Yet another "I'm building a rig and need advice" thread

Hello All,
I've been a long time lurker on these forums since I first got it in my head to build my own computer. I've nursed an old Dell for about as long as she'd boot, LOTS of part changes and upgrades up to the cap of the motherboard's capacity later and, well, she's just about ready to bite the dust. So I'm coming out of the shadows to get the prelims I need to get started on my new machine. I'm a grad student and am not rolling in dough but I worked a bit this summer and my stipend has given me a bit; anyways the short of it is, I've got roughly 1400 bucks to work with. I've already blown 200 dollars on the CM830 case my heart wanted when I started thinking of this endeavor (before my brain could talk me out of such a pricey case). So now, I'm around 1200 bills. I put this thread in the motherboard section because that's the life blood of a well built, long lived rig. I'm looking at the Asus p5b-e for its host of options and because overclocking is in my future bar none. I was going to choose the e6300 and save some scroll until the prices started to plummet and I could upgrade, but I've decided to run with the semi-Big Boys and get the e6600 due to its 4md cache. Crikes! this is boring to write, probably worse to read, so here's the list:

Case: Stacker 830 (Bought)
cpu: E6600
Vid: evga 7900gto (Bought)- (I was an avid gamer before going back to school) (bought)
Motherboard: Asus p5b-e or the P5b-dlx sans wifi (the whole reason for the threads locale)
Ram: Corsair XMS2 2gb w/ EPP- (bought)
Sound: I like the creative X-fi, but I think the onboard sound of the Mb will do fine for the mean time.
Power: OCZ 700 Xtreme gamer (Bought).
Cooling: lots of 120mm fans and a nice cpu sink/fan.

Sorry my intro para droned on so, I just get wordy after a beer, before dinner. Any help with the pros and cons of the Mb will be most helpful. I could use advice on the other components as well but perhaps this is better done in their respective sections. I've really found everyone on this forum so helpful to read, I'm glad to be finally a voice among such good company, thanks in advance.
-Chris

That ram, guarenteed D9 Micron. Ocs incredibly well. Hits DDR2-1000 speeds with the right voltage. (2 gigs of DDR2-800 below. I have the 2x512MB stuff waiting for me this weekend, but there are plenty of reviews at XS that show it hit incredible speeds) http://www.tankguys.biz/ddr2-44410-800mhz-p-1645.html?osCsid=ea5ce5eda4045edf135a5e48382b8259

Another much cheaper sound card is the M-Audio Revolution 70+$. I use the 5.1 and its worlds above the Onboard

PSU is great.

Mobo OCs great but its limited in the Memory Voltage. Current Revision are 1.01g which can only give 2.1. Newer revision in November (1.02g) will give 2.4.

Fans could be Yate Loons if you want quiet but good airflow. Thermaltake Big Typhoon is still a good air cooler. A lot of people will recommend Sycthe. I recommend water but that's just me.

im not a fan of multi rail psu's but the one i would recommend is the corsair 620 is also modular. if you dont need a modular maybe a pcpp 610 silencer or even the zippy that SN has gotten a discount for us at OCforums.
read the thread here and link to psu in the thread.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=4719668&posted=1#post4719668
that link to the ram dice posted is good stuff. IMO though if you spending this much get the best performance per mhz and get a 975 mobo. either the asus p5w-dlx dh or abit aw9d-max or dfi infinity 975x/g.

Thanks dicecca112,and Evilsizer, for the replies. I just splurged on the vid card I mentioned in my thread. So it's a toss up on the mobo, huh? Sounds like dicecca112, you like the way the P5be is working. The onboard sound is not real great though, eh? I'll look into that sound card. Evil, I'm a little over budget that's why I'm leaning towards that mobo, you think it'll be that limiting? I think the price of the P5w is $300+, is it hands down better for the money? I hate having a budget limit, but rich man, I'm not. Is there a cheaper than $300 ram that would work with either of these boards? Thanks an awful lot guys for the advise, looks like I needed it more than I knew.
-Chris

the reason I recommend the p5b-e is that its proven to hit 500mhz easy. Avoid the DFI it has many memory issues, and can't clock to save its life. Plus its overpriced. Cheaper ram yup there is, you can get the 2x512 kit of the ram I linked for about 170$ shipped. Its what i have.

I mean onboard sound is just that, not that good. its suppose to be 7.1 so that means it should sound better than my 5.1 card but it doesn't. There are parts in songs I have hearing for the first time with this card that I never heard on the onboard

dicecca112,
I just noticed you are a fellow statesmen, greetings. I'm thinking of scaling down the PSU a hundred watts to the 600 variety. Do you like the OCz in your sig? Zipzoom (where I'm getting a lot of hardware) has a deal on it for $119 shipped, the 700w is out of stock and I'd like to get stuff ordered soon. I was also thinking of dropping back to my original idea of the e6300 as money is tight and I over spent on that vid card, but that is a big drop, so... maybe not. I'm new to all this, though I'm pretty familiar with the guts of a computer. Any advice anyone can give me on problems these parts might give me when I stick it all together would be most helpful? dicecca112, I think I'll go with the ram choice of yours it looks good and I should stick with the 2 gig for longevity.
-Chris

the gamextreme is a better psu than the one in my sig its built better. GameXtreme is newer. Shouldn't be any problems as long as everything is compatibile, which it appears to be. But the 600W is out of stock too. But it is in stock at Newegg for a little cheaper than ZZF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341001

