ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
MSI P35 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

11/18/2007 11:50:22 PM

Is there a better mobo I could go with besides the Asus P5B that I picked out? I'm not looking to spend more that $130 there.

11/19/2007 12:40:06 AM

^^ Prospero, any reason you didn't suggest a nforce based board so SLI could be a possible upgrade path later? just wondering myself because i will probably be putting together a q6600 system with a 8800gt soon.

11/19/2007 11:05:30 AM

i love nforce boards, and in fact the 650/680i chipsets perform just as well as the P35, but they aren't as stable when it comes to 1333mhz fsb. if you are getting a 1066mhz fsb processor, go nforce, if you are getting a 1333mhz fsb cpu, go P35, that's just my general rule of thumb

in any case i'd highly recommend the MSI Platinum 650/680 boards as well as the evga nforce boards

and SLI is overrated

so i didn't read Arab13's post really well, otherwise I would have posted this:
MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (solid caps)
MSI P6N SLI-FI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard

just keep in mind the 600 series nforce boards are old boards, while they are capable of 1333mhz cpu's (for an upgrade path) they weren't originally "tailor-made" for these new cpu's.

[Edited on November 19, 2007 at 2:29 PM. Reason : .]

11/19/2007 2:23:54 PM

Appreciate it, probably go abit ip35 then (ditch the SLI) and see how overclocking goes

11/19/2007 4:07:11 PM

p35 for what she want's, no sli needed, long term stability preferred

11/19/2007 4:24:27 PM

go with Gigabyte then, they are made for stability and durability

11/19/2007 6:52:54 PM

Doesnt look like people are getting excited about AMD's quad-core offering...

is amd drawing closer to the end?

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071119-amds-phenom-staggers-out-of-the-gate-to-a-lukewarm-reception.html

11/20/2007 10:14:09 AM

Quote :

"Current benchmark results from Anandtech, HardOCP, and Hexus indicate that the Phenom, while notably more efficient than Athlon 64 X2 in certain scenarios, still lags the Q6600 clock-for-clock. Phenom may have finally given AMD the ability to offer a quad-core processor to compete with Q6600, but Intel's chip still holds a better price/performance ratio."

quick synopsis, they are always one life cycle behind intel... note: that is not the way to get ahead.

performance still lags behind the Q6600??? are you kidding me? intel is coming out with it's NEXT quad core processor in a month that will out perform it's own Q6600 by an estimated 20-30%, there's a reason not to get excited about AMD

11/20/2007 1:14:10 PM

Do you think the lower-end core2duos will drop in price within the next month or so after the new Intel processors come out?

11/21/2007 2:00:09 AM

I'd expect it

11/21/2007 12:51:40 PM

So I'm thinking about updating my 3800+ to a 6000+ soon and just waiting another year or two before a full upgrade.

11/21/2007 12:54:31 PM

if you OC, get the 6400+ black box version, it has an unlocked multiplier
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103191

11/21/2007 1:07:35 PM

Rate this please? I have not built a gaming computer in over three years. If there are any good newegg deals I should jump on to replace items in this list, please let me know.

Use: CoD4 and other relatively new games that I decide to play. I'm not excited about Crysis and not wanting the top of the line/best rig out there... just something to handle what is on the market.

Concerns: Monitor, motherboard, RAM, cooling. The last time I played PC games, I did not have a LCD monitor. I love my dual Hanns-G for general use/work, but not sure how they handle gaming. I don't want to go through the research to pick out the perfect mobo/ram combo, but I want something that works and is fast. I don't care much about SLI. I also want any suggestions for heatsink/fan combos or case fans I should pick up.

Already purchased:
MSI NX8800GT-T2D512E-OC

Wish List:
https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=7062126&WishListTitle=new+rig

11/24/2007 9:25:37 PM

in reference to the above post... I just purchased two of these
DDR2 2GB PC6400 PATRIOT

11/24/2007 10:38:39 PM

updated wish list - purchased everything within it - thanks for the info in this thread.. helped me buy quickly without having to do all the research on the latest/greatest

11/24/2007 11:39:04 PM

FYI:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 Black ATX Mid Tower Case Retail
http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A1306836
$4.99 AR

OOS though, but they may get more in

[Edited on November 24, 2007 at 11:50 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2007 11:49:29 PM

MSI GeForce 8800GT PCI Express 512MB Video Card $208 Or $202
http://www.slickdeals.net/?permadeal=10816#direct_deal_10816

11/28/2007 12:08:22 AM

q6600/g0 stepping
abit ip35 pro
gskill 4gb(2x2gb)

currently stable for 2 days under load @ 3.2ghz (356mhz x9 -1.2575v) on air (coretemps: 55c load/35c idle)

not sure if i'll go any higher unless i lap the cooler/cpu. anyone else have good luck with q6600?

