C2D system

[bruins004]

I build my systems with at least a 5 year service life. If they last longer great, and if not then I need to do better. Our server is three years old. Had it not been for the dirty power that it is fed I would have never had the side off. In a year and a half it turns five, and at a cost of $400 per year for the benefit it has given it has done well. and might continue to do well for another few years.

Hey thats what I build computers for.
I usually make it last at least 4-5 years each

However, I look for the parts with the best cost / benefit ratio.
Thats how I rate my items and sometimes you have to spend a little more to make it last extra longer.

Like for example, people dont like to spend money on PSUs.
However, if your PSU (whether quality or non quality) is worked 85 percent or above constantly, then it will fail you a lot quicker than if you have a lot more headroom.

I am not saying go all out on your parts, but I am saying that you can def. get more reliable and better parts for $40 more and you can even save in some areas.

 

[Mussels]

Also, the same thing has happened to OCZ (after their PowerStream series).
They arent that great anymore either.
The better brands are FSP, PC Power and Cooling, Silverstone, etc.

Naaaah.... *looks at rig in sig* (excluding the modstream and evostream.... they sucked)

Oh and as for PC&C... OCZ own them so make up your mind

Edit: oh and i'll second FSP - we cant get them easily here in aus, but my netbox (AM2 3800+ x2, x1650pro) is running off a 200W FSP.

 

[Wile E]

Hey Steevo, do you need onboard RAID? If so, I think the P5B-E is the one you're after.

 

[Steevo]

It has onboard RAID 0 via the JMB363 chipset via PCIe. http://www.jmicron.com/JMB363.html


So no PCI limitation on speed.

 

[Wile E]

I don't know how far drivers have come, but just be careful with the Jmicron controllers. I had nothing but problems with mine on my old ECS board. Not saying they're still bad, just telling you to be careful.

 

[Steevo]

If noting else I will buy a RAID card and suffer.

 

[Mussels]

i've got the P5B-E, havent ran RAID on it tho. The J-micron chip is actually used for the IDE controllers, so there is only 2 ports left - however, they're scattered around the mobo and used for the E-SATA ports, so RAID is quite tricky.

I'm unsure on differences between the vanilla and -e models, but it may be worth double checking that.

 

[Wile E]

Eh, either way, it's a nice build you have there. Even if you do have to settle for a raid card, you can at least get a PCIe 1x model. Still better than PCI.

 

[Steevo]

Actual Build specs.


1 Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115004
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy $187.00
1 SILVERSTONE SST-ST50EF ATX 12V 2.2 500W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817256001
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $84.99
1 Rosewill R6A34-BK 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811147041
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $49.99
1 HIS Hightech H165Q512N-R Radeon X1650 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 IceQ Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814161083
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $109.99
1 LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write and LightScribe Technology Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model LH-20A1H-185 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106055
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $33.99
1 ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835887002
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $46.99
1 BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Item #: N82E16824014105
Return Policy: [LCD] Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy $219.99
Item(s) shipped from TN Tracking Number:
1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3400620AS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148138
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy $109.99
1 GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128017
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $104.99
1 mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820146118
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

BELKIN Enterprise F6C900-UNV 900VA 540 W UPS - Retail
Item #: N82E16842101219
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



I didn't go RAID but got a perp drive and a 21" widescreen.


I am making $200 for the setup and staging of this PC.

 

[bruins004]

Naaaah.... *looks at rig in sig* (excluding the modstream and evostream.... they sucked)

Oh and as for PC&C... OCZ own them so make up your mind

Edit: oh and i'll second FSP - we cant get them easily here in aus, but my netbox (AM2 3800+ x2, x1650pro) is running off a 200W FSP.

Haha.
PC Power and Cooling is a good company since they are still seperately using different technologies.
I really hope they use PC Power and Cooling's OEMs and specs instead of OCZs.
Maybe OCZ knew their quality was no longer there and had to do something about it.
I hope so

But if your on a slight budget, but want high end Silverstone is the way to go
Also, dont forget Corsair has one of the top PSUs out there right now

 

[bruins004]

Actual Build specs.


1 Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115004
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy $187.00
1 SILVERSTONE SST-ST50EF ATX 12V 2.2 500W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817256001
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $84.99
1 Rosewill R6A34-BK 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811147041
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $49.99
1 HIS Hightech H165Q512N-R Radeon X1650 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 IceQ Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814161083
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $109.99
1 LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write and LightScribe Technology Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model LH-20A1H-185 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106055
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $33.99
1 ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835887002
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $46.99
1 BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Item #: N82E16824014105
Return Policy: [LCD] Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy $219.99
Item(s) shipped from TN Tracking Number:
1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3400620AS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148138
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy $109.99
1 GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128017
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $104.99
1 mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820146118
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

BELKIN Enterprise F6C900-UNV 900VA 540 W UPS - Retail
Item #: N82E16842101219
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



I didn't go RAID but got a perp drive and a 21" widescreen.


