New Core 2 Duo Setup

[Addikt]

Alright, so I have been awaiting the release of this chip and so far I have been able to find some decent pricing. What I am looking at now is pretty much what was primo stuff at the beginning of the year and getting it now. My budget is around $1500 CDN, with the exchange so high though it's not all that different though. Also, I'm not interested in overclocking at this point, I might be in the future, but right now I'm focusing on building a system that will run at stock speeds.

I need to buy my products from Canadian distributors mostly for warranty issues and the fact that NewEgg and many other US distributors don't ship to Canada, so just keep that in mind please if you are willing to help and make some suggestions.

Also, I am kinda new to the whole intel thing. With the rumpkicking that AMD has been doing (and their outrageous pricing...could you call it a strategy?) the past few years I have been looking mainly at an AMD build and not Intel. Anyways, I just started yesterday and I'm wondering what you guys think, what suggestions you can make. The price is a little steep right now, so if anyone could suggest some corners I could cut that would be fantastic. Also I don't really understand how memory works with Intel chips. I read the AM2 vs Core2Duo memory article on AT and I've been gathering bits and pieces but still not enough to be sure in what I've chosen. With AMD having an on-die memory controller, memory was really a non-issue, your system would run fine even with value ram. From what I've read this is the same with Core 2 Duo, but I'm not completely sure, so if someone could clear that up, thanks in advance.

So without further ado, here are my first few parts:

$355 -- SAPPHIRE VIDEO CARD X1900 XT 512MB PCI-E
$410 -- INTEL PROCESSOR CORE 2 DUO 2.40Ghz 775
$270 -- ASUS MOTHERBOARD LGA 775 INTEL 975X

For memory I have been looking at these two. But I am not sure if high performance RAM is really necessary. Plus I would obviously rather take the $240 RAM over the $350 RAM if I'm not gonna put it to good use, i.e. I'm not overclocking.

$350 -- OCZ DDR2-1000 PC2-8000 Platinum XTC 2GB (2x1024MB) Dual Channel Kit (OCZ2P1002GK)
$240 -- OCZ Dual Channel Gold XTC 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)

Another thing that I have been looking at is power, I am not sure what power supply to buy but I was looking at something around 500W, you can never have too much power. So far I have been looking at these:

$120 -- Thermaltake Tough Power 550W Power Supply W0097RU 12V 2.0
$150 -- Thermaltake Silent PurePower W0083RU 600W ATX 2.2 EPS+PFC
$110 -- Antec NeoHE 500W Power Supply High Efficiency
$117 -- Antec TPII 550EPS12V True Power 2.0 550W PS
$128 -- Antec TrueControl II 550 Power supply (Internal) ATX12V 2.01 550 Watt
$110 -- Antec TruePower 2.0 TPII-550 Power supply ATX12V 2.01 550 Watt * Support PCI-Express, SATA and SLI Ready

Finally I have been looking at a case bundled with a Power Supply: Ultra Blue Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB, Firewire and Audio Ports With Ultra X2 550-Watt Power Supply. My only problem is that I don't know how reliable the Ultra power supply is. I have a buddy who bought one of these packages and he has had his computer for almost 3 years now problem free, however from what I've heard some, even reviewers have received terrible lemons. Apparently they have really kicked it up in build quality with this new batch, the X2, but I would like to know if there are any supporters or naysayers out there of this product. The combo will cost me around $136 CDN which is pretty much a steal for a case AND power supply.

Sorry for making this post so long, and thank you in advance for any suggestions that anyone can may regarding substitute parts or verifying that the current ones are okay.

 

[nitromullet]

That case is $96 CDN by itself, what kind of craptastic PSU does one get for $40 CDN these days...?

Your rig is only as good as your power supply, don't skimp... Your other choices are certainly better then the Ultra in that bundle, but you can do better. The OCZ GameXStream 600/700W and the Fortron Source Epsilon 600/700W seem to be pretty highly regarded these days, and won't break the bank at around $130-170 USD. The GameXStream 700W was actually one of my choices, but I opted for a PCP&C Silencer 750W instead which is a tad bit more. You can go all out and get a PSU for $400+, but that really isn't necessary... I would think that you can get a nice, solid PSU for $150-200...

...btw... the Core 2 smokes the Athlon 64's right now... FX, X2, or otherwise, it doesn't matter. If you're building new right now, it's a no-brainer IMO...

