New build / Socket 1366

the_syco

Right, so I've been told by a few people to go Intel, if upgrading, so I'm looking at Intel, and seeing a "Socket 1366", and wondering is it any good?

Once I build this, I won't have the money (for another large upgrade) for about two years (due to a car loan), so I want bang-for-my-buck, so to speak.

I'll be buying a CPU, RAM, and a mobo with at least 6 internal SATA ports. My 7800GT PCI-E graphics card is still working OK, so I won't be buying a new card for a few months (it played Crysis at medium, so meh). Also have a "Creative SB X-Fi" sound card, so the one on the mobo doesn't have to be anything great. Would like a ATA port for the DVD burner: it works, don't fix it.

The budget, for RAM/CPU/Mobo would be around the €500 mark, but I may budge on that (esp as 1366 CPU + 1366 Mobo looks to equal €500). Probably will try this new hardwareversand thing everyone is on about.

As for what I'll be using this for: gaming. The mobo in the machine lasted a good 2.5 years, so hopefully the next will last the same. It'll have XP on it, and will need at least 2GB's of RAM.

TerrorFirmer

Forget it, 500 isn't remotely enough for an i7 build anyway - and that's just talking about the parts you've mentioned. I especially don't see the point in laying down a load of money for it and then keeping an ancient 7800gt and still call it a gaming machine either.

Just get something like an E8400/Q6600, x48 board, 4gb ram, and a 4870. It'd still cost less then the 1366 cpu/board/ram and be ten times faster then your proposed build with 7800gt.

In fact if you're not really into overclocking or board features, then you could get an e8400/q6600, 4gb ram, stable board and a 4870 for 500-550 euro.

AlmightyCushion

If it's bang for your buck you are after then I'd stay away from the new processors. They're great but you'll pay dearly for it. A q6600/q6700, 4GBs ddr2 and a decent motherboard will easily stay inside your €500 and still give great performance (especially over your the pc in your sig).

Sqaull20

As long as you have a 2.4ghz Core 2 Duo, games don't really care how many cores you have or how fast your CPU is.Fancy Quad cores and increasing the clock speed only bring marginal returns.

I would only get a quad if I was doing encoding/something other than gaming, if its just games get yourself a €75 E5200 and overclock it to 3.0ghz.

Buy for now, like the lads have said is the best moto.

P35, e5200, 4gb ddr2, HD4850X2



Thats as good as it gets imo.

joenailface

i dunno for 100 euro id rather get the 3ghz with a 6mb cache and forget about the graphics card if he already has one and a much much better motherboard, dont look for fancy things you dont need like like sli, dont upgrade your card just buy a new card and psu when you have the cash,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=354387

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=339129

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=344772

thats a pretty tasty machine for 350 or something, you'd probably need an extra 300 for a decent card and psu, thats just my two cents, but definatly what id do in your shoes. Let us know what ya decide

the_syco

Sqaull20 wrote: »

P35, e5200, 4gb ddr2, HD4850X2

Thats as good as it gets imo.

Sure looks nice. What site did you get the prices from, btw?

Anti

the_syco wrote: »

Sure looks nice. What site did you get the prices from, btw?

Komplett.ie

Stephen

I posted a thread a few days ago looking for advice to upgrade my dead rig, but all you feckers ignored it :pac: I too was considering i7 until I saw how ridiculously expensive everything connected to it is.

Anyway, I ended up ordering an e8400, p45 board and 4gigs of corsair xms2 for about €350. It will be joined by my existing 8800gt and hard drives, seasonic psu, etc.

the_syco

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

x48 board

What's the benifits of a x48 board? Looking at these, and this looks like a very nice one, ticks all the boxes, but are any of the others much better?

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

E8400/Q6600

Now, it's been a while since I looked into it, so the ole Duo and Quad core thing isn't totally plain to me yet. Does the Quad 2.4GHz go faster than the Duo 3GHz? Or how do these compare?

=-=

As for the 4870, had much lolz after looking at how my card compared to the 4780 and 280.

