E6850 Upgrade

[Indi75]

Decided to have the overhaul, not everything, just enough to accomodate the E6850 in a new P182. (The P180 has ceased to induce the urge to touch myself )

So here's what I've just bought, and the reasons why.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, S775, 3.0 GHz, 1333MHz FSB, Conroe Core, 4MB Cache, Retail.

E6600 at mo, and although 1333 isn't worth much in reality, the E6850 is a damn good price, and it gives me an excuse to build something new. The Q6600 (B3 or G0) simply doesn't bench that much better than the Dual Cores from the various sources I've looked at, and will remain largely without great impact until software is coded to make better use fo them hence me not going Quad. I can afford a QX6800, which does bench in ways thsat make me horny, but just don't see the point in spending £600 when the E6850 will provide as much 'Ooomph' as I need for now. That said, so does the E6600, I'm just not able to resist an upgrade.

Asus P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP, iP35, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

Yet another great Asus board. Great reviews with exception of SATA port placement. P5W DH Deluxe has served me well and been disgustingly stable as did my former A7N8X-E Deluxe - so no need to break with tradition. It's 1333FSB ready and runs DDR2. (See RAM for DDR3 issues)


4GB (4x1GB) Corsair QuadX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18, DHX

Yes, I know, 4 sticks not 2, but I'm running 4 x 512 at moment and it's been fine. I'm not into benching or Overclocking to the levels of your average obsessive compulsive and as such will be quite happy with these with these once tweaked up - especially at £143. DDR3 and higher spec DDR2 just don't seem good value at moment, and the DDR3 benches at THG amongst otheres show very little bang for my buck.

512MB HighTech Radeon X1950 Pro, IceQ3 v2, PCI-E (x16), Mem1540 MHz, GDDR3, GPU 590 MHz

Upgrade from an HIS ATI Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ 3 V2 256MB GDDR3 card and simply because I'm happy to let the newer cards drop in price and mature a little. There's no freely available 2900XT IceQ's out there yet, and bugger all on offer in the midrange. I'm happy to hang on for another 6 months before diving in when all the blingy DX10 games really start to flow. (..and No, I don't like nVidia, and Yes, it's a personal choice, I'm sure they are lovely, just not for me.)


2 x250 Gb Western Digital WD2500KS Caviar SE16, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms

Since my storage is all on eSata and NAS courtesy of the MyBook range I'm happy to carry on with a couple of Caviar's in RAID0 (or AID0 for any pernickety sons'a'bitches out there). My current 160GB pair run fast, quiet, and cool with not so much as a bad sector amongst them - no need to change anything, albeit there was a flutter toward Raptors, but again, irrespective of having the spare cash I'm ultimately Scottish and therefore somewhat begrudging of paying what I deem to be over the odds.

Asus E616A3T DVD-ROM x16 SATA Black & Silver Bezels UK Retail & Optical Write Asus DRW-1814BLT Lightscribe, DVD±R x18, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x14, Lightscribe, SATA, Black

Yawn.... couple of optical drives, going for SATA this time, tired of IDE cables in my case with fat interfaces. Lightscribe will come inhandy for work with Powerpoint CD's and creating DVD slideshows in Vista.

Zalman CNPS9700-LED Super Aero Flower Cooler

Love the current one, quiet, cold, and attractive. This ones got a 110mm over the old 80mm which has recieved some belting reviews. It mounts well too so no real change here. Somehow I've managed to order the LED one again despite my minimalist tendencies - there's something about that blue glow out the rear that I couldn't live without.

Antec P182 Advanced PERFORMANCE ONE SERIES Super Midi Tower Case

Nuff said. P180 Silver has been great, but the small changes to this one are most welcome, not least the cable tidy area round back of MoBo.

Antec NeoHE 550W Modular ATX2.0 PSU

Yes, yes, hordes of you are clamouring to slag this choice off but I've got the 500W version now. It's quiet, the rails are solid, and the modular connections are far nicer than previous Tagans and Hiper's that have failed me. It'll do nicely and the only reason for upping from 500W is to feel better about the 4GB of RAM and future additions.

Samsung SM-226BW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black

1680 x 1050 Resolution, 3000:1 Contrast Ratio, Optimised for HD Content, 2ms Response which will do just fine. There were alternatives but this one was prettier than the ugly Viewsonic and the LG which I had quality concerns over. Tilt and swivel stand with up to 160/160(o) Viewing Angle. Wall mountable which may come in handy, and a glossy piano black finish which'll keep she who must be obeyed happy. Oh, and Anal/Digi connections - HD-Ready via DVI with HDCP.

Logitech Z2300 2.1 Speakers THX Certified

No need for more than this, that's what the Cambridge gear is for. My current speakers are frankly pap, these are simply neat, minimalist, and will blend into the Dojo just nicely. Nice Sub too.

Finally, Vista Ultimate 64bit, I've been playing with the Beta's and subsequently the demo for months. It vLites nicely stripping it down to a wonderful 1GB DVD and much smaller install bereft of 700MV of Tablet PC crap, 600MB of Printer Drivers, adn all that cack sample stuff that gets installed.

I'm happy enough with the 64bit drivers I need, and can't see the point in buying 32bit any more. The laptop remains XP 32bit for anything that causes issues so I'm happy enough to move forward.

Let the ridicule, speculation, and open discussion, perhaps even some comparisons to other E6850 builds being.

It should all be delivered this week, so I'll feed back on my buold experiences (nightmares) nest weekend.

