TOP OF THE LINE BUILD...for 2006 Help

[LordTrazaza]

Hey guys! Just joined the forum and need some help on my first build. Now it's kinda a weird build, so I won't have to bother you guys with pointless stuff like "which i7 CPU do I pick???" kinds of questions. So my plan is to build a Windows XP era gaming PC. I'm very nostalgic to that era and most if not all of the PC gaming I do is from that era. I would like to preface this by saying that this would by no means be a PC that would be upgraded. I will actually do a current build if I start gaming in the modern era. Until then I'd like to remain in the semi or post modern era. I know that most of the parts are fairly cheap and I have compiled a small list of them but certain parts I am clueless of. I also know that literally any build I do currently would be able to play those games and then new ones...but I just think it would be cool to have a semi-retro computer and it would also be good to start building with cheap components. I'm going to pour my soul into this build, though.

I understand that XP is extinct now and 7 does what it can do and arguably better, but I am still partial to it. I'll be running a 64-bit version to squeeze out "maximum performance."

4gb DDR2 RAM is going to be cheap and easy to come by. Same with a decent sized hard drive. No SSD's for me I'm currently debating going AMD or Intel. Either an Athlon 64 or Core 2 Duo. I'm also one of those guys who doesn't like to mix graphics cards...meaning I like to keep AMD with ATI and Intel with nVidia. Either way, the processor and video cards from this era are all around 40 or 50 bucks or less which is nice. I was thinking of going with a CrossFire or SLI setup just because I can, not because it's practical haha. Motherboards are tricky. I have found a decent one for AMD, but I'd prefer to have one support dual graphics cards. The green color scheme on the Intel LanParty boards is really attractive.

Where I am drawing a blank is the power supply and the case. I know that the power supplies from back then are not the most efficient, but it seems foolish to spend the most on the power supply and it would also throw off my nostalgia by having a current one haha. Perhaps I should just suck it up. As for cases I really don't want anything flashy at all. I would love to be able to put this in one of those generic Dell Optiplex cases, but you have to virtually rebuild the thing to convert the case to ATX from Dell's proprietary BTX layout. I haven't really looked into any of the AMD desktops from the era such as Compaq/HP, but I suspect they may have specialty boards as well. The case I actually wouldn't mind having semi-modern because it's well...plastic. The only thing I'm worried about is getting around the USB 3.0 ports that are standard at this point on the front panel.

Yes this is a long shot, but many of us enjoy taking on challenging projects. I'm open to any advice or help especially from members that were on the scene in that era haha for brand names and such. My only source of information has been nerds drooling over their computers in the early days of YouTube(those were the days!), old forum posts, and various build lists. Strangely enough the archive of builds on Sharky Extreme has proved particularly useful... Anyways, my main question is: is this even feasible? Maybe I'm just dumb and there is a reason no many people do this

 

[Aldakoopa]

I would suck it up with the PSU. Just buy one that doesn't look too "off" for the era, for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151076&ignorebbr=1

or maybe:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151063

 

[LordTrazaza]

Ahhh yes you have a point thank you. Honestly I should be okay with sticking to an "SLI ready" power supply as that appears to a be a retired marketing ploy and something that looks OEM because I'm gonna paint it anyways. I have found a few similar builds but they were ultimately abandoned. The real hurdle is going to be the motherboard because most of them from that era are very expensive. Is that because of the sensitivity of motherboards? It seems to me that you so much as touch a solder point on one and it's fried.

 

[Aldakoopa]

I have no idea. I usually throw old computers out.

The only one I've kept recently is one my cousin dug out of the county's recycled computer boneyard that's a socket 939 Gigabyte SLI board with I think an Athlon FX. It might not be though but I haven't checked it out too much. It's not working but I want to see if I can get it going and play around with it some. I have no clue what's wrong with it, like I said I haven't really looked at it too close. It would make a good retro build itself if I could get it working.