 

[Addikt]

Thanks for the input. Yeah I can get those, I can get the GameXStream for 140 - 180 CDN. Hmm, well I guess OCZ has finally come out the woodwork, since they haven't really been known for their PSUs in the past.

What's so good about these may I ask? Also should I go 600W or 700W? For a single GPU system I'm thinking 600W might even be overkill.

The fortron and PCP&C I can't find at any retailer in my area, so I guess those are out.

The other problem I have run into is that there is only ONE IDE connection on the motherboard. I want to run 2 optical drives in addition to two older IDE HDDs. For this would I be able to use a simple PCI IDE card?

 

[savvy]

If you're not overclocking, most people can't notice the difference in overclocked RAM.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Addikt
Thanks for the input. Yeah I can get those, I can get the GameXStream for 140 - 180 CDN. Hmm, well I guess OCZ has finally come out the woodwork, since they haven't really been known for their PSUs in the past.

What's so good about these may I ask? Also should I go 600W or 700W? For a single GPU system I'm thinking 600W might even be overkill.

The fortron and PCP&C I can't find at any retailer in my area, so I guess those are out.

The other problem I have run into is that there is only ONE IDE connection on the motherboard. I want to run 2 optical drives in addition to two older IDE HDDs. For this would I be able to use a simple PCI IDE card?

Fortron Source actually makes the OCZ GameXStream 600 and 700, they are identical to FSG's own Epsilon line with a different paint scheme... They aren't necessarily the absolute best PSU's, but there are quite popular and people seem to be pleased with them. I personally don't own one, so I'm speaking from what I've researched.

PC Power & Cooling are only sold direct through PCP&C, Newegg, and Fry's (only the 1KW model at Fry's AFAIK).

and yeah, a PCI IDE card would certainly meet your needs. I assume that you are planning on getting the Asus P5W DW Deluxe motherboard?

 

[Addikt]

Yeah, sorry that's the one that I am looking at. I was also looking at another one that was cheaper, aslo made by ASUS. I can't remember off the top of my head which it was, but I will look it up for you later, I'm kinda in a rush right now.

So I'm guessing with respect to memory if I'm not overclocking then I can just use value DDR2? If that is the case, are there any suggestions that anyone can make for good quality DDR2? Also what speed would be best? So far I have been trying to scope out 800 MHz and 667 MHz RAM.

 

[Skott]

The GameXStream is getting good reviews so most likely wont have any problem with it. I been reading up on the 600w PSUs because thats what I'm putting in my new build and what I found from all the personal reviews of users is that they felt the SeaSonic S12-600w is a quiter unit than the other 600w class PSUs. Now, these are from people that have used more than one 600w unit or at least claimed to use more than one psu. (spent days reading personal and professional reviews) So I chose the SeaSonic S12.

 

[Addikt]

Thanks for your input guys. The other question that I have is regarding how to tell whether or not I am receiving a genunine Conroe processor. In reading an article published by AT prior to the release of the chip a couple of months ago, I read that there might be some problems with distribution mainly to smaller companies and that supplies were limited. The store that I am purchasing from says that it's a Conroe processor, but I want to make sure that I don't get conned into buying what I believe is a Conroe. I have done this before in looking for a genuine Venice core, ensuring that the SKU is correct. Does anyone know the correct SKU numbers for Conroe processors so that I can make sure I'm getting what I'm paying for?

 

[Zinthar]

Why in the world would he need a PSU beyond a high quality 500W one?!? A high-efficiency (80%+) PSU would be more than adequate for any single video card setup, especially when the CPU is as power efficient as Conroe is under load. Overclocking seems to only rise power consumtion under load moderately, and the system at stock with even the X1900XT is probably only consuming around 300W or so under full load.

I don't see the need for >500W at all unless you're planning on running Crossfire or SLI in the future.

 

[Addikt]

So with that said, I need suggestions for PSU, and more importantly RAM. At this point I am pretty confident in my decisions for processor, video card, and motherboard. Then again this is pretty much a cookiecutter build, since not a lot is out yet. The PSU I was thinking that a steady 500 would be more than enough but I am looking for quality reliable power. If the 600W is going to provide the steady power that I need, so be it.

RAM however is where I am unsure, I don't really understand the advantages of more expensive RAM over value RAM. Could someone please clear this up for me?

At this point it's clear that no one really know what works with this new processor. Should I wait it out even longer, should I go with a cheaper priced AMD X2 5000+ system?