Is there any specific brand that I should aim for, when getting the 4870? Will be going for the 1GB version.

Considering Crysis ran smoothly on the 7800GT, I wonder how it'd look with the 4870

jammer84

I currently have the i7-940 sitting in front of me in a box.

I am waiting on the rest of the parts which I hope to be here Monday/Tuesday

the_syco

http://www.komplett.ie/k/kcp.aspx?sku=387435&sku=378201&sku=338086&sku=343980&sku=335615

Club3D Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E, Overclocked Edition, DVI/VGA, HDCP, HDMI
or
Club3D Radeon HD 4870 X2 Dual GPU 2048MB GDDR5, PCI-E, DVI/VGA, HDCP, HDMI
=-=
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz Socket LGA775, 8MB, BOXED w/fan
=-=
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5, X48, Socket-775, ATX, Silent Pipe, DDR2, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16
=-=
Corsair QUAD2X 8500C5DF DDR2 4096MB CL5 ,Kit w/four matched 1GB E.P.P DHX Dimm's
=-=

€1015 or €834 depending if I go for the 4870X2 or not. If I go for the normal 4870, I may go for 8GB's of RAM, bringing the total to €954

So much for the €500 budget... :pac: Meh. Won't be upgrading the PC for the next two years anyhoo's.

€834 If I go for the normal 4870, I may go for 8GB's of RAM, bringing the total to €954. Add a Zalman fan, and it brings it at around €1000

=-=

This brings me the question: which would bring more speed to games? The 4870X2 costing an extra €180.50 or the extra 4GB of RAM, costing an extra €110 ?

Spear

the_syco wrote: »

This brings me the question: which would bring more speed to games? The 4870X2 costing an extra €180.50 or the extra 4GB of RAM, costing an extra €110 ?

Is there any game that needs more than 4gig of RAM? Until there is the 4870x2 will speed up anything else.

the_syco

http://www.komplett.ie/k/kcp.aspx?sku=387435&sku=338086&sku=343980&sku=335615&sku=340274

€279 - Club3D Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E, Overclocked Edition, DVI/VGA, HDCP, HDMI
=-= Only using a 19" screen, so should be enough.
€237 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz Socket LGA775, 8MB, BOXED w/fan
=-=
€208 - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5, X48, Socket-775, ATX, Silent Pipe, DDR2, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16
=-= Has what I want, and is compatible with the Thermalright
€110 - Corsair QUAD2X 8500C5DF DDR2 4096MB CL5 ,Kit w/four matched 1GB E.P.P DHX Dimm's
=-= Using 64bbit XP, so shouldn't need more than 4GB's
€109 - Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM
=-= Meh. Need more HDD space.
€943 - Komplett.ie

€46 - Thermalright Ultra-120 EXTREME, Intel LGA775 CPU Heatpipe Heatsink
=-= Thinking of overclocking the quad.
€11 - Scythe Kaze Jyuni 1900RPM Slip Stream 120mm Fan
=-= Fits on top of the Thermalright
€57 - quietpc.com

€1000 - Total, excluding shipping. May get the Komplett stuff delivered to their drop-off point in Blanchardstown.

game4it70

I wouldn't get that ram as there only 1gig sticks.Get a kit with 2gig sticks so if you do feel the need to get more ram you will have some spare slots on your mobo.Most 2x2gigs kits will work out cheaper than a 4x1gig kit.

Anti

Dont waste almost 500 bucks on a mobo and cpu, thats crayzeee !

Get a Q6600, dont bother with a Q6700 its a waste of money. Also go for a cheaper board, yoru not going to be overclocking the ring out of yoru system so save some cash there. Also, you do realuse that fan is almost 40db ? Thats stupidly loud, and the TR U-120 does not work well with high CFM fans (yours is rated at 110)

Again yoru wastign money on bling ram, you simply will never push them.

Poor HD choice, Go with the 1TB Samsung spinpoint, much quieter, faster and more reliable.

You only have a 19" screen so you are wasting stupid ammounts on money on the graphics card. A 9600GT will be more then enough for such a small screen.

