conroe setup any suggestions?

[public_eyesore]

I plan on getting a conroe set up and wanted you guys to look it over and see if you had any changes that might be for the best. I want to keep the budget under 1500 which is about whre its at right now. So if you know of something cheaper that is better, please correct me.
Originally i was getting a laptop, but when it arrived it did not have a 7400go like i had purchased, so im gonna return it and get this. I figure i dont need a laptop atleast until the summer, so i can get a job and buy one. I have not returned it yet tho so if someone is looking for an:
Hp dv5000
120gb hd
2gb of ram
1.8ghz intel core duo centrino
winxp mce
shiny new type of laptop screen
for 1100 shipped pm me ASAP

Anyways, here's my list.


LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$89.99

DFI INFINITY 975X Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard
$184.99

eVGA 256-P2-N583-AR Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
$269.99

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply
$92.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor \
$360.00

Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Unbuffered
$179.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$77.99

Update Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
$137.99


Subtotal: $1,393.93

[Silenced_Coyote]

Where is the monitor on that list? Do you need to buy one? How about the little stuff like the mouse, keyboard, and speakers (or headphones)? It is just good to add these to your list because they will add up and it is part of your budget.

You might be able to get the 7900GT from MSI for cheaper because they have mail-in rebates quite often.

[public_eyesore]

Where is the monitor on that list? Do you need to buy one? How about the little stuff like the mouse, keyboard, and speakers (or headphones)? It is just good to add these to your list because they will add up and it is part of your budget.

You might be able to get the 7900GT from MSI for cheaper because they have mail-in rebates quite often.

I have all that stuff. Im parting out an older computer and using the parts from it. On thing im missing but might need is a soud card. Is it really worth it for 2.1?

[Silenced_Coyote]

You can try onboard sound first and see if you like it. If you don't, then buy a sound card. You don't need to get a sound card right away because it isn't that important. Just decide on that later and make room for it in your budget just in case (which you have good head room already so you don't need to worry about that).

[simon275]

For 2.1 no.

Solid rig can't see any problems.

[Slug Toy]

i would suggest a sound card if you like high quality audio. im constantly telling people this. i for one notice a big difference between on board audio and a proper card.

as for that whole rig in general... i dont like the ram. the processors and motherboards officially support ddr800, and i think its a good idea to get all the speed you can. ill see if i can help out on this a bit.

[Indybird]

That has the Realtek ALC882 Sound Chipset, I have a ASUS P5W DH w/ Realtek ALC883 Chipset (which is very similar), and it sounds very good. I've listened to Audigys and I can't notice a difference and I listen to alot of music.

Also, you're set up is very nice, should run beautifully...

[public_eyesore]

i would suggest a sound card if you like high quality audio. im constantly telling people this. i for one notice a big difference between on board audio and a proper card.

as for that whole rig in general... i dont like the ram. the processors and motherboards officially support ddr800, and i think its a good idea to get all the speed you can. ill see if i can help out on this a bit.

Im getting everything from newegg so try to find it there. i need to save on shipping as much as i can

[Slug Toy]

ok for ram i have a couple things. for ddr800 theres this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231084. ill admit im not impressed by it, but its the best there with that $35 instant savings. i think things have been shuffled around a bit because there were a couple good deals in the ddr800 section before, and i noticed the ocz titanium alpha ddr1000 modules are gone now too.

or the heck of it, you could get two of theses http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146119 because a gig is still good enough, and that means you are definitely covered for A) nice tight timings at ddr800 or B) still good timings at ddr1000 if you overclock (you can probably just adjust ratios, get close to ddr1000 and not even have to overclock). i would personally be tempted to go with two of these and get a couple more modules later on.

i was looking through motherboards to see if i could find some solid ones that definitely support ddr800, and i found a couple:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128018

those boards are probably evenly matched, cheaper, and have good slot layout so you still get two pci slots and some pci-e 1x slots after the video card is in.

altogether, if you go with those mushkin modules and the gigabyte motherboard, and keep the rest of the stuff you already listed, that works out to $1359. i would suggest looking at the sapphire x1900gt though. its equivalent to the 7900gt in performance, you can probably unlock some pipelines and overclock a bit, and best of all, its about $200. that would take the price down to... $1289 approximately. your choice though. if you like nvidia, go with it. the x1900 just offers a better price for similar performance.

