New build - how many times have we read that now

In late June i shall be investing into a new computer and have looked into what i am looking for, considering not much is due to change since now and then (release wise) im pretty sure this is what it will be then also.

Q6600 - clicky
4GB Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800) - clicky
XFX 9800GX2 Exclusive BLACK Edition Dual GPU PCI-E 1GB - clicky
Abit IP-35 Pro - clicky
Corsair 620W HX - clicky
500 GB Western Digital WD5000AAKS - clicky
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 120mm - clicky
Auzentech HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS - clicky
Samsung SH-S203P - clicky - x2
120mm Noctua NF-P12 (for the CPU) - clicky
120mm Noctua NF-S12 1200 RPM (for the case) - clicky - x5
Antec P182 - clicky
Vista Home Premium x64 OEM - clicky
24" Dell 2408WFP-HC = clicky
Logitech Desktop MX 3200 - clicky
Arctic Cooling MX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound - clicky

Total - £1,768

I also have 2 extra HDDs that will be put into the system (so 3 overall). Do any of you guys have suggestions for things that need changing, i made most of this based on stuff i have read but this is still pretty new to me. As far as i can see there are enough PSU/mobo connectors etc. for everything but i am not 100%. Will this be able to play at 1920x1200 easily??

I hopefully want it to last as long as possible without having to upgrade things (i understand upgrades here and there are good but would prefer just to buy longer 'living' stuff now), how long roughly do you guys think this will last before things get uncomfortable.

Cheers

If you are dead set on the GX2 then get this and save yourself around £100
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

Also, all that money on the extra fans will be wasted as you will hear the GX2 above them and the stock fans which are very quiet.

Just wondering why you're paying 80 quid for an overclocking gfx card when you can OC it yourself..
I have the same system more or less (cheaper monitor, mobo etc.) and it should be able to run 1920x1200 easily (although i can't guarentee cause mobo is @ rma)
Also, quite a bit of that stuff is out of stock so unless you plan on waiting i'd shop somewhere else for those

Generally looks good, couple of things I think are worth a mention. Firstly I dont think the Noctua NF-S12's are that great due to their poor fan blade design. Either get some more P12's (probably best fan around) or some scythe s-flex's. Check this review:

XS Fan Review - Part 2 - XtremeSystems Forums

Also Im not sure that thermal paste is the absolute best you can buy. Consider some Shin-Etsu stuff for less than a fiver delivered for those extra couple of degrees off:

Chilled PC - Watercooling made easy, Over 400 products in stock

Staffsmike, what else would you suggest over the GX2? Even though i may hear the GX2 wouldn't loud fans just make things worse though????

Regarding the GPU afaik OCing it invalidates the warranty and considering the cost of the GX2's i'd rather have it OC'ed by the manufacturer who can both achieve it and give me a warranty.

By June the prices would have changed, do you'd be better off narrowing down the specifics then.

Things like monitors and graghics cards may have more options available for the GX2 and may change your mind on the exact one you want.

But it'll certainly be future proof for a while :)

P45 is due out in June afaik.

Also by then the latest IP35 Pro variant will be in retail, Universal abit > Motherboard, Digital Speakers, iDome, AirPace, Multimedia

Well you will always hear that graphics card above any quiet case fans. The stock fans in the P182 are only a gentle whisper which the gfx card will be louder than.. easily louder than.

Spending £60 on fans that may or may not be quieter than the tri-cools doesn't seem like a good idea.

I would at least try them before you make your decision.

Graphics card wise, first of all there is no way a GX2 needs to be overclocked.. they are insane performers whatever the clock.

Really it depends on how often you want to upgrade it. GX2 won't be worth much to sell once the 9900's or whatever are out and so if you intend on a near future upgrade there is no point buying one. If you want it to last 3 years or more then yeah go for it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by staffsMike

Well you will always hear that graphics card above any quiet case fans. The stock fans in the P182 are only a gentle whisper which the gfx card will be louder than.. easily louder than.

Spending £60 on fans that may or may not be quieter than the tri-cools doesn't seem like a good idea.

I would at least try them before you make your decision.

Graphics card wise, first of all there is no way a GX2 needs to be overclocked.. they are insane performers whatever the clock.

Really it depends on how often you want to upgrade it. GX2 won't be worth much to sell once the 9900's or whatever are out and so if you intend on a near future upgrade there is no point buying one. If you want it to last 3 years or more then yeah go for it.

---

cheers mike, the fans are ones that i used for my mates build and we were actually worried they werent working because we couldn't hear them, problem is i cant compare them to the standard case fans :confused:

regards GPU im not going to be upgrading virtually any of this for some time so with ur advice i will just stick to the GX2, especially if the 9900's are coming out soon i will not be able to afford one considering the GX2 is about £400/£350.

since the GPU noise will be my main concern, without the excessive cost of a decent watercooling kit is there anything you, or anyone else for tht matter, suggest to curb it??

can anyone explain the pc6400 ram for the q6600, i have chosen that basically as that is what is suggested for overclocking the q6600 on this forum, but i have no clue as to why not say the faster ram, or DDR3

cheers

When you overclock with FSB ratios in 1:1 which is seemingly the best way to do it. PC6400 at 800MHz (stock speeds) is enough to match up with a Q6600 running at 3.6GHz which is what you can expect from a Q6600.

Essentially DDR2 PC6400 (800MHz) is actually 800 / 2 , so 400MHz and a Q6600 is actually 1066 / 4 , so 266MHz

When the q6600 is really at 400MHz (or 1600MHz rated) they are running the same speed which is stock for the RAM and 3.6GHz for the CPU.

I wonder if that helps lol

No idea what kind of cooler you can get for the GX2. I think there was an asus solution coming out, no idea what it is though.

The stock fans on the P182 are really, really quiet.. just not quite silent.

DDR3 is an arm & a leg atm - if you want to pay the extra for virtually no performance increase feel free, there are P35 mobos that use DDR3.

Let's assume that bang for the buck is a consideration so that you go for DDR2.
Q6600 stock bus speed is 266 (Intel quad pump their bus which is why the advertise it as 1066=4x266).
Lowest CPU : DRAM ratio that you can run on an Intel P35 chipset is 1:1 so in theory you need at least RAM that runs at 266fsb (except that it's double data rate so expressed as DDR2 533 or PC2 4200) - except that the P35 chipset doesn't support RAM rated lower than DDR2 667/PC2 5300.
PC2 6400 is rated for stock usage at 400fsb so you can reasonably expect to use it with a CPU running 400fsb & with a Q6600 having a max. multi of 9 that would give you 3.6GHz which is a reasonable overclock to expect on good air cooling.

GX2 will be discontinued this summer mate has the 9900 cards will come out