[staffsMike]

The word upgrade doesnt apply when nothing from the old pc is used.. lol

Not sure that was the best ram to go for but im sure its fine. Id have had the corsair 520w HX whisper PSU instead..it compliments the p182 beautifully.

Not the best HSF imo either but if you're happy then you're happy lol

I've just done a q6600 for a friend and its running 64 bit vista ultimate. It runs very nicely (and suprisingly)

[Clunk]

If it was for me, I would have gone for Corsair Ballistix RAM.

A Thermalright ultra heatsink.

Just have a check on ebuyer for those drives and look at the customer reviews, it may be a different model, but I almost bought some of those a few weeks ago until I saw the failiure rate.

Depending on the price of the graphics card, possibly an 8800gts 320mb.

[Shifteay]

if you wanna stick to ati gfx cards i would go for an X1950xt faster more pipes and only about £10 more for a much btter card imo. gl and happy building though.

Ps i second the thermalright ultra i bought the extreme edition has lowerd my tempretures to 37 degrees idle from 50 (pentium D 945)

[master811]

if you wanna stick to ati gfx cards i would go for an X1950xt faster more pipes and only about £10 more for a much btter card imo. gl and happy building though.

Ps i second the thermalright ultra i bought the extreme edition has lowerd my tempretures to 37 degrees idle from 50 (pentium D 945)

Seconded, definitely get the XT rather than the Pro, even if you just get the 256MB version, the performance difference will definitely be noticeable (and from benchmarks is better than pretty much all NV cards bar the 8800s)

[Queelis]

If it was for me, I would have gone for Corsair Ballistix RAM.

Ahem

[staffsMike]

Ahem

How the mighty has fallen

[Biscuit]

whats the point in upgrading your GFX card at all if your only going to change it again n a few months? Stick with what you have got and either keep the cash ready or put it into upping the model of a different componant. If you really are determined... take shifteays advice and get an XT. On ebuyer you can pick them up for about £105

[staffsMike]

scan has the 7900GTX for £115. I'd have that.

[Biscuit]

scan has the 7900GTX for £115. I'd have that.

Agreed(if there is no brand loyalty). If you want silence there is a XFX 7950GT with passive cooler for a similar price too

[Indi75]

Hmmm, old card is going within the machine I'm offloading, and I see the point about the 256 XT card, but bit late now.

Interesting points all round although clearly as expected very much a subjective thing when looking at different peoples likes and dislikes.

The Graphics card clearly not the best choice, but I'm not a fan of NVIDIA, period, too many ****e dirver experiences.

Western Digital remains the only HDD brand that hasn;t repeatedly died on me, hence the loyalty to them and the Caviar SE in particular.

Used a Thermalright in a previous build and the Zalman spanked it by 5 degree's idle and 2 degree's load, plus I'm not obsessed with colling to the point that I'll park any ugly lump of copper in there.

I guess we all largely build to our fancies. The RAM was a hard choice, but then, I'm running 4 sticks fine just now, and they aren't matched, so 4 matched pairs should be fine.

I may well order the 256XT yet, and offload the 512 Pro - it's only money, and as said above, it's not what I can or can't afford but there needs to be a compromise between availability and price without any needless excitement around FPS ratings that are so close as to go unnoticed to the naked eye.

Kit should all arrive on Thursday, so I'll see how it goes then.

[bigpun69]

You can get 4Gb of crucial ballistix 800mhz for about the same price dude, and it runs faster...

Ive got mine working at 1000MHz currently at 5-5-5-15

[Pob255]

I may well order the 256XT yet, and offload the 512 Pro - it's only money, and as said above, it's not what I can or can't afford but there needs to be a compromise between availability and price without any needless excitement around FPS ratings that are so close as to go unnoticed to the naked eye.

You do realise I hate you now? Some of us cannot afford your old specs let alone shell out on on what seems to be a rather minimual upgrade across the board.

But I'm just jaded and jelious.

Granted you said you want to stick with ATi but there are some cheap deals going on 8800gts 320mb atm as the prices have already droped a bit from a month ago. Just one to consider.

While I've never used one I must say I think the Aero flower is one of the prittyest coolers out there.

[bigfooty]

Not a million miles away from the PC I ordered recently. Now if only I could get the people I ordered it from to build it.....

[notsobig]

Jesus, at a glance I thought thread title was "£6850 Upgrade"

bigfooty, putting together pc isn't that difficult espcially when you have another pc with you. There are enough sources on the net that can put you back on the right track even if something went wrong. Just do some homework and you'll be fine.

[Indi75]

Seconded, definitely get the XT rather than the Pro, even if you just get the 256MB version, the performance difference will definitely be noticeable (and from benchmarks is better than pretty much all NV cards bar the 8800s)

Gotta love Scan Customer Service - I've taken your advice and swapped to the 256MB H195XTQT256DV-R Pci-E with the 16 pipes. Extra £33 quid, but clearly a better performer. Thanks for the tip.

You do realise I hate you now? Some of us cannot afford your old specs let alone shell out on on what seems to be a rather minimual upgrade across the board.

But I'm just jaded and jelious.

Granted you said you want to stick with ATi but there are some cheap deals going on 8800gts 320mb atm as the prices have already droped a bit from a month ago. Just one to consider.

While I've never used one I must say I think the Aero flower is one of the prittyest coolers out there.

Actually, the reason I'm overhauling the whole thing is 'cos I enjoy building, and a mate wanted mine as a bundle as I had no time to build him one. (Naturally I will find time ot build me one)

Right about the Aero Flower - it looks nice as well as cools well, and although I've installed other coolers for people that apparently cool better I'm a big fan of this one, especially now it's bigger.