[Edited on December 10, 2007 at 5:07 PM. Reason : .]

12/10/2007 5:07:35 PM

I'm still researching for what will be my first build that will take place sometime next year.

From what I've read the stock CPU cooling fan/heatsink for the Core 2 Duo processors (looking at the E6750) aren't that great. They have plastic connectors that many have complained about. One complaint being fastened pins coming loose while trying to attach the others and the other complaint being the fear of breaking the heatsink connectors (even the motherboard itself) because after all, they are just plastic.

I guess that raises another issue. If the fasteners pop loose that easily what's to say that one won't pop loose a few months down the road and you not realizing it until it's too late.

I'm not looking into doing any overclocking, so my question is...

Will the stock intel heatsink/fan do a good enough job for me? Should I look into an after market heatsink? How based in reality are the concerns with the stock heatsink fasteners?

I want to stay on a tight budget, so I don't really see myself increasing the system price to accommodate a $50 heatsink. Thoughts?

[Edited on December 10, 2007 at 5:19 PM. Reason : -]

12/10/2007 5:18:06 PM

^ i've only installed two retail intel proc/hs units in the past month, so maybe i don't have enough experience, but they seemed more than adequate...i wasn't afraid of breaking the mobo, though you DO need to push FIRMLY down on the four mounting points

as for one popping out, again, it's not something i'm personally worried about, and your computer should shut itself down if you proc gets too hot before doing any actual damage

personally? i love the retail hs/fan combos as i don't have to bother with those obnoxious metal x-brackets on the bottom of the mobo...replacing the proc/hs is as easy as twisting the four connectors rather than pulling out the whole board...maybe aftermarket hs/fan units do this too, i don't know

12/10/2007 6:03:42 PM

Quote :

"Its nice to see that people are finally over AMD. They have been engineering garbage since the year 2000. "

12/10/2007 6:20:59 PM

It's been a while since I've built a PC, do people still use cpu thermal grease or is that little pad on the bottom of the heatsink okay? It's just a stock heatsink that came with the processor I got.

12/10/2007 6:39:42 PM

^I asked that question and the answer that I got back was that it's better to remove any existing thermal grease or thermal pad and apply your own (arctic silver).

My only thing about that was I figured that I may end up being better off with the existing grease or pad as compared with the scenario of me mis-applying the grease by doing it myself.

12/10/2007 7:41:22 PM

retail heatsink/fans get the job done but are noisy, just FYI, the plastic connectors break because people don't know what they are doing, then b*tch about it. if you follow the instructions, and take your time, then you shouldn't have any problems.

in terms of using the thermal pad, it's typically always better to remove it with rubbing alcohol, then apply arctic silver to the CPU and do it that way, again RTFM on how to do it and you should be fine.

12/10/2007 8:24:27 PM

In regard to the stock paste they put on there, it seems sufficient. I recently built 2 core 2 duo systems with the same processor (e6550), and on one i just used the stock heatsink paste, and on the second i accidently rubbed some of it off, so i went ahead and put arctic silver on it. I didn't really notice a temperature difference other than maybe like 1-2 degrees C. Of course there's a dozen other factors that could change that temperature.

12/10/2007 8:49:49 PM

in a non-overclocked state yeah you won't see much difference. if you push it the thermal pad is usually more of a hinderence (thicker) than the usual thermal goo

12/11/2007 12:22:36 PM

Quote :

"Its nice to see that people are finally over AMD. They have been engineering garbage since the year 2000."

not really...it's just that recently they haven't been a competitor

i don't remember if there's a technical term for this, or where i read about it, but since amd is in line to put the gpus back on the cpu chipset (so a quad-core would be like having 2 cpus and 2 gpus) and have video memory pull from a user-replaceable bank, i'll start looking into amd again

12/11/2007 12:29:20 PM

here's a nice stat for ya... AMD is now worth LESS than what they paid for ATI

AMD net worth = $5 Billion
Intel net worth = $165 Billion

12/11/2007 4:41:25 PM

ouch...although my point still remains...they currently are NOT competition for intel...but that WILL change, and they (might) have the capacity to offer something genuinely different

i'm not an AMD fanboy...per multiple suggestions and explanations, i'm running a core 2 duo and am very happy with it...but competition is very healthy, and there's no doubt in my mind that without AMD, intel would be gouging everyone like they used to when they had a virtual monopoly

12/11/2007 4:43:31 PM

i completely agree

12/11/2007 4:44:20 PM

Well I finally got all my parts ordered and they will arrive in a few days. This will be my first time ever putting a computer together. Do yall have any tips/tricks, anything I need to know so I don't mess something up. Thanks for the help

12/16/2007 12:19:10 PM

Oh, I built my computer (actually, neodata did it and I watched) about two weeks ago. I went with one of the Gigabyte mobos you suggested, Prospero, thanks for that. Everything works great except for Team Fortress 2 which crashes on me every now and then.

