New Rig for Jan 2008 Birthday. Please Help with Spec Advice...

R

Resonance456

Geek Trainee
Hi all,

Basically I am going to be buying, or building a new rig ready and waiting for my birthday in Jan of 2008. However, new components and other sorts have come to my attention and I just need a little help with finding the right specs.

1) RAM: Is it better to stick with DDR2 or just up it to DDR3? and if DDR3, which speed; 1066, 1333 or higher?

2) Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.0Ghz or the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40Ghz... or ultimately, go for the new AMD Phenom?

3) Motherboards: I know if I go for Intel I will need a socket 775 mobo, with P35? I am not sure what this Intel P35 is? also, what form factor will the mobo need to be, or is best to be; ATX, MTX or anything else? I thought about getting an EVGA, or Asus 680i mobo (is this any good)?

4) Any recommended casings, or PSU's would be great.

I will most likely be getting an EVGA 8800GT SSC gfx card @ 512MB.

Thank you to all for any help. It is much appreciated. I haven't had anything new for a while lol so I am quite excited about getting a new comp. I still have an AMD 64 3000+ and 1GB ram :( :P

Again, thanks for any help received and for the information. :good:
 
Hmm... OK

1) The question of the RAM is entirely up to you. DDR3 is still very new, so it's EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY expensive. Obviously it's going to be around for a while, but if the price doesn't go down soon DDR2 will be around for a while, too. So it's price vs. longevity. If you are a little crunched for cash get some nice DDR2.

2) The proc is also based on money. If you are strapped like most of us you will actually want to go for an E2xxx series and overclock it. Otherwise I would go for the E6850. If money is not really an object the Q6600 will overclock over 3.0GHz quite easily and would make an insane rigg.

3) The mobo is pretty much determined by you video card choice. If you plan on going with a single 8800GT then go with the p35 chipset board. It is the best overclocker. If you plan on using two Nvidia cards in SLI on a later date go with the 680i chipset. EVGA and ASUS aren't my favorite companies, but basically all you will find around for the 680i chipset is going to be the reference board. Either should be fine.

4) The PSU is extremely important. I would let Big B answer about that as his knowledge of PSUs is much more impressive than my own.

Any questions just ask!
 
Thanks for the reply gazaway!

In general i do not plan to overclock. although it is a possibility, it is highly unlikely as it is something I am not too keen on.

In regards to RAM, I guess I may aswell just go for DDR3 as I though I would be spending the same amount of money on DDR2 ram (i didn't realise prices dropped so much :P) - although I am still not sure and will make a separate thread on this for a wider consensus. I think I will do this for the processor as well, although I do agree with you in general.

in terms of mobo I am still confused - I know from the start I won't have a duel SLI setup, although I would like to leave room just in case. will any mobo take ddr3 ram or do i have to look for special specs? and do i need to make sure it is p35?

PSU's i remember talking to big B about once - I think i settled for a hiper unit.

i found a really nice case too : CoolerMaster Stacker 830 Evolution - Nvidia Special Edition (No PSU)

thnx for all the help again.
 
DDR2 and DDR3 are incompatible. While they're both 240-pin, they're keyed so you can't interchange them with each other or even DDR.

Depending on the deals around, it's not impossible to find 2GB of DDR2 for under $100 USD, so it's quite cheap. DDR3 is out there, but not that cheap, and very, very few motherboards support the stuff. I could be wrong, but I haven't seen any much below $300 US.

If you want SLI you must have a chipset that nVidia allows to work with SLI: the nForce 650i, 680i, or the new 780i. SLI can work on other platforms, but nVidia does not allow this at the driver level.
 
hey big b,

well thnx for the advice again bro :good:

to start with i am pretty sure i won't be having a duel sli setup - knowing me i wont bother setting up two gfx cards... i'll just straight up buy one top of the range one:P

do u know what or if there are any mobos compatible with nvidia 9 series cards? i know this may be a little early to ask, but will they work on current mobos?

again, in regards to DDR2 v DDR3, i dont mind the cost too much of DDR3 - although I have found very good priced, top spec DDR2 RAM components for half the price :P

the reason i am thinking of DDR3 is because i am thinking of going Quad core with the Q6700 to future proof myself as i here that more and more softwares and games are now being programmed with multi threading in mind and use of quad cores as compared to the current use of duel cores only - is this right?

basically i am trying to future proof my self in terms of RAM and Processor. am i going about this the right or wrong way? any help in regards to all of this would be great.

I mean what do u think, go for duel or quad core? i was thinking either the E6850, Q6600, or Q6700... what u think?

thnx again for the help.
 
are u saying that ddr3 wood b better for an SLI setup because it is more powerful?

although @ first i wont have SLI, i still want the room for it, so i am thinking if i buy a mobo with DDR2, i wont ever b able to upgrade to DDR3 without getting a new mobo... but i spose its not that bit a problem?

who are best for mobos? i currently have an MSI and have never updated the bois because the way they do it is difficult and i am worried bout getting the wrong one and killing my comp lol!
 
DDR3 is not better than DDR2 in any regards of SLI. Either will not see a boost in performance. If you do plan on going into an SLI configuration later than you are going to want to get a motherboard with a 680i or 780i chipset.
 
If you don't mind me asking - how much would a PC like that cost you to build ? -

You can tell me to get lost if you want.

Cheers
 
gazaway said:
DDR3 is not better than DDR2 in any regards of SLI. Either will not see a boost in performance. If you do plan on going into an SLI configuration later than you are going to want to get a motherboard with a 680i or 780i chipset.
Click to expand...

umm, thats good to know lol :P well, i think as far as it goes for now, the 780i mobo, although good with its improved specs, maybe a little more than i can chew, especially in regards to a 3x sli setup :P i don't want to spend much more on the mobo than i have to if the 3rd PCI-E slot'll bump up the price... i definitely know i won't use it, and by the time i decide to, i'll most likely have a new comp lol!:P

thanks for the help tho, much appreciated :good:
 
gonk123 said:
If you don't mind me asking - how much would a PC like that cost you to build ? -

You can tell me to get lost if you want.

Cheers
Click to expand...

lol nah, its cool to ask man - i dunno really, roughly about £1500 give or take.

depends on where you get the parts and the quality of them... its all about a strong build, u spend more, you get more.
 
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