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Help a first time builder..

nguyenpeter76

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Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
UPDATED:

Antec 900
Q6600
Vista Home Premium 32-Bit
Corsair 620HX
Crucial 2x1GB
Seagate Barracuda 500GB
Sony NEC Optiarc DVD-R/CD-R
Thermalright Ultra 120mm Extreme CPU Cooler
Silverstone 120mm case fan (for CPU Cooler)
APEVIA 120mm Blue LED case fan (for side)

Any recommendation will be appreciated. Mainly looking for cheaper good products. I plan to overclock. I'll decide on what graphics card I'll get when the 8800 GT comes out. If the leaks are true about the 8800GT then I may get it.

Thanks to those who have helped me already and thanks in advance for the people who may comment or reply to this thread


Antec 900
Q6600
SB 7200RPM 500 GB
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-Bit
CPU Cooling Artic Cooler Freezer 7 or Tuniq Tower 120mm
Sony NEC Optiarc DVD-R/CD-R
PSU: Corsair 620HX or Corsair 520HX
ASUS P5K-E/WIFI AP
Crucial Ballistic (2x1GB)
8800 GT (possibly when it comes out-if it lives up to the leaks)
2xAntec LED Blue 120mm Case Fan

I'm trying to lower the total cost of my projected build and was wondering if I could get advise on what to get and what not to get. I plan on OC my processor (Q6600), Ram, and VGA. I won't use SLI, because I don't think I'll be a hardcore gamer. The total would cost around $1150 (newegg) right now without the video card, with the 620HX (not 520HX), and with the Arctic Cooling 7 CPU Cooler. Any other comments that could help out my build by lowering the cost or anything would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Joined
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Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
You've built yorself a pretty good system! The places I see where you can save would be the memory if you can find it cheaper, and perhaps just get a dual core processor. Perhaps truy the Gigabyte version of that motherboard, otherwise I'd just leave it as it is.
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
i want to get the quad because its more future proof though. hope its prices go down round november :p why not another price drop in one year eh?? (fingers crosse

well in order to get cheaper ram i need another mobo cause the crucial ballistix were the 2nd cheapest ram for 2gb for the asus wifi mobo i currently have in my list
 

DOM

Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
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Location
TX, USA
Processor Intel i7 4770K
Motherboard Asrock
Cooling Water
Memory Team Xtreem LV 16GB (2x8GB)
Video Card(s) EK Full WB HD7970
Display(s) CROSSOVER 27Q LED-P 27"
Case Danger Den Torture Rack
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200
Software W 10 Pro
Crucial Ballistix (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) If you want to save a lil cuz they have good RMA Center at Crucial cuz you have to cut the UPC off the box for the MIR, thats if you have to RMA the ram I have thats why I say there good

and for the CPU Cooling your going to need a good one, do you plan on OCing
 

panchoman

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Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap

J-Man

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May 14, 2007
Messages
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Location
Oakham, UK
System Name Watercooled beast
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.02GHz
Motherboard ASUS Rampage Formula X48
Cooling Swiftech Apogee GTZ, Black Ice GTX Xtreme 480, EK 250 Rev 2, EK 4870 X2, MCP655, 1/2" Tygon Tubing
Memory 4GB DDR2 OCZ @ 1066MHz 2.1V
Video Card(s) HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 800 on core, 1000 on memory (overclocked in CCC)
Storage 500GB Maxtor Diamondmax 22 SATA II 32MB Cache
Display(s) Samsung 24" SM245B
Case SilverStone TJ07 black/windowed version
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty + Logitech Z-5500
Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W Modular
Software Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Retail
That's a good rig. We have the same case and CPU. I plan on overclocking my CPU more when I get better cooling. I'm @ 2.8GHz on stock cooling and the temperatures are still the same which is good. I plan on going to 3.2 GHz on better cooling.
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
yeah i want those instead but the mobo i have listed says for ram it needs to be ddr2 1066 and the one u suggested is ddr2 800... dunno if that means its not compatible or not but anyway im looking for cheaper mobo
 

panchoman

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Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap
ddr2 800 will work great, you can easily clock it up to 1066 once you get it. and the chips are handpicked so expect them to go way over 1066 lol.
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
o thats good! i thought cause the mobo said ddr2 1066, i was going to have to get a 1066... now that i know i can get the ddr2 800 it saves me at least $50 :D
 

panchoman

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Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap
what that meant that the highest default speed of your ram that your mobo can take it ddr2 1066, it wont care if you start with lower speed (800) and clock it to like 1200! and the lanfeast memory has some cool blue leds :D :toast:
 

