Intel pc

[FuzzyDnkn]

I know a few posts ago i said about making a 939 comp, but now i'm looking into Intel products. I don't know much about intel i've never really had too many Intel products so can i get some recommendations on hardware (motherboard, cpu, video card, ram, hdd) My budget at max is 600 - 700 bucks
Thanks

[Shagster]

CPU ~ E6300 Core 2 Duo or better

Motherboard ~ Any motherboard with intel 965p chipset made by Asus, Gigabyte or Intel (intel if your not overclocking). Or an Asus motherboard with the nvidia 650i chipset. Most popular are the Asus P5B, Asus P5N and Gigabyte DS3.

Video Card ~ You'll have to be more specific on what kind of video card you want. You'll be looking for a ATI x1000 series or Nvidia 7 series card. Judging from your price range you'll be looking at about a $100 to $200 graphics card which will probably be the big factor in a $600 vs. $700 rig.

HDD ~ For the hard drive get a Seagate 7200.10 sata 3.0 drive, they make them from 250Gb up to 750Gb.

Memory ~ There are 1000 brands of good memory. You'll want at least ddr2 533 for stock or ddr2 800 (or faster) for overclocking. Ignore latencies unless you are planning to clock your FSB past 400mhz. Popular brands are OCZ, Corsair, Kingston, Gskill, Crucial and the list goes on. There are a lot of good memory rebates on 2gigs so you might as well go with that. Dropping down to 1Gb will only save you $30 some odd bucks.

[Rivas]

cheap HDD's here
http://shop2.outpost.com/search?cat=-48954&pType=pDisplay

300gb SEAGATE
FRYS.com #: 4795199
SERIAL ATA/300
16MB BUFFER
7200 RPM
RETAIL BOXED HARD DRIVE (INSTALLATION KIT INCLUDED)
5 YEAR WARRANTY

75 bucks

or

Maxtor
Capacity: 160GB
Seek Time: <9.3ms
7200RPM
8MB Buffer
Serial ATA (SATA) Interface
Up to 150MB/sec data transfer rate
3 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty

$60

[FuzzyDnkn]

Ok well as for hdd this is what I was looking at before
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136033

CPU (not sure)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003

And Im still not sure on a motherboard lol

video card
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130056

I just am not sure on a motherboard yet

[Shagster]

The only raptor that wouldn't be a waste of money compared to the 7200.10 is newer version of the 150Gb raptor.

Why spend half your budget on the cpu? Or has your budget increased?

[FuzzyDnkn]

No my budget hasn't increased I just don't know much on what to get, so i just looked at the customer reviews
but idk what to get :)

[Shagster]

CPU ~ Intel E6300 Core 2 Duo ... $181.00

Mother Board ~ Asus P5B 965p ... $123.00

Memory ~ 2Gb Corsair XMS ddr2-800 5-5-5-12 ... $140.00 (AR)

Video Card ~ EVGA 7950gt 256Mb ... $185.00 (AR)

Hard Drive ~ Seagate 7200.10 250Gb ... $70.00

Total is $699. You could go with the 7900gs and change it to a e6400 and it would be the same price. Or if you would like to messing around with the clock speeds downgrade to a 7900gs and get a nice heatsink and some good case fans. Just keep it balanced. If you wanted to go raptor, E6600, etc... I'd recommend saving up about another $300. When your bollow 4 digits in your budget remember its worth it to save up more because every $50 extra makes a big performance increase.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Ok I added my budget and at max im at around 820ish. heres what i was looking at
CPU - Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo

Memory - 2GB Corsair XMS ddr2-800 5-5-5-12

Video Card - EVGA 7900gt 256MP

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB

The total is $822.99. After all the rebates will be $777.99
Only a few questions real quick
Is the mobo a good board to overclock with?
Will the setup be worth all the money? (im doing this to replace my dell (p4 2.0ghz 400mhz fsb, 30gb hdd....thats all i know about it lol)

I also have a epox 9npa+sli, amd opteron 170 2ghz @ 2.4, nvidia geforce 7300, maxtor 120GB, antec 500W psu.

My Biggest Concern is if it will be worth it, if i order ill probably be getting it all from Newegg.

[Shagster]

The performance increase over your current setup will be astronomical.

You'll have 0 problems overclocking that setup to its maximum potential. I have the same memory and motherboard. My setup runs at 450 fsb around the clock. the E6600 won't be able to go that high without at least some form water cooling.

