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New Build - Ordering within 24 hours


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#1
kidnova

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Okay, I'm about to purchase the following components for my new build and I'd like any suggestions you guys might have before I place the order. Thanks in advance.

Already have:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119137

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RP-600-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 600W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817171013


Purchasing:
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $91.99   $91.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128059

1 SAPPHIRE 100216L Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $179.00   $179.00
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102714


2 A-DATA Extreme Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVD1A16K - Retail $51.99   $103.98
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820211174

1 Rosewill RCR-102 52-in-1 USB 2.0 Black Card Reader - Retail $14.99 -$5.00 Instant   $9.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820223073

1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $79.99   $79.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136074

1 Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergonomics Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM $21.99   $21.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16823109156


1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium DVD - Retail $219.99   $219.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116142

1 Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7190S - OEM $29.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827118002

1 Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Processor Model BX80557E4500 - Retail $129.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115031

Edited by kidnova, 28 November 2007 - 05:56 PM.

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#2
comanighttrain

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seems a good build. Anything in mind for it or just for general gaming/work etc?
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#3
james_8970

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My only suggestion would to not buy the PSU like I had said in that other thread, but this is completely up to you.
Otherwise this build looks great :)
James
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#4
kidnova

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Yeah, I'm skeptical about the PSU, especially after some of the reviews I've read, but it's free and worst comes to worst I'll ebay it if I don't like it. I will be using it for gaming and general usage although I'm not the type to need all of my graphical setting maxed out to enjoy a game. I plan on doing mild overclocks on the CPU (probably around 2.8) and GPU. Thanks for your input guys.
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#5
james_8970

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No, the worst that could happen would be the PSU frying your entire rig. :)
Also, watch the temps on that card closely if your considering overclocking, mainly due to it being a single slot cooler.
James

Edited by james_8970, 28 November 2007 - 07:32 PM.

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#6
kidnova

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Alright everything has been ordered and here is the final tally. I made a few changes (specifically a better mobo that supports Crossfire, and a factory OCd 3850). I whould be receiving everything by early next week and I'm sure I'll be back to ask questions as I go. I'll also post some stock/OC benchmarks after it's up and running.

On a side note...if anyone is looking for a good price on a pretty good GPU, then I'd check out the MSI card that I purchased. It's a steal at $169.99 considering it's factory OCd and MSI provides a 3 year warranty on their cards.

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Processor Model BX80557E4500 - Retail $124.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115031

MSI RX3850-T2D256E OC Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $169.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127313

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $149.99 (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813127030

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM $31.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827151153

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $79.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136074

2X A-DATA Extreme Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVD1A16K - Retail $26.99 ea (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820211174

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $29.99 (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119137

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RP-600-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 600W Power Supply - Retail 0$ (after rebate)
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817171013
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#7
kidnova

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So, I received all of the components yesterday and put it together last night. Let me say first that if anyone is looking to buy a P35 mobo anytime soon I highly recommend the ABIT IP35 PRO. It was rock solid right out of the box and the features are outstanding. Here are the benchmarks that I've run so far:

Default Settings:
Vista Experience Index - 4.8
PCMark05 - 6255
3dMark06 - 9236*


I've currently got it overclocked to 2.8GHz (raised the FSB to 280 and lowered the multiplier to 10X) and it's running like a champ. The RAM voltage is set a 2.0 and I upped the CPU voltage to 3.85. I've got Prime95's torture test running right now and we'll see if it's stil standing tall in the morning. If so, then I'll lower the voltages to see how low I can get them and remain stable. The CPU has a lot more room for OCing, but I'm not looking to push it to its limits. Here are the OC'd benchies:

OC Benchmarks:
Vista Experience Index - 5.6
PCMark05 - 7366
3DMark06 - 11044*

I know there were some concerns regarding the PSU, but the noise issues doesn't seem to affect my unit and it's running everything with room to spare. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions.

*Keep in mind that these tests were run at a lower resolution than I will be gaming at due to the fact that I'm still waiting for my new monitor to arrive. I'll post updated results when it gets here.

Edited by kidnova, 11 December 2007 - 01:26 PM.

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#8
comanighttrain

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thweeeeeeeeeeet
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#9
Troy

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Still standing tall? :)
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#10
SOORENA

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Glad to see everything is working well, however I would have advised you to get some other memory than A-Data maybe G.Skill or OCZ sinc ethey have better timings which help you overclock better. I'm gonna overclock mine now and see how far I can go, hopefully 3.8 if I'm lucky.

Soorena
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#11
kidnova

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Yup, everything is up and running like a champ. The only problem that I'm having is that when I run CPU-Z it locks up my system, but I'm pretty sure that's a Vista issue and not a hardware problem.

As far as the RAM is concerned, it is actually extremly OC friendly and it's designed to run at 4-4-4-12 at 800 MHz. I read several reviews on the RAM prior to ordering it (even though I got an incredible deal) and they were overwhelmingly positive, but thanks for your input.

Here are some of the reviews:
http://www.overclock...reme_800/10.htm
http://techgage.com/...treme_edition/5
http://www.ocmodshop...x?a=1006&p=2503
http://www.pcstats.c...t...2191&page=5
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#12
Troy

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CPU-Z runs fine on Vista, perhaps you aren't running the latest version? Or it could just be in need of a reinstall or something. If this is the only issue, then I wouldn't be too worried.

That being said, though, it takes CPU-Z a good 10 seconds to load. I always right-click on it and "Run as administrator" to start the program, have you tried doing that?
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#13
kidnova

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Well, it loads up fine, but within 5 minutes of running CPU-Z my system freezes. I can't duplicate the issue with any other program or applications, so I may try a reinstall.
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#14
kidnova

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Well, I've played around with the overclocking the system a bit more and made some changes. First off, let me tell you that everything I've read about the ease of oveclocking the e4x00 CPUs has proven true with my setup. I was initially having problems pushing the FSB above 300 no matter how low I dropped the multiplier. Well, it turns out that for Vista to recognize the lower multiplier I had to disable enhanced speed stepping in the bios. So, while I thought I was lowering the multiplier, it was actually still running at 11x which was effectively overclocking it to 3.3 GHz. I'm sure the CPU can handle that speed, but not at the low voltage I was running it at.

Anyways, once I disabled speedstepping in the bios I was able to raise the FSB to 333 and drop the multiplier to 9X giving an effective speed of 3GHz while having the voltage set on 3.75. It runs around 25C at idle and 45C under load while running Prime95. I'm running my RAM at 800MHz with 2.0 volts and 4-4-4-12 timings and my PCMark05 score is up to 8011.

All in all, I'd say I'm 100% satisfied with all of the components I decided on. On a side note, CPU-Z is still giving me problems and I'm at a loss as to the issue. CrystalCPUID runs fine however.
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#15
stettybet0

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I'm a bit confused as to why your CPU hasn't exploded. It has a VID Voltage Range of 0.85V-1.5V, yet you say you are running it at 3.75V!
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