CPU woes.

[Laserbeast]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I've been looking at current and upcoming processors for quite a while now, with my eye mostly on the Intel side of things for obvious reasons (overclocking, gaming, etc.). I recently started a computer tech job that qualified me to sign up for Intel's RetailEDGE program..

Today I ordered a Core 2 Extreme QX6850 for $239 (~$800 under retail). By judging current i7 information, was this a good buy? Should I continue to build my system around this CPU? An i7 chip would be awesome, but even if it's not released until the end of the year, I'm looking at 2-3 more months until it's readily available.

Specs of the system build in-progress are in my signature.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Narynan]

yeah, that was a pretty stinking good buy. I wouldnt wait for i7, but thats just me. I mean the cost for the boards and the CPU's are going to be BIG time for the first 6 months or so. The only sway the x58 series or anything is holding for me in non200 bridge SLI. Damn, wishing I had that.

 

[Laserbeast]

Originally posted by: Narynan
yeah, that was a pretty stinking good buy. I wouldnt wait for i7, but thats just me. I mean the cost for the boards and the CPU's are going to be BIG time for the first 6 months or so. The only sway the x58 series or anything is holding for me in non200 bridge SLI. Damn, wishing I had that.

That is very true, thanks for your feedback. Is X58 going to be the first chipset to fully utilize DDR3 with no restricted busses? I know I can get 3 on the P45 (I believe) but it doesn't seem worth it to me.

Thanks again

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Narynan
The only sway the x58 series or anything is holding for me in non200 bridge SLI. Damn, wishing I had that.

Well, keep wishing. According to the latest reports, it won't be available on the first iteration of X58 boards. I'm sure it won't take either Intel or the board manufacturers (not sure who it is that needs to change whatever needs to be changed, to support SLI) very long to get a second iteration out, but until it arrives, it's still a pipe dream, unfortunately.

 

[Laserbeast]

Alrighty, as I said I have the QX6850 on the way right now.

Take a look at the rest of my system though. Most notably the motherboard and RAM. I'd like more opinions on those, and if you have a suggestion about something different, I wouldn't want to leave that price range. Video card stays obviously.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishL...0948&WishListTitle=New

Thanks!

 

[myocardia]

Whoa, why in the world would you be buying four 1GB sticks of RAM? And why PC9200 RAM? Spend half that much on a 2x2 GB set of G.Skill PC8000. It's faster than you need, since there's no way you'll be able to run that CPU @ a 500 Mhz FSB, but it's very good RAM, and won't hold back your overclock, like 4 sticks of RAM will. The rest of the items are about what I would buy, except the heatsink.

 

[Laserbeast]

Cool, thanks for the reply. I've been out of the game for so long I don't even know what's good anymore, truthfully.. So PC-8000 is more than enough? Not 8500? Hook me up with some links if you don't mind, and have some on hand.

As for the heatsink, what would you recommend? I've been looking at the Zalman 9700.. A little too pricey and freaking huge, I doubt I could even fit it into the case I'm buying.

 

[Markfw]

PC-8500 is fine. I think you have the extreme chip, so you can change the multi.

 

[myocardia]

If I post a link to the RAM, 5,000 people will click on the link, and newegg's price will go up 20% (seriously). I'll PM it to you. As far as which heatsink to use, that depends on which case you're planning to use, and whether or not you're planning to overclock. If you aren't planning on overclocking, an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro would be perfect. If you are planning on overclocking, link us to your case, so we'll know how big of a cooler you can use. BTW, the Zalman 9700 is a decent enough cooler, but it doesn't really do alot of cooling with the fan on low speed, so don't believe the Zalman fanboy BS-- you can't overclock a 65nm quadcore very far at all, quietly.

 

[Markfw]

you can't overclock a 65nm quadcore very far at all, quietly.

Wrong... My ultra 120 extreme is very quiet, and I have many @3.3 or better.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Wrong... My ultra 120 extreme is very quiet, and I have many @3.3 or better.

I was only discussing Zalmans.

 

[Laserbeast]

I'm buying the Antec Sonata III with PSU included, and a Lightscribe Lite-On Dual layer burner for ~80 bucks after rebate.. Ordering that now actually.. I know its a smallER case, but its not too bad. I know the 9700 is freaking huge though.. I just want something that's quiet, COOL, and fits

Thanks for helping me through this guys I appreciate it as always.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Wrong... My ultra 120 extreme is very quiet, and I have many @3.3 or better.

I was only discussing Zalmans.