Get this video card... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067

Or, if your budget allows, definately get this one.... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

[YeOldeStonecat]

Asus P5 series...I have the P5B Deluxe, 965 chipset. I've not had one single hiccup with my motherboard....which is normal for Asus boards based on my experience..rock solid. Overclocks well...stable as can be.

I had a Gigabites DS3....I'll never touch Gigabyte gain based on that board...no matter what I did with BIOS and settings...contant lock ups, power cycles, random reboots. That board is smashed to bits and in the dump. Hardware used on that board is the same exact hardware that's in my Asus rig now.

My new favorite power supply...Seasonic. :thumb:

I picked up the Intel 6700. She's running just shy of 3.5..stock cooling. Could prob go higher..haven't tried.

[FuzzyDnkn]

So it wouldn't be worth the extra money getting the E6600? (Im planning on doing a little overclocking)

-I just looked at my money in the bank plus the money I have now and my MAX total is exactly $1126.76 (sorry for changing budgets so much)

I forgot to factor in the case price which is 129.99
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129158


If i got:
Asus board
E6600
Corsair XMS2 2GB
Seagate 7200.10 250GB HDD
EVGA Geforce 8800
and case
my final cost will come to $1028.96.

So i have a little leftover but I am in my budget with that much leftover would it be possible to get a raptor, or better heatsink? :)

[Shagster]

That system would be kickass.

Overclock depends on what kind of increase you want.

If you want a fast as hell FSB (fast memory) get the E6300.

If you want fast processing power get the E6600.

[Shagster]

I had a Gigabites DS3....I'll never touch Gigabyte gain based on that board...no matter what I did with BIOS and settings...contant lock ups, power cycles, random reboots. That board is smashed to bits and in the dump. Hardware used on that board is the same exact hardware that's in my Asus rig now.


I had an origional one as well. It was a POS and I returned it for a P5B.

I got to mess around with the newer revision of it. Along with the new bios updates its a kickass board now.

I still prefer to P5B.

[Unholy]

I had an origional one as well. It was a POS and I returned it for a P5B.

I got to mess around with the newer revision of it. Along with the new bios updates its a kickass board now.

I still prefer to P5B.

Did you guys use the the DS3 before the F7 bios? I got the rev. 1 and have no problems overclocking with it.

[Shagster]

I got rid of mine on the F3. But like I said, I've used a newer revision and all the quirks are gone.

My big problem many months ago was the lack of vdimm control. You could only add voltage to the vdimm the motherboard assigns the memory. In my case it was shoving 2.1v through my 1.9v memory.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Wait so which processor would overclock easier which one would stay cooler
E6600
or
E6300

[Unholy]

Wait so which processor would overclock easier which one would stay cooler
E6600
or
E6300

They both overclock pretty well. e6300 can OC to e6600 if you got good enough hardware. As for which one would be cooler it would depend on how far you OC them. At stock e6300 should be cooler.


I got rid of mine on the F3. But like I said, I've used a newer revision and all the quirks are gone.

My big problem many months ago was the lack of vdimm control. You could only add voltage to the vdimm the motherboard assigns the memory. In my case it was shoving 2.1v through my 1.9v memory.

There was a hidden menu for that.

http://i2.neoseeker.com/neo_image/152407/article/ga-p965-ds3/mitf1-2.jpg

[FuzzyDnkn]

So lets say I want to overclock to 3ghz, the E6300 will be cooler then the E6600 at 3ghz

[Rivas]

Overclocking depends on you cpu cooling, RAM, northbridge also how many devices you got connected to PCI and yes quite a few other factors.
You can get for example X6800 with 1000mhz memory OC it like crazy but your northbridge is not going to hold it up.
Also depends how many sticks of memory are you using 2x1024 OC easyer then 4x1024.
Next thing is the chipset on your motherboard, the older one is more unstable compared with new one.
OS ...Definately Win XP pro ...Vista got big issues with oced computers.

[Rivas]

So lets say I want to overclock to 3ghz, the E6300 will be cooler then the E6600 at 3ghz

nope it wont

[YARDofSTUF]

At stock voltage both chips should be the same temp, depending on what you need for voltage will change your temps, no guarantee.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Did you guys use the the DS3 before the F7 bios? I got the rev. 1 and have no problems overclocking with it.

F7 sound familiar...yeah, went through at least several BIOS versions. Doesn't matter...in a dump somewhere now...I'm never giving Gigabites a shot again. :nope:

[Joel]

The E6600, while not a huge difference, does have twice the L2 cache.

I have an Asus P5B Deluxe with an E6600 at 3.6ghz, great system. The P5B Deluxe is particularly great for overclocking as, get this, all of my voltages are on "Auto" - The only thing I changed was the FSB (admittedly, I was trying to do everything on manual, but for some reason it's simply more stable on automatic).

