core 2 duo system, from another newbie

letsreactthat · Post by **letsreactthat** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:56 pm

Hello guys, 3rd post? please help me. i would rly appreciate it, i NEED a new computer by the end of next week

I am about to build a new system, and id like for it to be core 2 duo, so i just want to check if there any problems with the hardware i selected interfacing, recognizing, quality issues, power, etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6829120103
for s/pdif out for a 7.1 home theater system. $25

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... E168131280
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115005
core 2 duo e6300
newegg combo price: $349

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145590
corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 $180

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827152058
NEC dvd burner $29

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129173
P-160W like the case.. $94

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130017
eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT KO 256MB $146

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835185001
Scythe SCNJ-1000P 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink $50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835186008
AC 120mm fan for back of case. $10

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822152020
samsung 160gb hd. for a boot drive $55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822152045
2 samsung 300gb for storage.. $93x4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824014105
benQ FP202W Blackk 20.1 8ms widescreen. $290

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103931
Antec TruepowerII 550W $80

Im going for quietness on this puppy too, advice on that too
about $1600 total

so if anyone could just tell me, help me out on if all of this is good for a single system.. im going to have to order this on sunday so i get the computer built by next saturday (newegg shipping via fedex pwns hard), so id REALLY appreciate it if i was helped somewhat expeidiently.. thx.. ill come back

L3thal · Post by **L3thal** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 6:40 pm

Looks pretty good from here. If you don't have to have the retail version of the E6300, Tiger Direct has OEM ones in stock for $209.99. Should be recieving my E6600 tomorrow.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 6:53 pm

I'm a little confused why you picked the antec truepower 2? There's a lot of better and quieter psus around the same price if you take a look at some of the reviews on this site. Or even in the same family, the truepower trio seems to be quite an improvement.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 6:59 pm

My gripes from most significant to least:

550W is WAY too much for the system you're building. It probably only uses ~250W. I'd get a Seasonic 380W or an Antec 430W PSU. If you're going for SLI, then you might need a 450-500W PSU. But 550W is excessive unless you're going for SLI and stacking 7+ optical drives/hard drives in the case. Right now the 350W PSU in my Antec 3000B case is handling an A64 3200+, a nVidia 6800, 4 hard drives, and 2 optical drives.

The P160 was reviewed on here a long time ago, and the main conclusion was that the front was too open to keep noise from coming out the front. If you want a quiet case, consider the Antec SOLO or maybe the NSK4400.

Stock graphics card fans are generally NOISY. Consider getting something passive from ASUS (kinda expensive) or Gigabyte
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125025
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121016

With the money you save from the PSU if you take my suggestion should go towards a better fan. A Nexus or Papst fan would be much quieter than the Arctic Cooling one. Look at Jabtech, SVC, or EndPCNoise for those fans.

Samsung hard drives aren't the quietest anymore. Consider getting one of the new WD drives. Here's a 320GB one thats only slightly more expensive than what you have listed. There's also a 250GB one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822144701

Also, will you be moving your case alot? I'd reconsider the Scythe Ninja if that's the case. Its good for going passive or very low airflow systems, but most of the time a SI-120 or SI-97 from Thermalright will be cheaper, lighter, and quiet enough (you probably won't hear the HSF over the case and PSU fans).

Hmmm, I think I hit on everything except the processor, mobo, and monitor.

letsreactthat · Post by **letsreactthat** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 9:06 pm

so on PSUs: i plan on upgrading to 6 HDs + 2 optical, and the 8 series gfx card. I believe you are talking about the Antec Truepower II 430W for $70 or the seasonic 380W for $73. I also like having a little headroom. Saying that i do take this upgrade path, what do you say?

On case selection: one of the reasons i chose the case was so i could see the hardware. if you could reccomend a case with a side window less than $100, i would appreciate it

actually, i like that asus gfx card, but it costs too much for me (sad). however, i also like that gigabyte card. any atx case should be able to take care of the 2x slot size, right?

On fans: well.. if i get that graphics card, ill have to take out money somewhere.. also, do you think I'll be getting enough airflow for everything in my case (im worried especially about the passive gfx card)? after a few months, i spend whatever i have saved up since then on the better fans.. but the AC isnt too bad, is it? + i was going to use the standard front fan the case comes with.. any word on that?

i believe ill take your advice on the hard drives. I would also like to know if you believe these WD drives are reliable for 4+ years.

on HSF: I anticipate moving my case aobut 6 times a year in a car over 250 miles each time. over somewhat bumpy road. Im not sure about what you are reccomending an XP-120, an SI-128 (i think this is the one), or an XP-90. I also like the Ultra- thermalrights.. but it seems like it has the same problem as the scythe.

please reply
edit: mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128012 same one, i think i linked wrong..

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:44 am

The stock cooler on the eVGA 7900 KO is very quiet at idle or doing 2D, but is unacceptably loud (think hair dryer) under 3D load. There are lots of quiet replacements, but you don't need to be in a rush.

Moving this box should be okay as long as it is on its side (motherboard at the bottom) with a bit of padding underneath.

That said, an XP-120 is more than adequate for the E6300, and is much more compact than the Ninja, which you should only consider if you want to run it fanless.

letsreactthat · Post by **letsreactthat** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:01 am

on the gfx card: im not sure what i should do now, spend a few extra and get the silence, or not..

but ive got a question on compatibility betwen the ram and mobo:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware ... 93811.html
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware ... 93831.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... p?t=109340

.. all people having problems with their DS3 motherboard.. if anyone understands all of that, please reply. thx

im just wondering whether my DS3 will be compatible with the ram i selected..

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:14 am

letsreactthat wrote:but ive got a question on compatibility betwen the ram and mobo:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware ... 93811.html
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware ... 93831.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... p?t=109340

.. all people having problems with their DS3 motherboard.. if anyone understands all of that, please reply. thx

im just wondering whether my DS3 will be compatible with the ram i selected..

You'll probably be okay with that particular Corsair memory. Some of the more exotic memory like Patriot or G.Skill have problems with this board (and also its big brother the DQ6).

I bought a DQ6 and it worked with my G.Skill 2GBHZ memory, although the BIOS auto-selected the highest clock rate (and thus also highest CL) from the SPD, and had no method for controlling this selection. This appears to be common to all P965 boards (I've looked at several). I ended up selling the DQ6, and am awaiting a P5W DH Deluxe, which is 975-based, and has full DRAM control.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:39 am

cmthomson is right. Unless you want to go passive on your CPU, A thermalright XP-120 or XP-90 should work. The smaller one will be lighter but will require a higher speed (louder) fan to get the same cooling. The SI-120 is an updated version of the XP-120 that was modified for old AMD Socket A compatibility or something, but they seem hard to find now. Anyways, the XP-120 should be fine with a Nexus or undervolted Yate-Loon fan.
http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm ... -3472.html
http://www.jab-tech.com/NEXUS-120MM-REA ... -2856.html

For the graphics card, sometimes its safer to get one with a fan because you don't want it to overheat. But in a good case with good airflow, it should be fine. If you're worried about it, get a cheap one with a fan, and if it turns out to be too noisy, replace it with a Zalman VF700AlCu or VF900AlCu

core 2 duo system, from another newbie

core 2 duo system, from another newbie

compatabliity issues

Re: compatabliity issues