New processor, which one to go with?!!

[chris_kalan]

Hey everyone... I haven't posted much on here, but I know lots of people are brilliant when it comes to the little things, so I'm wondering about some things. Well, one particularly...

My father recently got a free Intel Motherboard and Processor from work. he Board is a new one: DG965WH and the chip is a Core 2 Duo E6300 (1.86GHz).

Now, the board is great for what I'm doing, but here is my dilemma:

I currently have a Core Duo 2.0GHz MacBook. I want my desktop to be very powerful, and while I'm sure that it will run very similarly to the MacBook (because it is only Core Duo as opposed to Core 2 Duo), I want to make sure that it is going to be great for at least one year down the road.

Should I go for the E6400 (2.13GHz) or just buy an E6600 to get the 4MB of cache and 2.4GHz speed? That way I will CERTAINLY see a speed difference from my MacBook.

By the way, the setup I'm planning is:
Intel Processor (whichever you help me decide is the best)
2GB Dual-Channel Corsair Dominator (is this a good choice??)
GeForce 8800 GT (only DirectX 10 card... would getting the GTX make much of a difference??)
320GB SATA 16MB Buffer 7200.10 Seagate
DVDRW
600Watt Ultra X-Finity Power Supply
Creative X-Fi Sound Card

Oh, and I don't want to go TOO overboard... the E6800 is overkill for me... and anything quad would just be WAAAAY too much for right now.

If you could also let me know what you think of my setup - it would be really great to get some feedback on it. I know it will be a little bit pricey - but it is surely to make a GREAT system considering my needs are not enormous at this point.

Thanks!!

[Slug Toy]

the e6600 is a nice balance. it has the larger cache, and its also reasonably cheap. i always suggest going for that one.

as for the 8800, both the gt and gtx are excessive at this point, but we havent seen dx10 performance yet. there probably would be a fairly large difference between the two once a nice intense dx10 game comes out, seeming as the gt only has 3/4 the processing power as the gtx and lower clock speeds. id rather have the gtx, but it depends on how much money you can spare.

[chris_kalan]

I read that the only difference is the clock speed (1.6GHz as opposed to 1.7GHz) and the ram (640MB as opposed to 768MB). So I didn't think it would be that much of a difference.

The other thing about this card - I know it is excessive at this point, but this is the only DirectX 10 card out there right now, and I want to make sure that I have something that is the best for what I'm doing.

What are the repurcussions of going with DirectX 9 card? Something like the 1950XTX??? It i a very similar card, but being that I am not a super-hardcore gamer, would that be okay for me?!

Also, anyone else have any suggestions for me (processor, graphics card, system in general?)

Thanks again!

[Ronyx]

the ram is a good choice but if you want you can save some money and go for the TWIN2X 6400 C4 RAM. 4-4-4-12 voltage timings so it's not bad at all =]

[.Maleficus.]

I really love my E6600. It is very fast and I can do so much with it. And, I currently have it OC'd to 3.10Ghz which is nice. Perfectly stable, and on air, and I'm sure if you still wanted more preformance, you could do the same.

[chris_kalan]

Anyone else with thoughts? Particularly on the video card and whether I'll be okay getting a DirectX 9 card right now??

[.Maleficus.]

Do you need Vista right away? If you don't plan on getting it for a while, I'd say you should be fine a DX9 card for a while. If you're getting it in the very near future, go DX10.

[chris_kalan]

I already have a copy of Vista. It's a legal version too - plus I've also pre-ordered the retail ultimate version for when it comes out.

My main worry is that I won't even be able to run the graphical elements of Vista without a DX 10 card. I'm not a huge and heavy gamer, but with this rig, I want it to last for quite a while - so I think I'd rather spend the extra money to make sure everything is compatible for at least the next two years or so.

[Silenced_Coyote]

I personally would spend money on a new motherboard than a CPU so that I can overclock the E6300.

Since you aren't a hardcore gamer and you want Vista, a DX9 will be ok. I'm pretty sure that they can run the Aero feature. Here is a page off the nvidia website with a list of cards that are Vista Ready.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/technology_vista_gpu.html

[chris_kalan]

I don't want to overclock anything - I'd rather use stock components without any worry or voice in the back of my head pertaining to warranty violations.

If not the 8800 then, is the x1950xtx the next best thing? Or what would you do?

