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New Build need critique/advice

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malius

New Member
Joined
May 29, 2006
Okay I've been piecing together a new build for a couple of months now and I'm finally at the point where I want to lay down the money on the hardware.

My goal is to build a gaming system on Intel system based around the Q6600 CPU. I would like enough head room on the motherboard to upgrade to a Penryn in the future and also possible SLI. I was also shooting for RAM speeds in the region of DDR2 1066. I do want to OC the rig and my upper price limit is around $1400 total. Keep in mind that I have PSU,HDD, Optical and peripherals already.

Here is what I'm looking at so far from Newegg:

Antec P182 Case
$139.99
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel
$299.99
EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
$339.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
$260.00
Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $89.99
Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate
$189.99
ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $48.99
Subtotal: $1,369

It seems to me now might not be the right time to buy. I've read about the nForce 790i or the x48 coming out soon. There also seems to be an issue with the 680i based boards supporting above DDR2 800.

My time frame is flexible (1 week - 3 months).

Advice and constructive opinions are welcomed.
 
I agree that you should go with an Intel board unless you will be going SLI for sure.

Also I'd go with this RAM instead:
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 - Retail

It'll OC just as high as that HyperX and it'll save you a bit of money even if you don't turn in the mail in rebate. if you do then you're only paying $50!

And as for the CPU cooler you will be MUCH better off going with the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme. It seems like you are interested in a pretty good overclock and that Zalman cooler will definitely not take you as far as you can go. The Thermalright is the best air cooler out right now.

I'd really recommend waiting a few weeks until you can get a Q9450 for just a little bit more. Those quads will easily overclock to 4Ghz on air! And with only a small voltage bump!

Finally, what PSU do you have right now? Just want to make sure it's going to hold up ok for you.
 
I was looking at it down the road, but it wouldn't be until the 8800GTS (g92) starts to lag behind.

I think the Q9450 would be the better choice. Release when? Feb, March?

I will be using a BFG 650 watt PSU. Its rated for SLI.

Any good articles on this forum or else where that has info on the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extream vs. Zhalman? It seems odd to me that a aluminum/nickle would outperform the all copper heat sink that the Zhalman has to offer. Can you use any 120mm fan on ther Thermalright? Any suggestions on a companion fan?

That RAM does look like a good deal. So the 1066 RAM flavors don't OC as well? Is that the reason to go DDR3 if you had the cash? I personally don't have a good knowledge of how to OC the RAM speed and relax timings to achieve stability, but I'm willing to give it a try.

I don't plan to use the 3-way capability of the 780i boards, but the RAM speed headroom is attractive. Any reason to go to an X38 any suggestions on a x38 based board?
 
The performance of the Thermalright U120Ex is all in the extre heatpipes is has. It is the best performing air cooler available.

Here's a few reviews that show it up against the Zalman and others. You see it beats the Zalman by a few degrees in all the reviews.

http://xtreview.com/addcomment-id-2...Ultra-120-eXtreme-vs-other-cooler-review.html
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2981&p=3
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermalright-ultra120ex_5.html#sect0


And as for a fan, you can use any 120mm fan you like. I'd say the Scythe SFLEX SFF21F is a good choice because it pushes a good amount of air but is very quiet.
 
Okay looks like the Thermalright cooler is damn good... I'm sold.

Now to decide on the other stuff.
 
case
You might want to wait until Antec releases their mini P180 (should be released shortly), seems to be a nice combination between midi and full tower.

Ram
I recommend Kingston DDR2 HyperX PC9600 CL5. Now, I suspect that this DRAM-PCB combination was designed and manufactured by Micron as opposed to only the DRAM chip Micron D9GKX (B6-25E). Secondly (if memory serves me) its based on the DDR2 78nm process 1066MHz at 1.8v design, which in short means, it’s a guaranteed overclocked DIMM. hmm...A thought here; you could probably clock them down to PC8500 and trim to CL4 (ie.4-4-5)

Regarding the Ballistix; well, they’re darn good too, they were built by Micron as a single entity with as much safety margin as they can squeezzzzz in. IMHO though, still no match for the Kingston HyperXPC9600.

CPU cooler
As mentioned by jivetrky, the Thermalright Ultra–120 Extreme is the best one out there (hands down), especially so when overclocking. It doesn’t come with a fan so you might want to check out the recommended fan list.

SLI?
I don’t view the negative aspects of more power, more heat, more mess and more space occupied being worth the minor performance increase one gain. But that’s perhaps beside the point here, if you want SLI, or the possibility to get it later on, than go for it…

If not….

Motherboard
A board using the p35 chipset would (IMO) be the best choice. And as mentioned by stdu; either Gigabyte, Asus and Abit would perform.

Disclaimer:

I’m kind of dead tired right now, so forgive me if I missed covering something, heck; I’m sure I did.
 
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