System Build Guidance for an Old Skooler

L

Lonely Raven

n00b
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
28
Ok, first off, I'm no noob. I've been building, modding and overclocking since back in the day when adding fans was a novelty and people thought I was nuts for drilling copper blocks to put water in my computer.

That said, I've been out of the loop for a LOOONG time. My system is probably 5 years old and limping along (IDE failed, caps looking like they are going to explode, random video issues that are probably power related). I'm pretty sure I'm only running a P4 2.8....at......STOCK speeds! Eeek!

So I just built a system for my fiancé, dropped $1600 back in May, built around an Asus Commando. I'm really needing to build up something for myself now.

I'm a casual gamer, old skool overclocker, but a bigtime photographer and videophile. So I'm looking to build something with serious photo and video crunching capability, major hard drive speed and expandability, high end video capability (for the photography part), and mild overclocking in order to get the most bang for my buck.

I need some guidance as to what is current, but not bank breaking cutting edge, and would be good for my photo processing and storage needs. My budget...I'd like to stay around $800 for Processor, Motherboard, Memory, and Power Supply. I have a case, PCI-e video card, and dual Dell 20" LCD and a stack of SATA HD already. So what sounds like a good shot for me? I plan on buying next paycheck...about a week from now.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
 
Off the top of my head...

$276 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 2.40GHz 8MB L2
$130 - Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
$175 - G.SKILL 4GB(2x2GB) 5-5-5-15 DDR2-800 F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
$140 - Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W ($20MIR)
========
$721 + tax and shipping - $20MIR


Please list your other parts in detail (model #s) to make sure what we suggest will match your existing hardware. Thanks.
 
I was thinking along those lines, but higher end Mobo.

The processor and PS were right what I was thinking about. Not sure about that Gig board...seems a bit too barren for me. I think e-SATA and an extra PCI-e slot for possible RAID card might be needed....and I am concerned about a single video card vs dual should I go with a 30" LCD in the next year....

Thoughts?
 
What are your existing parts? You just said a stack of SATA drives, so I listed the board with the most internal SATA ports.

The DS3R has a PCI eSATA bracket to convert two of the internal ports to external, at the expense of taking up an expansion slot.

If you want to keep SLI as an option, go with the eVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 and use the 3rd PCI-E slot for a RAID card.

If you're going with a 30" LCD, then definately keep SLI as an option, as long as you're willing to drop at least $1K on two top end vidcards.

I'll ask again... what parts do you plan on re-using (detail description plz)?
 
I have a couple Raptor 72gig drives, a couple Seagate Perpendicular drives, and 4 Maxtor 500GB drives that I'm pretty sure are 3.0. The Maxtor drives can be moved off to my file server and at a later date I can buy better drives for this system.

I don't recall what the PCIe video card I have is...it came out of an HP workstation about 2 years ago...so it's nothing special by todays standards, but it's free and will run my two Dell 20" monitors till I get something better.

Case is just a custom painted case I've been reusing for years. And as mentioned I have a couple of Dell 20" non-wide screen monitors. Older ones, but still good. While I'm not 100% sold on getting a 30" monitor, with dual 20" I'm not hurting for space yet. Once one of the dies, I'll look into video upgrades.

Oh, I forgot to add, I have a Pioneer DVD player that's PATA (but not in use since the IDE ports on my current board died), and a Lightscribe SATA DVD Drive.

Does this cover the bases well? I do appreciate your help!
 
Question:

Will that G.Skill memory overclock decently?

The more I research, the more I like the list you put together for me!
 
I believe the P35-DS3R, P35-DS3P, or P35-DS4 would suffice your needs, if you need that many internal SATA ports. You listed 9 (couple = 2) total SATA drives, so one of them will have to move out into an external enclosure if you want to keep as many drives in the system.

Other good P35 boards are the Abit IP35 Pro, IP35, IP35-E, or the Asus P5K-E. Figure out which one suites your needs best. Remember, the Gigabytes come with an eSATA PCI bracket to convert some internal SATA ports to external, should you need it.

You shouldn't need more than DDR2-800 speed unless you're going for an OC higher than 3.6Ghz. From what I read, the 4GBPQ kit won't OC too well, so they'll take you to 3.6Ghz, but not much higher, if at all.

(CPU Multiplier) x [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed
2 x [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed
4 x [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is useless. Keep it linked at 1:1. These are some common possible speeds. Keep in mind that OC'ing is never guaranteed:

Q6600: 9 × 266 = 2.4Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK speeds
Q6600: 9 × 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << Nice OC
Q6600: 9 × 378 = 3.4Ghz, DDR2-756 << Good OC, near max on good air for B3 stepping
Q6600: 9 × 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC, near max on good air for G0 stepping
 
Ahhh, thank you for elucidating that for me! Man am I out of it!