 

[LordTrazaza]

I've found MSI K9A2 CF's on eBay for not too much. It's just a socket AM2+ board with the 790FX chipset. I've heard that the Core 2 Duo's back then were superior to the Athlon 64's?

 

[Aldakoopa]

Yeah, I believe the C2Ds got Intel back to being top-dog.

That being said I still run an Athlon 64 x2 6000+

Still kickin'...

 

[LordTrazaza]

I'd probably use a Core 2 Quad over a Core 2 Duo, actually.

 

[Supertrucker]

I wouldn't run 64bit xp and try to game. It wasn't all that well supported even for business use, I suspect it would be a nightmare for a retro gaming rig.

Also, buying a board and chip that old means that unless you know how to solder capacitors, your build might die a day or a week after you build it.

But if you get a really good price they are still decent computers, my sister's comp is still my old Opteron 165 dual core from around 2005-6.

 

[wingman99]

Intel 1155 socket and i5 2500k will work just fine with windows XP they have all the drivers for XP on that generation.

 

[Daleon]

Definitely avoid XP 64. A Q6600 and P45 setup would be my recommendation but a nice C2D E8400 Wolfdale if you wanted to do some OC'ing would be good. Look for boards with solid capacitors, MSI Diamond, Gigabyte UD's, TPower, etc.

I'm actually about to pull out a Q6600 setup and make sure everything is working so I can toss it off to some friend\family that could use it.

 

[LordTrazaza]

Thanks so much you guys, I hadn't thought of the 64-bit issue. I won't really need more than 3gb of RAM anyways. One purpose of this build I forgot to mention is introducing myself to overclocking. I won't need to overclock anything to get the performance I want, but it is reassuring to have cheap components. Thank you so much for those motherboard suggestions, they seem fairly common. I really like the look of the LanParty and XFX nforce motherboards, but they are fairly expensive haha

 

[JLK03F150]

The Q6600 wasn't released until 2007, so if you want a top of the line from 2006 then you need the E6700 dual core (but everyone bought an E6400 or E6600 & overclocked it to 3.2-3.6GHz). The 975X chipset was the big dog for Crossfire (no SLI on Intel until X58 chipset), and 965 chipset was for single video cards. AMD was not anyware close to a 3.2GHz C2D at the time.

My 2006 build was an E6600 @ 3.6GHz, water cooled.
Abit AW9D-Max 975X mobo.
X1900XT master and X1900XTX running Crossfire. 2900 Series might have been released, but ran hotter, used more watts & had the same performance.
2x1GB GSkill DDR2-800.
3 74GB WD Raptors in RAID0.
Seasonic S12-650watt PSU.
I still have most of these parts & I'm still using many of them too. lol

 

[LordTrazaza]

2006 was just an idea, but most of the stuff I have been looking at has been from 2007. That seemed to be the end of the generation (excuse my ignorance). Was cable management non-existent back then? All of the cases I've been looking at like the Apevia X-Dreamer II, Antec 900, Cooler Masters, and Thermaltake Armors all seem to lack that inch or so of dead space...we're so privileged now haha

 

[Bobnova]

The real trick is going to be finding a PSU from 2007 that still works. That's well beyond their normal lifespan. Some exist, some still work, but odds are they won't or very much longer. You're looking at 5VSB capacitors with a 2000-8000 hour lifespan (at rated temp, longer at lower temps) that have been running for 8 years * 8765.8 hours = 70126.4 hours. Even turning the computer off, that circuit is active and that capacitor is being used. To turn that circuit off the PSU switch needs to be switched off or the unit unplugged from the wall, not many people do that every night.
When it dies, so does your motherboard.
I strongly recommend buying a "modern" PSU.

Actually, I strongly recommend buying two or three generation old parts, rather than parts from the dark times. P67/SB parts are cheap and have amazing performance compared to anything from 2007.

You won't have compatibility issues, XP drivers exist for everything, and you won't be spending much more money.
You will, however, get a hell of a lot more computer.

