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To Build or Not to Build

R

rkline

Junior Member
hello forum people... i would like some upgrade advice.

i work for circuit city and am eligible to participate in intel's accomodation this year. The bundle consists of: e6300, intel® Desktop Board DG965WH, and windows vista ultimate (i assume a voucher for when it is actually released).

problem is, i'm not really ready to upgrade. I had planned to upgrade when software caught up with dual/quad core and vista was released. Currently i have athlon 64 3200, 1gb ram, 6800gt oc, and plenty of hdd space.

Do you think it would be wise to get the promotion even if i don't actually build the new system right away? How much of a difference do you think i would notice in non-gaming (i would use the onboard video until good dx10 cards are released).

so... thoughts??

edit: bundle will be $220 + shipping + tax
 
ahh... good question. Sorry i forgot to mention that important detail.

220+shipping and probobally 7% sales tax.
 
I can get the same deal and I am upgrading. I do have a better system than you right now minus the gfx card. I only have a GeForce 5700Ultra Overclocked of course.. The gfx card is the main reason I am upgrading the system for. I am stuck on AGP which means I am left in the dust right now. I play BF2 and the card I have is the bare minimum to play the game. So I think I will take the upgrade. Not to mention the Vista Ultimate that they are offering is 400 Bucks at retail for a LEGAL version. Even if you did buy the deal..you can sell the hardware keep the software and still make a profit. Now also the C2D E6300 also overclocks very well (with the proper motherboard and simple cooling fan) above levels of the Highest "current" AMD processors right now that cost around 800 to 900 bucks. I plan to get the ASUS P5B-Deluxe for my overclock. Also, if you work at ccity, we have an accomodations for ATI and you can get an X1900XTX for $230. Thats not too shabby. I probably will buy the unit and use my friends GeForce 6200 until DX10 is released and cards for DX10 come out. My suggestion is whether you upgrade or not..buy the retailedge deal!
 
Originally posted by: EagleEye
i would get the promotion and then resell it for a profit so you have more money to upgrade ur next system
Click to expand...

Against the EULA of the bundle.
 
Well, is overclocking something you gotta have? That may be a decent board, but if you can't stand knowing most E6300s can hit a 80% overclock on near stock volts then it may not be for you.

Vista Ultimate costs $400 new, $260 for an Upgrade. So if you are going to get Vista, then you should get this deal regardless.

Edit: I'll add that you can always upgrade to a killer OCing board down the road anyway. It's still be cheaper than buying the parts a la carte 😉
 
thanks for all the feedback right now.

although, i still don't know what i should do. i am seriously thinking about building the system for one of my friends or perhaps for someone in my family.

Anyone know how much vista ultimate will cost for a student? currently i am in college and get pretty good deals on ms software ($10 for win xp pro, 25 for visual studio .net). If i can get vista ultimate for $10 through the educational program it would make the bundle much less attractive. so... anyone know the educational price for vista?
 
Be careful with that TAX thing. When I worked at BMG they had a promotion on these souped up Compaq systems, PC, Monitor, printer et..al. They said that the only thing the employees had to pay was shipping and tax. They neglected to mention that is was tax on the MSRP on EVERYTHING! And we know how inflated MSRPs can be. Needless to say, I ended up paying nearly $1000 for a "free" PC system.
 
Originally posted by: Kougar
Well, is overclocking something you gotta have? That may be a decent board, but if you can't stand knowing most E6300s can hit a 80% overclock on near stock volts then it may not be for you.
Click to expand...

About that... Why would that board limit my overclocking abilities? I was figuring on buying ddr2 667 speed memory and setting the divider to 1:1 (which would put my memory at 533) and pushing the FSB as close to 333 as the CPU will allow (which will also put my memory close to the 667 it was meant to run at)...

I mean this as a really serious question: will that board allow me to do that sucessfully (assuming an upgraded cooling solution than the stock HSF)?
 
Lol cause 333 fsb is small for these new C2D processors. People are hitting 400 with relative ease and some are even hitting 500+ if they get lucky and really tweek there system. Since the e6300 has a low multiplier you need a motherboard that can do a high fsb to get the 80% overlock people can get with them!
 
Originally posted by: cinder
True.. Never thought about that, so be careful on your choice as you can get in trouble. I plan to keep mine btw 😀
Click to expand...

didn't know that. Then I say get it and sell your old system 😀

 
Originally posted by: Raider1284
Lol cause 333 fsb is small for these new C2D processors. People are hitting 400 with relative ease and some are even hitting 500+ if they get lucky and really tweek there system. Since the e6300 has a low multiplier you need a motherboard that can do a high fsb to get the 80% overlock people can get with them!
Click to expand...


WOW!! i had no idea. follow-up question is this: Why can't i just get ddr2 800 memory and run that in 1:1 ratio w/ processor to give a FSB of 400 and an overclock of of ~80%.

How will my motherboard be limiting me? I mean, i know that that motherboard allows for ddr2 800 ram... will it let me put the FSB to 400 or does it allow for that memory by some memory multiplier or something?

thanks again for the help guys. I think i am leaning toward buying it *if* that motherboard will allow me to overclock to a FSB of 400.

so.. anyone know for sure?
 
I beleive there is a whole thread on how and why to OC your E6300 on the CPU Threads you should check it out. People even have pics of what speeds they hit! Thats why I think the retailedge deal is so awesome. Even if you dont upgrade, the board that it comes with is EXTREMELY stable.
 
About that... Why would that board limit my overclocking abilities? I was figuring on buying ddr2 667 speed memory and setting the divider to 1:1 (which would put my memory at 533) and pushing the FSB as close to 333 as the CPU will allow (which will also put my memory close to the 667 it was meant to run at)...

I mean this as a really serious question: will that board allow me to do that sucessfully (assuming an upgraded cooling solution than the stock HSF)?
Click to expand...

AFAIK that Intel board is not much of an overclocker... The Intel Bad Axe board is so far the closest they have come, but not even that one does as well as many cheaper boards. Intel builds stable boards, not overclocking boards. 😉 The average C2D motherboard will overclock roughly about ~15-30%, but you must buy a board DESIGNED for overclocking if you want 50-80% OCs that most E6300s can easily achieve.

I am running a E6300 on a Gigabyte DS3 at 3.33ghz, and I have not come close to maxing out the board or the CPU headroom! It appears my memory simply gave out first... :brokenheart:
 
Wait until kinks in the motherboards are worked out. Never buy anything first-gen unless you absolutely need it.

Seems like your system is just fine right now.
 
Thanks for the input. Based on your input i think i will hold off for now and buy a new system when the majority of software demands it. That's just not yet.... but if i can find someone to buy my current system or the intel one and turn a little profit, well that would be a different story.

thanks forum people, you have been quite helffull
 
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