cozumel

Going to building a new system around these core components and would appreciate any thoughts and advice you have:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4
G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK (1GB x 2) 4-4-3-5
C2D E6550 or E6750 (both 1333FSB) or Quad Q6600 SLACR (1066FSB)

I would especially like advice on the GFX and will go for something like:
HIS 512MB HD 2600XT IceQ Turbo or BFG 512MB 8600GTS ThermoIntelligence OC2

Need to know if the ATI or NVidia is the better option. I will be using mostly for gaming and for working from home when not in the office. I reckon you will be saying NVidia but need to check. Price is a factor when choosing all of the above component.

Thank you for your time

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temeteus82

Q6600 is a must
Look the G.Skill's F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK kit

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kris23

price range? Crucial memory FTW man....

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PangingJr

it seems like you are getting a good product for your money.
how you come up with this hardware, may i ask, why you plan to use this motherboard and the RAM?
how you plan to use your computer system? any overclock? ever consider using Vista x64 and 4 GB of RAM computer system?

kris23

price or not, the components you chose are very good choices and i see nothing wrong at all! only thing is getting a cheap quadcore like the X3210 Xeon or Q6600, i recommend the Q6600 for compatibility.

your vid card should be an 8600GTS instead of some fancy OCed BFG thing if possible, any 8600GTS is better than any 8600GT in performance

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cozumel

The crucial and GSkill both come in about the same price. The Crucial overclocks further while the Gskill timings are lower and still overclocks well. Six of one, half dozen of the other really. I'm thinking that the lower timings (even while overclocked) will give me a better perfomance for the price. But I could be wrong....




My last system I built around a Gigabyte and has proven reliable and well built. I cannot afford an x38. The DS4 has had good reviews and overclocks well. I do not require two PCIe/w 16 lanes as I only require (and can afford) one GFX card to play the games I wish with satisfactory performance. It has no firewire on the backplate though so I will have to use the bracket. Not having a noisy northbridge fan is a bonus too. As for the RAM, I think I have already answered that question. Both mobo and RAM and good quality and high value options in my book.

Use: Games, creation of documents and presentations for work, surfing, DVD's, maybe photoshop and more etc

Overclock: Yes - because it is fun and saves money

O/S : I plan to have Vistax64 and Linux dual boot. 4GB RAM? That would be greedy!!! Do you think I should for performance reasons?

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PangingJr

lol, kris, GMAC. it would be much simpler for me to give him a few suggestions if he would answer my questions.


i sure like to give you a few suggestions, i already have a couple of suggestions for that. it has never been about Intel x38 this time.
but i'll get back to this later. hope you don't mind.

kris23

GMAC? have no idea what that means.... x64 bit runs good with 4GB+ RAM so its a good idea.... and Vista in general makes good use of more memory

OCing is fun and that G.Skill seems to have some good chips on it so your good with either Crucual or G.Skill really

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PangingJr

sorry, it's give me a chance.

cozumel

sorry, that was a typo error and should have been GTS originally when I typed it. I have corrected now

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kris23

lol and i made a mistake saying 8800GT.... nothing beats a GT but GTX and Ultra

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kris23

lol sorry man, my head is loaded with way to many different components and specs

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PangingJr

those are having a similar answers to that that i hoped to receive from you.

I don't need to say anything more than that about the Gigabyte and G.Skill, either your own experience tells you, or you have done some research into the products.

however, about the "Vistax64" and "4GB RAM? That would be greedy!!!"

i was thinking about P35-DS3R if you don't care about the onboard firewire chip, and save the money from the motherboard and get another memory kit of the G.Skill, which is the new 2GBx2 DDR2-1000 kits.

with Vista x64 4GB of RAM, you will not be a greedy at all.

i used to run some real world application test on my own with Vista 32-bit under 4GB system, i think even i has to lost about .5 GB i'm not a greedy at all, lol.
and the G.Skill 2GBx2 DDR2-1000 kit would be my first choice if i want to have a new computer around this time, and motherboard whuld be one of the Gigabyte P35-based board.

cozumel

@kris23: I've googled GMAC and only come up with General Motors....please explain lol

I can't afford anything above the q6600 - a Q6700 is way outta my range. Also any 8800 is beyond me. I can't find an 8600 GTX or ultra. The best I can find is the 8600GTS with 512MB although it doesn't have to be bfg

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PangingJr

explain what?

cozumel

Sorry, that was for kris!!

I do want firewire for my external HDD connection. the DS3R does not have 1394 headers. The DS4 has two headers on the port but no connector on the back. However, it does come supplied with a bracket for one of the rear slots which will allow me to connect my HDD satisfactorily.

I will follow your advice and have 4GB RAM but may start with 2GB to begin with and keep the initial costs down...