I am making $200 for the setup and staging of this PC.

I like it better.
I still have some comments.
I would rather get the E6420 since it has the extra 2mb of cache (w/ 4mb total) and when OCed it can perform exactly the same as the E6600 and better. Plus the E6400 and the E6420 should cost the same.

As for the GPU is that an X1650Pro? If so it should be close to or identical to the X1650XT (but you can find X1650XTs for the same price )

All of the other parts are nice.

 

[WarEagleAU]

I Would have suggested that new Thermaltake All copper CPU Fan. It shaped like a geisha's fan and cools better than the Zalman 9700, the supposed king of air coolers. (well according to Maximum PC, Anandtech, etC).
PSU, not bad. Silverstone has had their stuff going down over the last year or so. I cant remember how many bad reviews Ive seen in the last year over their PSUs. I know Corsair is great quality and use Seasonic as their OEM. Seasonic and PCP&C and Corsair would have been my choices.

Nice build.

 

[Steevo]

I gotta order a new PSU as they won't backorder the one I got and it has been removed from my order.



Bastards.

 

[Mussels]

I Would have suggested that new Thermaltake All copper CPU Fan. It shaped like a geisha's fan and cools better than the Zalman 9700, the supposed king of air coolers. (well according to Maximum PC, Anandtech, etC).
PSU, not bad. Silverstone has had their stuff going down over the last year or so. I cant remember how many bad reviews Ive seen in the last year over their PSUs. I know Corsair is great quality and use Seasonic as their OEM. Seasonic and PCP&C and Corsair would have been my choices.

Nice build.

No... the king spot is taken by the thermalright ultra-120 extreme and/or the Tuniq tower. The zalman comes a little behind in performance.

SIlverstone will take some research - i know a friend who is still running a C2D SLI'd GTX system off a 500W SS, but i'm not so sure about their latest models.

 

[numlock2.0]

Is it too late to change graphics cards?

Because I would have gotten this. It is such a good deal and is much better performing than an X1650 Pro.

However there are going to be more heat issues compared to the X1650 card.

Regardless, good luck with your build! Hope you get a good PSU

 

[Steevo]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817163112


Just ordered.


I wanted the card I got not for gaming performance, but for the memory, and quiet cooler.

 

[Steevo]

Got all my hardware.



Might have to do a system install writeup with pics. I am really impressed with the size and actual shape of the cooler, reps to bruins for the recommendation.

 

[Steevo]

Posting from the new system.


currently at 2700Mhz with both cores maxed, stock voltage, on both the RAM and CPU don't know timings as of yet. 45C temps and RAM is running 1014Mhz stable.



Anyone know where the dual core windows update is?I believe I saw the link for it and the AMD hanging around but searches have turned up noting as of yet.




Thanks.

 

[Mussels]

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html

This is the AMD dual core update... but intel dont need it.

 

[Steevo]

Funny, it is stable overclocking the system using easy tune 5 but throught the BIOS I can only get it to light up to 2.6Ghz. I managed 2.9Ghz with 5.5.5.18 timings and it was only at 50C for both cores last night.


That and the drive on the intel controller left as native IDE was performing in PIO only, I had to force the drives attributes through the registry in safe mode. After it performs in UDMA 5 but I believe it will be a bit faster as I couldn't remember the value for the next step higher.

And 7.5cats have issues with this card, CCC won't start. But I don't know if I will keep it anyway, I might just go with the drivers and something else for control. Plust ATItool of course for OC'ing.

I had the same issues some complained about, the on board Marvell NIC wasn't working, but after I disabled it, then rebooted and enabled it both through the BIOS it works great, I actually have it connected through a crossover cable to my system here and it is communicating at the full 1Gbps. Very fast, if only the internet was that fast.


I took pics of the hardware and a few during assembly.

 

[Steevo]

With a bit of tweaking the RAM latentcy and running 1.41vcore and 2.02vdimm I am stable at 5-5-5-12 timings 800Mhz RAm and 3.2Ghz CPU with 49C max core tems after running for awhile to let the MX-1 set in more.



Now for benchmarking.

 

[Steevo]

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=204631


Core speed drops right after it finishes with workload.

 

[Steevo]

X1650 series (It was not correct with the exterior of the box)
One DVI one VGA
512MB DDR2 Elixier
RV535 core
12 Pixel Units
0X1E4 pipe select
4 ROPS


3Dmark 05 scored me 5800 with 550 core and 400 memory.


max speed running ATITool and watching for artifacts seems to be 615 for the core and about 460memory.


I have as of yet to bench it at these speeds though.