For what you need, the system Squall picked out will do just as good of a job, for half the price.

the_syco

As everyone seems to do it, I checked out hardwareversand.de to see can I do better.

€244.80 - Club3D Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E, Overclocked Edition, DVI/VGA, HDCP, HDMI
=-= None left. No idea when more comes in
€216.25 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 tray, 6MB, LGA775, 64bit
=-= No Q6700's, and only 2.5GHz with 6MB
€213.26 - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5, X48, Socket-775, ATX, Silent Pipe, DDR2, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16
=-= As before
€95.82 - 4096MB-KIT Corsair Dominator P8500, CL5
=-= Cheaper than Komplett
€87.11 - Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM
=-= Lots cheaper

857.24 - Total
=-= About €100 cheaper but with a slower CPU, and the Club3D won't in stock for a long time, if ever.

Decided to pick the options that either were, or soon will be in stock.

€274.65 HIS HD 4870 GDDR5 1024MB HDMI Dual-DVI/TV-Out
=-= No Club3d overclock's, until unknown time. Are "HIS" any good?
€297.89 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 boxed, 12MB, LGA775, 64bit
=-= €60 more, more cache and a tad bit faster.
€213.26 - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 ,Intel X48, ATX, PCI-Express
=-= Same board
€97.81 - 4096MB-Kit Corsair TWIN2X DHX 8500C5DF, CL5
=-= 2*2GB
€87.11 - WD Caviar GP 1TB WD10EACS SATA II WD10EACS
=-= €20 cheaper

€970.72

Works out €30 more than Komplett, even with a CPU that costs €60 more than the one picked for Kompett.

=-=

game4it70, cheers. Actually didn't notice that.

Manties, you're probably right about the bling RAM, but meh. It's a cheap 4GB's. 4 single sticks would save me €17, but this way, I have two slots free (and may get another 4GB's down the line, if I go Vista). As for the WD HDD, found them to be very reliable. I'll pick a lower db fan. As for the graphics card, it's 4 times faster than the current one. I'll admit the 9600GT is 3 times faster, but as I doubt I'll be doing a big upgrade before the end of 2010, I'll go with the 4870.

Anti

Q9300 is a piece of ****, its a terrible overclocker and slower then the cheaper Q6600. tbh you dont even need a quad, a E8400/8500 will be more then enough. The graphics card is still overkill unless you upgrade to a bigger monitor. On a 19" monitor you will not see a difference between a vanilla 9600gt and a 4870x2 hiper XXX OC XL WTF BBQ card. I'd still go for the cheaper and quieter Samsung hard drives too.

the_syco

the_syco wrote: »

http://www.komplett.ie/k/kcp.aspx?sku=387435&sku=338086&sku=343980&sku=335615&sku=340274

€279 - Club3D Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E, Overclocked Edition, DVI/VGA, HDCP, HDMI
=-= Only using a 19" screen, so should be enough.
€237 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz Socket LGA775, 8MB, BOXED w/fan
=-=
€208 - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5, X48, Socket-775, ATX, Silent Pipe, DDR2, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16
=-= Has what I want, and is compatible with the Thermalright
€110 - Corsair QUAD2X 8500C5DF DDR2 4096MB CL5 ,Kit w/four matched 1GB E.P.P DHX Dimm's
=-= Using 64bbit XP, so shouldn't need more than 4GB's
€109 - Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM
=-= Meh. Need more HDD space.
€943 - Komplett.ie

Right, for the same price at hardwareversand.de, I get
€244,80 - Club3D HD4870 Overclocked 1024MB, ATI Radeon HD4870, PCI-Express
€297,89 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 boxed, 12MB, LGA775, 64bit
€213,26 - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 ,Intel X48, ATX, PCI-Express
€97,81 - 4096MB-Kit Corsair TWIN2X DHX 8500C5DF, CL5
€87,11 - WD Caviar GP 1TB WD10EACS SATA II WD10EACS

=-=

The only difference between the two is the
"Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz LGA775, 8MB, BOXED w/fan"
and the
"Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83 GHz LGA775, 12MB, 64bit"
is that the hardwareversand.de build is a bit faster and gives more cache.

