The (new) Official PC building thread!

thank you for the memory recommendation, now just have to wait for ups guy to deliver everything.

 

id go with boozers psu choice

 

i have the DDR2 1066 crucial ballistix(gold ones) and seems they are working fine also. seems like one of the few things that are working in my build..lol they have passed many memtest so far. i got mine in feb.. not sure which chip is in them.


hey has anyone taken a look at those pics i post of my CPU and cooler. the paste on them dont look to be covering to well?

 

nighters: Some more ammo for the argument - sadly some people still don't listen even now. Oh well, they'll get their come-uppance in due time.
Abuzar/Shaff: Corsair and PCP&C yes, Tagan or Seasonic yes, Enermax not so sure, OCZ? Hmm. To be honest, with the four I listed first you've got plenty enough options - The OCZ units seem a little risky.
Nighters: The case you've chosen is IMO nasty, but the rest of the components are sound, if pricey. Abuzar's choices are good except for the graphics card. If you're a gamer get this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150275 and if you've no reason for a powerful GPU, get this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127296

Rob: As for the thermal paste it doesn't look great, but it's not really a big issue, it shouldn't be causing the problems you're having.

 

I think you're fine rob.. you might NOT spread it all the way to the edge tho... a 1/16 (1.5mm) from the edge should be plenty of paste. I think if you look at both surfaces (cpu and ACF7) you'll see they "match" up pretty good.

.....gm

 

Sam, the 8800GTS is a bit more raw power. It depends on the games but most of the time the 8800GTS tends to out do the 8800GS. Also I like the cooler on it better.

BUT, the 8800GTS does consume more energy. So now that I think about it, I would personally go with a 8800GS. Of course it doesn't matter for him because he already has the 8600GT.

 

The 8800GS benches marginally lower than the 3870, it's power is ample, it's cheaper and uses two thirds the wattage.

 

thats just it i didnt spread it out. i jsut used it the way the AC 7 came. i set it on my CPU and twisted it to the left and right a bit like it suggested then locked it down. i know the actual cores run north and south and the paste should be spread that way. it just didnt look to good like it had enough down the center of the spreader there.

i just looked at that E7200 wolfdale why would they make the chache smaller on the higher numbered CPU its a 3MB L2 cache compared to the E6750 4MB L2 chache???
granted the E7200 is the 45nm compared to the 65nm E6750 but it jsut seems odd? kinda backwards

edit
now i dont wanna start the GPU war again...lol
BUT whats the main difference in the 7xxx series,8xxx series,9xxx series???
i have the 7600gt(maybe GTS not sure right now) and for me i think this thing is awsome. no i dont do any gameing with it but it has all the extras ya can think of (so i think)..lol
its the GT
http://e4wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062

 

It replaces the Allendales(2MB cache) not the Conroes(4MB). So technically they DID improve on it.

 

It's presumably because the full cache versions are the 8000 series, so it's just the one down from that. What it means however, is that it now shares a series number with laptop CPUs - yes it's E not T so you know, but nonetheless Intel's numbering system is a little weird.

As for the paste is it MX or Arctic silver?

 

on the ACF 7 it was the MX-2. kinda white pale in color as Russ said. it was thick as all get out. was much hard to clean off than the AS 5 was. but AS 5 is whats going back on it when i get my mobo back...AGAIN
i was mostly worrying about if it was spread out enough for good cooling, maybe thats why my temps were so high.

 

sammy i'll let you know in a few days. I bought some of the MX-2 and OCZ Freeze just for giggles. I've heard good things about them both so we'll see won't we.

nighters,
The case is your choice (wifey's more than likely.. ) so be happy with what you choose. The Corsair VX-550 is nice but I think the one you chose should do ok.... I wouldn't push a serious OC with it tho. jm2c there.

Here are some choices for RAM... link I would go with CAS4 if it were me but the cas5 will work. RAM is so "inexpensive" now it's almost CRAZY not to buy some good stuff. I like Mushkin, Corsair, and OCZ... my favorites at least. Good luck with your hunt.

Storage = HDD?? some HDD choices... 500GB choice ...... 750GB choice

...gm

 

Russ,
Meant to link this last night. Maybe this case can take the place of the Cavilier you use to get...

.....gm

 

thanks for the help greens - i couldn't help but order the first recommendation - wife is missing her WoW fix atm so I got to get this up and running asap.

Got to keep her happy so I can be happy too lol

 

nighters, glad to help out. Hope it well works out this time.

 

cincyrob,

Wolfdale cores vs Conroes and it's $45 cheaper, runs cooler, the L2 cache isn't shared like on the the E6750 and it's a better chip! Good price too!

Why do any of the component manufacturers use higher and lower numbers that have nothing to do with the quality or value. To confuse you! LOL!!

I went and looked at that case you linked. I'm not fond of window cases and I don't like aluminum cases, plus it's being discontinued. That's why the cheap price!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

ok let me ask it this way. the conroes first came out and was cream of the crop. now the wolfdales seem to have taken top notch. i know 1 is 65nm and the other 45nm is that the main difference in the conroe/wolfdale the chip in them are different is that the so called name dfference????

 

Conroe= 65nm, 4MB cache
Wolfdale= 45nm, better architecture, 3MB or 6MB cache

 

OK gurus and self proclaimed geniuses!! lol. j/k....

I know very little about external drives and was wondering what a good manufacturer would be in the 1TB range.... Got a friend that is contemplating a new storage device and this is the way he wants to go. tia for the help...

...gm

 

samsung F1 1TB