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First Time Builder - New Core 2 Duo System

Z

zengonzo

Junior Member

Fellas .. Long time skulker. Been squirming to put together a new system for over a year now, and now that things have settled down with the Core 2 a bit (as well as my finances) I believe I'm ready to bite some bullets. A stream of bullets. Anti-aliased, high-res bullets.

Before proceeding, however, I felt it necessary to consult the anandtech.com gods and their wisdom.

I'm interested in gaming, but also in general computer and media use, so I didn't want to short the processor.

I'm slightly interested in overclocking, but have never done it before and want to take babysteps. I'm also happy to hold back from the latest and greatest and save that for later upgrades.

Haven't picked a hard drive or specialty heatsinks/fans yet .. Figure that can wait.

Appreciate any advice and looking forward to the rebirth ..



Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower

EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400

ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600



Whole package is shaping up to around fourteen hundred ..
 

Heh. I expected at least a 'hey, dumbass, aren't you going to get some fans for that volcano GPU' or 'why are you wasting that motherboard on that RAM'.

Thanks, jpeyton. My mouse is a-hoverin'. Just going to hold out a little bit longer to see if anyone slaps me straight.
 
The build looks good. I would recommend getting a Rpator for your OS and apps and a second HD for your media, junk and backups. Try a 74GB Raptor and a 320GB WD Caviar.
 

Thanks, Boyo. I've included them now. Might as well ..

Wow, SATA drives are as cheap as anything these days. Nice.
 
Very similar to what I'll build in the next week or two (E6600/P5B Deluxe/eVGA 8800 640MB Superclocked/Antec P180/Corsair 520HX). I'm also adding 2x Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 hard drives (bought em on sale last night) and a LiteOn 20x DL DVDRW SATA drive, that way there will be no fat IDE ribbon cables in my case, SATA only!.

If you are interested in overclocking, you might want an aftermarket heatsink/fan. I'm going with the Thermalright Ultra 120 w/ Scythe SFF21E fan (Anandtech tested this setup a few weeks ago with very good results). If you are doing a mild overclock, the stock Intel HSF is fine.
 

I'm definitely going to start out mild and feel it out, see how comfortable I am.

I've never actually put a whole system together myself (plenty of swaps and like) so that's my first goal. I realize it isn't as bad as all that, but I'll feel much better once I've actually got it going.

Thanks for the input, gramboh.
 
Looks great. I wouldn't even bother with a Raptor, especially if it causes you to drop down any of the parts you listed. A Raptor is the worst bang-for-buck item you'll (not) stick in your computer.
 
I'm looking at a very similar setup with the same case. Let me know how quiet it is after you get it fired up. I think the video card is going to be the biggest noise maker in my system though.
 

What are the situations which you would notice the difference of the 10,000?

If it improves overall loading and running performance, I wouldn't mind spending the extra and I wouldn't skimp elsewhere as a result.

Perhaps I can put it off until I see how it goes with just the 7200.

I've been playing with IDE for so long that anything will seem like magic.
 

JulesMaximus,

My current system is a chugging, old, coal-fired heat and noise machine. I probably am not the most suited person to draw comparisons if you are used to more modern setups.

However, I'm expecting the P180 to make a huge difference and as long as I invest in decent, quiet fans I should be alright. I'll be sure to come back and let you know how it goes, anyhow.
 
looks good. just so you know, the stock cooler that comes with the C2D is actually decent. not the quietest thing ever, but you can definitely overclock with it. and leave the raptor out unless you have money to burn. it may get you slightly faster boot times or lower the lvl load times by 2-3 seconds, but not more then that. not worth it IMO.
 

Thanks, ForumMaster,

I'd been hearing that about the stock cooler, so I wasn't in a rush to get aftermarkets - I'll wait until I get everything running and lavish the modest upgrade.

The GPU might be the worst offender.

I suppose I am getting into the 'what's a hundred bucks more' mode .. Time to reign in.
 
Do yourself a favor and get the Raptor. It's real-world, everyday, a little snappier on a lotta things. I was pleasantly suprised at the difference.
Otherwise, go ahead, hit the Buy button and have a great time!
 

OK, so I've only got the CPU, GPU and the power button hooked up and the PB5 shows a blue light indicating it is receiving power and in shutdown mode.

I turn it on and it screams. I'm pretty sure it's coming from the motherboard - might be coming from the PSU. I can't tell.

