# £350 For New mobo and processor



## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*£350 For New mobo and processor*

Hey i'm basically wondering about purchasing a new mobo and processor seeing as mine are outdated compared to my graphics card, oh and some ram, I have 3 things in mind already, but it has to be compatible with my current configuration (apart from replacement parts of course).

You can see my current PC below in my signature, and you can work from there on recommends for the best system, bare in mind I am a big 'gamer' so it's a gaming based system I am looking for but i do not overclock (  ).

The 3 under consideration:

Processor:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB (4MB per core pair) Retail Boxed Processor

Motherboard:

Intel BOXD975XBX2KR 975x Socket 775 Core 2 Duo ready FSB1066 DDR2 Audio Crossfire ATX Retail Boxed

Ram:

Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 675MHz/PC2-5400 XMS Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL4(4-4-4-12) Heat Spreader

Basically im looking for value for money but a quality product as im tired of my hissy fit PC whining every time I change anything, as a sub section of consideration should I be thinking about a higher voltage PSU too? seems so, if yes what kind and volts?

Regars, Fabien.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

On a second note, I hear good things about Corsair, it's reliable etc etc but why should I buy Corsair over say something like ...

OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

OCZ also makes good memory. I would not hesitate to get that RAM in place of something from Corsair and in fact I would opt for it because of the higher speed.

I generally tend to avoid Intel motherboards however because of their low quality capacitors. I have noticed a trend where motherboard manufacturers who stick closely to the reference design (in this case, Intel made the reference board) tend to use lower quality parts, however I think this is a coincidence and the two are not mutually exclusive. That being said, look at the Gigabyte P35-DS3.
http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=284342&CatId=0

I would also highly recommend upgrading the power supply to something of higher power output and quality. Take a look at this:
http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=248085&CatId=2890


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## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Ive got the 1GB version of the OCZ RAM. Not had any problems with it, and its sitting nicely at 2.1v.

Get it over the Corsair and then take Matt's Advice too :grin:


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

What does the difference in quality mean for PSU's?


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## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Low Quality PSUs usualy Die within a few months / a year. Good Quality PSU's last much much longer and provide More Amps on the 12v Rail(s) to provide system stability. 


:wave:


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Well i've had my PSU for almost 2 years now and never had a fault (that I know of) which has been PSU related, but I do understand that it will lack power.

So the overall assumption is, go OCZ and the Gigabyte mobo is good enough to support my soon to be specifications, at least comparatively to to intel mobo for games like 'Crysis'. Oh and get a better/bigger PSU


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Pretty much thats it. The Gigabyte will also support current and future 1333MHz FSB CPUs while the Intel will not, which provides better future proofing.

If you want an idea on the state of your power supply, look at your voltages in the BIOS. If in the BIOS your +12V is not above +12V, then your power supply is too small to some extent. A good power supply will be at or above 12V on the +12V rail when a light load is placed on it.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Sorry to bump, but is there a power supply on ebuyer.com that you could reccomend instead of

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=248085&CatId=2890

Saves me paying shipping etc :-/


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## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?TT-W0116#top

free shipping and Better.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132266
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/133812


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

I have ordered both thank you.

New setup will be

Processor: Q6600
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P iP35 Socket 775
PSU: Thermaltake ToughPower W0116 750w
Graphics Card: BFG 8800 GTS 320MB
HD: maxtor 300gb

I have some Antec Forumula 5 silver thermal compound, but it's almost 2 years old, is it still ok to use?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Looks good. What RAM are you getting?


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Ram : OCZ platinum 800Mhz


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Oh yeah. :embarased

That is good RAM.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Sorry to bump but will I need to format my hard drive when I put all this new stuff in? because that would suck pretty hard


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Not unless you dont have the discs just do a repair install


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

ewwwwww VISTA a new motherboard will certainly put you at needing a new copy of vista >>>> they are very tight on the new hardware with vista 



if it was win xp you could do this

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

I hope your not looking for a BIG performance increase ?????? I dont usually recommend upgrading to core-2 from a socket 939 platform ?????


the speed will be better; but its gonna be a slightly thing




in your shoes, I would go for an Opteron 175 or 185 and overclock it >>>>> you'll run all day with the core-2 boys >>>>> wont beat them in the benches but you will be in respectable second place :wink:


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

although I wouldnt overclock with your current PSU >>>>>> I would look to the antec trio rail 650 watt


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

I dont really overclock, thats why I chose the q6600 over the E6750, my past computers have been really fussy inc this one and thats without OC'ing.

and I will expect a large improvement in my benchmark scores because this PC seriously underperforms. I get 3000 from 3dmark06. My friend upgraded his pc to the E6750 recently, his benchmark went from 6000 to 9000, he upped his mobo too..

