My First Build -Please Reply

[qazwsx]

Originally Posted by Wargazm

Great suggestions thanks.
So I'll go with ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail
for cooling and i like the looks of the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Still lingering on which mobo to chose: got my eye on 3 in particular:
- ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
- GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard
- GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard

main concerns are whether the IP35 is worth the xtra money over the EP35C and also if the EP35C has any other advantage over the EP35 besides its extra memory capabilities (which i dont need with the RAM im buying)

free to throw out any suggestions. Thanks!

I would say it isnt worth it. Natually my vote would go to the GA-EP35C-DS3R as I have the earlier revison of it (doesnt include the energy saving features). The nice thing about the board is how its supports DDR2 and DDR3 memory. I hear it sucks at overclocking DDR3 at times though.

The other gigabyte one is a nice solid board. Good overclocker, quality parts and inexpencive.

The abit has some really good reviews, but you can never tust a newegg review . Abit are normally good decent boards though.

I stick with the suggestion of the GA-EP35C-DS3R

[Wargazm]

yeah i think the GA-EP35C would be a better choice for me. But would it rly have an advantage over the EP35 since i dont rly need the DDR3 compatibility?

[qazwsx]

Originally Posted by Wargazm

yeah i think the GA-EP35C would be a better choice for me. But would it rly have an advantage over the EP35 since i dont rly need the DDR3 compatibility?

Not really, it would be better if you wanted to upgrade your RAM down the line. By then, DDR3 prices may have dropped alot and DDR2 rose up alot. Unfortunatatly, theres no way to tell at this point, but DDR3 is getting cheaper.

[Wargazm]

after some thought im actually go with the abit. it does have some rly nice rewiews and on top of that it'll save me some money on a combo deal with the PSU. soo that said my final build should look like:

- Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

- EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

- G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail

- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

- ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail

- ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

- CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply - Retail

- Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-115DBK - OEM

- Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 English 1 Pack CD - OEM

- already got lcd keyboard and mouse


system tots up to about 1400, which is a little over what i was giong for but i dont mind paying a few extra bucks for a good system. If you guys have any last suggestions id love to hear em, probably wont order anything until tmrow.

Thnx HL for all the help!

[screwballl]

I would say the EP35-DS3R (no "C") the combo boards tend to be a bit flaky and can actually reduce performance.
I have the EP35-DS3P which means I have all the same as the L and R but also a Pair of PCIe x16 slots.

E = Energy efficient
P = Pair of PCIe x16 slots
C = Combo (can use DDR2 OR DDR3)
R = RAID

[azianai]

dunno if you covered this, but i'd get the Q6600 over the Q9300. Q9300 is a very gimped processor, works fine at stock, but if you want to OC, you'll get better OC performance from a Q6600 than a Q9300. Q9300's multiplier is only 7.5 and to get the same high OCs that you get in the Q6600 you gotta push the VCore to ridiculously dangerous levels (over 1.4).

[Yellowhello]

IMO, I'd take the Q9300 over the Q6600. The Q9300 is 45nm, it runs cooler and faster. Q6600 is still a good CPU, but maybe a bit old by now (compared to the newer 45nm CPU's).

[Wargazm]

ya i would chose the Q9300 over the Q6600 because it runs cooler. I'm not too worried about the OC performance because i probably wont overclock it that much on my first build. However ill keep that in mind for future build and upgrades.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Yellowhello

IMO, I'd take the Q9300 over the Q6600. The Q9300 is 45nm, it runs cooler and faster. Q6600 is still a good CPU, but maybe a bit old by now (compared to the newer 45nm CPU's).

And SSE4.1 too. Besides, the new architecture overclocks very well, although honestly I don't like the "low" multiplier either.

[azianai]

well if you're not OCing, then the Q9300 is the one to get over the Q6600. Just the benchmarks/reviews i've seen show the Q9300 doesn't OC as well as the Q6600, so if you're looking towards that end i'd pass on it.