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Looking for some input on my rig before I buy

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Bupu

New Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Location
Switzerland
Hello,

Firstoff: Thanks for visiting my thread to help out, how very kind of you ;)

Secondly, my current rig:

P 805D @ 3.2 on a P5B-E Plus, with OCZ Memory 2x 1GB KIT PC2-7200 Special Ops Edition, CL5-5-5-15 900MHZ (Running at 533-640 or thereabouts) and a 8600 GT

Now, my dilemma is this: "Everyone" seems to tell me that right now Quad Core processors aren't worth it because too few programs are actually equipped to benefit, and a higher clocked Dual Core processor will outperform it anyday...

Anyways... I have "available" to me an E8400 for 215$, an E8500 for 310$ , a Q6600 for 290$. Alternatively it would be a "short" wait for a Q9300/Q9450/Q9550 at 340/410/650 $

I kinda decided on an E8400, whilst money is not an "issue" it's not like my mission is to eliminate it for little gain, I like a healthy price/performance ratio.



On to the next issue: Motherboard.

I had a P5B-E Plus, and I was happy with it, however, since I'm selling most of my old rig, it needs replacement.

I have a big problem here, because most everyone I see recommends the newest of the newest, X38, or 790 whatever for SLI.
You ask why I have a problem with this? Well, I'll tell you. I've yet to see one single review where there was actually a significant difference between a "better" motherboard. So, I consider a motherboard only to be features, not performance.

The only exception to this would be overclockability. As you know my 3.2 ghz 805 isn't alot, and I would like to do a bit better on the E8400. 40-50% is what I aim for (Which would be 4.2-4.5), and I'm not even sure this is feasible on a 9700 CNPS...

So, I generally go with ASUS only, but I've recently installed a system for my father with an E8400, a GA-P35-DS3R, 4 GB of CL4, 800 MHZ DDR2, and a 8800 GTS 512MB, and I was rather happy with the Gigabyte, so *shrugs*...

Well, I'm lost as what to go for, I don't see the bad in 965, I don't see the need for P35/X38, so whats my option? Buy the most expensive? Buy what others had good OC results with? I really depend on some input here ;)

(Without Input, I would most likely have gone for a ASUS P5K Premium/WiFi-AP)


And next: Ram

I still have my 2GB of PC2-7200, I planned on keeping them, as I haven't had troubles with memory yet, and I don't feel inclined to buy 4GB so I can switch to Vista...

Also, whilst money is still not an issue (much), looking at reviews, ram timings and speed has little effect in the end, so I don't see exactly why I should be buying something new.



GPU:

8800 GT 512MB, pretty much... I've never been a fan of insane settings, I like dirty and crappy graphics (I'm a huge fan of Meridian 59, if anyone remembers, I don't need good graphics, I need good gameplay :)), and a 8800GT will most likely provide this for a long time to come.



I still have a 1 year old Silverstone Zeus 750W I'll be using, I'll buy a Coolermaster Centurion 5 miditower... and, thats pretty much it...




Now, thanks alot for reading, and I'd really like your input on any of these topics... Money really isn't an issue, besides that I don't like decreasing my price/performance ratio too much, unless if the performance rise is substantial.


Kind regards,
Bupu
 
Welcome to the forums Bupu :D

First off, what are you planning on doing with this computer? Gaming? Video editing? Web surfing?

My personal choices (pending the above answer) is as follows.

E8400. Price/Performance ratio is outstanding. Agreed that most applications dont use 2 cores of the 4 on quads with the exception of intense video editing, some benchmarks, and perhaps some other random things. HOWEVER, quad cores are more futureproof so if you plan on keeping this CPU for more than 12-18 months it will still be useful past that time frame, and perhaps the Core2Duos will not be as much. Dunno....we will have to see what happens in 12-18 months :D

Motherboard. WITHOUT A DOUBT newer technology motherboards provide additional benefits. Its the backbone of your system and THE most important choice. If you arnt looking for crossfire, or SLI, or DDR3 I would recommend a good solid P35 northbridge motherboard such as P5K series (P5K "vanilla" is about $125 now, Deluxe is about $190ish), Foxconn Mars, or even Abit IP35 (pro for more options or -E for a good solid low-end overclocking monster). Im sure there are plenty of other motherboards out there that people will recommend to you as well.

