Arcman's journey to Core 2 goodness

[Arcmanov]

My quest for the best gaming experience on PC (using a reasonable budget) begins.

After a LOT of research, poring over reviews and benchmarks, I have decided on the
following list of components:

Motherboard:  MSI P6N SLI-FI ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130082


or the Asus P5W DH Deluxe ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131025



CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004



RAM: 2 GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590



GPU: BFG 8800 GTS OC ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143086
or     XFX 8800 GTS XXX ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150172



PSU: Ultra XVS 700W modular ==> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000KAADSE/ref=ord_cart_shr/105-4147020-6068453?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A9B09ZK9BZJQ6&v=glance



Case: Antec 900 ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129021



HSF: Thermaltake Big Typhoon ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106061


or the Tuniq Tower 120 ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835154001



Case fans: Antec TriCool 120 mm x 2 ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835129016



Hard-drives and optical drives will be re-used from my current system (which may become my new LAN-party
machine after all this is done).

The purpose of this thread is to document the trials and tribulations involved in upgrading to the
new stuff.  Also to spark discussion on my choice of hardware and any suggestions on better/cheaper models.

Must give some props to Saxman, who was instrumental in the motherboard choice.  I think we also looked at
the Abit AW9D-MAX, and the Asus P5B/P5N. 

Research on a lot of furums and reviews revealed a lot of issues with the Asus P5N in particular, which uses the new 650i chipset.  Based on user reviews on Newegg, it seems that getting a good, stable working P5N is almost like winning the Lotto (as Saxman so succintly put it).  RAM timings in particular seem to be a sore point with this particular board.  It seems the manufacturers implemented such tight RAM timings that a user's choice of RAM would be the determining factor whether the board would be stable or not.

One type of RAM seemed to have absolutely no problems at all.  The Crucial Ballistix set
seemed to be more compatible across the board with all motherboard brands and models,
but the price kinda kept me away from it.  Keep in mind that I'm buying all this stuff from Amazon,
which means that I will pay a little more, but I put up the Newegg links as they contain more info.

Base total so far = 1350 US (with shipping)

And so it begins.......


EDIT!!! MORE CHOICES ADDED (see above) ^^^^

[TriniXaeno]

WOW

That is about a $9000 you putting out.

I hope you REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoy that machine. lol

Helluva upgrade.

Haven't seen the game to make me want to spend that kind of money yet.

My 7900 GT still handling everything.

What prompted you to go so hard core?

[Netizen1]

coughcougvistacoughcough

[TriniXaeno]

kick ass @ speed test in your sig.

wtmc @ 128mb quadro fx 1000

you gone into 3D Modeling or what Voyd???

[Arcmanov]

Nah, Vista could still 'suck it'.


Is just that the uber hardware prices finally 'within reach' so to speak.
So I'll take the plunge now while I have the money.

Also, so ah could 'wine' on Crysis when it come out. 

[Nephilim]

nice stuff you eh just pull out the stops, you throw them clear out the window!!! not a fan of the msi's my self but it seems like a nice board, however, since you done breaking bank, why not this card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150173
its core and mem speed are 30, and 200 mhz fast respectively for about a 20 dollar extra, might sound crazy but is just a suggestion, after all, every little bit helps

[Crixx_Creww]

nice card recommendation indeed there devon.
And from the buyer reviews, it does make sense to get it in sli with the board they suggest.


which brings me to one of my two qualms.
That msi board, i really cant see it being a better choice than the p5n or p5w
and second problem, if you going for 8800 goodness, why not go up to e6600 instead of 6400?

[Arcmanov]

One of the main reasons I went for the MSI is the fact that it has 3 PCI slots and 2 IDE ports.
An extensive read of the user reviews for the Asus P5N (on Newegg) seemed to indicate lots of issues
out of the box. 

With respect to the P5B I found out that IDE optical drive support is not native.
To put it another way: to use an IDE-optical drive one needs to INSTALL A DRIVER!!?    WTF!!?
and the driver is ON A CD!!!!

You can just imagine the issues with trying to install windows using that board.
My current board is a MSI, and I've never had problems, so I'll put my trust in em
once again.

@ WASD, I did actually consider that one, considering that it outperforms the BFG model by a little bit,
AND yuh gettin a free game.  I only saw it after I had made my choice.  I may end up choosing that XFX
after all.

[Crixx_Creww]

what about the p5w

did you consider any 680i boards if the 650i boards are supposedly buggy

[Arcmanov]

Its not the 650 chipset thats buggy, just the ASUS 650 board.
My budget for this system is $9000.  The 680-chipset boards
might carry me overbudget.  Also, according to Tom's Hardware
and Anandtech, the 680 chipset is having issues with SATA-drive
corruption, so I think its best to avoid it for now, until a PROPER
BIOS update is issued.

[W1nTry]

I've killed at least 2 MSI boards in my life.. I usually go Asus... and have even tried Epox (they make good stuff). Good luck with it, they are good boards, but i'd prolly venture a DFI or Abit in this case. Just outta curiousity, how do you plan on aquiring these parts? ur in the US or in T&T? if you're in the US then no scene, but if you're in T&T the case unless bought locally will cost you an arm and a leg in shipping...

[Arcmanov]

I'm shipping everything here via eZone.  I will have to bite the bullet with the case yes.
The shipping weight is about 11 pounds, so it shouldnt be too bad.