Now, had a quick look through the overclocking (at xtremesystems.org), and tbh, I don't know if I'll be doing that for some time to come. I barely hear anything from my rig when it's on, with 3 WD's in it, so adding another WD won't make that much of a noise difference. Unless I find something wrong with the Club3D HD4870 or the Q9550, I'll be going for the hardwareversand.de build.

kaimera

jammer84 wrote: »

I currently have the i7-940 sitting in front of me in a box.

I am waiting on the rest of the parts which I hope to be here Monday/Tuesday

throw up some info when you have it up and running please.

currently have the 920 running at home;

TerrorFirmer

Seriously listen to what Anti's saying, a 1gb 4870 on a 19" is like throwing money into the fire!

You can save money by just going with a more logical video card like option 1 below - which is still arguably too much for a 19" monitor - and if you see option 2 below, also a more basic board if you're not really into overclocking or plan a dual card setup. I have a 50 euro Gigabyte m-atx motherboard in my main gaming machine - rock solid, good overclocker, with the bonus of onboard VGA for when I'm switching cards.

Option 1) Solid games machine that'll tear through any game at max settings
Option 2) Same as above, but lesser options on the mobo - irrelevant really from the gist of what you're saying.

Don't throw away money just because you have it! With the savings you make on the first option, you'd be able to actually buy a 22" monitor as well...

In fact the savings on the second would enable you to get that 4870 1GB PLUS a 22-24" monitor.....and enjoy your games as they were meant to be played.

Anyone willing to shell out a grand on a games machine but stick with a 19" monitor needs to get their priorities right I reckon.

kaimera

Doesnt the e8400 require a bios update or something before it'll work properly?

the_syco

kaimera wrote: »

Doesnt the e8400 require a bios update or something before it'll work properly?

From the CPU's comments:

although I had to download the latest BIOS update to get the motherboard to run it at the full 3.0GHz - that was a simple enough procedure

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Anti

Ah. Name changes are bad. Will take what he says into account more (didn't know who the f**k this "Manties" dude was).

hardwareversand.de
€213.26 - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 ,Intel X48, ATX, PCI-Express
€156.05 - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Box 6144Kb, LGA775, 64bit
€73.33 - 4096MB-Kit OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 Fatal1ty Dual Channel, CL7
€244.80 - Club3D HD4870 Overclocked 1024MB, ATI Radeon HD4870, PCI-Express
€87.11 - WD Caviar GP 1TB WD10EACS SATA II WD10EACS
€774,55 - Total

Komplett.ie gave me a price of €828.02 for the same. F**k that. My 19inch "LAN" monitor was a gift. Not exactly going to say no to that. In saying that, Santa may bring me a 22"/24" monitor, so I'll see. TFT over LCD, I take it? Also, any brands recommended, or to avoid?

The main reason I'm going for that mobo, is the amount of SATA connections. Currently have 4 HDD's, and the one I buy now will be number 5, so I'll need a few more connections. All HDD's are WD's. Never touching Maxtor again. Samsung, I dunno. Don't think I had a bad experience with them, but something at the back of my mind says no, so I won't.

Probably wait for the quads to come down in price before I get one. Dunno. At least, unlike the AM2, there are better chips to upgrade to: after my 3800, there wasn't many to pick.

jammer84

kaimera wrote: »

throw up some info when you have it up and running please.

currently have the 920 running at home;

I haven't done much with it as I'm new to overclocking and this was my first ever build. All I done was changed 4/5 settings in the P6T bios to achieve this. Been running this for two days.



