First build - need second opinion on compatability

I'm trying to find out whether all these bits I have purchased are compatible with each other - I'm a newbie to hardware, but the sales pages only list the basic information.

MOBO: Nvidia NForce 780i SLI (comes with built in 7.1 surround sound, therefore, do not need soundcard)
RAM: OCZ 2 GB DDR2-800 RAM
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
GRAPHICS: Geforce 260
PSU: Thermaltake ToughPower 850W Modular Power Supply


Drives:

AOPEN DUW1608/ARR [CD-ROM drive]
LITE-ON LTR-48125S [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

Maxtor 6Y120M0 [Hard drive] (122.94 GB) -- drive 1
Maxtor 6Y120M0 [Hard drive] (122.94 GB) -- drive 0


Also - what kind of wattage for a power supply would I need? Is 1000 watts over kill for this system? Or could I make do with something a bit lower/cheaper?

Thanks!

 

Hello those specs should be ok but have you chosen a motherboard? If you need recomendations just reply and i'll do some digging for you.

Also for Power Supply 850Watt should do.

Hope this helps you out

Cheers

Matt

 

The motherboard I've chosen is the Nvidia NForce 708i SLI, which should be compatible with all of the other hardware I've listed.

850 watts should do? Superb! That'll save me some cash.


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-063-TT

That is the power supply I've picked. Should that run okay with the other components?

Do you think I'll need additional cooling?

 

i am not into amd processors but do u want an 780i board which would be an intel chip not amd. if you r going for a new build buy the newest tech.
intel 920 ci7 chip- under 300(1366 chip set)can oc to 3.8
asus pt6 mobo- 300(best board for oc'ing
ocz 6gb mem 1600 (3sticks) 300

this set up maybe somewhat more expensive but it would be future proof and perform 30% better than anything you could buy with the old tech

 

No you should be alright with the AMD stock cooling but if you end needing additional cooling i would recomend something like this:

::: Zalman, leading the world of Quiet Computing Solutions :::

does pretty well for my intel quad core which is overclocked and it also is compatible with the socket type the Phenom uses.

Ok the Nvidia chipsets that end with the letter i only work for intel so you'll want this nvidia mobo:

NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI MCP

or any mobo that has NVidia Nforce 780a

Everything else is ok.

Cheers

Matt

 

The Core I7 performance over a traditional Quad core is neglibale. Reason being is the it is only a quad coire with Hyperthreading of another four cores. The desktop version will not have eight physical cores.

Also most games are not even Quad core optimised yet so the use of eight cores is a long way a way.

Plus tests of the icore have shown that with Hyperthreading enbaled wwhich is how you get the eight it actualy degrades performance of lower end applications that use 5 threads or less.

If you go intel instead of AMD get the Q9550.

 

So I means it only supports intel? (intel CPU's, I assume?)
What does the 'a' mean?

 

any new build now on a lg775 chip set will be obsolete. buying the 1366 chipset will be future proof IMHO

 

That would include getting a new mobo, and this is the only current motherboard I can afford/find that supports 3-way SLI.

 

did u get a 708 or a 780 mobo?

 

780.. The original post was a typo.

 

The a pretty much just means AMD

The LGA 775 socket will not be obselete straight away because the new mobos and CPUs will be expensive.

I will admit that the icore does have some perks that i forgot to mention its memory sub system is slightly better and it no longer uses a system bus for connection to motherboard devices so it should theorectily perform better but still its performance for gaming is negligible due to the fact it uses a quad core hyperthreaded.

And most games today are not Quad core optimised so i would stick with the LGA 775 CPUs if you go Intel as they are extremely powerful. The eight physical core version of icore will not be out for a while and will aminly be for servers.

 

So okay, everything I've listed should all be okay now, right? Is there any specifics I need to verify regarding power supply?

 

Yeah looks good to me. Good luck on your first build

Cheers

Matt

 

Yep, everything look great. The 780a is a nice SLI option for an AMD processor. But it is also a little costly, so I'm guessing you plan on SLIing your 280 gpu sometime in the future. If you do then I would plan on buying AT LEAST a 1k WATT PSU. But if you don't plan on running that 280 is SLI then I would get a cheaper chipset for your phenom.

And about the i7 systems.. They actually are a large upgrade over the current C2D chips. HOWEVER, they are overly expensive. x58 boards cost far too much, DDR3 still cost far too much, the processors cost far too much. But if you can afford it, go for it. They overclock like a beast, their processing power is far higher than any C2D/C2Q out right now.

 

I certainly am planning to do SLI - I just can't afford two of them straight away, so I'm going to purchase one, and then get another at a later date.

I might have to compromise on the graphics card, though, and get a 260 instead - every time I look at the prices of the 280, it keeps rising and rising. (£200 a few weeks ago, £350 now)

 

SLI'd 260s is still quite impressive. You'll rock 20k on 3dmark06 stock. So you will want to go ahead and upgrade to something closer to a 1000 Watt PSU. You won't need it with a single 260, but with an SLI setup it is a pretty smart investment.

Actually, I'll take that back about the 20k marks.. I forgot you're running a Phenom. But none-the-less it will be an impressive rigg. Cheers.

 

My intention is to make a 'base' build initially, and then gradually update the things inside of it, keeping them all as up to date as I can afford. Sadly, the only reason I'm building a new PC, is because my current one is running on AGP with an older CPU slot type. In order to even upgrade the graphics card to something worthwhile, I have to replace the entire PC build. Ouch!

I'm considering getting a 1000 watt power supply off the bat.

Also, AMD or Intel? I could get the other motherboard, and go Intel, as I'm more familiar with them, but I'm not sure if that's a worthwhile investment.

Cheers!

 

Well, considering that you can grab an Intel instead and overclock it around 100% gain, I would go with Intel. At the moment they are by far the greater processor. Get yourself an E8500 and overclock it around 4GHz and you'll be set. Or get a Q6600 and get a quad core 3.7-4GHz and you'll be rocking for a few years to come.

 

I would agree there go with an Intel and overclock and you''ll get better performance than a Phenom.