As a note, ATI and AMD merged in 2006. The concept of "matching" GPU and CPU is a marketing ploy from slightly after they merged. It has no basis in reality, Intel and Nvidia hate each other every bit as much as Intel and AMD or Nvidia and AMD. Yet, with the exception of Nvidia disabling PhsyX when AMD GPU drivers are detected, they all play together quite nicely.
There are no more or fewer compatibility issues or performance gains/losses when combining Intel and AMD or AMD and Nvidia than any other combination.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Definitely avoid XP 64. .

Objection! I had good experiences with XP x64 on socket 775 boards. XP x64 is based on 2003, thus the better experiences some folks have.

(Even with 2007 and later 775 boards.) ( Confirmed to work well on Asus P5QL Pro and Maximus II Gene. )

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

The real trick is going to be finding a PSU from 2007 that still works. That's well beyond their normal lifespan. Some exist, some still work, but odds are they won't or very much longer.

I have a 2008 PSU that works fine. And a 2007 Delta PSU that works fine.

Even my 2003 Antec True 430 worked fine the last time I checked!

Those ratings hardly mean squat with good cap manufacturers. (Usually they're fine, as long as they're not in a case with crappy cooling.

They're usually fine, as long as you don't try to use a PSU with bulging caps.

 

[Theocnoob]

(I say this in as kind a tone as possible)

This is a horrible idea.

*XP No longer supported. Highly vulnerable to attacks and malware

*No DX 10/11/12

*NEW low end parts will be = price and outperform "retro" parts

Build yourself an AMD FX 6300 system with something like an R9 270X or even just a GTX 750Ti.

Wanna gimp it down more? Swap the board and CPU to FM2+ and get an Athlon X4 750K.

Building a "used" computer is just a bad idea. If you want to go retro, get a Commodore 64 or a 486 DX. Don't get stuff from like 2007. That's just ridiculous. It hasn't had time to ferment and become "classic" yet.

Whatever you do, even if you do go through with this, GET A NEW PSU!!! Friends don't let friends use 7 year old PSUs. Especially when you have no idea what the unit has been through.

 

[Bobnova]

I have a 2008 PSU that works fine. And a 2007 Delta PSU that works fine.

Even my 2003 Antec True 430 worked fine the last time I checked!

Those ratings hardly mean squat with good cap manufacturers. (Usually they're fine, as long as they're not in a case with crappy cooling.

They're usually fine, as long as you don't try to use a PSU with bulging caps.

Your 2003 Anec True 430 uses horrendous capacitors and is likely putting out horrendous ripple.

Your Delta and your 2008 thing are the odd ducks out. Do note that when it comes to the caps inside your PSU your case cooling is not nearly as important as your case layout. Delta is good at such things.

Have those two units been in service this whole time?
Have you tested them for proper regulation and ripple control lately?
Are you sure that you want to recommend using ancient PSUs?

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Your 2003 Anec True 430 uses horrendous capacitors and is likely putting out horrendous ripple.

I haven't even used it in a while, so even if a cap starts bulging, it won't be the end of the world. The True 430 needs a recap at the worst.

It's done a lot better than my 2005 Smart Power 2.0 500 W PSU!

(The 2005 Smart Power 2.0 500W was squealing and whining, which was heard in a quiet room one night in 2011, when the PC was off and then saw a cap bulging after taking the cover off, it was next to one of the fans, likely the outer fan, could be the 5V SB) (It was in my Acer Aspire M5630 desktop at the time.)

The 2008 is an FSP500-60GLN(80).

 

[JLK03F150]

i agree that a new psu would be needed, but it could be fun to build a retro opty 939 rig (2006 end of era), or a first gen C2D (2006 beginning of era (I still have everything needed for that)). Ten year old games can be played off line, so XP doesn't need to be on the net once updates are downloaded. I wouldn't use a box like that for general net surfing either. It just depends on if you can get the old parts cheap enough that it won't cause any pain if the old mobo dies.

New low end hardware would certainly give you old system performance, but with the reliability of new stuff - just not as fun.