try to build a computer next weekend

[YeJX]

So, I intend to spend 1500$ CAN to build a computer for scientific computation
Almost no game, maybe Heros 5 only
Then I guess I won't do OC and no need for high end Video card . Everything in Canada is expensive than in US and tax is high.
I went to a store at corner which is not bad and they provide two year labor, I intend to buy everything there.
So, what I found out are (these price could be lower as they just gave me a rough cost)
CPU: C2D E6600 359$
Mobo ASUS P5B-E(Green) about 199$ What is the green? and personally, I do not like ASUS but they recommend, any cheaper Gigabyte or MSI recommend as similar quality?
RAM: I would like to have 2G, will choose a which ever cheaper and not bad quality, while they are showing kingston 667 for 290$ I see in US corsair has cheaper but not in Canada

Video card : I guess a BFG or EVGA 7600GS(while they rec ASUS again) is fine enough, what will be cheaper and okey for very few game ? I hope to spend less than 120$
HD WD250G 85$
CASE: SONATA II 115$
LCD Sungsum 205BW 315$
DVD ROM LG 20$(I have another DVD-RW in another computer)
So totally now over 1400$ +13%tax will be over 1600, well, if I can save money in RAM or Video card or mobo then I can make it around 1500.

Hope I can get help from you guys make it cheaper and highly quality

Thx

 

[stogez]

You could try the Gigabyte DS3 that everyone loves. I think "green" means that the product is made from non-toxic materials and is environmentally friendly. You said you dont want to OC but why? You can easily squeeze performance out of the C2D. I would rather save some money and get the E6300 and OC it a little. No need to go crazy but you can easily get 50% OC.

 

[YeJX]

Well, I think OC will need a better memory and it bring some issue in long time computation as I might need it for long time heavy work
any other suggestions?

 

[gramboh]

Originally posted by: YeJX
So, I intend to spend 1500$ CAN to build a computer for scientific computation
Almost no game, maybe Heros 5 only
Then I guess I won't do OC and no need for high end Video card . Everything in Canada is expensive than in US and tax is high.
I went to a store at corner which is not bad and they provide two year labor, I intend to buy everything there.
So, what I found out are (these price could be lower as they just gave me a rough cost)
CPU: C2D E6600 359$
Mobo ASUS P5B-E(Green) about 199$ What is the green? and personally, I do not like ASUS but they recommend, any cheaper Gigabyte or MSI recommend as similar quality?
RAM: I would like to have 2G, will choose a which ever cheaper and not bad quality, while they are showing kingston 667 for 290$ I see in US corsair has cheaper but not in Canada

Video card : I guess a BFG or EVGA 7600GS(while they rec ASUS again) is fine enough, what will be cheaper and okey for very few game ? I hope to spend less than 120$
HD WD250G 85$
CASE: SONATA II 115$
LCD Sungsum 205BW 315$
DVD ROM LG 20$(I have another DVD-RW in another computer)
So totally now over 1400$ +13%tax will be over 1600, well, if I can save money in RAM or Video card or mobo then I can make it around 1500.

Hope I can get help from you guys make it cheaper and highly quality

Thx

Hi,

1) E6600 for $359CDN is a good deal, it's $389CDN locally here in Calgary and up to $400CDN online (NCIX/Tigetdirect).

2) Asus P5B-E is a great board feature wise even if you aren't overclocking. It has high quality components and will be stable and great BIOS support. Personally, I prefer Asus over other brands but others may have preferences. Green probably means RoHS which is an environmental standard requiring 'less' toxic materials in manufacturing. No impact on performance. I'd recommend P5B-E. It's $189CDN locally here so $199 is reasonable price.

3) Kingston isn't the best quality. If you aren't overclocking you can settle on PC2-5300 (667MHz) or even PC2-4300 (533MHz) as the C2D stock bus is 266MHz (x2 = 533MHz). You might save a bit of money but I'd still opt for OCZ PC2-6400 2GB kit, you should be able to get it for $300-315CDN if you look around, with 4-4-4-15 CAS timings for better performance (may impact your performance in computation intense tasks). Also nice if you ever decide to overclock.

4) Best video card for $120CDN range is eVGA 7600GS, better warranty and quality than Asus who aren't known for the best video cards. You can consider the Sapphire ATI X1600Pro but I think the 7600GS is faster (not sure on this). I'd spend $200-220 (7900GS) on a video card if you ever plan on gaming but as you said, you don't.

5) Get a Seagate 7200.10 SATA2 16MB cache 320GB hard drive, it's better performance than WD, more reliable and better warranty. It is $109CDN, best value for your dollar for hard drive.

6) Sonata-II is a good case you will be happy, good enough power supply for your needs.

7) Move to Alberta so you only pay 6% GST and no PST

Regarding overclocking, if you are doing computation intense tasks, you want to be sure of 100% stability of course. You can run tests to ensure stability, and many C2D users can OC a 6300/6400/6600 to 3.2GHz range without any stability issues, but it would be frustrating to screw up your results because of a bad OC. Personally, I wouldn't be able to resist the extra performance of 2.4GHz (6600) to 3.2GHz but thats me

 

[YeJX]

Thx gramboh

I don't think I can move to AB soon,Have to stay in BC for a while. Seems It is hard for me to reduce my cost. I would try to find a better RAM(maybe OCZ or Corsair). I see lots of people are doing OC but most of them are doing it for Game. In serious computational work, I did not see people in computational community OC yet.
Anyone did so before?

 

[YeJX]

Probably I can choose a 7300GS so that I can save some money? is it ok?

 

[YeJX]

any other suggestions

 

[gramboh]

If you will not be doing gaming 7300GS is fine, but if you plan on doing much/any I wouldn't go below 7600GS level.

Also if you aren't going to OC (6600 @ 2.4 is still plenty fast) save money by not buying expensive high speed memory, DDR2-667MHz will be ok.

 

[YeJX]

i checked some other brands , it seems if I do not OC a FoxConn or ECS around 120$ works fine also , then I can save 80$

 

[AstroGuardian]

Friend, i strongly recommend you don't take the foxconn or ecs. I do a heavy computation myself. I also overclock a little and have no problems at all.

I would recommend ns MSI or GigaByte board for around 150$ and a C2D 6600.
7300GS or radeon x1300Pro are pretty tough cards on which you can save money since you will not go for gaming. I play Heroes5 on my GigaByte radeon x1300Pro/256 and it works great.

 

[YeJX]

Thanks,i will check the price and think about it.

 

[YeJX]

i just checked with the store I intend to buy, as they provide two year warranty+labor (but not cover the OC problem) I just don't want to OC.

 

[YeJX]

so I think I will get Gigabyte 965P S3 , it is cheaper than DS3, any difference ? I am not going to OC it.
and will get 7300GS or 7300Gt or 7600GS, Do not want to put money more as I do not game too much