Fantastic!

I just need to pick a board that suits and I'm set!

Thank you *very* much for pointing me in the right direction!
 
np. Be sure to get the Q6600 from the link I posted above. Clubit.com is the only place I know of that guarantees a G0 stepping right now (maybe Tankguys too, but havent checked lately -- just checked, they're OOS).
 
It figures...the one board I fall in love with, and it's nowhere to be found.

I *really* like the Asus Blitz Formula! But the only one I can find is on eBay with stupid pricing and even worse shipping!
 
Lonely Raven said:
It figures...the one board I fall in love with, and it's nowhere to be found.

I *really* like the Asus Blitz Formula! But the only one I can find is on eBay with stupid pricing and even worse shipping!
Click to expand...

Its been discontinued for the X38 replacement. Wait for it if you want to spend that much money. Though, the cheaper boards with the same chipset (P35) can OC perfectly fine if you don't plan on breaking any OC'ing records.
 
Thank you again for your guidance.

Instead of waiting for an X38 board (unless they come out in the next week), I'm probably going to go for:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0

:D
 
Lonely Raven said:
Instead of waiting for an X38 board (unless they come out in the next week), I'm probably going to go for:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 :D
Click to expand...

I believe it may be coming out that soon. Read around the forums. Someone listed a date, but I cant find it.

I wish the DS4 was a bit cheaper, lol.
 
Lonely Raven said:
Thank you again for your guidance.

Instead of waiting for an X38 board (unless they come out in the next week), I'm probably going to go for:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0

:D
Click to expand...

Why do you seem so dead-set on spending insane amounts of money on your motherboard?
 
enginurd said:
I believe the P35-DS3R, P35-DS3P, or P35-DS4 would suffice your needs, if you need that many internal SATA ports. You listed 9 (couple = 2) total SATA drives, so one of them will have to move out into an external enclosure if you want to keep as many drives in the system.

Other good P35 boards are the Abit IP35 Pro, IP35, IP35-E, or the Asus P5K-E. Figure out which one suites your needs best. Remember, the Gigabytes come with an eSATA PCI bracket to convert some internal SATA ports to external, should you need it.

You shouldn't need more than DDR2-800 speed unless you're going for an OC higher than 3.6Ghz. From what I read, the 4GBPQ kit won't OC too well, so they'll take you to 3.6Ghz, but not much higher, if at all.

(CPU Multiplier) x [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed
2 x [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed
4 x [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is useless. Keep it linked at 1:1. These are some common possible speeds. Keep in mind that OC'ing is never guaranteed:

Q6600: 9 × 266 = 2.4Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK speeds
Q6600: 9 × 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << Nice OC
Q6600: 9 × 378 = 3.4Ghz, DDR2-756 << Good OC, near max on good air for B3 stepping
Q6600: 9 × 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC, near max on good air for G0 stepping
Click to expand...
Good Info. Thanks.
 
silent-circuit said:
Why do you seem so dead-set on spending insane amounts of money on your motherboard?
Click to expand...

I've learned early on to buy a little bit more then what I need, because I can grow into it...I'd much rather overbuy and grow into a system then have to upgrade later when I outgrow a system....which would actually cost more in the long run.

I believe the same holds true for tools (which to me a computer is a tool). I'd rather buy a good name brand tool and not have to worry about it not doing the job, then buy some chinese crap that will wear out or break on first use.

enginurd said:
it feels good to spend money... it means you're making some! lol :p
Click to expand...

That is a good point! My birthday is coming up, and since I'm replacing a 5 year old system, and I'm upgrading my camera...it's nice to splurge on a couple nice things for myself.
 
1361 said:
Penryn is about to be released also. I know this does you no good if you need it now. But If you can wait, it may be worth it.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1225731
Click to expand...

Too far off for me right now...with blistering capacitors and failed IDE, plus random reboots and video black outs...it's time to replace this system NOW.

If I hadn't missed out on the Blitz Formula SE, I'd have put everything on a Credit Card last night! :D Now I think I might wait a week and see what happens.
 
enginurd said:
What features of the Blitz did you like most?
Click to expand...

That sir, is a good question I was asking myself while researching an alternative board.

So...besides the funny feeling I get in my pants when looking at it....um....

I like the board layout. I like all the available slots it has. I like all the various RAID options, especially since I'm going to be archiving photos on it. I like the fact that it uses solid caps rather then electrolytic (which is why my current board is failing), I like that the power seems to be well filtered which I believe is why people are getting such mad overclocks on it...and I like the fact that it sounds like easy-peezy overclocking. While I do want to overclock, I don't have the time to spend beating on it for a 2-3 extra Mhz FSB. I want to spend more time enjoying the system and less time tweaking the system. A little style doesn't hurt either. ;)

I don't need the water cooling, and I wish it had more SATA connectors since I'm going to be doing the best I can to get speed *and* redundancy for my archiving.