Rivas, Vista doesn't have a problem with overclocked systems.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Wait so what motherboard would be the Best for the money im currently looking at the ASUS P5B P965
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131030

If the deluxe or any other board would be better and in my budget please recommend... since this is gonna be a big purchase for me i dont want to upgrade for awhile lol :)

[YARDofSTUF]

I still like the gigabyte DS3 for $125 range.

[FuzzyDnkn]

I heard ASUS boards were really good though :confused:

[YARDofSTUF]

I heard ASUS boards were really good though :confused:

I've heard that too.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Well whats the improvement between the ASUS P5B, and the delux version

[Shagster]

I have an Asus P5B Deluxe with an E6600 at 3.6ghz, great system. The P5B Deluxe is particularly great for overclocking as, get this, all of my voltages are on "Auto" - The only thing I changed was the FSB (admittedly, I was trying to do everything on manual, but for some reason it's simply more stable on automatic).

Bad idea since the P5B uses way more volts than needed when kept on auto.

[Shagster]

Well whats the improvement between the ASUS P5B, and the delux version

Apart from a bunch of useless gadgets. It is capable of raid 5 and has a different heatsink on the northbridge, 2 extra sata ports. There have been no conclusions that it overclocks any better than the regular p5b either even though some people claim it does. They both have people breaking 500fsb on them.

I think it's just $50 down the drain unless you need it for extreme purposes such as raid 5 or a shitload of hard drives.

You don't need anything more than the regular P5B for what you plan on building.

You might find something worth having on the p5b deluxe / wifi board. (next step up from the regular deluxe).

[FuzzyDnkn]

Apart from a bunch of useless gadgets. It is capable of raid 5 and has a different heatsink on the northbridge, 2 extra sata ports. There have been no conclusions that it overclocks any better than the regular p5b either even though some people claim it does. They both have people breaking 500fsb on them.

I think it's just $50 down the drain unless you need it for extreme purposes such as raid 5 or a shitload of hard drives.

You don't need anything more than the regular P5B for what you plan on building.

You might find something worth having on the p5b deluxe / wifi board. (next step up from the regular deluxe).

Well knowing that I'll probably just stick to the regular p5b, and with the E6600. I think that I am going to look at a different heatsink and fan then the stock one - alot of people say negative things about it in the reviews

[YARDofSTUF]

Zalman and scythe make very nice coolers.

[Rivas]

Well knowing that I'll probably just stick to the regular p5b, and with the E6600. I think that I am going to look at a different heatsink and fan then the stock one - alot of people say negative things about it in the reviews

You cant go wrong here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835703008

this one is better and cheaper
http://kit-tronics.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=3268&cat=&page=




Its not a question of opinion, it is a question of physics. No more no less.

The Vapochill Micro coolers come with the following:
VapoChill Micro vapor chamber filled with the refrigerant gas R134a.
Cooling ribs for larger cooling surface area.
3 x copper pipes.
Special designed low weight and highly effective fan duct.
airflow towards capacitors on motherboard.
Effective low noise fan.
Thermal Heat Compound already applied on the base unit.

[Joel]

Bad idea since the P5B uses way more volts than needed when kept on auto.

The adjustments voltage adjustments on the NB and FSB voltage termination are rough at best with the current BIOS revision, and although it would seem it would be best to leave those two on auto and manually set everything else, it never seems to work right together (stable).

[YeOldeStonecat]

Well whats the improvement between the ASUS P5B, and the delux version

Differences are listed here....it's actually quite a bit more than just # SATA ports and controller...one important diff being the power design.

http://usa.asus.com/products3.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&slname=Intel%20P965

[FuzzyDnkn]

Ok, I should be ordering around next week sometime and I just want to list the parts that I will be buying to make sure if there is anything that I shouldn't buy.

Motherboard
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131030

CPU
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003

Video Card
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

RAM
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590

Hard Drive
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136033

Case
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129158


The total after rebates is $1099.96, which I can do :)

[Mark]

150GB raptor for $169 here (http://www.microcenter.com/byos/byos_single_product_results.phtml?product_id=235236)

[YARDofSTUF]

If you want more HD space and still decent speed you could go for this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148139

Raptor is the faster drive though.

[Shagster]

one important diff being the power design.

8 Phase isn't an important difference. It has proven worthless which is why I didn't mention it. If you want longevity go for solid capacitors that won't bleed down the road.

Overclockability and overall performance are equal to each other when compared with the p5b vanilla. It's all about whether the extra little things would be useful to you.