Re: psu, good to know, thx. Thanks for the link also.
-C

Another question, Would anyone advise me to skimp on the cpu, say a e6300 and go with a future proof 975x chipset (and if so which one)? I really should just **** or get off the pot on this one but I read all this stuff about Quads in November and I guess since I'm upgrading from a Dinosaur, I'd like to be sure. Dicecca, not dicounting all the advice you've given, I really like what I've heard about P5b-e board. Is there a reason to stay lowcost on the cpu to funnel moneys into a Quad capable board, or is the present selection of 975x's just not up to snuff to deal with Quads anyways. If I upgrade the board/cpu a year from now for less money than I payed for the P5be+e6600 combo than I'd be happy with that. They really look like a nice combo. Sorry this sounds so wishy, washy, as you can tell I'm still on the fence. Thanks,
-C

not many programs will fully use quad cores. quade cores will be harder to oc. i would just say stick with the e6600 and go for a p5b-dl without the wifi if you want quad core support. if you are looking for cf/sli either asus p5w-dlx dh or abit aw9d-max or sfi infinity 975x. the dfi with the new bios's is starting to get over 400fsb. atm the dfi is only $174 at newegg, which is a steal for a 975 mobo.

Thanks Evil, so you really don't prefer the E version of the P5bs? What are the drawbacks to it. It seems to have a lot of nice features, and the dlx doesn't seem to overclock as well. I'm going to skip sli this time around, I've got a pretty nice vidcard on the way and I can't afford another. BTW which P5b doesn't have the wiFi, I thought all the Dlxs had it? Thanks for your advice.
-C

OK here's the noob question, what's the diff between phases on a board ie; 8 vs. 6. and does the P5be have 6 or 8?
-C

p5b-e has 4-phase IIRC
p5b-dlx/wifi version have 8-phase.

the more phases the better the more power it can feed the cpu. you talked about quad core so recommend the higher p5b's for the higher power phase. if you were just going to stick with the dual core then the p5b-e will be fine. this isnt "netburst" so you wont need higher powe phase till quad core IMO. some people get mobos with higher phase power for the peace of mind when ocing.

if you looking for the p5b-dlx make sure wifi is not included. newegg has them both listed about $30 difference between with and without wifi.

..

Is that ram better at overclocking on the p5b-dlx than the Tankguys stuff? I ran into a snag ordering that ram and so I may be open for others as the price is the same. Kfc, so my questions is: do you like that ram, just not a big fan on the vendor, due to the RMA issues? On another note as this is my first build; any recommendation on how I should test the parts to make sure they are in working order? I am also intrigued by the "burn in" process on a new computer that I've read on these forums. Are there some good free programs that I can run for a few days straight in order to "burn in" all the components, is this deemed necessary by anyone? Thanks, this forum ROCKS!
-C

dicecca112 said:

the reason I recommend the p5b-e is that its proven to hit 500mhz easy. Avoid the DFI it has many memory issues, and can't clock to save its life. Plus its overpriced. Cheaper ram yup there is, you can get the 2x512 kit of the ram I linked for about 170$ shipped. Its what i have.

I mean onboard sound is just that, not that good. its suppose to be 7.1 so that means it should sound better than my 5.1 card but it doesn't. There are parts in songs I have hearing for the first time with this card that I never heard on the onboard

Click to expand...

I’ve had a couple of dozen sound cards with no exaggeration.

The M-Audio cards are hard to beat at any price.

I had the Revolution, its nice but the USB Sonica Theater sound nicer in that its quieter. 5.1 (front Left/Right, rear Left/Right, center . subwoofer) is not even necessary. 7.1 (front Left/Right, mid Left/Right, rear Left/Right, center . subwoofer) is ridiculous. They don’t sound any better, just about all the M-Audio's use a variation of the same chip, same goes for the EMU products (Creative is the consumer division of EMU) which are ok but nothing great, the M-Audio or EMU’s are much better. The best sounding M-Audio cards are the Audiophile 2496 card which is only 2 channel stereo IN/OUT. I have had a few Delta cards from them and they are nice too.

Currently I got rid off all my sound cards except the Sonica which I use at work and I use a Scott Nixon USB Tube-DAC at home to my audio system and the onboard audio to a pair of powered speakers on my desk. The Scott Nixon runs about $600 and is an Audiophile grade NOS (none over sampling) DAC with no digital filters and a single ended 6922 twin triode tube output stage. Awesome quality from WAV’s.

I’d pick up a used M-Audio Sonica on EBay and forget about it. Better then the Creative stuff for sure.

BTW: The Asus P5B onboard HD sound isn’t very good.

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kfc said:

www.TankGuys.biz is a great store that has great support. It is just that "so i have heard" that they only have a 17 day warranty on Team memory. After the 17 days are up you have to contact Team directly. Its team that is hard to get a hold of. Sorry for any confusion

The good news is that Tank is an OcForums regular and may be able to help us out in case of an incident like the one I am referencing.

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yea the teamgroup stuff uses the same IC's as on the corsair 6400-c4's and g.skills HZ. those are the only 3 i know of using the same ATM. they should oc about the same but it seems the hand picking is coming into play with these 3 companies.

That CPU has too much multi to be worried about 500FSB+
Abit AW9D-MAX was a good reco. IMHO.

greenmaji said:

That CPU has too much multi to be worried about 500FSB+
Abit AW9D-MAX was a good reco. IMHO.

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GreenMaji, In your opinion putting a e6600 in a 965 chipset is a waste of its potential, right? I've seen in other threads that you recommend the p5w64 heavily; is that the top of the heap for upper end C2Ds? It's about 120 bucks more than the p5b- dlx so I'm a bit hesitant, though this is a computer I want to build to last, so I do listen.
-C