Ram. Your ram is fine. I agree unless you have some special needs going DDR3 isnt the best idea at the moment.

PSU - Your PSU is fine.

GPU - 8800 GT is a great GPU for the $. Might want to look into the 8800 GTS 512mb G92 core as well. Prices are dropping on that card and its a MONSTER :D

Cooling - Id spend the few extra $$$$ for a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. It will outperform the 9700 you are currently using by a reasonable margin. 9700 is a nice cooler, but it WILL limit your OC more than a better CPU cooler.

Good luck on the new build! Im sure you will get plenty of other opinions.
 
I have had both the E8400 and a quad, I prefer the quad.

A P35 motherboard will suite you best. It is worth the upgrade over P965, particularly for a 45nm chip. X38 isnt really benificial unless your gong to use crossfire, IMHO. I like Asus over Gigabyte but either one will serve you well.

The rest of your system looks good. Have fun with the build.
 
mobo: DFI LP LT P35 T2R (~$185 at motherboardpro)-no need for X38 unless you plan on crossfire, then get the X38 version DFI board (~$260 at newegg)

GPU: Get an eVGA 8800GTS 512MB card (look around for the best price)
 
Thanks for the answers you two :)

Well, the only thing I'll be doing where speed matters to me is gaming, I don't care if, for video editing, it takes its sweet time. So definately not only gaming, but the only thing where performance is important will be gaming.

Dawg, on the mobo, can you approve of my "choice", the ASUS P5K Premium/WiFi-AP, then?

And about the CPU, yes, I agree, futureproof and all that, but still, unless if I'm mistaken Quads overclock worse (lower multipliers) and start out at lower frequencies, so I'll have much less than double the bang, yet double the buck (and for a sweet while, less bang, double buck :))


About the GPU, here's actually a sad thing... When I got my dads components I installed his E8400 and 8800 GTS G92 into my system and fired up Crysis, and I actually liked the insanely high settings less, I ended up playing on Lowest settings with High on Physics... which my 805 and 8600 will happily do :) (Problems were far too much vegetation, to which NPC's seemed to be oblivious, happy to snipe me away, me having no clue where they were besides direction, and the occasional lagspike, which I just detest too much).

Also, In my gaming career, I've started in 1995 I think, 15 fps is *A LOT* to me, and totally acceptable ;)

Oh, and the cooling thing... I have a 9700, I plan to use that, however I won't mind buying a 120 if heat becomes an issue.
 
mobo: DFI LP LT P35 T2R (~$185 at motherboardpro)-no need for X38 unless you plan on crossfire, then get the X38 version DFI board (~$260 at newegg)

GPU: Get an eVGA 8800GTS 512MB card (look around for the best price)

Any reasoning?

I've never heard of DFI as a motherboard manufacturer, and as it appears they are not available in Switzerland at all :/

Same question for the 8800 GTS, I've looked at a few reviews, and at it doesn't really knock my socks off at all times, especially with filtering off, it sometimes performs equal to a GT.

Pricing to what I have available:

GIGABYTE GA-NX88T512HP, GeForce 8800 GT, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express 240$
EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GT, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail (512-P3-E801-AR) 300$
PNY GeForce8 8800 GTS PCI-E 512MB, GeForce 8800 GTS, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail 320$
GIGABYTE GV-NX88S512H-B, GeForce 8800 GTS, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail 350$
EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB, GeForce 8800 GTS, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail (512-P3-E841-AR) 415$

What's so much better about EVGA that would warrant the considerably higher price?
 
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Any reasoning?

I've never heard of DFI as a motherboard manufacturer, and as it appears they are not available in Switzerland at all :/

Same question for the 8800 GTS, I've looked at a few reviews, and at it doesn't really knock my socks off at all times, especially with filtering off, it sometimes performs equal to a GT.