[public_eyesore]

Thanks for the heads up. I've been on a desert island for 3 months(camp counselor on Catalina) and i have no idea whats gone on tech wise. Better scores for about 70 bucks cheaper and no nvidia means no need to future proof for sli. I like the ram that i chose tho and want to keep it. Any other suggestions are greatly accepted(see what happens when you ask? You get better performance for 100 less dollars :))

[.Maleficus.]

This (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012) is the motherboard I bought for my Conroe setup. It has some mixed reviews, but overall looks pretty good and apparently is a great overclocker. Only thing is, the BIOS it ships with doesn't like high voltage memory, so you need either low voltage memory, or a stick you can pop in there until you update the BIOS.

Otherwise, the setup looks great, though I would get some DDR2 800 if you could find some for a good price.


Edit: Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590) is the RAM I got. Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 2 gigs. It's got a MIR for $40 and it's supposed to be really good. Might be worth checking out.

[public_eyesore]

well i have splurged and purchased 2gb of cruicial ballistix ddr800 and an asus p5w dh deluxe. I have to hold off on a new hdd and coolers until i get a couple rebates in. I changed the psu to a hiper modular and the case to some antec case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129173 . And this is the card i will get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814142075 . Ill update in a couple weeks with benchmarks and pics.

[Slug Toy]

for the x1900gt, im pretty sure the sapphire one is $199.99 already, without a rebate. i guess its too late now, and its going to cost about the same after everything is done.

just as a correction to what i said about ram way back... that mushkin stuff is no longer the top stuff. this is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231077

ddr1000 at 4-4-4-5 timings. absolutely insane. that is now THE BEST stuff ive ever seen. that beats mushkin's 4-5-4-11 timings for sure. although, i think it uses a higher voltage to get those tighter timings. they may use the same chips. the fact of the matter, though, is that g.skill has made the official timings insane.

[Silenced_Coyote]

$450 for RAM....

I don't even think Corsair's new "Dominator" RAM has those timings. But I think it is DDR-1111 though. Not sure about this...

[public_eyesore]

well ive already bought the ram, mobo, and proc. In about a week im gonna buy the rest(after my psp sells on ebay)

[.Maleficus.]

When did you order your processor? I ordered mine 2 days ago, and I'm glad I waited. $40 (? or was it 30? Oh well) drop in price :D.

But man, that is going to be a nice setup.

[public_eyesore]

i bought the proc on the hardforums used for 300, but its a week 26(overclocking madness)

[public_eyesore]

OK I am so releived. I finally got my new computer up and running. After some hard drives problems I really feel like just relaxing. So here's the final specs if you wanted to know.

Intel core 2 duo e6600 2.4 ghz
Asus PW DH Deluxe
2GB 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix pc2 6400 ddr 800
Asus x1900xt 512mb
Antec NeoHe 550 watt modular PSU
Antec Super Lanboy
80gb hd (I know its tiny, but it was free and got my comp up and running after my 200GB died)
DVD Burner

All in all I payed about 1400USD ( bought alot of things used)

BTW F.E.A.R. scares the crap outta me and looks good while doing so

[simon275]

Antec Super Lanboy YAH!

How's it treating you?

I am considering cutting the big HDD cage out of mine to increase airflow and moving my HDD to the two small slots where floppies go.

Also how is the Intel core 2 duo e6600 2.4 ghz and Asus PW DH Deluxe going I am considering using them for my next mod. Is the mobo have good bios options any niggles?

Thanks