Thoughts on a new setup

[Unimatrix Prime]

I've been using a 3GHz P4 Prescott w/ECS 848P-A since 2004 and things have been alright so far. I haven't been a huge gamer in the past, only playing a few things like Doom 3 last year. Since I'd like to keep up with the ever-changing world of PCs, I decided to get some new gear from NewEgg. I'm awaiting them to be delivered, but here's the run-down:

Intel Pentium D 920 Presler 800MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core Processor
eVGA 133-P4-NF51-AX Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce4 SLI
eVGA 256-P2-N389-AX Geforce 6800GS CO SE 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
mushkin 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Unbuffered System Memory

I linked to the products for thoughts on whether or not the cost for these products was best, as well as if these items are something worth buying. A few days ago, I got the Thermaltake Big Typhoon since I read that Preslers need some serious cooling, especially for OC'ing. After posting all of this, I've got a few questions:

-How much can I OC a Presler with the given info about the fan/RAM?
-Does DDR1 RAM work with this setup? I've got 1.5GB Kingston DDR currently in my system, so I'm not sure if it was even worthwhile to get the mushkin DDR2 or not.
-Is this setup generally good or no?

Assuming things perform well, I might get a 2nd 6800GS for SLI, but since I've never been an extreme gamer, I'm wondering if just one 6800GS is enough for most of today's games (F.E.A.R. comes with the Presler, btw). Thanks in advance for any advice/tips

 

[atybimf]

Ewwww, Intel :disgust:

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

I've got no gripes with AMD, but since all my past setups have been Intel in some form or another, I thought I'd try something from them once again

 

[nib95]

Originally posted by: Unimatrix Prime
I've got no gripes with AMD, but since all my past setups have been Intel in some form or another, I thought I'd try something from them once again

Forget that, AMD FTW!

 

[atybimf]

For gaming, go with AMD. And don't try to tell me you don't game - you mentioned SLI 6800GS's

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

Originally posted by: atybimf
For gaming, go with AMD. And don't try to tell me you don't game - you mentioned SLI 6800GS's

I don't, but I've been reading up on SLI and dual-core CPUs

 

[Bobthelost]

You can't use your DDR1 RAM with a new Pentium chip. You're also spending the money in the wrong place. For gaming PCs you don't want to buy a Dual core CPU untill you've got a 7800GT sat in the motherboard imo.

Oh yeah, and SLI isn't a very good idea either. Using the 6800 in SLI won't be a good upgrade path either.

 

[atybimf]

Originally posted by: Unimatrix Prime

Originally posted by: atybimf
For gaming, go with AMD. And don't try to tell me you don't game - you mentioned SLI 6800GS's

I don't, but I've been reading up on SLI and dual-core CPUs

lol . Well I definetly have to recommend dual-core (have one in my own rig an love it ). But Intel's dual core offerings are far behind AMD's. Intel single core would be fine as long as it's 3ghz, but I wouldn't buy an Intel dual core.

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

Originally posted by: atybimf

Originally posted by: Unimatrix Prime

Originally posted by: atybimf
For gaming, go with AMD. And don't try to tell me you don't game - you mentioned SLI 6800GS's

I don't, but I've been reading up on SLI and dual-core CPUs

lol . Well I definetly have to recommend dual-core (have one in my own rig an love it ). But Intel's dual core offerings are far behind AMD's. Intel single core would be fine as long as it's 3ghz, but I wouldn't buy an Intel dual core.

Then how does a single-core compare to a dual-core? I was sorta under the assumption that dual-cores perform much better than single-cores of the same speed

 

[Bobthelost]

yes and no. They do perform better if the program is configured to take advanatge of it. Most games are being released with support for dual core processing. But you don't need that much CPU power for a gaming computer.

 

[atybimf]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
yes and no. They do perform better if the program is configured to take advanatge of it. Most games are being released with support for dual core processing. But you don't need that much CPU power for a gaming computer.

Exactly. And since he said he doesn't game much, a dual-core should be perfect for him, and better as far as the long run goes.

 

[Bobthelost]

Well he damned well doesn't need a dual core to surf the web.

OP: Do you do anything else that will thrash the CPU?

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

I do some vid/music encoding every now and then, as well as working with images in Photoshop.

 

[Bobthelost]

A dual core will probably help there, but you'll have to tell us if it matters more to you to save a few minutes in DVD shrink or have full eyecandy on for gaming.

