Building Quad Core Intel Machine, Help Appreciated

[chaos_theory1]

Hello all,

Im fairly new here, might have seen me in the newbie thread not that long ago introducing myself. anyway the reason im here, im building/upgrading a pc from an old opteron to a new core 2 quad.

Im aware i need to get a new motherboard, processor, Ram, Cpu Cooler. I am also planning on buying: SATA hdd, and dvd drive, and possibly a new graphics card. dont really have a budget but i want it to be as cheap as possible and preferably with great overclocking potential. most of the things im planning on buying ive narrowed it down to two possibilities, im looking for some advice, any is welcome.

CPU: this is decided i am getting an intel C2Q Q6600 G0 SLACR

LINK

CPU Cooler: either an arctic freezer pro LINK

or a swiftech H20: LINK

Motherboard: this is a bit of a nobrainer, i preferably want asus, and ive looked at the striker extreme, and the model down from it on scan. any advice here is welcome. preferably an Nforce board if possible

ram: i was looking at crucial LINK

or OCZ LINK

For storage and DVD Drive, i was looking at SATA samsung spinpoint 500gb and an LG DVD SATA DVD Drive (both off scan)

I already have a case : thermaltake armor

and I already have a graphics card (ATI X1950 pro) but i am considering upgrading to an NVIDIA 8800GT and in due coures 2x 8800 GT.

as for PSU ive been looking at Antec True Power, somewhere in the range of 550-850 watts

any help will be greatly recieved.

Dave

 

[chaos_theory1]

sorry meant to post it in the Projects thread, could an Admin Move it please?

 

[Pat123]

All looks pretty good to me. Go for the new X38 boards if you have no budget, and i dont know much about air coolers but if your going water would probably be best off making your own kit but it would be pretty expensive...

For the GFX go for the 8800GT great card, great price.. (Y)..

And how about this PSU?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=684732

 

[chaos_theory1]

I read in Custom Pc that the swiftech is a very good cooler for quadcore. im probably going to go for the arctic freezer pro though. i didnt quite say no budget, its more i dont know what the budget is but i would expect somewhere around 700 max, and preferably nearer 5-600 if i can. that psu looks good but i have a slight problem in that with the case i have, any psu's with bottom mounted 120mm fans will probably not get the cooling they need because there is a hdd caddy in front of that fan (the psu mounts sideways). so preferably a rear mounted 80mm fan is better.

thanks for your advice though.

 

[chaos_theory1]

quick update, i have bought that power supply you reccomended after deciding if it gets to hot i can remove the hdd bay as i can probably fit my hard drives elsewhere.

 

[Mullet]

Get some pics of your setup on here bud. The guys will be better placed to offer advice.

 

[chaos_theory1]

i would if i had any pictures to post, this is all highly theoretical, and im probably not going to buy till december-january time. but i want to iron all the creases out in theory first.

 

[Pat123]

Sounds good to me bud. Should be a pretty solid PSU for you that..

Decided one which board to go for yet then?

 

[chaos_theory1]

havent really had much time to think on it, but i think im probably going to go with the Asus Striker, as it has most the features i want, easily ocverclockable, sli (for future expansion) good passive cooling etc, and pretty good reviews that ive read.

 

[chaos_theory1]

can anyone advise me on a motherboard? well if they can think of one better than an asus striker (i preferably want a 680 chipset)

 

[Brooksie]

Well if you are considering sli try this:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=505256

Asus P5N32-e SLI with the 680i chipset you was after.

 

[chaos_theory1]

AH yes, i saw that, its basically the striker extreme without the lcd poster, and the power buttons on the mobo. well i think it is. thanks brooksie, ill look into it

 

[Brooksie]

np

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=28&FilterCategories=485&Thumbnails=yes

thats the link to all the 680i mobos if you change your mind about the asus

 

[chaos_theory1]

are there any makes you would reccomend? im only going with asus because ive always had good boards from them.

 

[Brooksie]

I reccomend the P5N32-e.

But google the other boards and see what is better..

 

[chaos_theory1]

ok thanks

 

[chaos_theory1]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=509279 <- what do you think of that motherboard?

 

[Toxcity]

I recommend the P5N32-e.

But google the other boards and see what is better..

The P5N32-Es are bloody amazing. I am running one. and I am in love with it.

Best 170 spondoodlies ever spent!

 

[chaos_theory1]

Right, fairly severe update!

i have a budget, its around 400-500 pounds, and for this i need to get:

HDD (pref. 500gb)

DVD drive

(both above are sata not ide)

Processor (definately a C2q q6600 G0)

motherboard (680i)

ram (pretty good for overclocking)

i have a case, and graphics, and psu. just need everything else.

start posting. and help me get the most for my money

 

[ken_shiro]

If you definatly want to do SLI then get a 680i mobo, but if your not then i'd go for the p35 chipset. Will save yourself about £50 and should get better performance. 680i cost's so much cos its the only way to use SLI.

For RAM how about this

http://www.redstore.com/CRUMEM255

Or if you want faster RAM

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=18458

Got 2Gb of the PC2-6400 in my machine and its pretty good (Q6600 @ 3.6GHz)