Need help for a few question

[northZephyr]

Hi
New to this forum, and new (first-time) builder.
So before asking for help (just a few questions), I'll just throw the main components that will be part of my future PC (still temporary choices to maintain a decent budget)
I'm not considering the auxiliaries (monitors, mouse, speakers, etc.) but just the PC tower.

CPU: Link
AMD Athlon 6000+ 3.0 Ghz

Motherboard: Link
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe

Memory
4x 1G Kingston PC6400 800mhz DDR ECC DIMMs

Video: Link
NVidia BFG 8800 GTS 512 mb

Hard Drive: Link
Seagate 7200.10 250G SATAII 16mb cache

Power Supply: Link
Silverstone Zeus 650W ATX12V Active PFC

Case: Link
Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower Gamer Case 900 ATX 9 Drive Bay
. 1 top 200mm fan (included)
. 1 rear120mm fan (included)
. 2 front 120mm fan (included)
. 1 side 120mm fan (optional & WILL buy: Coolermaster 1220rpm Link
. 1 middle 120mm fan (optional & WON'T buy)

Sound card, DVD, etc. not cared about for now


[]Now you have the specs, I'll ask you pros a few questions that really bothers me

Qts #1. Since I already have quite a few fans on the case, do I REALLY need a heatsink and fans for the CPU or Graphic card? I have NO intention of overclocking anything. If yes, what are the criteria you recommend to look out for a worth-the-money cooling element?

Qts #2. Does OEM products are better, to avoid, or no difference with same retail product.

Qts #3. Did I forget/miss choose any elements or did I pick an unless element in the specs ?

Qts #4. Does the system looks like balanced on first sight?

Qts #5. This may sound a little (or very) dumb, but for the case's front inputs (USB, IEEE, microphone), they're plugged into the motherboard and should work fine right? I say this because my last two computers, none of their front buses worked... :fou:

Finally, thanks you for your patience. Any recommendations, further advices, warnings, comments, etc. are greatly appreciated. Don't forget I just want a great smooth system with a fairly decent budget (~1000CAD)

 

[PurdueRy]

Q1: Of course you need a heatsink and fan...just not necessarily an aftermarket one

Q2: They are identical minus the packaging and "extras"

Q3: I don't think you want ECC ram in your mobo

Q4: No not really. You're spending a lot on a AMD setup that can be bested by a intel setup fairly easily.

Q5: USB is typically a guarantee. IEEE only if your motherboard has these headers(look the in the manual). Mic is a bit harder to guarantee. If you are using onboard sound...usually yes. But I have seen cases where they are incompatible.

 

[DSF]

PurdueRy is right on, I'll just elaborate a little bit.

Q1: A heatsink and fan will automatically come attached to your graphics card. Just pop the video card in your motherboard and you're good to go. A heatsink will be included with the retail box version of the processor. You will have to install it after you insert the processor into the motherboard. If you don't do this, you could damage the equipment.

Q2: Retail versions of CPUs generally come with heatsinks, whereas OEM versions do not. OEM versions of things like hard drives and DVD drives are shipping with just the drive and the mounting hardware. No box, driver CD, cables, etc. are included.

Q4: If you're going to spend $150 on a processor you're probably better off with Intel than AMD.

 

[northZephyr]

Thx guys for you replies, I really appreciate.
Yea, for the heatsink, I meant if I needed to get one better than the one that comes with the cpu.
Anyway, many ppl told to go for Intel rather than AMD.
Im preferential to AMD, but if I can have a better balance with an Intel cpu for the same price, I'd give it a shot. The only problem is that I know nothing about Intel products and how to choose them. So I'll have to do a bit of research.
But can you elaborate a bit more on how an Intel could be more beneficial on my system than an AMD? Does it give more Ghz or anything ?

And also, @PurdueRy: you recommand to go for a Non-ECC memory, is there a specific reason like it will affect the efficiency of the memory?

Thx again!

 

[chinaman1472]

Intel systems are great overclockers. Some E2160s and E4500s can be overclocked to 2.7-3.0GHz without too much trouble, on stock cooling. Done properly after research, it's very simple; just change a few options in the BIOS, run a few tests for stability and it's done. It may take a bit of time to find the sweet spot, but if you can save yourself a ton of cash by doing this.

 

[DSF]

Several years ago, AMD was preferable to Intel because AMD processors accomplished more work per clock cycle. This made an AMD chip running at 2 Ghz equivalent to an Intel chip running at 2.4Ghz or so. (That's just an example, I don't know exactly how the comparison worked out.)

Now, things have swung the opposite way. Intel's chips are faster than AMD's chips at the same clock speed. So an Intel chip running at 2.4GHz is faster than an AMD chip running at 2.4GHz. The newest Intel chips are also using less power than their AMD counterparts and overclock higher.

He recommended non-ECC memory because most consumer motherboards aren't made to take ECC memory. For compatibility reasons you'll likely have to get non-ECC memory.

 

[northZephyr]

Ok, I did some research and read some guide to buy Intel cpu.
I learned there are difference between Ghz for AMD and Intel, but when I looked at the Intel Core 2 E6600 2.4Ghz it costs 270$. And it's only 155$ for a AMD 6000+ 3.0Ghz. Why is there a so huge price difference even when one is way lower than the other?
Also,since intel is great overclocker, but I don't plan to overclock anything, so is there that big difference if I buy a AMD 3.0Ghz or a Intel 2.2 Ghz, for a same price? My friend who has a AMD 6000 says he runs most games great and since Im just a part-time gamer, it won't bother me that much

Thx