Another C2D system check

speedlever · Post by **speedlever** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:02 pm

My old P4 system needs to be replaced and here's what I'm considering. Please offer suggestions as appropriate.

Usage is general office/home with few if any games. A fair amount of digital images. Would like to prepare for Vista, just in case. I'll put XP/pro/sp2 on it initially. I would like a reasonably quiet system.

CPU: E6600 (just because I want 4Mb L2). May or may not OC.
MOBO: Asus P4B-E
RAM: 2 x 1024 Gb DDR800? Or would DDR533 be a better match for my intended usage and save a few $$?
GPU: What is the quietest/coolest 7600GT? Or should another GPU be considered?
CASE: Antec Solo or Antec P180b (leaning toward the smaller Solo case)
PSU: Corsair Hx520w... or Seasonic S12-430w... or S12 Energy+ SS550HT?
HD: Seagate 7200.10 320Gb or WD Caviar SE16 320Gb
Optical drives: Probably 2x DVD/RW

I'll probably move over a PCI card that increases my IEEE1394 and USB2 ports.

Where are the holes/weaknesses in the above plan? On-board sound should suffice. Fans? Coolers?

EsaT · Post by **EsaT** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:48 am

Yep, E6600 has quite good features for its money, bigger cache is never bad thing and higher multiplier makes possible higher clock speed without bigger FSB increase. In XS forum they seem to be classifying individual CPUs to good and bad basing to does it go easily to 3.2+GHz so considerable extra speed is available when it starts to get slower.

For standard clock speed DDR533 would be about enough but faster memory benefits overclocking. (FSB bandwidth limited)
Then again DDR800 is now quite nicely priced although prices of low latency modules have risen.

Motherboard has internal pin connectors for six extra USB ports and one firewire so take those into account.

As for optical drives you might want to get BenQ 16xx model (if you can find) or Liteon as other drive for scanning PIE/PIF errors in burned discs with important content. (always take backups of digi images and use good quality media)

Integrated chips should be enough because lack of EAX doesn't matter in such use.

speedlever · Post by **speedlever** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:07 am

I've read that some Mobo's and RAM are not compatible. Is there a chart or table somewhere that will tell me what RAM will work with the Asus P5B-E (hopefully the 1.02g rev)? I don't know much about performance settings of the RAM (timings, etc.)

While the mobo may have internal USB2 and Firewire, I need some way to externalize them. An existing PCI card with extra ports seems my best option. Either of the 2 mentioned cases have a couple of front USB2 and a single FW port. Can't remember the ports in back, but a quick check of the board on NewEgg would tell me.

I drive 3 printers from the main PC (all USB connected) and may add a print server so failure of my main PC doesn't kill my print capability. I also currently have a couple of external FW devices.

Thanks for the optical suggestions. How about the video card? Is the 7600GT not a good choice for my intended usage providing cool, quiet video? I can pick them up in the low $100 range from the 'egg.

shikimaru · Post by **shikimaru** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:20 am

Maybe for the video card, look up a X1950 Pro, not very expensive and plenty of bang for buck

Harddrive...Is silence an issue?? (bites tongue)

speedlever · Post by **speedlever** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:43 am

Harddrive...Is silence an issue?

I prefer quiet. It doesn't have to be silent.

Edit: Regarding the video, there are so many choices. Wish there was a list of the best performing quiet cards. (although the no fan cards may be quiet, I don't know how they perform... or how cool they run). I'll look into the x1950 Pro.

My video needs are not that high, but I do use Photoshop Elements for digital images, do some Google Earth, etc. But no games. So I think a good 2D card would largely serve my needs. But I would like the card to be Vista capable. And I don't really know the requirements of that.

shikimaru · Post by **shikimaru** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:07 am

Hard Drive, Samsung Spinpoint 250gb, quietest possible, stick it in a silencer

Video, or check out the X1950XT when it arrives, looks to be about on par with the 7600gt,

problem is, the cards will support vista, just not DX10

JayJay · Post by **JayJay** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:37 am

Actually there is a list

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2825&p=1

I would go for Gigabyte 7600 GT

speedlever · Post by **speedlever** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:54 pm

It appears that the x1950 pro and xt are pricey for my intended application. $200 and up.