J-Man

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Messages
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Location
Oakham, UK
System Name Watercooled beast
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.02GHz
Motherboard ASUS Rampage Formula X48
Cooling Swiftech Apogee GTZ, Black Ice GTX Xtreme 480, EK 250 Rev 2, EK 4870 X2, MCP655, 1/2" Tygon Tubing
Memory 4GB DDR2 OCZ @ 1066MHz 2.1V
Video Card(s) HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 800 on core, 1000 on memory (overclocked in CCC)
Storage 500GB Maxtor Diamondmax 22 SATA II 32MB Cache
Display(s) Samsung 24" SM245B
Case SilverStone TJ07 black/windowed version
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty + Logitech Z-5500
Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W Modular
Software Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Retail
I'll swap you my stock cooling for the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro? Hehe.
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit

panchoman

Sold my stars!
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap

ex_reven

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Sep 4, 2006
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In case you were interested in the G Skill stuff...

G skill is generally a cheaper brand, but I got my 4-4-4-12 pack up to 1100mhz without any decrease in latencies or voltage. Im pretty sure the batch we got had D9's though im not certain that all of G Skill's kits use D9's.
 

panchoman

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Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap
i would say crucial just cause its pureblood with micron d9's while most of the other companies are mudbloods with all kinds of chips so its more of a matter of luck you know. plus the leds & handpicked chips for about 5 bucks more then regular crucial memory which happens to be cheaper then g skill? i say crucial lanfest all the way!

oh and this might help: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=42027

Crucial FTW :toast:
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit

panchoman

Sold my stars!
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap
not exactly sure about fans, but that silverstone is as sweet as it gets for ratios lol. 110cfm at 40dba, thats sick, and it comes with its own fan speed controller.
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
yeah those silverstones ratios look great.
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
now im looking for a cheaper mobo..
 

panchoman

Sold my stars!
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
thanks
hmm have to think about this one... $25 cheaper. giga has more sata 3gb/s but asus has 2 pci x16 slot in case if i ever win the lottery i go sli :p also asus has more usb ports... ill think this through for now about what mobo to get...

doesnt look like i have anything else to look at except video card and ill find out once the 8800 gt comes out the 29th although there's leaks about benchscores and perfomances already.

oh and is clubit.com a good reliable site to buy from? cause the q6600 they offer there are certain G0 versions which i hear ppl should get
 

panchoman

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Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap
the g0 revision produces less heat and is there more overclockable then the b3 stepping. definently go over the g0 stepping. as for the mobo, there are gigabyte dual x16 boards as well, but its crossfire on the p35 cihpset and its x16/x4 so yeah, i dont recommend spending extra money on the second x16 slot.
 

nguyenpeter76

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
312 (0.05/day)
System Name XPS 420
Processor q6600 2.4GHz
Motherboard Dell - Chipset:Intel® X38 (Bearlake) only one pci x16 slot...gay
Memory 3GB @ 667 MHz
Video Card(s) ATI HD 2400 PRO 128mb (will upgrade later)
Storage 320GB
Display(s) Samsung 22inches Model 220wm (1680x1050)
Case XPS 420
Power Supply Dell's Underrated 375w PSU
Software Vista Home Premium 32-bit
oo i c


ok i looked at the asus specifications and at the bottom it says 24pins for power pin... is that for the mobo to get power from mobo or is like for case fans and etc that have like 3 or 4 pin power connectors? hoped i didnt sound too noobish..
 

panchoman

Sold my stars!
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
9,595 (1.57/day)
Processor Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory 2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s) Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s) ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s) Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap
most mobos use a 24 pin main power connector plus a 4 or 8 cpu power connector. older mobo's used 20 pin for the board but all new mobos are 24 pin. the 24 pin power cable supplies the board all the power it needs from the psu. a 3 pin fan header will plug into the motherboard and recieve its power from there. a 4 pin molex connector will recieve power directly from the psu.
 
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