I currently just have the stock cooler on so the temps idle ~45 - ~50. I'll put an aftermarket one on when they become available. Ran prime for a couple of minutes but temps were hitting 95-100 so that won't be run again until the aftermarket cooler goes in.

pubelicious15

I'm building a core i7 monster atm and I've found that ebay is your best bet for the parts.

oh and buy from america because if you look at the price comparison america/europe you will find that its cheaper

Motherboard: MSI X58 Platinum http://cgi.ebay.ie/MSI-X58-PLATINUM-intel-x58-chipset-ATX-form-factor_W0QQitemZ330290358740QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item330290358740&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 http://cgi.ebay.ie/INTEL-Core-i7-i7-920-BX80601920-2-66ghz-fan-Retail_W0QQitemZ380082882772QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380082882772&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177

Ram: 3GB GSkill Triple Channel DDR3 @ 1333Mhz http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-G-Skill-3GB-Triple-Channel-DDR3-Memory-RAM-1333Mhz_W0QQitemZ120340924557QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_ComputerComponents_MemoryRAM_JN?hash=item120340924557&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

thats only a bit over your budget, trust me go for the this build it will last you ages, alot longer than if you build a socket 775 computer.

oh and if your upgrading your graphics card go for the GTX260 Core 216, you can OC that card to be faster than the GTX280, imo the 4870x2 is way to overpriced.

Sqaull20

One of, if not all of them will be caught by customs

I agree with you though, its either cheap socket 775 build with cheap Dual and P35 board or core i7.Its madness spending €180 on an ancient Q6600 imo.

OP on a 19" your not going to need much of a pc to max out every game.

Only go core i7 on a 24", unless your encoding 24/7.

E5200
P31 Mobo
4gb pc 6400
4830



pixmania.ie

the_syco

pubelicious15 wrote: »

oh and buy from america because if you look at the price comparison america/europe you will find that its cheaper

The CPU and maybe the ram may be hidden easily in a suitcase, but the motherboard is asking for trouble.

Didn't know pixmania did computer parts. Are they any good, and any idea what their after-sales service is like?

TerrorFirmer

After Sales = pathetic beyond belief. I have a faulty 650i board sitting here for quite some time now I just never bothered to send back knowing the grief I'll get. Once took weeks for a 'next day delivery' guaranteed item (it was advertised as in stock) to arrive at my door, they refused a refund on postage when I finally rang them and not a single mail was answered.

Their prices are actually pretty OK, great on some occasions, but their after sales stopped me from ever considering purchasing there ever again.

Spear

jammer84 wrote: »

I haven't done much with it as I'm new to overclocking and this was my first ever build. All I done was changed 4/5 settings in the P6T bios to achieve this. Been running this for two days.


I currently just have the stock cooler on so the temps idle ~45 - ~50. I'll put an aftermarket one on when they become available. Ran prime for a couple of minutes but temps were hitting 95-100 so that won't be run again until the aftermarket cooler goes in.

I'm inclined to think that Asus PC Probe is a blatant liar. For my 965 it claims an idle temp of 71C and a temp of 73C under load. The BIOS claims far different values of only 33C at idle.

Spear

I was wrong, they really do run hot, I'm seeing 73C under load with a well ventilated case.

the_syco

the_syco wrote: »

Right, for the same price at hardwareversand.de, I get
€244,80 - Club3D HD4870 Overclocked 1024MB, ATI Radeon HD4870, PCI-Express
€297,89 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 boxed, 12MB, LGA775, 64bit
€213,26 - Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 ,Intel X48, ATX, PCI-Express
€97,81 - 4096MB-Kit Corsair TWIN2X DHX 8500C5DF, CL5
€87,11 - WD Caviar GP 1TB WD10EACS SATA II WD10EACS

After reading about GTA4 needing a quad to run smoothly, I've gone for this option. Will keep you updated.

TerrorFirmer

the_syco wrote: »

After reading about GTA4 needing a quad to run smoothly, I've gone for this option. Will keep you updated.

What a farce. I wouldn't have bothered getting a quad for that reason alone, you really are spending money unnecessarily. It honestly would be the same as buying dual GTX280's because 'after seeing what Crysis needs to run'. It's another exception to the general rule - by all accounts so far a disaterous port eats up system resources with no evident return.