Ahh.... Sorry

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Ahh.... Sorry

No, it was my fault. I didn't word it quite right. I knew I meant the Zalman, but it did kind of read (after rereading it) as if I meant at all, with any cooler. By the way, it would have made more sense if I had said "We were discussing", wouldn't it?

I know its a smallER case, but its not too bad. I know the 9700 is freaking huge though.. I just want something that's quiet, COOL, and fits

Actually, the Sonatas are the same width as all of Antec's larger midtowers, it's just a bit shorter. It's 8.1" wide, which is plenty for any heatsink you want to use. I've actually got two Antec midtowers that are the same size as the Sonata III (well, they're around ¾ of an inch taller and 8¼" wide), and I've got at least an inch of clearance over the top of my Scythe Ninja, which is 10mm taller than the Zalman 9700, and quiter too, according to SPCR. You'll definitely need to add a front 120mm fan, though. Oh, and the .15 inches difference between the cases is less than 4mm, so any heatsink that fits one will fit the other. They make all of these high performance coolers to be able to fit into smaller cases than the Sonata.

As far as which heatsink you ought to buy, like I said already, if you won't be overclocking, an AC Freezer 7 Pro will work just fine. If you want to overclock, I'd probably recommend the Tuniq Tower, because it's easy to mount, and cools to within a degree or a degree and a half of the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, along with being cheaper, since it comes with a fan. Good luck.

 

[Laserbeast]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Ahh.... Sorry

No, it was my fault. I didn't word it quite right. I knew I meant the Zalman, but it did kind of read (after rereading it) as if I meant at all, with any cooler. By the way, it would have made more sense if I had said "We were discussing", wouldn't it?

I know its a smallER case, but its not too bad. I know the 9700 is freaking huge though.. I just want something that's quiet, COOL, and fits

Actually, the Sonatas are the same width as all of Antec's larger midtowers, it's just a bit shorter. It's 8.1" wide, which is plenty for any heatsink you want to use. I've actually got two Antec midtowers that are the same size as the Sonata III (well, they're around ¾ of an inch taller and 8¼" wide), and I've got at least an inch of clearance over the top of my Scythe Ninja, which is 10mm taller than the Zalman 9700, and quiter too, according to SPCR. You'll definitely need to add a front 120mm fan, though. Oh, and the .15 inches difference between the cases is less than 4mm, so any heatsink that fits one will fit the other. They make all of these high performance coolers to be able to fit into smaller cases than the Sonata.

As far as which heatsink you ought to buy, like I said already, if you won't be overclocking, an AC Freezer 7 Pro will work just fine. If you want to overclock, I'd probably recommend the Tuniq Tower, because it's easy to mount, and cools to within a degree or a degree and a half of the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, along with being cheaper, since it comes with a fan. Good luck.

Thank you for your help man. I really appreciate it

Yes I definitely plan on overclocking. I've heard 3.7 stable is achievable on air, so that's what I'm going to shoot for if my temps don't get too outrageous. Reading Tuniq Towers reviews, it looks promising for sure, and I probably will order it.. Some reviews are saying it "barely" fits in an Antec 900. Yikes, lol.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Hey man, what good is this stuff for if you can't squeeze out an extra three or four speed grades from your processor??? I think that QX6850 will be great for that. Such a deal.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Laserbeast
Thank you for your help man. I really appreciate it

Yes I definitely plan on overclocking. I've heard 3.7 stable is achievable on air, so that's what I'm going to shoot for if my temps don't get too outrageous. Reading Tuniq Towers reviews, it looks promising for sure, and I probably will order it.. Some reviews are saying it "barely" fits in an Antec 900. Yikes, lol.

You're welcome. Take any review of anything with a pinch of salt. Take any review on newegg with at least a 10lb. bag of salt. Newegg reviews prove how moronic the human race happens to be, and that's about all they prove. As you can see, the most popular case on the planet, up until the Antec 900 arrived on the scene, has the identical width as your case.

And since there are more Tuniq Towers in Antec P180 cases than there are Intel heatsinks, who would you think might be right about not having any problem getting a Tuniq Tower into an 8.1" wide case? That was said with one raised eyebrow, BTW.


edit: I meant to say "performance case", since obviously Dell alone outsells us self-builders by at least a 100 to 1 margin. Also, the Antec Nine Hundred is also identical in width to the Sonata III, so it's obviously going to fit.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Grain of salt -- definitely. But the frequency count of reviewers is a useful statistic.

I scour through those things to see what "went wrong," how often it happened, and whether or not the assessment came from a newbie.

