New Core 2 Duo System Questions

[Farm]

OK, here?s my installment of ?Please give me advice on my build?.
I?m upgrading components, not the entire rig.

I?ll keep it short and try not to be verbose, but I would appreciate any comments.

My current important system components (I hope you're sitting down):
Athlon XP 2400 Barton OC?d to 3200+
1GB Ram
Radeon 9800 Pro

My situation:
I don?t game too much anymore.
I do a lot of work with Photoshop and some video editing/creating from DV sources to DVD (I?m getting ready to archive all of our home movies to DVD, which prompted this upgrade)
I multitask like crazy.
I don?t really have a budget per se, but I don?t want to get ridiculous with cost either.

I?ve read and researched a lot so please don?t give me the ?just search for it on the forums and figure it out yourself?. I?ve done enough research; I?m just interested in opinions and helpful advice.

My conclusions:
I need a fast dual core processor, a decent amount of ram, a mid range graphics card to ?keep up?.

My questions:
Would the 4MB cache of the e6600 be a noticeable improvement over the e6400.
Can I easily OC the e6400 to 3-3.2 GHZ and negate the benefits of the the e6600.
Can I OC the e6600 as easily as the e6400?
Would the added expense of the e6600 vs. e6400 and higher speed ram needed if I did OC (expensive right now) be cost prohibitive?
Would a RAID setup noticably affect my multimedia work load?

I'll use my current case P180B for this build.

Here are the components I'm considering.
CPU
e6400 OC?d to 3-3.2 GHz vs. e6600 (may or may not OC)
CPU Cooler
Zalmon 9700 vs. Thermaltake Big Typhoon
Mobo
Asus P5B Deluxe vs. eVGA 680i
RAM
Depends on CPU, but something based on the D9 chip as outlined by Yoxxy here
Video Card
Something Mid Range ? 7900 GS, Radeon X1950 PRO, or 7950 GT
PSU
At Least 500W, OCZ GameXStream 600W. Roswill 600W, or PCP&C 610W

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.


For anyone reading this thread later, searching for similar advice, here are a few links I found helpful:

Help me overclock: e6400, ddr2 800, and Asus p5b.
Looking for some overclocking help with my E6400
Core2Duo Overclocking Guide
CPU aircooling roundup
P5B Deluxe: BIOS screens for maximum overclocking success
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator v2.0
Cool and cheap screamers from Intel and AMD
Tomshardware CPU ChartsTomsHardware VGA Charts

 

[myocardia]

Since you'll be upgrading from a Barton @ 2.2 Ghz, you may not even overclock your new Core 2 Duo system at first. They're that much faster clock for clock (at the same speed). I'd recommend getting a P5B Deluxe, the E6400, and 2 GB of PC6400 RAM, along with a good heatsink, like the two you mentioned, although there are better heatsinks in their price range.

As far as hard drives, the Seagate 7200.10's are the fastest, for the least amount of money. A WD Raptor is faster, but it's about twice the money per GB. It is a necessity to have two or more drives, but they don't have to be in RAID. Now, having 4 drives in RAID 0 will speed things up, but isn't really necessary. What's most important is having one drive to capture the incoming video, and another drive for the output of the software.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

I'd get:
qx6700 (lol really, this would help with what you are planning on doing)

OK e6600 then...
P5B
2GB 800mhz ram
x1950 PRO
Seasonic M12 500w
X-Fi Music
Seagate 7200.10 -- anything big 300GB+ (cos of all the dvds you're going to be using) 2 of them or 1 really big one.

 

[Farm]

Thanks for the advice so far. As far as Hard drives, I plan to get two 320GB Seagate 7200.10's. The only reason I thought of overclocking was that an overclocked e6400 performs as well or better than a stock e6700, at least according to THG Benchmark Tests.

This was only at 3.10 GHz too, which seems to be easily attainable by raising the FSB and maybe the voltage, assuming decent RAM.

I realize the new components will be so much faster than what I currently have that the differences may not be too noticable, but looking at those video benchmarks on THG and seeing a 50%+ improvement in time means my video projects would go much quicker.

 

[Farm]

Ok, this may be a silly question, but I'm not as familiar with OCing RAM.

If I go with the e6600, that has a 1066 FSB. To buy RAM that doesn't need OCing, I would just buy 1066 or PC28500 RAM, correct?