Pricing to what I have available:

GIGABYTE GA-NX88T512HP, GeForce 8800 GT, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express 240$
EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GT, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail (512-P3-E801-AR) 300$
PNY GeForce8 8800 GTS PCI-E 512MB, GeForce 8800 GTS, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail 320$
GIGABYTE GV-NX88S512H-B, GeForce 8800 GTS, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail 350$
EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB, GeForce 8800 GTS, 512MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, Retail (512-P3-E841-AR) 415$

What's so much better about EVGA that would warrant the considerably higher price?

DFI has been making boards a long time and have had some of the best OCing boards over the years.

As for EVGA, most people like it for its trade up program. Other than that its similar to other manufactureres. Personally I prefer XFX, due to the fact they have lifetime warranty and allow you to OC their cards without breaking the warranty.

If you do not plan to OC your vid card, then get the Gigabyte GT model.
 
DFI makes great board but only for the more experienced users. The BIOS options offered are extensive but can be overwelming for those not into those minute details. If you ar willing to put the time in they will generally give the highest overclock due to this(what I wouldn't give for independent core GTL voltages right now). The ASUS board you have selected is tried and true by many users here so you are fine with it. It did have some issues with certain sata configurations but I am not sure if those have been workedyd out with BIOS updates or not.
 
Newegg.com does not offer International/Canadian shipping options at this time.

At this time, Motherboard Pro ships merchandise only to locations within the continental United States and not to international locations. Nor does Motherboard Pro ship to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam or the US Virgin Islands.

Hmm, any suggestions for where I could pickup a
DFI LP LT P35 T2R (would have been 180$) and a
XFX PVT88GYDF4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB (310$)?

Of course, with international shipping :)
 
Quads are iffy now.
AMD recently announced a $100 quad for release in 18 months time.

Thats sure to drive Intel quad prices, which have had a pretty solid floor so far, down at least a smidgen

So, whilst I have argued getting a quad now probably provides a better bang/buck than dual now quad later, this makes it much harder to say.
Unless you plan on watching DVD's and browsing the net, in which a 2140 is more than enough.

Motherboards are a tough cookie.
Although you receive no obvious measureable benefit, better boards overclock better and are more stable.
 
Well, I was gonna go for a

P5K Prem/WiFi-AP S775 P35 ATX LGA775, Intel P35 / ICH9R, FSB 1333/1066/800, 4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 1066*/800 / 667 MHz, 2 x PCI-E x16, 2 x PCI-E x1, 3 x PCI, Firewire MPF ML

and a

Gigabyte GF8800GT, 512MB DDR3 RAM, nVidia GeForce 8800GT, 700MHz, PCI-E16x 2.0, 2xDVI-I, VGA, TV-out

But obviously I like overclockability, I'd like to get to 4.0-4.2 for 24/7 usage.

Also, it was stated XFX will allow me to OC and keep my lifetime warranty, even if I doubt I need much over... 2 years.

But I'm sticking to the E8400, pretty sure about that, thanks for your reply though :)
 
P5K premium is an outstanding outstanding board.

The only 1 issue I am aware of (and it may have been fixed you will need to check the Asus Support Forums) is a SATA/RAID issue. Some of the P5K premiums had some weird funky RAID/SATA issues going on for awhile.

Mine never had it, and the board worked like a dream for me but alot of people complained about it. Other than that, the board is a champ :)

Everything looks good man. NO DOUBT you can get 4.0 - 4.2 stable with an E8400. Unless you get some freaky bum chip that should be a given.

And FYI, yes DFI makes some high quality motherboards. I have not personally used one, but what I have been told is...

1. High quality
2. Complicated BIOS
3. If you take the time to learn the complicated BIOS you can most likely achieve a higher overclock (in most cases) with it though.

FWIW...like I said I have not owned one myself.

Good luck!
 
Thanks once more...

And well, like I said, DFI is not available in Switzerland... At least not from Swiss shops, and most of the suppliers in the rest of the world don't really ship internationally.

I'll be ordering the parts soonish, I'll try my OC and then I'll come crying here... Deal? ;)

Kind regards,
Bupu
 
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