[Unholy]

Case
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129158



I'd wouldn't use the smart power series power supply if I were you since they have a tendency have an eletrical whine and crap out after a year.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Hey I'm just wondering cause I was looking at the customer reviews on newegg and it seems like the P5B deluxe is better, do you think its worth the extra 50 bucks

[Shagster]

No one has really compared the two other than put their specs side by side.

I'm telling ya though, there is nothing a P5B deluxe can do that a P5B vanilla can't. They both overclock and benchmark the same. Just go to link YoSC posted and compare them side by side to see if the deluxe has something on it you feel you can't live without.

Also, don't pay attention to the newegg reviews. I remember buying my belkin nostromo (gamepad) and this guy gave it a 5 star rating because he thought it made his graphics better.

[FuzzyDnkn]

hahaha i will compare them thanks for the advice

[FuzzyDnkn]

Wait when you say p5b vanilla do you mean the one that im planning on getting
( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030 )

[Shagster]

Yeah, adding vanilla is just a forum way of saying "the regular one" so you don't think they are abbreviating a different board. :thumb:

[FuzzyDnkn]

Oh ok thanks well, i will probably order sometime this week hope it all works out good :)

[YeOldeStonecat]

8 Phase isn't an important difference. It has proven worthless which is why I didn't mention it. If you want longevity go for solid capacitors that won't bleed down the road.

I don't believe it's worthless...cleaner power, actually has less power draw because it's more efficient, better longevity (no capped/creased capacitors to burst).

[FuzzyDnkn]

wait so the p5b deluxe is more efficient?

[Shagster]

I don't believe it's worthless...cleaner power, actually has less power draw because it's more efficient, better longevity (no capped/creased capacitors to burst).

Ok, he doesn't need more than 4 sata ports. Onboard sound differences are practically nil. I don't think he needs an extra NIC. He plans to overclock but both the P5B deluxe and P5B have proven themselvess 100% stable past 500fsb (which he won't get close to with a E6600 on air). So all those differences are useless to him.

So, the only difference that he appears to worry about is the fact that the P5B vanilla has 6 phase vs. the P5B deluxe which has 8 phase. Keep in mind the deluxe is $50 more than the P5B vanilla.

The 'more power efficient' isn't going to save you $50 worth of electricity. The 'cleaner' power won't make a difference until your in the 500mhz bus range which lord knows he won't get to. In the rare occurance a capactior does burst it won't even effect system performance. And 6 phase is going to keep his computer parts just as safe as 8 phase.

Your convincing him that that's worth $50. It's not. It really shouldn't even be a sale point. At most it should be a thin layer of icing on the cake. The cake being one of the other larger differences being useful to him.

For some reason people keep feeling compelled to buy the better versions of all motherboards because they think it will clock/perform better and they never really have. For the last 10 years you just need to purchase a board from a reputable MB maker with a proven chipset and your GOLD.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Ok well now that I know that im just gonna get the p5b vanilla, i really dont have the 50 extra bucks but if the deluxe was worth every penny of the extra 50 dollars then i would try to get it but im just going to stick with the p5b vanilla

[FuzzyDnkn]

Well. i am on newegg now and im going to order i will let you all know how it turns out after its all done.
Well, thanks for all the help :)

[Rivas]

Well it doesnt make sence, you say thanks for help and I get negative rep point? :rotfl: :rotfl:

[FuzzyDnkn]

Wait lol i gave you a negative one cause im a little new to this and i saw people had reputation so i tried to add one :o sorry about that... how do i make it a good point

[YARDofSTUF]

Wait lol i gave you a negative one cause im a little new to this and i saw people had reputation so i tried to add one :o sorry about that... how do i make it a good point

Its too late, teh bombs are on their way, congrats, you just killed Canada! :wth:


Just give him another rep

[Shagster]

Wait lol i gave you a negative one cause im a little new to this and i saw people had reputation so i tried to add one :o sorry about that... how do i make it a good point

He deserved it. So it's all good. I'll give him a couple of negatives too.

[Rivas]

Wait lol i gave you a negative one cause im a little new to this and i saw people had reputation so i tried to add one :o sorry about that... how do i make it a good point

doesnt matter, i gave you positive :)

[Rivas]

He deserved it. So it's all good. I'll give him a couple of negatives too.

prick :irate: :D

j/k :D

[FuzzyDnkn]

hahaha:rotfl:

but uhhh how do you do postive reputation


:rockin: :rockin: :D :wth:

[Shagster]

hahaha:rotfl:

but uhhh how do you do postive reputation


:rockin: :rockin: :D :wth:

I think you give him another negative.