If I don't want to mortgage my house to buy that RAM, I could go with good quality PC26400 and try to OC it to 1066 speeds from 800?

How easily done is that OC for the RAM?

Newegg also has some PC28000 RAM (FSB 1000) for a good price right now, $279.99 after rebate
Thanks.

 

[n7]

C2D FSB is 266 MHz quad pumped (266 x 4 = 1066)
Default RAM needed is 266 MHz (DDR2-533)

On a budget?
E6400/E6300 (these will reach 3300-3500 MHz at the max)

Not so much?
E6600 (will hit 3300-3700 max)

As for RAM, all you need is decent D9 DDR2-667/800
Don't even consider wasting money on the DDR2-1066 stuff, as it's just that, a waste unless you love throwing tons of money away.

Team Group DDR2-667/800 are my fave kits to recommend, but you can grab pretty much anything in Yoxxy's thread, & you'll get at least DDR2-1000+ speeds out of all of them.

For an E6300 to do 3200 MHz, you need DDR2-916+
E6400 would only need DDR2-800 (or for the 4:5 ratio, DDR2-1000)
E6600 - DDR2-712 (or for 4:5), DDR2-890

Mobo - get the P5B Deluxe

PSU - Corsair HX520W (very quiet & absolutely solid - see jonnyguru.com)

HSF - TT BT, Scythe Infinity, Thermalright Ultra 120, Tuniq Tower.

GPU - 7900 GS, since you don't game much. It also OCs to just past X1950 Pro speeds if desired.

 

[compressor]

Here is what I went with for similar needs such as DV editing/ DVD encoding/burning.
Encoding video is one of the areas the extra cache of the e6600 helps.
The motherboard is basically the replacement for P5B Deluxe and includes firewire
and is a good overclocker.
One drive for system, one drive for video and one drive to encode to.
Speeds things up in the encoding by reading/writing to separate drives.
Or the could be striped for speed.
The video card I went with is in case I ever do want to play a game.
The case has a 2 - USB ports and a firewire port on top of the case.
The supply is top rated and quiet.
The CPU cooler is top rated (for the price) and easy to install.
All shipped from NewEgg for $1377.

ASUS P5B-E
G.SKILL (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800
Core 2 Duo e6600
CORSAIR HX520w ATX12V v2.2
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro CPU cooler
eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB
3 - Seagate Barracuda ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording) 320GB 3.0Gb/s SATA
COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 case
SAMSUNG IDE DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write
Mitsumi Media Reader USB 2.0 with floppy

 

[Farm]

I thought the P5B Deluxe had firewire as well. I think it's onboard and not necessarily on the back of the board, I may be mistaken.

 

[The-Noid]

P5B has firewire plug that will tkae up a spot in the back of the case, or you can use the front on your case if you have it. There is no onboard but it has the plugs inside.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Yoxxy
P5B has firewire plug that will tkae up a spot in the back of the case, or you can use the front on your case if you have it. There is no onboard but it has the plugs inside.

Are you talking the P5B Deluxe?

It has onboard IEEE1394 (in the back I/O plate spot) as well as external connector on the motherboard that allow for front connections etc.

 

[Farm]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: Yoxxy
P5B has firewire plug that will tkae up a spot in the back of the case, or you can use the front on your case if you have it. There is no onboard but it has the plugs inside.

Are you talking the P5B Deluxe?

It has onboard IEEE1394 (in the back I/O plate spot) as well as external connector on the motherboard that allow for front connections etc.

OK, that is what I thought. I thought the only difference in the P5B-E was something with the capacitors and the stepping of the voltages and bus.

 

[n7]

P5B-E newer revision 1.02G is basically the same as the P5B Deluxe as far as overclocking is concerned.
If you get the older P5B-E, then you're stuck with 2.1V vdimm max, which while still fine, isn't great.

 

[Farm]

OK, I've narrowed a lot of choices down:
Prices are from Newegg and I've taken shipping costs into account with some of the decisions.

Comments are welcome

CPU
E6600 - $309
Pretty certain on this one now over the e6400
I'll likely try to OC to around 3.2 Ghz

MoBo
Asus P5B Deluxe - $182
vs.
eVGA 680i - $250
Not sure that the 680i is worth ~$70 more

RAM
SUPER TALENT (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $280
vs.
Crucial Ballistix (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) - $285
Only $5 more for higher rated RAM. Both use the Micron D9 chips.

