Need help

[timot]

Hey guys,

i m reali in dilemma choosing parts for my new computer... here's what i want:

q6600 (want to oc it)
mobo (790/x38/p35?)
ram (ddr2/3 800/1066)

which ones do you think it's the best combo out there?? i m not looking for the best, but i m looking for the optimum in terms of performance/pricing ratio....

i dont play that much game anymore, and i m using a budget 8600gt and have 3 ide hdd and 430w psu......

questions above are:

for q6600 (a must), which mobo should i get? i heard the 780/790 nvidia chips run really hot and not worth it unless i m getting sli setup? between p35 and x38, which one is better in terms of performance/price ratio, is it worth it to get x38 on top of p35?

i know ddr3 is reali new, expensive and the most probable ones out there onli rated at 5-5-5-15? where as i can get cheaper ddr2 rated at 4-4-4-12? is it worth it to get pc8500 on top of pc6400?


thanks guys!!!!!

 

[tynopik]

for a q6600 there is absolutely no reason to get an nvidia chipset unless you plan to SLI

P35+DDR2 definitely offers the best price/performance ratio

when people can get the IP35-E to 500MHz fsb, that is more than enough to max out a q6600

 

[timot]

Hmm.. i c... so what brand of mobo should i get?? i like the asus p5k*** ones... or Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L or other gigabyte? or other mobo?

is it worth it to get ddr2 1066 on top of 800?


thanks for the reply, tynopik

 

[tynopik]

> Hmm.. i c... so what brand of mobo should i get?? i like the asus p5k*** ones... or Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L or other gigabyte? or other mobo?

people have had good success with all those. there's also a huge thread in the motherboards forum on the Abit IP35-E with tons of info

> is it worth it to get ddr2 1066 on top of 800?

what sort of OC are you aiming for?
9x333=3.0ghz is practically guaranteed
8x400=3.2ghz is a good target
9x400=3.6ghz is about the highest realistic goal with really good cooling

unless you really want to push the limits, ddr2 800 should be sufficient

 

[DSF]

As tynopik said, even with the best air cooling it's unrealistic to expect a Q6600 to go past 3.6GHz. DDR2-800 will suffice to reach that speed, making DDR2-1066 unnecessary.

 

[timot]

From what i've just recently (5-10mins ago) researched, gigabyte is quite good..... and i m leaning towards the Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R now that it reali supports ddr2/3 and 45nm ... future proof for at least a year i guess.. lol ...

so ddr2-800 is good enough? no need to shell out the extra cash for 1066?i see... thanks guys.. u guys been a huge help to me...

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: timot
From what i've just recently (5-10mins ago) researched, gigabyte is quite good..... and i m leaning towards the Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R now that it reali supports ddr2/3 and 45nm ... future proof for at least a year i guess.. lol ...

so ddr2-800 is good enough? no need to shell out the extra cash for 1066?i see... thanks guys.. u guys been a huge help to me...

Don't bother with a combo board. Again, DDR2-800 is enough to get the most out of your Q6600, making DDR3 unnecessary. Any performance gain would be minimal, and would be far outweighed by a new video card or CPU.

By the time you're replacing that CPU, Intel's likely to have changed sockets, meaning you'll need a new motherboard anyway. That's the time to worry about DDR3.

 

[timot]

oh.. i meant ddr2 1066....

hmm so i should just get DS3L, or a DS3R with just ddr2 slot......

 

[timot]

ohh... and what's with the different brands of RAM? like let's say crucial... they have the black colored ones, the gold ones, and the green ones.. do they reali matters? i see them having the same latency for the same size and specs.

 

[chinaman1472]

Not really. Just get basic memory with a basic heatspreader.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: timot
ohh... and what's with the different brands of RAM? like let's say crucial... they have the black colored ones, the gold ones, and the green ones.. do they reali matters? i see them having the same latency for the same size and specs.