But it isn't a normal system beep. It screams and I immediately drop power .. What could be the cause? There's so little hooked up ..
 
Originally posted by: zengonzo

OK, so I've only got the CPU, GPU and the power button hooked up and the PB5 shows a blue light indicating it is receiving power and in shutdown mode.

I turn it on and it screams. I'm pretty sure it's coming from the motherboard - might be coming from the PSU. I can't tell.

But it isn't a normal system beep. It screams and I immediately drop power .. What could be the cause? There's so little hooked up ..
Click to expand...

I'm not sure but I do have an unrelated question, does the 8800GTS fit in that case? I've heard that those video cards are quite long and it doesn't fit in some cases.

Read through your mobo manual and see what it says about error reporting. Is your RAM seated firmly and in the correct slots? Is your PSU set to the proper voltage? CPU installed correctly with the cooler firmly mounted? Did the cooler come with a thermal pad? If so, did you remove the peel-off over the pad before installing the cooler?
 

Thanks, Jules. I'm a little perplexed, haven't found any info but I'm probably just stressing myself blind. I'm on hold with tech support.

The 8800 GTS actually fits just fine.

The P180 creates some interesting issues with the PSU cables, but if you are clever with it that isn't much of an issue and it has many more pros for it.

I'm new to the MB/CPU install, but I'm pretty sure I put it in right. I'd used thermal paste and scraped all of the excess off (so I don't think that's it) .. I'll play with the CPU and RAM some ..

I'll update if my situation improves.
 
Originally posted by: zengonzo

Thanks, Jules. I'm a little perplexed, haven't found any info but I'm probably just stressing myself blind. I'm on hold with tech support.

The 8800 GTS actually fits just fine.

The P180 creates some interesting issues with the PSU cables, but if you are clever with it that isn't much of an issue and it has many more pros for it.

I'm new to the MB/CPU install, but I'm pretty sure I put it in right. I'd used thermal paste and scraped all of the excess off (so I don't think that's it) .. I'll play with the CPU and RAM some ..

I'll update if my situation improves.
Click to expand...

As for thermal paste, you need very very little of it. Just enough to cover the core and the layer should be about the thickness of a hair when you're done. I'd use a plastic baggie over your finger to spread it around and again, use very very little. I'm surprised the cooler didn't come with a thermal pad on it so you don't need paste.
 

No, I don't believe that it did. Nevertheless, I'd been told to go with a thermal paste even if it had. I just did a tiny drop and spread it out and scraped up everything I could.

Turns out I'm a moron, anyways. I hadn't plugged in the PCIe power .. The noise was a low-voltage warning.

It's at the BIOS now.

The card wasn't bad until I had to plug the power in, by the way. It still fits, but it's snug.

Don't think I'd be able to pull it off with a shell smaller than the P180, though.

Should be OK from here. Thanks for the advice, Jules.
 

Thanks much, newb54 ..

After a couple of days of use, I am very, very happy with the system, and with myself for putting together. The barrier has lifted.

It is quiet and generates significantly less heat. My old unit would bake my office.

I think the case makes a huge difference, too. Some items are snug (the graphics card), but it is entirely worth it for the design.

Thanks so much for the guidance I have received here. This site is a great resource and you guys are fantastic for taking the time to guide a newbie along .. Appreciate it.
 
Originally posted by: zengonzo
No, I don't believe that it did. Nevertheless, I'd been told to go with a thermal paste even if it had.
Click to expand...

Don't mix thermal pastes and don't put it on over a thermal pad :/. Just for future reference.
 
zengonzo,

I actually just build my first system and it is very similar to yours (see my sig). I am quite happy with it. My needs are very similar to yours, and I am also looking at taking some overclocking baby steps soon. Maybe we can share notes as we go along.

Just one quick comment: the Intel stock heatsink DOES come with thermal paste pre-applied. It is not a pad like older Intel HSFs. Instead, the bottom of the heatsink has three "strips" or lines of thermal paste that came preapplied. You can see the three strips of thermal paste in this PIC. When you install the HSF, the paste spreads itself out. Are you sure yours did not have them? If they did, and you applied thermal grease in addition, you may be using way too much thermal paste. I am still somewhat of a noobie, but I believe this may actually hurt your temps. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can confirm if this could be an issue?
 
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