[ZmaN]

Alright guys, heres the deal.  its time for a new rig.  my current rig is 3 years old, and has all low end parts from when i bought it.

but I'm poor so I have to upgrade in little chunks at a time.

Alright so heres what I've bought:
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227139&Tpk=OCZ%2bPlatinum%2bRevision%2b2%2b2GB%2b(2%2bx%2b1GB)%2b240-Pin%2bDDR2

Cooler Master Extreme Power RP-650 (No PFC, dont listen to newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171014

ALright now for motherboard choices:
I definitly want a P35, so of these 2 boards, waht would you choose?
Asus P5K-E
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 (ONLY DS4, no other models)

Processor selection:
Core 2 Duo E6550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030

Core 2 Duo E6750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029

And then I need a case:
Raidmax Smilodon
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156063
With PSU: 89.99
W/O PSU: 79.99

NZXT Lexa Blackline:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146038
W/O PSU: 89.99 @ Micro Center

Now hard drives, I was thinking:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140
But if you have pother options please tell so!

Optical drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106072

I have a black Floppy Drive, and Theres some case fans with the case I'll be buying, regardless of which case.  I also have more case fans I can throw into it.  I'll have to run on stock cooling because I cannot afford aftermarket or water-cooling options.  I'll be buying a second hard drive later to set up a RAID 0 array.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[BloodEagle]

Why do you need a new case?

[ZmaN]

becasue i honestly hate my MGE ninja case.  And its all scratched up.  The door opens the wrong way, its not that roomy inside.  The doors dont fit well.

[Ashrak]

quad core

[Nuke]

dude hje said he was poor

[colecampbell666]

These rigs may be out of your price range, but there is a lot of info on what not to buy here.

[CP5670]

The memory and PSU choices aren't that good, although if you already got them you might as well stick with them.

As for the other things, the E6750 is probably better, as it costs only slightly more and is much easier to overclock due to the 8 multiplier. Those two boards are pretty much comparable. Get whichever is cheaper. If you don't need all the extra peripherals, the IP35-E ($70 at Mwave) is normally a better choice than either one and clocks up at least as well, but that memory you got may have trouble booting at 1.8V the first time on this and some other boards (possibly the ones you listed too, not sure about them). Among the cases you posted, the second one is better as the first has poor cooling options. Although I would suggest getting something with a 250mm side fan. The HD and DVD drives are fine.

These rigs may be out of your price range, but there is a lot of info on what not to buy here.

There is also a lot of nonsense in that thread early on. Take it with a grain of salt.

[lenard27]

I've always heard that buy the most expensive option that you can afford (in most cases, and after reviewing the products) because you'll save money because you won't have to upgrade as quickly again.

[colecampbell666]

I'd agree with that. I'm using a 6 year old PC, that was about 1200-1300$ Cdn. It is only beginning to show it's age and was only upgraded twice. (256 Mb RAM in '03 and a Radeon 9550 in '04)

[ZmaN]

well i need the extra features.

I need all the USB ports, firewires arent totally necessary cause theres one on my Audigy 2 ZS which I'm keeping.  E Sata would be nice.  I like the gigabyte cause I can convert 2 of the ports to Esata whenever I want to so its an option, but not required.

The memory works at 1.9 V minimal.  Top voltage is 2.2 as per their warranty.

[ZmaN]

Oh, forgot to tell you.

I bought that particular power supply because it ahd decent scores in reviews, and it is a solid unit.  I know I could have gotten an OCZ or something but that one was 40 bucks after rebate so i dont think i could ahve gottena  better deal.  remember im on a budget.

same with the RAM, although I can take that back anytime and swap it for corsair RAM if need be.

[ZmaN]

quick question, would it be worth the extra 50 or 60 bucks to buy 2 more gigs of the RAM I jsut bought and then get a copy of Vista and use that or should i stick with 2 Gigs only and put XP Pro in?

[CP5670]

I've always heard that buy the most expensive option that you can afford (in most cases, and after reviewing the products) because you'll save money because you won't have to upgrade as quickly again.

It's bad advice. You should spend less each time (and/or sell your old parts) and upgrade on a regular basis instead. Over a long period of time, you get a far better return on your money that way.

Video card: well, I'm almost flat broke so I'm gunna have to run on my X850 Pro for now until later.