I wil be going from "AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Socket 939 | Maxtor 300GB 7200 RPM Sata II | Sansun Arctic 550w PSU | 2* Crucial 1GB DDR 400MHZ | Abit An8 Sli PCI-E | XFX Geforce 7900 GT 256mb"

to

"Intel Q6600 2.4ghz Quad, Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P iP35 Socket 775, OCZ Platinum 800mhz RAM, Maxtor 300GB 7,200 RPM Sata II, Toughpower 750w Thermaltake PSU, Geforce BFG 8800 GTS 320mb.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Ok cool


once you get it together and test driven / give us a shout :wave:


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Will do, i'll give you a benchmark score too  Comon 9000!!! lol Oh BTW how easy is overclocking? or more importantly how much would I have to learn from scratch to overclock my q6600 and is it worth learning and doing?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

yes overclocking is worth learning especially if you are not in a hurry and you are a gamer


overclocking takes a fair amount of reading, then digest the info ( a little info will absorb) then you read again (some more will absorb) then you start your tweaking

its not a wam bam thing, its not like updating a driver :wink:

but its not that hard either with alittle discussion / its easy to do really >>>>>>>> if your mind is open and your ears :laugh:

its actually quite fun


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardware/103676-c2d-overclocking-guide-beginners.html


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Thank you for your wise words of wisdom.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Ok guys, new PC is here, after some initial installation issues with A turning it on, stupid damn power button not plugged in... and also lan driver giving me a Code 31, i am all up and running, and oh boy is it running, as I was asked and said I would do, the new system benchmark score is.... first lets start with the old...

"AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Socket 939 | Maxtor 300GB 7200 RPM Sata II | Sansun Arctic 550w PSU | 2* Crucial 1GB DDR 400MHZ | Abit An8 Sli PCI-E | XFX Geforce 7900 GT 256mb" Highest Benchmark 3dMark06 = 

3102

New PC specs are in signature = 

9802 

And if I went to XP i bet i could beat 10,000 or if I finally overclock. The cores stay below 30 degrees and my PC is incredibly silent, which is not even something I intended to have, I feel at peace.


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Sweet thats a large increase lol


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

thanks for the update >>>>>> happy to hear all is well :wave:


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

How many fans?


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

2 Blue LED 3 inch fans on side, one on front of the case, obv heatsink and graphics card have their own aswell as PSU


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

No exhaust fans? You should definitely add some. Only intake fans isn't very effective for cooling. What are your graphics card temps? What case do you have?


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Case is an "I-Cute ATX Gaming Case", how do i check my graphic cards temperature?

How necessary is a cooling fan? i mean my temps are pretty low, they're cheap, but apparently no store stocks them lol.


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Use ntune http://www.nvidia.com/object/ntune_5.05.47.00.html


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

GPU 51C according to Nvidia Monitor, if i am reading it right.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

With this case I would unplug the two side fans, add a fan to the rear fan port, and add one of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SY-002-AN&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=399

Keep using th front fan.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Not to sound like an a**, just curious by why unplug sides etc? i'm trying to learn as much about this stuff as possible you see  what is it aimed at? inc adding new cooler.

Also what sort of temperatures should a GPU get and what is maximum for my GPU?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Right now you have a positive pressure design. Intel initially recommended this, but after the P4 (i486) and with the introduction of the P5 (Pentium), Intel started recommending a negative pressure design, meaning more exhaust than intake. Intel found it to be more effective.

You might be interested in looking at Intel's Thermally Advantaged Chassis specification.
http://www.intel.com/support/processors/pentium4/sb/cs-008537.htm
http://www.intel.com/technology/magazine/computing/dt11021.pdf


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Cool, thank you.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Why turn the 2 side fans off though?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Because they are adding pressure. With two exhaust fans and one intake you keep the pressure negative. Cool air will be drawn in through small holes in the front and side of the computer, including where the fans were. Turning off the fans will reduce noise.


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

AMD recommends the same cooling setup for FX-74 setups because it's the most effective.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Hmmm, I've got the antec exhuast fan in and 2 side fans off, seems like temperatures are a little higher than before

GPU: 55c
CORE 0: 35c
CORE 1: 31c
CORE 2: 30c
CORE 3: 35c

It's definately set to hieghest level on exhaust fan.


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Thats not to bad


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Turn off smart fan control for the CPU fan in the BIOS. Turn your video card fan up to 100% with RivaTuner. Then check your temps.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Sorry for the bump, not intentional.

Having issues with this PC guys, since you're familiar here's the FW to post in RAM sections:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/new-system-bsod-errors-and-memtest86-errors-194514.html#post1163305


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

In Rivatuner how do I turn card fan upto 100%?


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

nm i got it, now to figure out smart fan in bios


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

It should be under the PC Health section of your BIOS.


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## FabienO (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: £350 For New mobo and processor*

Update:

my PC only crashes when booting up vista if my pc has been turned off at the plug, it will load vista if I change something in the BIOS IE load fail safe defaults, but if i turn PC off at plug again then when i start pc up it will crash before vista boots.

this is the general trend, im not 100% sure but seems so.


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