P35-DS3R

BlueMak

the 650i was 77 euros so that is like US$102

I can't find the GA-P35, but other P35 boards start from 130euros that is US$173

__________________

The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

kris23

well...... P35 is really worth it if you want to use 4GBs of high end RAM, OC and use DDR2 1066 to the fullest potiental.

as well as have full support for penryn

LGA775 may not be around for too long although, intel is coming out with LGA1366 mid next year with Nehalem

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BlueMak

So basicaly it is a waste of money to get the more expensive board since new socket is going to be out next year.
and since I am not going to overclock anything, I shouldn't have a reason to get a P35 one. Right?

BTW, the memory previously mentioned, they have stopped selling it and have only some OCZ or something for 200euros. ouch.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

kris23

basically yea...... but there might still be some progress on LGA 775 after its released...... maybe

a good 965p board should be the best choice for you. the thing is that with a good board, your system will last longer, think about that for a bit

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Necrosis

1. You need a 64 bit OS to really use 4GB of ram.

2. True 1066 is not very cost effective.

3. 775 will be around for quite awhile as 478 was when 775 came out.

PangingJr

well i don't know what to think about other boards that based on other chipsets, but Intel based chipsets and Intel P35 should be considered since it's the Intel's newest product and it's also an improvement chipset over the P965. and its price is not different, nor overpriced and i think the lower price and model of Intel P35 based board should be available at your area, no?

as for the RAM, if you don't want to overclock the system at all, then all you need is a good value series, naked RAM like Kingston's

anyways, come to think of it again, if you don't want to overclock your system at all then, sorry you can forget what i'm about to say...
however, the CPU and the motherboard platform (P35) are both kinda born to be overclocked... and while using the video card, i think, run the CPU at a bit overclock speed, and you will be getting more than good enough performance. it should be easy to overclock the system a bit, and just a little increase to voltage settings, and it should not increase a whole lot of heat and stress to your system that much. however, you won't need to consider this at all and when your budget is tight, stick with your own plan.

PangingJr

new DDR2-1066 that will use the new Micron’s 1 gigabit DDR2 components will probably overclock very high...
if i can recall the old Micron’s ICs that was used in yesteryear's production of some Kingston's DDR2 533 value series and other memory modules can be overclocked to over DDR2 1000

BlueMak

Yes, I don't want to overclock anything lol.

Perhaps in the USA but here in Greece the cheapest P35 mainboard (an abit one) is almost twice the price of the 650i and the cheapest Gigabyte P35 is at 169 euros, which is 93 euros more than the 650i.
In US dollars that is
650i $102
A-P35 $172
G-P35 $225

Considering that the 650i has all that I need, doesn't have SLI but I don't care about it, doesn't have firewire but I am not going to use one anytime soon, and it supports 1336 FSB for the future 775 cpus and since I have no desire for overclocking :-p , I don't see why I should consider a far more expensive mainboard.

Also, though I said I don't care for overclocking, according to this review here
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2964
it looks like it has some good potential if you are interested in any such thing.



For the memory I had to drop the memory I mentioned earlier and instead I think I will go for the 800Mhz Teamgroup Elite 2Gb kit. Less than half the price too for 88euros = ~$115

For care I think I will get the Asys CK 1022-5 Black. I find it beautiful and it looks big enough to have enough airflow in there.

For hard drive (which I will actualy use not as my C: drive, I will go for a Seagate 7200.9 for being only 10 euros more expensive but I think I can trust them more than Samsung for hard drives.

For CPU I will probably go for the C2D 6600 since the difference from the 6700 in speed is not that much and the price is about $100 less. So if next year I want to go for a quad core it shouldn't be a problem.

Oh, another change, I want to play it safe and I will get a 600W power supply, THERMALTAKE W0103 TR2 POWER 600W that should be enough for the above system plus another 2 or 3 SATA drives, DVDRW, SB XiFi, GTS 8800.

And for the first time since 1994 or so I will get a floppy drive.

__________________

The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

PangingJr

okay i think you are all set, you just need to buy it before you change your mind. keep us posted after the build is done.

