Yet another conroe build!

[Raibaru]

I've posted a few threads here about my upcoming build. I've "pre-ordered" an E6600 from Monarch that is going to be shipped on or before 8/14 in theory. Problem is I've been reading a lot of discussion on overclocking recently. This is my first scratch built machine and I'm giving serious thought into trying to overclock the E6600. I've only read the review about doing it here and dont know how its done etc etc. But anyway, here is my line-up for my new machine:

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wis...cWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=3373345

The motherboard in there isn't listed in any of the reviews, but the chat channel I hang out in says its actually a pretty good board. Any opinions on the board for the E6600?

This is a gaming rig, but I don't ever really intend to do SLI/CrossFire because there isn't much out there to take advantage of it. By the time games actually start needing it I'll probably need to upgrade again anyway.

So with overclocking something I plan to do but not really having any interest in the SLI/CrossFire stuff, any suggestions on the mother board and ram choices?

VideoCard isn't listed in there because I'd rather buy it at a local store where its easier to return if I have trouble. But Im shooting for a 7900 GTX.

Thanks for any and all help/advice folks!

 

[Soul Colossus]

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2797&p=8

Says the board is a decent overclocker. The ASUS P5W DH Deluxe is the best now, but is $120 more expensive. In the next few months we'll see solutions from nvidia and ATI that might be cheaper and better.

Your RAM choice is good, that's what I plan to get.

I'd get a 7900GT instead, they're better value at ~$270 off newegg and some can overclock pretty well. It won't hurt your wallet as much when you resell this card for the DX10 cards that'll be out not long from now.

As for the rest of your wish list, this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194003 is a better brand PSU and is a little cheaper. You'll also want a good air cooler to go with that 120mm fan. The best right now seems to be either http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835185001 or the Tuniq Tower.

 

[Henny]

The DS3 is getting very positive feedback. It should take your E6600 to at least 3.2Ghz without touching Vcore.

The memory on your list is sure expensive. OCZ's PC6400 goes for about $150 after rebate.

I'd get a Sonata case instead since Fry's has them for $89 AR.

 

[orion23]

For the money your spending on the Corsair RAM, you should consider the GSKill DDR2 800mhz 2GBHZ PC2-6400 $240 and it is known to overclock to DDR2 1000 speeds!

 

[Raibaru]

Well I know the NewEgg reviews aren't worth much, but a lot of them specifically said bad things about the GSkill ram. That's the main reason I was holding off against them. The memory link over at Gigabyte said to use the 6400C4 iirc?

Im not to knowledgable about this kind of stuff and this is my first system I've built as mentioned above and the RAM I chose was one of the best at 800mhz and wasn't sure I should go slower.

As for the video card suggestion I think I will do it. Do you happen to have any links to DirectX 10 reviews and such so I can get a head start on a future upgrade?

Lastly, for the Zalman. I was lead to believe the new conroes were actually running pretty cool and the stock fan and heatsink is what was used in all the articles on this site. After looking at the Zalman it looks like it was specifically made for another CPU and would require some adjustments to work on the 775?

 

[Aluvus]

The DS3 is getting a lot of positive feedback, btu seems to have an issue with CL4 memory. It misinterprets the SPD data and sets it t CL3, which often prevents it from booting successfully. I am only certain of this occurring with G.Skill memory, though it may occur with others. G.Skill is apparently willing to alter SPD data for DS3 users to work around the problem.

Which Zalman? Few modern aftermarket coolers are made specifically for one socket; rather, they are made so that they can be used on all popular sockets with the use of different mounting hardware.

 

[orion23]

AFAIK Conroe is just another LGA 775 processor so any cooler compatilbe with 775 sockets should work for your conroe.

About the GSKill ram, I have the ddr2 800mhz 2gbhz and I will be using it with a gigabyte 965P DQ6. I really hope not too have any problems with it.

I chose this ram because it is one of the best rated out there and overclockable to 1000+ speeds!

 

[bobdelt]

Don't get G.skill ram with the gigabyte. G.Skill has confirmed that it the board wont correctly recognize the ram and will not post. UNless you have other ram lying around to post and change the memory settings.

 

[Skott]

There are no DirectX 10 reviews that I know of. The cards arent out ye nor have they even been officially announcedt. No one knows when exactly they will be. This year but thats the only info we have at this time. Vista got delayed again so there may not be a big rush for the manufacturers to push DirectX 10 so soon. I think its safe to say by Christmas but thats still a guestimate until more info is given.

If you plan on getting a DirectX 10 card when they come out this year I would suggest either holding off on the build altogether or just getting a cheap card now until the DirectX 10 cards do show up. If you go with the latter choice I wouldnt get better than a 7900GT. No sense burning through bucks you dont have to.

 

[lopri]

For cooling, I highly recommend Thermalright Ultra-120. Its performance is comparable to that of Tuniq 120 and you can choose your own fan(s) - yes, you can even install 2 fans, one pushing and one pulling. I've just compared it vs Zalman 9500, and the load temp was like 8~10C lower.