While I'm not looking to break any overclocking records, I'm willing to pay a little more for a good motherboard that overclocks easily to get the most for my money overall.

So...do you feel I'm barking up the wrong tree?
 
Lonely Raven said:
That sir, is a good question I was asking myself while researching an alternative board.

So...besides the funny feeling I get in my pants when looking at it....um....

I like the board layout. I like all the available slots it has. I like all the various RAID options, especially since I'm going to be archiving photos on it. I like the fact that it uses solid caps rather then electrolytic (which is why my current board is failing), I like that the power seems to be well filtered which I believe is why people are getting such mad overclocks on it...and I like the fact that it sounds like easy-peezy overclocking. While I do want to overclock, I don't have the time to spend beating on it for a 2-3 extra Mhz FSB. I want to spend more time enjoying the system and less time tweaking the system. A little style doesn't hurt either. ;)

I don't need the water cooling, and I wish it had more SATA connectors since I'm going to be doing the best I can to get speed *and* redundancy for my archiving.

While I'm not looking to break any overclocking records, I'm willing to pay a little more for a good motherboard that overclocks easily to get the most for my money overall.

So...do you feel I'm barking up the wrong tree?
Click to expand...

Yes. Given everything you've said Gigabyte's DQ6 would be a far better fit for you.
 
Normally i would have skipped posting a response, but i saw you were a serious photographer. I too am a serious photographer and looked at replacing a 5 year old system. I ended up with a DS3r and a Q6600 with 4 gigs of ram and a 8800 GTS 640. Now i take it, you are, or will be using adobe lightroom. I assume that, because if your not, download the trial and give it a whirl, it kicks ass. Now my database is over a gig and i have found that when i have lightroom, Photoshop CS3, bridge, and itunes open i can easily lock, or near lock the system with amount of stuff going through it. I am going to add 4 more gigs of ram to my system and probably increase the proc speed as well. But im poor now.

Just letting you know what my experiences have been and where i feel i need to go with my system.

oh yea im using VISTA x64 home premium

good luck
 
Hollow4 said:
Normally i would have skipped posting a response, but i saw you were a serious photographer. I too am a serious photographer and looked at replacing a 5 year old system. I ended up with a DS3r and a Q6600 with 4 gigs of ram and a 8800 GTS 640. Now i take it, you are, or will be using adobe lightroom. I assume that, because if your not, download the trial and give it a whirl, it kicks ass. Now my database is over a gig and i have found that when i have lightroom, Photoshop CS3, bridge, and itunes open i can easily lock, or near lock the system with amount of stuff going through it. I am going to add 4 more gigs of ram to my system and probably increase the proc speed as well. But im poor now.
Just letting you know what my experiences have been and where i feel i need to go with my system.
oh yea im using VISTA x64 home premium
good luck
Click to expand...

Thanks Hollow! I was hoping someone with your experience would chime in.

I do have Lightroom, I've just not had time to sit down with the Lynda Tutorial Videos to really learn how to "process" my photos. Believe it or not, I've been cheezing out and getting by with just Picassa. Upgrading my system was part of a big step towards sitting down over the cold weather seasons (when I can't be out on my motorcycle) and work on learning and processing the 40GB of photos I've hardly touched!

My gallery can be found here: Lonely Raven's ZenFolio Gallery

It's only about 10% of the photos I have, and 98% were "processed" with Picassa. Since I shoot in RAW I figure I can always go back and re-process them once I get a handle on lightroom.

All this said, I just put in my order!

Gigabyte DS4 REV 2.0

G.Skill 2X2GB DDR2 800

Corsair HX620 PSU

Intel Q6600

I pretty much followed enginurd's advice, but picked a board that I liked the looks of.
Total: 803.08 Not including any rebates. Right on budget! :)

Thank you guys! You've all been great help!
 
Good luck with your new build, if you want to check out my photos, all processed with Lightroom, head over to www.rhphotodesign.com/gallery/main.php. i just started adding photos after i deleted my database by accident. So its a bit thin at the moment, but im workin on that.
 
enginurd said:
The DS4 had more internal SATA headers, which he needed, IIRC.
Click to expand...

This is true. Being an old skooler, I remember when Gigabyte was on the same level as BioStar and really was just another budget board maker. So this is a bit of a leap of faith for me...but I've read up, I see what people like and that it works well, and it has features I'll be using.

PC_User said:
Nice build. Only I would've gone with the ABIT IP35 Pro.
Click to expand...

Ok, besides the fact that you own one, tell me WHY I should have gone with an ABIT IP35 Pro?

You can't bark in the forums without backing it up...at least not to me. :D
 
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