BlueMak

Heh, I didn't mean to sound rude, that's the way I speak. I am very grateful for everybody's input here. Thank you guys.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

PangingJr

no not a word that sound rude from you yet. it's just me i buy thing right away after i finished thinking through it, or all of the ideas would not be there in the first place.

BlueMak

ok, ordered them from 2 different shops here in Greece.

These I will receive probably tomorrow!
Seagate 7200.9 sata2 2 pieces for 242e
Verbatim DVD+R 100 pieces for 30.9e
Asys Casetech 1022-5 for 69e
TeamGroup 2GB kit DDR2 800MHz Elite for 87.99e

From the second shop I ordered:

They told me I should have them probably by Wed.

Thermaltake W0103 TR2 Power 600W for 88.50e
Inter C2D E6600 Box for 208e
EVGA Nforce 650i Ultra for 77e
LG 24" L245WMP-BN Wide Black for 619e

Total 1400euros though I will pay them in installments
I think overall a good price for most of Europe. I am sure I could get them from the US for less than that, but I don't live there

Oh, for both orders they are sending them with some local UPS like company thus I get them so fast, good thing though that it is free for both cases.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

BlueMak

I have installed Windows (XP) for a year and a half now, so could someone give me a refreshers course as to how I should proceed?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Dyre Straits

Do you mean you have NOT installed Windows (XP) for over a year and a half?

You'll want to go into the BIOS and set it up to BOOT to the CDROM. Make sure you have only one HDD onto which to install Windows and that it's on the channel you'll be using for the essential BOOT device once Windows is operating.

If the HDD isn't formatted yet, use the Windows CD and format it in NTFS format. Then, just proceed to let Windows do its thing.

Once into Windows, be sure to install the latest BIOS and Motherboard Drivers.

Then, you'll be busy for a while doing Windows Updates.


Anything else?

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BlueMak

Yes, stupid typo, NOT installed windows.

Thanks for the info.

BTW, wasn't there some slipstream windowx xp or something that installing windows xp with its updates very easy? I have the original XP Home (upgrade) and it doesn't even have SP2 (bought it 1 week after release, hear me Vista?)

I plan to keep both my current hard drives and using my C as a C to thew new system as well. Bought it 1.5 years ago, Maxtor 300GB, no complains with it. I am thinking of partitioning it to 4 parts. One for XP, one for future installation of Vista, one for future installation of Linux and one perhaps for experimenting.
Does, from the 279 after formatting, this sound good?
XP: 100GB
Vista: 100GB
Linux: 50GB
Other: 29GB

And then install the software and files to the other 3 drives.
But, should I format the other OS partitions if I am not going to use them soon, or should I just leave them as they are after partitioning them?


One more question, the board (EVGA nforce 650i Ultra) comes with an onboard solution Azelia something. Though I will probably have to intall my SB to be able to connect the sound from the 360, do you think it would be ok, quality wise? I haven't used an onboard sound card for desktop PC for, ever.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Dyre Straits

Yes, the Slipstream topic is found over here:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/windows-...ll-update.html

As for partitioning a HDD for various OSes: My own personal preference is to use a separate HD for each OS. Even though the most I've ever done is Dual Boot, by using separate HDDs, you get the OS installed on the faster part of the HDD. When you Partition the drive, it eliminates this possibility.

So, if I were doing this, and I only had TWO HDDs, I'd partition one HDD into two Partitions and put XP on it with the other less-used OS on the 2nd partition. Then, on the 2nd HDD I'd put the other more used OS on it and use the second partition for your "Other". BUT, whatever you do, don't be stingy with the amount of space for VISTA!

Now, as for the onboard audio: Many of today's mobo's come with some excellent performing onboard audio. I'd set that up first prior to trying your SB card to see if it works for you. You might be pleasantly surprised. If not, you can go into the BIOS, disable the onboard audio and go from there with installing your SB.

Good luck!

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BlueMak

I never thought about a speed difference on the same HDD. Is it really noticeable? Since I will keep both my 300GB Maxtor drives from my current setup I could do something similar and seperate them each to 3 partitions, 2 partitions as you said and a third for general use.

BTW, AMD has this driver for it's X2 CPUs, I have never heard of Intel having something similar for it's C2D line, do you know if they do?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.