12/16/2007 3:21:18 PM

^^if you can get someone to do it for you and watch (assuming they know what they're doing)

1) follow motherboard, processor, heatsink/themal paste installation instructions EXPLICITLY
2) always discharge static by maintaining contact w/ something metal while working on the PC (keeping a hand on the computer case is usually sufficient) just don't be silly and wear a wool sweater or something while doing this.
3) don't force hardware into the slots, or cables, when done properly a medium force should be applied, for memory in particular make sure they are facing the right direction and make sure they are in the proper slots to enable dual channel
4) be sure everything is fully inserted into their appropriate slots
5) keep the power supply switch off until you are ready to boot up for the first time
6) keep the ATX cable (the 24-pin cable) unconnected until you are ready to boot up for the first time
7) be sure to plug in the graphics card if you have a high-end graphics card that requires power

i'll try and think of some more

[Edited on December 16, 2007 at 3:55 PM. Reason : .]

12/16/2007 3:34:00 PM

lets put it this way AMD may not be a major threat but sooner or later Intel's gonna get a lead and try to jack prices at that I see everyone turning to AMD cause their cheaper at which point they'll catch back up againa nd everythign will be back to the way it was pre-2000

12/16/2007 3:36:14 PM

I keep hearing so much about artic silver. I do not plan to overclock. Would it be worth the 6 bucks to get some?

12/16/2007 3:37:35 PM

for your first build it may be more work than what it's worth to you

12/16/2007 3:51:21 PM

I used to do the whole razor flatten thing with artic silver, and try to get a perfect thin layer down on the cpu. Then i realized if i just put a pea sized drop on it and left it, the temps were exactly the same.

12/16/2007 4:01:29 PM

Quote :

"lets put it this way AMD may not be a major threat but sooner or later Intel's gonna get a lead and try to jack prices at that I see everyone turning to AMD cause their cheaper at which point they'll catch back up againa nd everythign will be back to the way it was pre-2000"

Lets be clear, AMD is in real trouble. Intel has them clobbered in most markets now. They may very well go out of business before Intel has a chance to really raise the prices.

12/16/2007 7:14:20 PM

^^it says in the instructions to just spread a thin line in the specified direction of the heatspreader

12/17/2007 2:43:57 AM

^^I'll admit but for people who arent in the highend market they still make sales if they manage to hold on then they might make a comeback again

12/17/2007 2:54:05 PM

nforce 700 series out:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_700i.html

Quote :

"NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI MCP * Unmatched DirectX® 10 gaming experience with 3-way SLI technology * First platform designed for ESA-certified components for ultimate system optimization, providing complete, real-time system control NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI MCP * NVIDIA 2-way SLI technology for DirectX 10 gaming experience * World's first PCI Express 2.0 motherboard for Intel CPUs at a performance price point "

Quote :

"Intel Socket LGA775 Full support for Intel Penryn (Yorkfield & Wolfdale), Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo, Pentium"

[Edited on December 19, 2007 at 1:07 PM. Reason : full support]

12/19/2007 1:02:58 PM

Question about the Q6600. If I decide to go down the overclock path, will I be able to squeeze a whole lot more out of a Q6600? Also, if I do overclocking, is there any recommendation on an upgrade heatsink and fan? I've seen the Thermalright Ultra-120 thrown around a lot, but the idea of mounting something that's going to weight 2lbs hanging sideways in my system makes me uneasy even if it does provide a lot of cooling power.

I'd rather not go down the water cooling path if I can help it; I don't want to deal with that particular hassle if I can get away with air cooling.

Also, would an MSI P35 Neo2-FR or FIR be sufficient to push the Q6600 on?

12/27/2007 2:21:40 PM

if you are a gamer, the quad core is worthless. stick with dual core.