Thanks for the Anandtech link. Good reading.

I note that one of the cooler quiet cards is the eVGA 7600GS. Any idea how would that compare to the 7600GT for Vista? I wouldn't think my applications would otherwise task the 7600gs, or am I wrong?

I presume you mean this 7600gt:
http://tinyurl.com/f9u62
Hmm. Dual slot card. Would I lose access to any other slots on the P5B-E if I go this route? I don't think I can afford to lose any slots.

What would be one of the quieter GPUs that's fan cooled? I'd like to keep the card/case temps down too. So I'm looking for low temps and low noise without going to water cooling.

If I'm gonna spend $200 on a gfx card, I'd be tempted to go with this:
http://tinyurl.com/thw2w

I just really don't know what I need or want in the gfx card for my Conroe build.So I'm sorta stumbling along here trying to get a feel for what makes sense tech-wise and $$-wise.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:31 pm

I just really don't know what I need or want in the gfx card for my Conroe build.So I'm sorta stumbling along here trying to get a feel for what makes sense tech-wise and $$-wise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Aero

a DirectX 9 compatible graphics processor, with a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver, and a minimum of 128 MB of Video RAM

Both 7600GS and GT will be fine for Vista.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison ... sing_Units

shikimaru · Post by **shikimaru** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:08 pm

Blast, i meant X1650xt, more in your price range.. and i would get it over the 7600 gt as it comes with HDCP and has a smaller die than 7600..i dunno

Meato · Post by **Meato** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:29 pm

I might suggest this Gigabyte 7300GT. It is the best performing 7300gt card. Passively cooled with 256mb memory. All for <$80. The 7600 sounds beyond your needs, if we're just talking photo editing.

If in fact you do want to drop a couple hundred on a card, I'd suggest this Gigabyte 7900GT. It comes with Zalman cooling factory installed, so no worry about voiding the waranty with an aftermarket heatsink. A very nice card, but completely overkill if you're not gaming.

Eddie Spaghetti · Post by **Eddie Spaghetti** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:51 am

Add another $10 and you get a 7900 GTO

Meato · Post by **Meato** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 11:23 am

Actually its $40 more and i havent been impressed with EVGA as a brand. I've owned 3 other their cards.

speedlever · Post by **speedlever** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 3:20 pm

Actually, I'm running an eVGA 6600GT right now with zero problems.

Of these choices, I like your recommendation of the Gigabyte 7300GT as long as it runs relatively cool. The 6600GT normally runs in the 53-56*C range in my usage. I don't know how much noise the fan contributes (vs the CPU fan and the PSU fan).

I'm not opposed to spending more money on a card. But if I realize no benefit from doing so, it would be a waste of money.

I plan to put this in an Antec Solo case, P5B-E, E6600 build. I'll probably power it with a 500-600 watt PSU... likely either Seasonic or Corsair.

Next I need to decide on RAM for the above combo.

Freeco · Post by **Freeco** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:19 am

speedlever, I will be building quite the same system in the near future: an Antec Solo case with Asus P5B-E mobo, 2x1GB and an Intel 6600 CPU.
If you don't play any games, why not go for the silent MSI 7600GS instead of a 7600GT? Isn't a GT more expensive? Haven't checked... Reading the review on Anandtech, that card is my current personal favorit.

Note that the USB-headers on that mobo can be "brought outside" by installing the provided USB-brackets. You don't need an extra PCI card for that.

And why would you buy a +500W power supply, if you won't be installing some sort of SLI or Xfire setup. That much power will be overkill, for sure!
I've ordered an Antec NeoHE 380W for my rig. I would have taken a Seasonic S12, if I know where to get one (didn't want to order via internet).

speedlever · Post by **speedlever** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 3:36 pm

I'll look into the MSI 7600GS. Thanks for the suggestion.

Regarding the 500w PSU, I prefer to have some headroom. It's probably more than I need. In truth, the Seasonic 430w PSU would probably be a better fit, if I can find it.

Nothing's set in stone yet. Too many other irons in the fire to start buying (and prices keep coming down anyway).