[W1nTry]

Hmm, you sure they won't change their payment to volumetric? I am not sure how they measure it lately, but I know once upon a time it was either weight (if its small) or volumetric weight, in which case they consider the SIZE of the package and charge you more, regardless of the actual weight (if its light but takes up space)... last case someone I know shipped, increased the price by 400TT min...

[Saxito Pau]

Hmm, you sure they won't change their payment to volumetric? I am not sure how they measure it lately, but I know once upon a time it was either weight (if its small) or volumetric weight, in which case they consider the SIZE of the package and charge you more, regardless of the actual weight (if its light but takes up space)... last case someone I know shipped, increased the price by 400TT min...

did a WTMC rant on that:

Dimensional weight (in lbs) = (L x W x H in inches)/166 
An item weighing 1lb you may end up paying for 5lbs!



as for arc's intended upgrade...

I personally planning to do same upgrade wise.... but not until June.... Arc and I engaged in a lot of discussion and debate over choosing parts... My core parts (mobo/cpu/vga) will most likely be the same as his though....My desire to something that 'looks' as well as performs good - a la "artistic taste"- is where we differ. He will go for pure performance.  I'll probably start me own thread when I am ready to do same

[daniboy79]

You can just imagine the issues with trying to install windows using that board.
My current board is a MSI, and I've never had problems, so I'll put my trust in em
once again.

i agree with that!! Love MSI!!

[daniboy79]

as for arc's intended upgrade...

I personally planning to do same upgrade wise.... but not until June.... Arc and I engaged in a lot of discussion and debate over choosing parts... My core parts (mobo/cpu/vga) will most likely be the same as his though....My desire to something that 'looks' as well as performs good - a la "artistic taste"- is where we differ. He will go for pure performance.  I'll probably start me own thread when I am ready to do same

you flammer!! lol... i'm like arc, 'sleeper' - killer!! like my project-cars shoulda seen that guy in the EvoIV when a 1300cc Swift GTi stick up under his sill wing(spoiler:P)

...i rather spend de $$$'s in Performance any day!!

[Beomagi]

as far as chipsets go, nvidia's rep is far form spotless. That said, my own nf3 never game trouble, but I got lucky  -to expand, They have had compatibility problems with creative's sound cards, with 3ware raid, and usually while their own stuff just works using it normally, the extra functions have problems. Active armor for example was corrupting network data, and still is for some. installing nvidia's sata drivers over the default windows drivers is NOT advised as their own can lead to data corruption. The last batch of 680 and 650's suffered sata signaling problems - This wasn't the chipset but any reference board. They solved it by throwing latencies up in the bios. Asus's 680 wasnt a reference board so it didnt suffer, uunlike every other board that came from foxconn's factory (evga, bfg, ecs, foxconn). You CAN have a spotless record with them, but i'd have to say that would make you lucky.

Your choice in parts is excellent though. Pretty well balanced. The e6400 is usually neglected, but with the 6600 being $100 more, the e6400 is pretty good value.

If I were you, I'd go 965 for high end overclocking. P5b or ds3. While SLI is an option you get, it's a highly inefficient one.

If you're going for rebates, snag this leadtek. The extra 320MB kicks in at 1600x1200 with AA on on many games, and if you're going for an HD tv monitor (1080) or have a 1680x1050 or larger resolution monitor, it's worth it. At $340 after rebate, it's barely any more than the others. Dont worry spending more on an overclocked core, as they're all hitting similar speeds.

The extra 320MB kicks in at 1600x1200 with AA on on many games, and if you're going for an HD tv monitor (1080) or have a 1680x1050 or larger resolution monitor, it's worth it. At $340 after rebate, it's barely any more than the others. Dont worry spending more on an overclocked core, as they're all hitting similar speeds.

For the psu, i'm going to recommend a more known brand with impeccable service - ocz 700w psu - $105 after $25 rebate. Free shipping form zzf.

If you're worried about installing windows, which i dont think you should be, pick up a sata drive for cheap

I'd say go for the zalman 9500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118223
It's quiet and an excellent cooler. Coolers like the titan, xp-120 and typhoon have fine spacing of the fins, which other than increasing noise, becomes a mat of dust after a while. The 9500 is remarkably efficient without the noise, and doesnt seem to get as much dust clogging it's flow.

I really hope you have a monitor capable of stressing that card.

[Arcmanov]

I'm thinking of getting a Samsung flat-panel LCD, whose native res is 10:6 (1440 x 900 I think).

Unfortunately, neither zipzoomfly nor Newegg accepts my credit-card, so I'll have to stick with
Amazon for all purchases.  Yeah, I know it sucks but what other choice do I have?

I think I'll stick with the Ultra PSU because of its modular nature.  No denying the quality
of the OCZ model though.

[Netizen1]

Have you tried Tiger Direct?

kick ass @ speed test in your sig.

wtmc @ 128mb quadro fx 1000

you gone into 3D Modeling or what Voyd???

LOL... nah @ 3D modeling. It's just what's available to me at this time. Hoping to get me a sub US$200 GPU soon, like a 7900 or a 8600 series NVIDIA

[Arcmanov]

Pressure with Tigerdirect too.  Same story: they wont accept credit-card transactions
from non-US cards.  Period.