It matters if color coordination bothers you.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: timot
ohh... and what's with the different brands of RAM? like let's say crucial... they have the black colored ones, the gold ones, and the green ones.. do they reali matters? i see them having the same latency for the same size and specs.

No real difference within brands, especially if you're not overclocking. Some people like heatspreaders on their RAM. Between brands, some are lower quality and some better quality. At the moment if you check newegg you can get a set of 4GB (2x2GB) G.Skill DDR2-800 for $90, CAS 5 1.8v. Go for that.

 

[timot]

ahh i c.... just the heatspreader that's the diff... lol....

is g skill a good brand?? i thought crucial, corsair and ocz are the better brands? or any diff?? lol sorry to sound so noob in this... i m not new in the computer, actually i m a computer programmer.. LOL....

but i just left out in the hardware dept after sdram........ =.=|||

 

[timot]

last questions (i hope)

ddr2800 or ddr21066?

DS3L or DS3R?
If DS3R, get the ddr2/ddr3 combo or just ddr2?

i thought memory with 4-4-4-12 is better than 5-5-5-15 right?

thanks.. lol

 

[Roguestar]

Brands can mean a lot at some times and very little at others. In terms of DDR2-800, the entire market is all very much of a muchness at the moment, not like a year and a half ago. Everyone has similar quality memory right now. For what it's worth, G.Skill is well regarded amongst enthusiasts along with Geil, OCZ, Corsair, Crucial etc. There are always anecdotal terror stories but they have generally been good.

I'd personally get the DS3L because you don't need RAID (I can tell because you didn't ask about it). Don't get the DS3R-C that takes DDR2 and DDR3, it's more expensive and so is DDR3.

Memory with 4-4-4-12 timings is a little better, yes, than 5-5-5-15 but you'll not notice a difference in them.

 

[tynopik]

> ddr2800 or ddr21066?

800

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: tynopik
> ddr2800 or ddr21066?

800

:thumbsup:

 

[timot]

Hmm ic....

found this.... is this good?
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 EPP Dual Channel Memory Kit for 84.99CAD after MIR

 

[Roguestar]

Yes.

 

[timot]

Hey guys, i m back.. and i have 2 options i need some input.

P.S. All prices are in CAD

System 1:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ATX LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard

Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 EPP Dual Channel Memory Kit

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GT 600MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card

All for $744.69 (tax, shipping, insurance all included)

System 2:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box

XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard, NVIDIA, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0 & Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID

OCZ Vista Upgrade Edition Dual Channel 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)

XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX 256MB DDR3, SLI Ready, PCI Express, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV

All for $613.72(tax, shipping, insurance all included)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Now, I know you guys must have think the 2nd system is not much better than the 1st one, but i already have a 8600gt superclocked in my desktop now and if i can get sli from that xfx mobo and vid card, why not save the extra 100bucks? do you guys think it's worth it to get system 1 on top of system 2?

Thanks so much, guys.

 

[MarcVenice]

No, SLI is a BIG hassle, doesn't scale all that well, and hell, I'm not going to bet to much money on this, but for 5$ I'd like to bet that a SINGLE 8800gt > sli-ed 8600gt's ... The motherboard in option 2 isn't all that great either and will make overclocking more troublesome. I didn't read all the posts, so excuse me if someone else mentioned this before, but why not a e8400 instead of a q6600 ? Saves you some money, and should be faster when gaming ...

 

[timot]

haha yeah, everyone is saying e8400 is better than the q6600, but i reali want a system that can last me at least 2 years.... and i've heard quite bad reviews about xfx 680i lt mobo....

humm, so sli-ing 8600gt is a no no then....

 

[jterrell]

I'd say get system 1 BUT sell the current 8600 GT and upgrade the 8800 GT in system 1 to a GTS(G92).

 

[timot]

hmmm this is very confusing... so 8800gts > 8800gt? they both are g92 right?

 

[chinaman1472]

System 1 is way better.