 

[atybimf]

I think you could make some good use outta a dual core then. I guess my next question is, how long do you plan on having this thing before upgrading.

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

Originally posted by: atybimf
I think you could make some good use outta a dual core then. I guess my next question is, how long do you plan on having this thing before upgrading.

At least 2-3 years, as my current setup has lasted me that long. I'm mainly doing this now since as I noted in my first post, I haven't been a big PC gamer in the past but I'd like to get into some games soon. Honestly, I've never even played Halo/HL! While I know those games have been out from some time, I really doubt my current vid card (a lowly GeForce 5200) would ever cut it with those and newer games

 

[atybimf]

Originally posted by: Unimatrix Prime

Originally posted by: atybimf
I think you could make some good use outta a dual core then. I guess my next question is, how long do you plan on having this thing before upgrading.

At least 2-3 years, as my current setup has lasted me that long. I'm mainly doing this now since as I noted in my first post, I haven't been a big PC gamer in the past but I'd like to get into some games soon. Honestly, I've never even played Halo/HL! While I know those games have been out from some time, I really doubt my current vid card (a lowly GeForce 5200) would ever cut it with those and newer games

SInce you'll have this system for awhile, go dual core. SInce you're not a hardcore gamer, but are interested in doing some gaming, I'd recommend something like a 6800GS or maybe the new 7300GS.

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

Alright then... thanks for the advice, everyone

Just a couple more things: was the 1GB DDR2 RAM I pointed out a good buy? I know I'd need to buy another to run a dual-channel setup, but I'm curious as to how well DDR2 667 compares to DDR1 333 (besides an obvious doubling in number).

Also:

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Oh yeah, and SLI isn't a very good idea either. Using the 6800 in SLI won't be a good upgrade path either.

So having two 6800s with 512MB of vid ram total won't do much? I guess I should've gone for at least a 7300, but I wasn't sure how different those two would be

 

[atybimf]

Originally posted by: Unimatrix Prime
Alright then... thanks for the advice, everyone

Just a couple more things: was the 1GB DDR2 RAM I pointed out a good buy? I know I'd need to buy another to run a dual-channel setup, but I'm curious as to how well DDR2 667 compares to DDR1 333 (besides an obvious doubling in number).

Also:

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Oh yeah, and SLI isn't a very good idea either. Using the 6800 in SLI won't be a good upgrade path either.

So having two 6800s with 512MB of vid ram total won't do much? I guess I should've gone for at least a 7300, but I wasn't sure how different those two would be

DDR2 only works with Intel.

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

Originally posted by: atybimf

DDR2 only works with Intel.

What I'm trying to say is:

By doubling the speed of RAM (333 to 667), will there be some sort of dramatic change in speed or will things be relatively the same? From what I've seen, it goes from DDR2 400 to at least 900, so I'm wondering if getting the mushkin 1GB 667 was a good a buy vs getting something like DDR2 533.

 

[996GT2]

DDR2 has faster clocks, but it's latency (at least right now) don't give it a huge performance boost over DDR. Also, Contrary to what atybimf said, DDR2 will work with AMD, as soon as the AM2 socket comes out in a few months.

 

[Hacp]

2-2-3-5 DDR2 667 is not fast enough for you? Find DDR that can do that for you plz.

 

[Unimatrix Prime]

I never said it was slow. What I'm saying is that whereas I can load up XP on a fresh install in 15-30sec, would DDR2 667 load things up in less than 10 seconds? Would loading Photoshop take 10-15 seconds max? That's kinda what I'm wondering when compared to what I'm currently using (DDR1 333)

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: Unimatrix Prime
I never said it was slow. What I'm saying is that whereas I can load up XP on a fresh install in 15-30sec, would DDR2 667 load things up in less than 10 seconds? Would loading Photoshop take 10-15 seconds max? That's kinda what I'm wondering when compared to what I'm currently using (DDR1 333)

No. Faster HDs will help with those, but not faster memory. Fast memory helps with things like video/audio encoding/games/any other cpu intensive task.

 

[atybimf]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
DDR2 has faster clocks, but it's latency (at least right now) don't give it a huge performance boost over DDR. Also, Contrary to what atybimf said, DDR2 will work with AMD, as soon as the AM2 socket comes out in a few months.

That's not contrary to what I said. I said it only works with Intel. Which is true. Yes, it's also true that it will work with AM2, but AM2 is not out yet now is it.