dna23
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Registered: 1st Nov 04
Location: Northamptonshire
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...some new bits for my PC. I made a post a while back about this but times change with the PC world .etc so I need some new info as I'm going to be buying in the next week or two.
I've currently got:
Processor (CPU)
Number of CPUs: 2
Name: Pentium 4 (Northwood)
Clock frequency: 3000 Mhz
Socket: Socket 478 (J2E1)
Voltage: 3.30 Volt
Technology: 0.13 µm
Vendor: Intel Corporation
Model: Familie 15 Modell 2 Stufe 9
Cache(s): 8 KB Level1 ; 512 KB Level2 ; 0 KB Level3 ; 12 KB Trace
Motherboard
Model: D875PBZ
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
On-board devices: Intel GMCH AGP Graphics Controller
Intel Ethernet Device
Intel ICH5 Audio Device
Display and Graphics Card
Name: RADEON 9800 XT - Secondary
Chipset: RADEON 9800 XT Secondary AGP (0x4E6A)
RAM: 256 MB
DAC: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Memory (RAM)
Maximum modules: 4
Installed modules: 4
RAM type: DDR Synchronous
Access speed: 3 ns
Total: 3.038 MB
Used: 652 MB (22 %)
Free: 2.386 MB (78 %)
I think (tell me if I'm wrong) I need to upgrade my Processor, Motherboard and GFX Card.... recently some of my games haven't worked due to my GFX card not having the Shader Model 3.0 installed and I do often use my PC a lot for complex 3D CAD software and Photoshop .etc so a high end GFX card won't hurt...
I've got £500-600 and was thinking along the lines of:
- Intel Core 2 DUO
- ATI x1950
- Intel 975X
But I don't know which models really.... maybe???
Dom suggested last time to get "an Intel D805 (dual cores too), runs at 2.6GHz stock, but can be clocked to 3.8GHz (so 60 quid processor, thats equivilant to something in the 400 quid region ) just using air cooling" but I don't know how to overclock it  and I've got 6 fans atm... would that be enough or do I need more air cooling or something specific?
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James
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Registered: 1st Jun 02
Location: Surrey
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I'm gunna upgrade my RAM soon 
May go for 4GB 
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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If your overclocking I would seriously look at your cooling. Not just number of fans but what case your using, and also a dedicated CPU Heatsink/fan.
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dna23
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Registered: 1st Nov 04
Location: Northamptonshire
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My current case is just your standard Alienware Area-51:
Got loads of space inside:
Thats the thing Cosmo... I don't know much about this overclocking, I've been looking into it and I know cooling is a big issue - you reckon I'd need to upgrade from the 6 fans I currently have to either more or something like watercooling
If I changed my Processor .etc I'd look at getting a heatskin and maybe get a dedicated fan as you suggest but any links to direct examples?
Cheers btw 
And James....
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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Its a good case, both my sisters got Alienware computers this xmas and was impressed with the quality of them. So your case would be fine (for air flow).
Im not sure if you would need watercooling TBH, and doubt your budget would allow for upgrades and watercooling. But a decent heatsink should help out a lot, but which one really depends on what processor you go for. I would highly reccomend the Arctic Cooling Freezer range though, and will only set you back £15 max. normally.
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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As for Cor 2 Motherboards....
The Asus P5B Deluxe WIFI-AP is fairly good, costs around £130 ish. That can overclock the E6700 CPU (the 2.6) upto around 360MHz whilst keeping it stable, which is impressive. Its had good reviews as the highest overclocking Core2 card so cant be too bad...but is pricey.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Don't get watercooling if you want to just install it and forget about it.
I got watercooling more for the total silence than the ocing but it needs maintenance.
I didn't mind at the start but when I build my next one i'll be trying to put up with fan noise before using watercooling again.
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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quote:
Originally posted by John
I didn't mind at the start but when I build my next one i'll be trying to put up with fan noise before using watercooling again.
correct placement of fans and components in the right case can be just as good as watercooling IMO.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Was the sound though cosmo.
You can't tell my computer is on.
Very hard to cool the computer effectively and have fans spinning slow enough not to be heard.
Chips give out less heat now than my athlon xp-m or whatever it is though so I hope to be able to achieve the same with air.
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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Would love my PC to be totally silent. What sort of stuff do you need to do to maintain a water cooled PC?
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Just cleaning out the water cooling system really.
It's ok the 1st time.
My pc is under the desk with about a million wires and its not the easiest to take in or out.
I can try and do it with a bicket when its all plugged in but the easiest way to do it is take it to a sink or something or even better is taking all the blocks out of the system and clean it seperately.
Only needs done every few months but I just can't be bothered.
My pump has also chucked it a couple of times, makes a rattling noise that is more annoying than a fan.
Also didn't check for leaks properly when I first installed it and blew my graphics card up from water damage.
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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Yea, water + computer never really seemed to be the best combination to me because of what would happen if it went wrong... But there are advatages..........
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
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theres alwyas the old vegetable oil cooling method
seriously, air cooling us more than adequate for most o/c'ers, water cooling WILL get you a few hundred more mghz and its almost silent, but worth the effort? maybe not
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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just get high quality, large fans (120mm) and satay away from smaller ones as they make more noise. The case is also a large factor in the noise with fan placement and sizes they accept.
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dna23
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Registered: 1st Nov 04
Location: Northamptonshire
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Cheers for all the advice guys
So Cosmo, we're looking at:
Asus P5B Deluxe
and
Intel Core 2 DUO E6700
The Intel Core 2 DUO E6700 is £352.49... the E6600 is £207.96, thats a £150 odd difference - is it really worth it for the gains?
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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E6600 is good, from what Ive read can be stabily clocked to about 3.4 depending on the rest of the system so def a very good buy to save £150.
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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If you go for something like...
Asus P5B Deluxe board - £120 approx
E6600 - £210 approx (overclock to around 3.4)
Artic Cooling Freezer Heatsink - £15 approx
Crucial CT2KIT 12864AA53E 2GB DDR2 RAM - £150 approx (can overclock to 1,066MHz )
Asus EAX1950 Pro Graphics Card - £125 approx
So thats about £410
So leaves some money to look at things like your power supply or other cooling.
[Edited on 18-02-2007 by Cosmo]
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dna23
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Registered: 1st Nov 04
Location: Northamptonshire
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I've got:
Corsair TwinX 2GB DDR (2x1024MB) XMS3200C2PT
Corsair XMS 1GB DDR SDRAM PC-3200 (2x512MB)
Would this be ok? I only recently got the 2x1GB you see so i'm not inclined to upgrade again i'd rather maybe put the money to cooling/power supply or even a better GFX card
Thanks for this btw... and can I overclock that memory I've currently got? If so how? This is all so new to me 
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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Im not sure if that RAM is going to be compatible with the new MB, will look into it now and see.
Im not one to ask about over clocking, I know what can be from what I read, but never done it myself yet.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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no, core duo stuff is usally DDR2 and your DDR won't work - but i would wack it on ebay or sell it on here and make some money back.
And as for the 805, wouldn't bother anymore, core duo seems to be the way forward now + the heat issues with overclocking an 805 is stupid.
And what cosmo has listed seems like a good setup, though i would use geil ram (cheaper and just as good) and spend more on the graphics card to make it as future proof as possible
And yes i would look at a new PSU
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Cosmo
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Thats what I was checking Dom, if it was only DDR2 which it does seem to be. And good call on the Geil, is normally highly recommended.
And if we are talking a better Grafics card then something like the XFX Geforce 7950 GT XT is what Id go for, around £200ish.
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dna23
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Registered: 1st Nov 04
Location: Northamptonshire
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Firstly, thanks everyone for your help Especially Cosmo!
I've got the following so far....
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz DDR2 £117.49
Asus P5B Deluxe £122.19
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 £185 not bad
I could then sell my existing memory and bits... maybe make a bit of money and leave me £200 for a graphics card.
Now the question is ATI or NVIDIA?
Been looking at that XFX Geforce 7950 GT XT you recommended Cosmo but the equivalent ATI's seem to get better reviews
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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TBH its probably down to personal preference, both would do the job in a well set-up machine
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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And £185 is
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Seems like a good setup Though i would certainly shop around for the bits as overclockers isn't always the cheapest - and keep an eye out on special offers and clearence/b stock items, usually can save a fair bit
And if you're looking to sell your ram then let me know as i need to add more to my system, so drop me a u2u with price when you want to shift it
edit - also have a butchers on the forums over at overclockers and see what graphic cards are good for overclocking as you can you can save a few pounds doing that - ie: flash the bios, overclock it and usually a new cooler (like an aero), and you could have a card thats the same or better than the model above it, so saving 40 quid or so
edit 2 - keep an eye on the for sale sections on overclockers and forums like avforums as you can pick up some right bargins there
[Edited on 18-02-2007 by Dom]
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