12/27/2007 2:47:32 PM

I'm looking at upgrading some stuff possibly in the near future, but not sure where I'm gonna go yet. Thinking a better PSU & cooling to start, perhaps a video card and memory after that. Here's my current specs:



Case - Ultra Wizard Mid-Tower ATX Case (it was FAR)
http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=13&pPath=250&productID=251


Power Supply - Ultra V-Series 500 Watt PSU (it was FAR also)
http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=59&pPath=369&productID=369


Mobo - MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130081


CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003


Video Card - NVIDIA GeForce 7600GS 256MB DDR2 DUAL DVI TV
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/listConfigurationDetails.jspa?productConfigurationId=648244#openLarger


Memory - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.gskill.com/en/f2-6400cl5d-nq.html


CD/DVD Burner -Sony DRU-120C Multi-format DVD Burner
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-detailsInactive.asp?Sku=S167-4219

Hard Drive - Internal 3.5-inch Ultra ATA/100 400-GB Hard Drive
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=da47b1774aafd010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&locale=en-US


TV Tuner Card - WinTV-PVR-150 MCE
http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvr150mce.html



I do not overclock and currently am using the stock CPU fan. I'm looking for something quieter with the fan and the power supply. (the cpu fan must blow perpendicular to the cpu b/c there is a socket for cooling the cpu on the computer case) Not sure of the price range yet, just looking down the road. I use my compy for some gaming (potentially more in the future), photoshop, tv watching, general multi-multi-tasking (as in doing like 10 things at once) and i run dual monitors. give me some advice as to what you would do if you had to upgrade (specifically what order would you upgrade, as this may be a multi-month process)

also, do you guys use anything in particular for computer maintainance? my compy is gettin pretty full of dust, i figured i'd just go get a can of air, but didn't know what others do besides that

thanks for your help and if you read that whole thing. lol.

1/10/2008 6:17:30 AM

I assume you chose the 7600gs because of price. It is not a gaming card at all.

If you game more than photoshop you want e6850, ddr2-1066 (2gb), 8800gt, raptor hdd
If you use photoshop/watch tv more then you want a q6600 (G0), ddr2-800 (4gb), quadro/Fire gl, 1Tb hdd (assuming you record shows and save huge pictures for editing)

For air cooling something like a ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler will be fine. Although im not sure if it will fit in that case. This cooler will allow cooler temps than the stock fan with direct access to outside air.

You really cant game well with dual monitors unless your card is extremely nice because it will drop the frame rates to much because the gfx card is trying to do two things at once instead of one. I guess you can turn off the signal to the second monitor when you want to play a game but I think that would get old really fast.

Im sure others will pick apart my suggestions but thats where I would start.

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 7:36 AM. Reason : to early to post ]

1/10/2008 7:31:41 AM

Right now the E-series C2D processors are faster than the q6600 for photoshop work. This may change with future versions of photoshop, but right now it isn't able to utilize all of the cores efffectively. Also, your video card doesn't matter one bit until you get into video rendering.

1/10/2008 9:00:29 AM

If gaming isn't a priority and for what you do on your computer I wouldn't spend money upgrading anything, but that's me.

1/10/2008 10:06:40 AM

Quote :

"You really cant game well with dual monitors unless your card is extremely nice because it will drop the frame rates to much because the gfx card is trying to do two things at once instead of one. I guess you can turn off the signal to the second monitor when you want to play a game but I think that would get old really fast."

I don't think this is the case. When you play a game with dual monitors it just brings it up on one monitor and the GPU goes to power that game. I haven't noticed any difference in frame rate while playing a game with 2 monitors, or a single monitor on the same video card.

1/10/2008 12:01:13 PM

^i haven't either, though i don't doubt the theory, but in reality it's probably only 1-3fps

from the front page:

Quote :

"we should block tigerdirect links on tww"

lol

first thing i'd do is swap out your PSU so you don't damage anything else, Ultra PSU's are crap

if you want a budget one go with Antec Earthwatts 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

or if you want one that's high-end go with an Enermax Liberty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003

or Cooler Master eXtreme Power RP-600-PCAR ATX 12V V2.01 600W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171013

all 3 are dead silent, all above 70% efficient, the antec/enermax are 80plus & 17ms hold-up time, active-PFC

if you want silent CPU fan, go zalman, nothing quieter imho and they nearly all come with the fanmate to adjust the fan speed, like J33Pownr said, just check forums to see if the 9700 will fit, it's huge, if not they make a 9500 that uses a 92mm fan instead of the 110mm, if you want a cheap well performing CPU fan, go with the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, it can be had for <$20, but you may want to get a fan controller (they have them for <$4) as at full speed it can be heard (still quiet tho).

1/10/2008 12:22:33 PM