Thank you both kris and Panging for your time and advice. I am still not happy with GFX situation but will have to make do with the 8600 for the time being

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PangingJr

"I will follow your advice and have 4GB RAM but may start with 2GB to begin with and keep the initial costs down..."

that is not a good idea to do with DS4. (but the outcome may vary...)

i just tested my board not to long ago, and 1GBx4 very good overclocker DDR2's

i can run my Intel C2D processor at anything from stock clock to 4.0GHz and run 1GB x 2 at just about any memory multi i want to use.

however, all i want for my 1GBx4 was DDR2-1000MHz, i could not have it, lol.
however, if you don't plan to overclock your FSB at all, with 1GBx4 the board can boot DDR2-1066MHz (using 333MHz x 3.20 memory multi) and stable and all with no problem.

kris23

lol GMAC is Panging's abbreviation for Give Me A Break

and for your system, i highly suggest the 2 GB G.Skill as they most likely used some low bid D9GMH which is good, 4 GB for later. still recommend Crucial but both are awesome performers so its your preference and its your wallet.

motherboard is good, its Gigabyte man.... nuff said... the best components and the best OC...


for an 8600GTS, i recommend the EVGA SSC edition man.... cheaper, faster, better (best 8600GTS out there) Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N768-A1 GeForce 8600GTS SSC 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

theres also no 8600GTX or 8600Ultra man i was refering to the G92 8800GT vs the G80 8800GTX and Ultra

need any help woth other parts? for OCing the processor, i highly recommend the Zerotherm Nirvana NV120 heatsink


Nothing beats a quadcore and nothing is a better bang for buck..... buy the Q6600

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PangingJr

well, G.Skill probably won't tell you what DDR2 DRAM chip and components used in the product.

people who bought and have used the products would likely be the one who opens it up and give the info of the DDR2 DRAM chips

i would say, in most cases, F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK (1GB x 2) 4-4-3-5 do not use D9 IC.

remove the memory heat spreaders can void any warranty on it.

cozumel

Panging: I'm confused. Are you saying the DS4 does not o/c well with 4x1GB and that I should have 2x2GB instead for better FSB/mem ratio options etc?

kris: Don't think the SSC is available in the UK
I got a Thermalright SI-120 heatsink sitting in the pc next to me I could use for time being (if it fits on the DS4 that is)

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PangingJr

depends, how far you want to overclock your system?

cozumel

Put it this way, I'd use the PC2-5300 on the DS4 from the pc I'm using now until I've got a few more quid to buy the 4GB. I've had it before when I've been restricted by the first lot of memory I bought and frustration would be tooooo annoying.

Basically, I don't want the DS4 to be restricted by buying 2x1GB then another 2x1GB. I'll get the 4GB at the same time (2x2GB). I'll have to go surfing now to check for appropriate RAM.

Thanks for the heads-up

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PangingJr

4GB is always better for Vista x64, don't you think so?

1GBx4 is not always better in overclocking as i have experienced it myself,
while 1GBx2 can overclock much better.

and i only suspect that with the G.Skill 2GBx2 kit you can still overclock, and quite good enough, and also get a better results with real world application when you use Vista x64.
since i don't have the memory kit yet, so you will have to check this info out by yourself.

you may want to check G.Skill forum, for example, of how people have problem using 1GBx4 on a certain or specific model of the memory.
and find more info about the DS4 regarding any problem of using a 1GBx4 system and overclocking.

but if you don't really care about using 4GB now, nor to build your system from beginning with 4GB of RAM,
then i can end our conversation.

kris23

ehh.... alot of decision making here man...

but either way,, if you choose to use your current memory, id say this is the stuff to buy OCZ Technology | Products | Memory | OCZ PC2-6400 ReaperX HPC Enhanced Bandwidth 4GB Dual Channel

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PangingJr

i knew.
that is part of reason why i choose to ask some questions first, and see how things work out with my questions, then i start to get some ideas, i'm very slow, lol.

if you can save the money now, and down the road ... say in a few weeks you decide to buy another kit of 1GBx2, the exact same model with your previous buy.
then find out it can not be used to satisfy your overclock.

cozumel

That the exact stuff that I had just surfed to and reading a couple of reviews on...definitely a possibility....gonna have to do some more researchin' though like Panging says and see what the GSkill / Crucial / OCZ forums are saying 'bout their sticks on a DS4.

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kris23

its always better to max out a particular aspect really..... max out RAM, max out HDDs if doing RAID, max out GPUs if going CF/SLi max out CPUs if goin dual CPU and so on...

things move by fast, so im gonna see if i can get the second set of DDR3 for my system soon after its finished.

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cozumel

Okay...

Going to get the DS4, 2 Barracudas and Vista Ultimate x64 delivered to me at work by the end of the week.

Can't get the EVGA SSC in the UK or at least can't find it anywhere (God Bless The Queen). Is the standard EVGA 8600GTS 256MB any good?

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cozumel

I'm going with the EVGA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (512-P2-E801-AR) but will have to pre-order...**sigh**...
That was what you were suggesting originally kris but I didn't understand what you were saying as you were getting the numbers mixed up which caused me confusion lol Still, the penny dropped eventually never-the-less...

So now my rig is looking like:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4
Q6600 G0
EVGA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (512-P2-E801-AR)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 (PCI-Express)

Still not decided on the RAM though.....

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kris23

go for a 7200.11 drive man.... it spanks everyone... and its twice the drive... LITERALLY

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

your hardware is good, but for the RAM, if you can, get the 4 gigs Panging showed off, but for REAL OCing get the crucial man

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

theres plenty of stores in the UK that have these things so im pretty sure its not that hard.

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