If you play games more than just occasionally, cut corners somewhere else to get something decent here, or else your new system will be barely any faster than your old one. Keep your existing case, get a E4300 instead, cheap motherboard, whatever. Wait for the new cards coming out next month though.

quick question, would it be worth the extra 50 or 60 bucks to buy 2 more gigs of the RAM I jsut bought and then get a copy of Vista and use that or should i stick with 2 Gigs only and put XP Pro in?

No, if you wanted 4GB of memory, you should have gotten two 2GB sticks. Many boards don't work well with four sticks.

[ZmaN]

I've always heard that buy the most expensive option that you can afford (in most cases, and after reviewing the products) because you'll save money because you won't have to upgrade as quickly again.

It's bad advice. You should spend less each time (and/or sell your old parts) and upgrade on a regular basis instead. Over a long period of time, you get a far better return on your money that way.

Video card: well, I'm almost flat broke so I'm gunna have to run on my X850 Pro for now until later.

If you play games more than just occasionally, cut corners somewhere else to get something decent here, or else your new system will be barely any faster than your old one. Keep your existing case, get a E4300 instead, cheap motherboard, whatever. Wait for the new cards coming out next month though.

quick question, would it be worth the extra 50 or 60 bucks to buy 2 more gigs of the RAM I jsut bought and then get a copy of Vista and use that or should i stick with 2 Gigs only and put XP Pro in?

No, if you wanted 4GB of memory, you should have gotten two 2GB sticks. Many boards don't work well with four sticks.

ok wait


1.  yeah dont upgrade full scale like that unless your doing an overhaul on your rig, thats my 2 cents.

2.  Well see If i'm going to wait till next month I might as well just work my arse off and then use my paychecks to buy a new card, then I'll be set.
BTW, what cards are coming out next month?  I'm excited for the 2900 Pro!

3. Why dont boards usually work well with 4 sticks?  isnt that why theres 4 slots?  Isn't 2 dual channels good?

[colecampbell666]

The Pro is out. 3000XT anyone?

[ZmaN]

theyre planning a 3000XT?  Already?!


bah



anyways...

any lightscribe optical drive suggestions?  I gotta buy a new DVD burner.

What about extra Northbridge cooling?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835116018
How is that one?^^^^
Would it be too much to get the heatpipes off the DS4 board?

[CP5670]

theyre planning a 3000XT?  Already?!

There is no 3000XT. The upcoming cards include a 2950 Pro (apparently a bit faster than the current 2900XT), an 8800GT (a bit below a 320 GTS), and one more Nvidia card (something between a 640 GTS and GTX).

any lightscribe optical drive suggestions?  I gotta buy a new DVD burner.

NEC and BenQ generally made the best drives a few years ago, but I don't know if that's still the case. There isn't much of a difference between them anyway.

What about extra Northbridge cooling?

You generally don't need that. It's better to just get a large CPU cooler that moves some air over those components. Tabletop coolers like the Big Typhoon are particularly good at this, although any of the large ones do a pretty decent job wth the motherboard components.

[colecampbell666]

I was just speculating about the 3000XT.

[ZmaN]

theyre planning a 3000XT?  Already?!

There is no 3000XT. The upcoming cards include a 2950 Pro (apparently a bit faster than the current 2900XT), an 8800GT (a bit below a 320 GTS), and one more Nvidia card (something between a 640 GTS and GTX).

any lightscribe optical drive suggestions?  I gotta buy a new DVD burner.

NEC and BenQ generally made the best drives a few years ago, but I don't know if that's still the case. There isn't much of a difference between them anyway.

What about extra Northbridge cooling?

You generally don't need that. It's better to just get a large CPU cooler that moves some air over those components. Tabletop coolers like the Big Typhoon are particularly good at this, although any of the large ones do a pretty decent job wth the motherboard components.

So the Gigabyte DS4 cooling would be better?
Cause its a choice of either the DS4 alone or the DS3R and extra Northbridge cooling (Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II).



BenQ drives are crap.  I ahyve one, i hate it.  It started making coasters like 6 months after i had it, and it burns freakin slow.

[Turey]

any lightscribe optical drive suggestions?  I gotta buy a new DVD burner.

Sharpie > Lightscribe.