With a mobo I've mentioned too many times, my friends were saying "God! for the price, that thing really sucks!" per the Newegg reviews. It had 50% 5-star and the remaining 50% bore sentiments of "it sucks in varying degrees."

I started reading those reviews, and came to the conclusion that the 50-50 was a separation of men from boys -- gurus from noobs. I must have studied those reviews as they piled up for two months and every couple days.

Of course-- I just burned out my bleeping Northbridge on that bleeping S******* E****** board last week, and sent my bleeping RMA request yesterday. But it was my fault -- for not attending to NB cooling while looking for prelim over-clocks on this spare bleep bleep motherboard. I think the SLI configuration also pushed it into the grave. Hopefully, the RMA people will have a George Romero type who can sprinkle happy dust on it for a re-make of "Return of the Living Dead Mutha-board."

The other one is doing just fine, though. They were Cadillacs, but they're almost nose-in-the-ground now -- "Last of the Mohicans."

I think this is a tough time to make decisions for spending money on this stuff -- God knows the dough evaporates at the gas-pump these days. But the DDR3 wave is already cresting, and surf's up for the Nehalem and its new socket. Keep paddling for a while, or it's gonna cost you.

 

[Laserbeast]

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
I think this is a tough time to make decisions for spending money on this stuff -- God knows the dough evaporates at the gas-pump these days. But the DDR3 wave is already cresting, and surf's up for the Nehalem and its new socket. Keep paddling for a while, or it's gonna cost you.

I always wait to build until something big comes out. Groundbreaking stuff like the first AMD64, the Conroe, and then the first Quad Cores. Since I did get the processor extremely cheap, I think this is the perfect time for me to build. I'm getting a few parts at a time as I can afford them, with the last one being the video card (HD 4870), so hopefully that'll plummet a little between now and then.

Keep in mind, I am running a XP-M 2500+ on watercooling, 1GB PC-3200 and a Radeon 9800 Pro. I'm very, very long overdue for this, and am incredibly happy to be building again.

EDIT: And yes I do take most Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. Reading reviews there now compared to 4-5 years ago when I last built, things have definitely changed.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: Laserbeast

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
I think this is a tough time to make decisions for spending money on this stuff -- God knows the dough evaporates at the gas-pump these days. But the DDR3 wave is already cresting, and surf's up for the Nehalem and its new socket. Keep paddling for a while, or it's gonna cost you.

I always wait to build until something big comes out. Groundbreaking stuff like the first AMD64, the Conroe, and then the first Quad Cores. Since I did get the processor extremely cheap, I think this is the perfect time for me to build. I'm getting a few parts at a time as I can afford them, with the last one being the video card (HD 4870), so hopefully that'll plummet a little between now and then.

Keep in mind, I am running a XP-M 2500+ on watercooling, 1GB PC-3200 and a Radeon 9800 Pro. I'm very, very long overdue for this, and am incredibly happy to be building again.

EDIT: And yes I do take most Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. Reading reviews there now compared to 4-5 years ago when I last built, things have definitely changed.

Gen-Y or Gen-Z types -- you can tell from their syntax, diction and usage, dude!!

Look at it this way. You ARE long overdue, and parts are cheap now. You might feel "deprived" eventually as this new i7 / Nehalem comes up. I don't know what games you play. But I'm stoked on my E8600. Really stoked. And I have this Q6600 system I've been using for a year now.

Go ahead -- take your shot -- it's still the "Banzai-Pipeline" even if people are migrating farther down the beach. Surf's up!!

 

[Laserbeast]

Alright I'm about to order everything.

I'm debating whether or not to get PC2 8000 or 8500 though.. Will it really make a difference, because the price is like 25-30 bucks less for 8000 over 8500... If the performance will be significantly more, I'll get the 8500.

Also, the P45 chipset will work on the QX6850, correct?

Check out my list here.. I'm actually trying to knock the price off of some of this, so if you have any suggestions please tell me.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishL...ishListNumber=10600948

Gonna order everything tonight! I'm so excited!

 

[Laserbeast]

Update:

Everything is ordered.. Final specs of the system:

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850
Asus P5Q PRO Intel P45 Motherboard
4GB (2 x 2GB) G.Skill DDR2 1066 PC2-8500
ATI Radeon HD 4870
Arctic Cooling 7 Pro Heatsink
Antec Sonata III
Antec Earthwatts 500w PSU

Final cost - $1,078.47 (inc. taxes/shipping) -- That's still under MSRP for JUST the CPU. Bad ass.

Thanks for all your help guys I think I'm going to be very happy with this system!