[bartvandenberg]

IMO, any high end directx 9c capable card will easily perform flawlessly with vista. Does vista have directx 10 capabilities? i havent heard anythign about it. i know the "demo" version i ran didnt.

i think in all honest, the best thing for you to do right now, if you dont want to spend the 700 bucks for a 8800gtx, is go with 7950gt or something.

(I personally wouldnt suggest gettin an ati based card, due to the fact that ati cant get any decent drivers to work, unless you patch the crap out of them.)

directx9 only yes, but.. an awesome card nonetheless. It will play any game out there easily without breaking a sweat, and that's on full setttings. it will also eat vista in dx9. the only downside is, you would have to upgrade again for dx10

[chris_kalan]

My real question is what does that mean?

If I run a DirectX 10 game with a DX 9 card, what will I lose compared to if I was running it with a DX10 card?

[.Maleficus.]

It depends. If the game NEEDS DX10 to run, you might be out of luck. (I had this problem first trying to play HL2. It was DX7, and I only had a DX6 capbable card, and it didn't work.) But if it only needs DX9 and you have a DX10, then you would see some performance increase with the better hardware. The games will probably only need DX9, but if you use a DX9 card, you won't get some of the fancy visual effects.

[armadilloben]

I read that the only difference is the clock speed (1.6GHz as opposed to 1.7GHz) and the ram (640MB as opposed to 768MB). So I didn't think it would be that much of a difference.

The other thing about this card - I know it is excessive at this point, but this is the only DirectX 10 card out there right now, and I want to make sure that I have something that is the best for what I'm doing.

What are the repurcussions of going with DirectX 9 card? Something like the 1950XTX??? It i a very similar card, but being that I am not a super-hardcore gamer, would that be okay for me?!

Also, anyone else have any suggestions for me (processor, graphics card, system in general?)

Thanks again!
actually theres another difference in the some of the pixel pipelines are disabled and that it uses 320 bit effective memory interface compared to 384 bit

i mean considering that at the moment they are the only two dx10 cards around and that ati's "R600" is right around the corner and thats using gddr4 (effective memory clocks of over 2.0 ghz) and that aATI is probably gonna wanna top the gtx somehow i would hold off see what ati's got to offer and to think this is the kid with a nvidia logo spray painted on the side of his case! lol

-ben

[chris_kalan]

Well, I bought the 8800 GTS - I know the R600 is right around the corner, but I got the 8800 for $440CDN (under $400 USD) and if I REALLY need to, then I can return it because I bought it from where I work (CompuSmart).

Now I've purchased everything - what do you think about cases though, that is the only part left I haven't purchased. I'm thinking P180?? It's a gorgeous case and I want something that is minimalist - PC cases are rather ugly I find.

[.Maleficus.]

P180 is not a bad choice, but if you want minimalistic and gorgeous, check out some of these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=50001375%202000090007&Subcategory=7&Manufactory=1375

[chris_kalan]

Those are certainly beautiful cases - but too expensive for the ones I like. I love the simplicity of the P180 - I think I'll just get that one. Thanks anyways!

[Ronyx]

ok, if you're not thinking of going with a DX10 card then you have two options:
nVidia and ATI.

If you go with an nVidia card, you're going to want to go with an Intel CPU and an Asus Motherboard.

If you go with an ATI card, you're going to want to go with an AMD CPU and an MSI Motherboard.

Make your choice based on the video card you want but keep in mind that that will also affect your CPU and Motherboard. I for one would not put an ATI video card into an Asus Motherboard. I dunno why, maybe it's just me but i feel more "at home" with an nVidia and an Asus setup =]

If i were you, i'd go with DX10. One reason is Vista and i don't want to have to upgrade again in the near future and the second reason is that even tho it's main feature is that it's a DX10 card. If you look at the benchmarks it still kicks the ATI cards asses which you know kick 7900 series asses. So if you don't look at the fact that it's a DX10 card and look purely at the benchmarks. You can see that it's a better card overall.

That's My $0.05

[chris_kalan]

Alright, so I bought the 8800 GTS, and I think for now I'm going to stick with my Intel board and chip - I can always upgrade later.
What does everyone think about Ultra Power Supplies?

[slytherock]

What does everyone think about Ultra Power Supplies?

It's a nice looking PSU, but I've heard horror story about them. I can suggest OCZ or Enermax; good and reliable stuff

[Silenced_Coyote]

I don't like Ultra powersupplies. Seasonic is a good brand.

[Ronyx]

yea i'm going to go with a Seasonic 650W PSU for my new rig, they're reliable and provide good juice (from what i've heard)