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Intel Q6600-based build for creative pro: your thoughts?

Y

York

Junior Member
I am a professional photographer and graphic designer. I'm planning on returning to Mac once the new desktops come out, but my 5-year-old homebuilt AMD XP 2200+ system needs to be replaced before then.

I'd like to build a new PC tower for around $1000 that may not be state-of-the-art, but is future-proof enough to still be a good secondary system 3 years from now. I mostly multitask and work in Adobe CS3, but if I use 3D apps like Maya or video games like COD4, I'd like the system to have sufficient processing and graphics horsepower.

I'd appreciate any advice you'd have on improving the following list of components without significantly raising the cost.

Also, if you notice anything I might have missed (incompatibilities? thermal paste? etc.), please let me know. Thanks for your input.

  • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
  • ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
  • ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
  • EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (After reading the Attention System Builders sticky post in this forum, I'm also considering an ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail)
  • G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
  • Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
  • OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail (After reading the Attention System Builders sticky post in this forum, I'm also considering a PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, CB, TUV - Retail)
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
  • Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
  • Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail
 
I do a lot of 3d animation as well, and a Q6600 (I'm at 3GHz) with 4gb of RAM has suited me just fine. What used to take about 37 minutes to render on my old p4 3ghz, now takes about 3 minutes, if that. Provides plenty of horse power at a really great price.
 
Swap the 8800GT with the ATI 4850 like you're contemplating, it's a better card. I'd probably use two WD Caviar 640GB drives instead of the 1TB drive; they're quite a bit faster.

If your budget can stretch to the Q9300 I'd say get that over the Q6600, but you'll be very happy with either.
 
DDR2-1066 doesn't offer you anything with a Q6600, so don't pay the price premium. DDR2-800 will do just as well, even if you decide to overclock. I don't recommend the PCP&C 610W if it's the model I'm thinking of, as it uses an 80mm fan. That makes it noisier than other supplies in its class which use slower-moving 120mm fans.

An anti-static strap isn't really necessary, but if it gives you peace of mind that's worth something.
 
Based on the helpful feedback from forum members and some additional research, I've changed out the motherboard, memory, CPU fan, and video card.

The current list of components I plan to purchase this coming week includes:

  • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
  • XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
  • XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail
  • OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR800C44GK - Retail
  • ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
  • Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
  • ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
  • PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
  • Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I expect to make these purchases by the beginning of next week, so your last-minute suggestions for refining this system are appreciated.
 
On Newegg both the PC&C 610W and 650W Corsair are $110 and both have free shipping. The PC&C comes with a $30 MIR while the Corsair comes with a $20 MIR. Either power supply is going to be perfectly fine.

York, is there something you like about the Asus P5Q-E that the Asus P5Q or P5Q Pro doesn't have? You might save a little bit of money if you don't need the eSata, PCI-E x4, and dual LAN ports of the P5QL-E.
 
I don't need dual LANs, so the P5Q or P5Q Pro may work for me. What makes the Pro board different from the P5Q? (Asus' website doesn't explain the differences of the boards very well.)

The 120mm fan of the Corsair, compared to the 80mm fan on the PC&C, is appealing. The fan is on the bottom of the PSU, however, and in the Antec 900, the PSU mounts in the bottom of the case. Thus the fan would be blocked by the case bottom, unless I can mount the PSU upside down. Is that possible, and if so, is it okay for the health and functionality of the PSU?

As for memory, these MBs support DDR2 1200. DSF, do you still recommend DDR2 800?

Thanks all for your input.
 
Yes. The Q6600's 9x multiplier means that even if you do overclock, DDR2-800 is fast enough to push the chip to its limits. Anything faster is a waste of money, especially DDR2-1066 or DDR2-1200.
 
Originally posted by: York
I don't need dual LANs, so the P5Q or P5Q Pro may work for me. What makes the Pro board different from the P5Q? (Asus' website doesn't explain the differences of the boards very well.)

The 120mm fan of the Corsair, compared to the 80mm fan on the PC&C, is appealing. The fan is on the bottom of the PSU, however, and in the Antec 900, the PSU mounts in the bottom of the case. Thus the fan would be blocked by the case bottom, unless I can mount the PSU upside down. Is that possible, and if so, is it okay for the health and functionality of the PSU?
Click to expand...

The P5Q Pro has two PCI-E x16 slots. With a single card, one slot runs at the full x16 speed, but with dual cards both slots will run at x8 speed each. That P5Q only has one PCI-E x16 slot, and this is pretty much the biggest difference, although the P5Q Pro has an extra PCI-E x1 slot while having one less PCI slot.

I don't own the Antec Nine Hundred, but it does indeed look like you can mount the PSU upside down.
 
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