Therefore -1*-1 = 1

Everyone is happy!

[FuzzyDnkn]

lololol i dont think im gonna try to give anymore rep points lol:rotfl:

[YeOldeStonecat]

In the rare occurance a capactior does burst it won't even effect system performance. And 6 phase is going to keep his computer parts just as safe as 8 phase.

It will affect system performance..when the rig drops ice cold. I've had capacitors burst on me before (on several MSI and a couple of Abit boards). Never had an Asus pop on me before..but I'm sold on never going back to the creased top capacitors that can burst again.

Comparing performance between a more conventional power setup versus the higher end ones..can go on all day long. All I can say is...the P5B-D that I build..has been the most rock solid rig I've ever built...not one single hiccup, not one single system hang, or lockup...it's taken everything I've throw at it. If I got the vanilla model...would it have been as stable? I can't answer that. Just know I love it.

[A_old]

Distended capacitors will cause lockups and blue screens -- the big Gateway Socket A fiasco should remind one of this. Quality capacitors are a must (that said, I bought a P5N-E which does NOT have solid state caps).

[FuzzyDnkn]

Ok, my parts are delivered and i put it all together with supervision to make sure i didnt mess anything up... now i just have one problem, it will not detect my hard drive ???
what can i do

p.s and the bios is green with black font lol

[YARDofSTUF]

Bios color sounds odd.

In BIOS does it not see the hard drive or windows setup? Should be different settings to turn on or off the sata ports.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Well i have it hooked in sata 1 and in bios it says not detected and i tried to format xp and it doesnt detect a hard drive their either

[Shagster]

BIOS screen shouldn't be that color unless they changed it in a revision.

Pull the power cord out of the back of the computer.

On your motherboard there is a little watch battery. Pull it out and wait a couple of minutes.

Put the battery back in, boot up, and see if the bios are any different.

[YARDofSTUF]

Well i have it hooked in sata 1 and in bios it says not detected and i tried to format xp and it doesnt detect a hard drive their either

Right, if the BIOS wont see it, windows never will.


Ok, first the easy piece of cheese, is the power plugged in, and are both ends of the sata cable connected? :)

After thats confirmed look in advanced options for IDE/Sata/Riad options to make sure you have sata ports enabled.

Which motherboard did you end up getting, the Asus P5B?

[FuzzyDnkn]

Ok first off - i removed the cable from the vid card to monitor and made sure it was in ALL THE WAY and it came up the right colors lol... and about the hard drive I made sure the sata connection to the hard drive to the board was secure and it is in all the way, and in the main menu of the bios it says SATA1 : Not Detected...
If i just let the comp on without going into the bios i get a message saying " Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key

[FuzzyDnkn]

Update - I found out that the power connector wasnt in so I plugged it in, now the bios detects the hard drive and I think im ready to format, the only thing is the computer beeps once when I first turn it on and the book says it is either a keyboard controller error, refresh time error, or no master drive detected?

[YARDofSTUF]

Not sure, usually 1 beep is normal, dont know what refresh time error is, try to install the OS.

[FuzzyDnkn]

Ok wish me luck :)

[FuzzyDnkn]

I put XP PRO SP2 on and didn't do any windows updates yet and installed stock drivers (where i am at now has dial up internet, i will download updates and latest drivers later in the week) and under device manager there is one device that says it isn't installed called "PCI Device" will updates take care of that and if not how can I fix it to install it???

the only thing in any pci slots is my video card which is in a x16 slot

[YARDofSTUF]

Ya, you want to install the chipset drivers from asus's site, latest nvidia drivers from nvidia, and updates as soon as you can.

Dont be using this thing on the net without all the updates.

Then get spywareblaster, spybot's immunize feature, and a virus scanner on it.

Active Virus shield is a good freebie.

[FuzzyDnkn]

So after all of the updates the "pci device" will be installed

[YARDofSTUF]

Most likely after the chipset drivers from the site, if not its no biggie to figure out.

[FuzzyDnkn]

oh ok thanks :)

[FuzzyDnkn]

Well I reformatted and installed most up to date drivers and did windows update, im very happy with it :D
Thanks for the help again
comp beeps once at startup but it boots up fine

[YARDofSTUF]

Ya, dont worry about the beep

Remeber, virus scanner! And spywareblaster/spybot (immunize on)

[FuzzyDnkn]

Oh ok, yeah im using nod 32 and adaware personal

[YARDofSTUF]

Oh ok, yeah im using nod 32 and adaware personal

Another NOD user! :thumb: