I'm starting the planning phases of building a new PC. Looking at the:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

for the processor. Also considering the Radeon 4870 for the video card. What motherboard/chipset should I be looking to pair with this? As far as brands go, I'm usually an Abit, Asus, MSI kind of guy, but did try out a ChainTech board on my last PC build (years ago) and haven't been too disappointed.

Also, what's a really solid, very "basic" style-wise, case? I'm not looking to break the bank on cases, and I could care less if it has a window, etc. Most of the sites I frequent (TomsHardware, Anandtech, etc) typically recommend a "fancier" styled case, which isn't really what I'm looking for.

Thanks for any recommendations you can throw out there.

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 10:13 AM. Reason : brands]

7/11/2008 10:12:46 AM

i hate mid-tower cases...i'm big into microATX cases these days (though go with something quality to keep it cool)

7/11/2008 10:18:27 AM

Don't get the Q6600 for 209$. It's 65nm and only 2.4ghz. You can get the new Q9300 (2.5ghz) for 269$. It's worth it for the 45nm upgrade. Have you considered the 4850? It's cheap and you can get a second one later for great scaling.

^i have a full tower because i hate having things not fit. For a HTPC a microatx is great.

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 10:19 AM. Reason : .]

7/11/2008 10:18:27 AM

Great recommendation on the smaller 45nm process. I've been out of touch on this stuff for a while, so while I know more or less what's out there, I don't know where it is in it's life cycle and what not. So I'll definitely look into the one you recommend.

Motherboard recommendations to go with that? Anything to avoid?

7/11/2008 10:22:31 AM

a P45 board, don't really know if you want a x38 board over this or not, haven't been keeping up with it, but this does support crossfire for future upgrades.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131297

edit: and 16-phase power is a plus for stability (and overclockability if you're into that)

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 10:48 AM. Reason : .]

7/11/2008 10:46:43 AM

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=8002571

That's my basic thoughts on a new system. Anything look out of whack there? Is the power supply large enough? Memory OK? Etc?

Thanks!

7/11/2008 11:25:39 AM

other than the fact that it's showing up as 7 of each item for a total of $8k?

you can get the 4850 a lot cheaper, and g.skill is overrated...definitely not worth the price IMO

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 11:28 AM. Reason : .]

7/11/2008 11:27:40 AM

looks nice to me, you might as well get a sata DVD drive instead of an IDE while you're at it
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151154

And do you really want a drive that huge/expensive (especially on possible failure)? You can get a 640GB drive for alot cheaper price/GB ratio I believe, and this drive will perform much better than that one, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but everything else looks good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

7/11/2008 11:30:57 AM

^this is all good advice

i'd look at the corsair dominators for $99 AR from ZZF, a little more reputable brand and these sticks are rock solid, although g.skill are good too.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008006

7/11/2008 11:40:22 AM

get a velociraptor!!

7/11/2008 11:50:39 AM

I just ordered this case for my build. I guess it all depends on what you want in a case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152

7/11/2008 11:57:07 AM

My favorite cases:
Antec P180B Black
Antec P182 Gun Metal
Antec Mini P180 Black
Antec Solo

My favorite HTPC cases:
Antec Veris Fusion Black
Antec NSK-2480

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 12:52 PM. Reason : i own 3 of the 6]

7/11/2008 12:50:20 PM

Thanks guys, I changed it around based on a few recommendations here. Definitely going with the SATA DVD drive and the 640GB hard drive instead. Definitely better value there. I like the Case/Power Supply combo that I picked out, I just want to make sure 500W is enough to support what I have.

Going to go with the memory from ZZF as well. All together, it should run me around $1100 or so with shipping and what not. Seems like good value to me.

Thanks for the help!

7/11/2008 1:32:34 PM

yea, 500W @ 80% efficiency will be fine

i'm guessing it will run near 250-300W idle, and about 350W with 100% load and this is very conservative.

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 3:21 PM. Reason : .]

7/11/2008 3:16:05 PM

Thanks man... all ordered up. Can't wait for middle of next week to get here now.

7/11/2008 3:41:53 PM

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?threadid=868108

Antec Mini P180 Black Steel MicroATX Mini Tower for $80 on Monday

also http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-SlickDeals&cm_mmc=AFC-SlickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16811129021

Antec Nine Hundred for $80 after rebate

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 10:36 PM. Reason : ]

7/11/2008 10:34:33 PM

Quote :

"get a velociraptor!!"

haha, for that much money, I'd definitely be more interested in the new OCZ Core SSD series that's about to launch.

7/11/2008 10:37:52 PM

^^ thanks for the heads-up on the microATX case...i think i'm going to pick it up

7/12/2008 6:31:46 PM

How important do you thin it is to get an aftermarket fan for the CPU. Is it better to get one after the fact.

Any recommendations on one for a Q9450 if it is important.

[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 11:43 AM. Reason : ]

7/13/2008 11:42:19 AM

if you're not overclocking, the retail intel hs/fans are just fine...in fact, if you've got a nice case with good circulation (which you should have, anyway), stock intel hs/fans do decently with modest overclocking (let me emphasize MODEST)

7/13/2008 1:50:02 PM

Ok thanks for the advice. I don't see myself overclock anytime soon.

7/13/2008 2:40:01 PM

The Hard drive I bought has a place to put a jumper on it, but do I need it with a Sata drive?

7/13/2008 5:08:26 PM

no you don't need it.

and typically no jumper = cable select, so you should be fine.

7/13/2008 5:49:09 PM

Alright two more experienced questions for you:

My case comes with two options for mounting the hard drives. One with bands around and the other the standard screw.

I was wondering if the band system is really that much more advantageous than the screw system? Also are there any cons to me. I don't see how it be that sturdy for a HDD to run. Have you installed anything with this and system, did you like it?

---------------------------------------------------------
Secondly the plate that comes on the back of my case doesn't match up with the ports that come on the motherboard. They gave me a plate to put on, but it doesn't look like the Antec one pops off or screws off and the instructions say nothing about it.

[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 6:28 PM. Reason : ]

7/13/2008 6:20:32 PM

^the plate should pop off on the antec case. They assume you'll be using the one that comes with the mobo. Just hit it a couple times, it should pop right out. In regard to the HDD mounting just try the screwless one and see if there's a rattling sound. It just depends on what is easiest for you.

7/13/2008 6:40:52 PM

^^ the bands system is kind of cool in theory, but i don't like it because it doesn't work very well for when you want to move your computer...if you bought an antec case, it should have come with the silicone bushings that you can put between the drive and the mounting hardware, and that's what i use (not that i've ever noticed any noise from any of my hard drives, but meh)

i don't remember what my case looked like when i got it (and i'm too lazy to turn it around to check), but either the plate will push out or, if it's part of the case itself, it'll twist out (you'll see it connected by tabs on each side...if you twist the plate, it'll break the tabs and the metal plate will come out)

[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 6:43 PM. Reason : arrows]

7/13/2008 6:43:01 PM

So do you hear hard drive noise? I don't really know if I wanna trust those bands either.

7/13/2008 6:47:00 PM

i have a sonata case, so i can't speak for any of the other ones, but i don't hear anything from either my seagate or maxtor drives...that said, i don't hear anything from my drives in my ultra microfly case, either, so hard drive noise has never been an issue i've concerned myself with

most of your noise will come from the fans and optical drive

[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 6:49 PM. Reason : .]

7/13/2008 6:48:58 PM

^^the bands can wear out over time too, even with screws you won't hear your hard drives over all the other fans in your case

7/13/2008 11:30:11 PM

k, got the plate out.

I'll install the hard drive.

I just find it weird that bands are a form of holding a drive. so weird.

7/13/2008 11:38:16 PM

Two more question...

The processor didnt come with thermal paste, I'm gonna assume I still need that?


-----------------------
The audio connectors on the case have wires inside that do not match. One is HDA and the other is AC'97. According to the mother board I have the same receivers, but looking at their Pin assignment diagrams, they are quite different. Do they make adapters for these.

7/14/2008 2:31:53 PM

the processor never comes with paste - the compound is usually on the bottom of the heatsink...if you bought retail, then it's there

just use the AC'97

7/14/2008 2:41:58 PM

just don't use toothpaste. It only works for a few hours.

7/14/2008 2:50:53 PM

Ok last question then I've got everything figured out.

to get my motherboard to fit over the correct screws, I have to apply some pressure to the I/O panel I installed (it had a pad on it), is that ok?

--------------------------------------------
Also do you guys do ram/cpu then put mobo in

or mobo in then ram/cpu

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 3:47 PM. Reason : ]

7/14/2008 3:45:18 PM

mobo in first.

7/14/2008 3:51:20 PM

that's what I thought, I'm more worried that I have apply pressure to the I/O panel to get the screws to line up, is that normal?

7/14/2008 3:52:34 PM

yepper

7/14/2008 4:09:54 PM

alright sweet, just wasn't sure

7/14/2008 4:14:32 PM

a lot of those metal pieces can be bent back or popped off too so it fits in with less pressure as well

7/14/2008 4:39:56 PM

Here's a generic question from me regarding the addition of a new hard drive.

A friend built for me a new computer, Core 2 Duo, all the RAM and that good stuff. He also bought me two 300GB SATA Seagate drives and put them in the Raid configuration so that the data is shared between two drives, giving me a giant drive of 600GB.

I have it partitioned so that 100GB is on the C drive for the OS, and the remaining is for data, etc. In the event that one of the two drives die I don't want to be without my data, so I was going to get a third HDD and put it in. Because I have the two HDDs running in a parallel Raid configuration, how will the computer behave when a third SATA drive is put in it? I don't want the third drive to be part of the Raid drive, but rather as a standalone one.

I'm rambling because I don't really know if what I'm asking makes sense Thank you.

7/14/2008 5:07:41 PM

as long as you don't manually put it in the RAID array it will act independently.

just plug it into a SATA port and your fine.

7/14/2008 5:17:48 PM

My video card won't fit into my motherboard.

Are there compatibility issues or am I just doing something wrong. This is the last step till I get the computer put all together:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015C9VP2

7/14/2008 5:56:31 PM

it should go in your blue or black slot


make sure the tab is unlocked


[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 6:03 PM. Reason : .]

7/14/2008 6:01:28 PM

very nice, that's what I thought. How do I unlock it though. The manual says nothing about it.

7/14/2008 6:09:54 PM

OIC, it's just a blue tab you lift up on, insert the card, then it should just lock itself

http://www.matbe.com/images/biblio/divers/000000069970.jpg

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 6:18 PM. Reason : .]

7/14/2008 6:17:09 PM

ok sweet, thanks so much. I have a feelin' that still might not be the answer, but I'll let you know if it works.

7/14/2008 6:18:56 PM

well i can't forsee ANY possible reason it wouldn't fit.

7/14/2008 6:21:41 PM

what if it's facing the wrong way

good luck jrb...i built my first pc a few weeks ago and i had a lot of the questions you do. i remember searching frantically and cursing intel because i couldn't find the thermal paste!

7/14/2008 8:47:22 PM

The thermal paste was already installed on my heatsink. I'm on my computer! It's freakin' sweet.

The only thing is I'd like to get something to monitor heat temperatures and also something to get a reading on my hardware to make sure it's all installed correctly

7/14/2008 9:55:10 PM

it already does that..

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 9:56 PM. Reason : monitor temps that is]

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 9:56 PM. Reason : and generally cuts off if it's too hot so you're good ]

7/14/2008 9:56:15 PM