PSU
CORSAIR HX520w - $120
I've read a TON of reviews and my PSU calculations call for about 420W. I don't need a 700W microwave inside the case.

CPU Cooler
Zalman 9700 - $60
This is one of the more debatable parts. It's gotten good reviews and seems to be quiet, which I'm striving for. Alternatives would be Ninja, Infinity, TT Typhoon, Tuniq Tower (silly big). I'm not sure at my OC, that it will matter. I'm not going to squeeze every last Ghz out of my CPU.

HD
2 x 320GB Seagate - $95 x 2 = $190
Still the best drives for the money, barely beating out the 400GB versions in $$/GB.

GPU
eVGA 7900 GS - $160
X1950 PRO is a good deal too, but really close in performance to the 7900 GS and about $50 more right now. I don't game much, so I just need a middle of the road card to hold me over until DX10.

I'll be using my Sonata case or upgrading to a p180b, can't decide.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Farm
CPU Cooler
Zalman 9700 - $60
This is one of the more debatable parts. It's gotten good reviews and seems to be quiet, which I'm striving for. Alternatives would be Ninja, Infinity, TT Typhoon, Tuniq Tower (silly big). I'm not sure at my OC, that it will matter. I'm not going to squeeze every last Ghz out of my CPU.

Everything looks perfect to me, except the Zalman. According to silentpcreview, the Scythe Ninja whoops all other heatsinks, for cooling ability, with a low rpm fan, including the Scythe Infinity, and the Zalman 9500 (the 9700 wasn't out yet, when they did the review that I read). I'll find the link for you, if I can. It didn't cool quite as well as the Infinity or the Tuniq Tower with high flow fans, but it was way cooler than every other heatsink tested, with a low flow fan. It destroyed the 9500, by the way.

edit #1: The Ninja, compared to the AC Freezer 7 Pro, and the TR XP-120: link. Note that there are 3 different comparisons on that one page.
edit #2: Well, there was only a 4° difference between the Ninja and the 9500, at the same noise level (the bottom graph): link.

 

[Farm]

Thanks for the info on the coolers. It's hard to find a review that pairs all the top players together AND uses modern CPUs (ie Core 2 Duos and not older Pentium Ds). I remember reading a review that included the 9700 with the Ninja and Infinity among others. The 9700 beat them out for noise and cooling.

Now, I'm sure I could find a handful of reviews where the opposite holds true. I think they are all great coolers and it comes down to personal preference, space in your case, and possibly noise.

Edit: I found the review HERE

 

[myocardia]

Yeah, the Infinity isn't even as good as the 9700, with a low flow fan. I never did find the comparison that I was looking for, though. IIRC, it had all 3, and the Ninja beat them all (low flow), and whichever Zalman (9500 or 9700, not the 7000) was in second place. Oh well, if you're not worried about a 4° difference, get the 9700. It's easier to install.

edit: Hah, I posted before I saw that you had included the link. Wow, the Zalman was 15db louder, but cooled even better than the Ninja, with both fans on high. That's backward from the 9500 vs. the Ninja. Good showing, Zalman. Notice, though, that they had the Ninja sitting upright. They don't cool while upright. I thought everyone knew that.

 

[Farm]

OK, so I bit the bullet today and ordered everything through the Egg. I spent a little more on the case through them, but I've never had any issues with NE as a company and the shipping costs weren't too bad with the Paypal coupon.

Here is the system:

PSU CORSAIR|CMPSU-520HX RT - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$119.99)
CPU COOLER ZALMAN|9700 LED RTL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$59.99)
HD 320G|ST 7K 16M SATA2 ST3320620AS - OEM (Qty=2, Price=$189.98)
CASE LIANLI|PC-A10B BLACK RT - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$249.99)
MB ASUS P5B DELUXE P965 775 - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$182.99)
VGA BFG 7950GT BFGR7950512GTOCE R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$259.99)
CPU INTEL|C2D E6600 2.4G 775 4M R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$309.00)
MEM 1Gx2|STT DII800 T800UX2GC4 R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$277.99)

Extended Warranty Fee: $0
Subtotal: $1649.92