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System Build plans

T

tvickanderson

Junior Member
Hello there, long time lurker - but I lost my login credentials, so I had to create a new account. I have been reading the forums for years and have always been able to glean a lot of good knowledge from the members here. I am replacing my slightly outdated C2D system and giving it to my wife while building a new machine for myself. I decided to go for a 45nm Wolfdale instead of the i7 because I couldn't break the bank that much, but I did decide to go for the fastest C2D. I just want to make run my build plans by the members of the forums here so as to ensure that I have made some wise choices.

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz LGA 775 65W BX80570E8600

Hard Drives
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD Drive
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q

Memory
( 2 sets, so 8GB here) A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Should I be able to overclock my E8600 to ~ 4 Ghz with these sticks, or should I get different memory? I was really lost on the memory, I want to overclock but I also want at least 4+ GBs, so I thought 8GB would be good. Will 4 sticks limit my overclock, and should I go DDR2 1066?

Case
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Motherboard
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Power Supply
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT 650W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Video Card
SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
OS
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD

I don't plan on changing the motherboard, and my next machine will be using Windows 7, so I assume this distribution of Vista will be fine for me?

I appreciate any input you all can give before I pull the trigger.

-T

 
Memory
( 2 sets, so 8GB here) A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Should I be able to overclock my E8600 to ~ 4 Ghz with these sticks, or should I get different memory? I was really lost on the memory, I want to overclock but I also want at least 4+ GBs, so I thought 8GB would be good. Will 4 sticks limit my overclock, and should I go DDR2 1066?

yea u should get the 1066 for a little more head room to oc the CPU


Power Supply
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT 650W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

personally i'd go with pc power and cooling 610 w @ newegg PSU

everything else looks solid imho
 
You don't need DDR2-1066. DDR2-1000 should be fine for a little headroom. Even DDR2-800 should be okay.
 
There's no justification for the expense of the E8600 right now. You're not missing anything by going with the E8500, which stands a good chance of overclocking to 3.8GHz or more on DDR2-800. You aren't going to miss those extra 200 MHz, trust me.

It's also interesting to me that someone who "can't break the bank that much" is willing to fork out the cash for an E8600 and a 4870x2.
 
Well, I am in the position to pay for a top of the line Core 2 setup, but the i7 is currently out of reach. I am running a 24" LCD with 1920x1200 resolution, and I figured the money would be best spent on the GPU, so the 4870x2 though expensive will fit the bill. I only choose the E8600 because I was under the impression that when paired with good DDR2 it can overclock to 4.0 GHZ very easily. That would be sufficient to balance the 4870x2, especially if they improve Crossfire support.

I appreciate your input regarding the E8500 - could you tell me how likely 4 GHz would be using a good aftermarket CPU cooler? I would be fine with saving money on the CPU.

Since DDR2 is so cheap I want 8GB, but I can spend money on RAM if I need to save money and get the E8500.

Thanks guys

-T
 
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