# Deciding on two posssible builds.



## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

I posted here once before and got good replies/comments although I still haven't decided.
My main decision is in the processor.
Iv very much made up my decision on all other parts. The thing is, buying into old technology (core 2 duo) seems unwise although the higher clock speed is a massive bonus for my gaming. If i were to get an i7 build i would surely overclock the i7 920 to at least 3ghz. These are my proposed builds, what do you think?

Intel ATX E8500 CORE 2 DUO/3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB/LGA775
Intel DP45SG P45 LGA775 ATX 1333FSB DDR3 GbLAN 2xPCIE2.0 AUDIO RAID
OCZ 4G(2x2G) DDR3 Platinum 1800
Western Digital 750GB 16M GreenPower SATA2 RAID2 GP WD7500AYPS
Gigabyte ATI HD4870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE2.0 DVI HDCP HDMI ZALMAN FAN
Samsung SE-S084B/RSBN Slim USB External DVDRW Black Vista Retail
CoolerMaster RC-922M-KWNI HAF Black w Side Panel
Corsair HX-620 ATX Power Supply 120mm fan Dual PCI-E Graphics Card Connector 8 SATA Connectors
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
Microsoft Windows VistaHomePremium 64bit w 7 UPG(OEM)buy w Hardware

* Total cost: $2000 AUD*




Intel Core i7 920 Processor LGA1366 2.66GHz 8MB Cache CPU
Noctua NH-U12P Special Edition SE1366
Asus P6T-SE LGA1366 X58 6DDR3 FSB2000(OC) RAID GBLAN 3xPCIE2.0 2FW ATX
OCZ 6G(3x2G) DDR3 10666 Platinum CL-7-7-7-20
Western Digital 750GB 16M GreenPower SATA2 RAID2 GP WD7500AYPS
Zotac GTX275 896MB DDR3 PCI E (Race Driver Grid Inc)

Samsung SE-S224Q/AUBN External DVDRW Lightscribe Vista Support
Thermaltake Xaser6 VG4000BWS Black case(NO PSU)
Corsair HX-620 ATX Power Supply 120mm fan Dual PCI-E Graphics Card Connector 8 SATA Connectors
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
Microsoft Windows VistaHomePremium 64bit w 7 UPG(OEM)buy w Hardware

*Total Cost: $2400 AUD*


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

IMHO the quad core and "new" technology i7 cpu seems to be the smarter choice; however in actual game play the E8500 overclocked to 4.0ghz actually is the better performer 

barely any games use more than two cores; the few that do are really just playing a trick and spreading out the load over four cores, the result is the same

the only time you can harness the muscle of the quad is photoshop and really in-depth autocad rendering

games wont be changing much in the next 3 years either

plan your build for a 3 year life span; and dont waste money on technology you cant make GOOD use of

thats my take on your plan

also I would change to either a gigabyte motherboard or asus board that uses DDR2 memory

if you notice the i7's are selling like the ultimate hot cakes they thought they would be; the reason being is they dont excell really strong at anything other than synthetic benchmarks ................where is the value in that ?

opt for more power supply instead; Corsair 750 or better yet 850 >>>>avoid modular psu's they are just an expensive luxury



the newer due to be released i5's look to be a really good deal; they have vastly improved "turbo" boost which allows the first core of the i5 and allows it to run at a higher clock speed than the remaining cores >>>>>> as if that doesnt tell you games wont be headed for quad core usuage for a long time !!

but Intel is dragging their feet releasing the i5 becasue it will kill i7 sales which are their bread and butter right now; beyond that; its all PR / Hype & Fluff

dotn look for the i7 & i5 line-up to make the same splash the Core2's made......they just dont have that kind of advantage over the C2D's


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Very good advice and suggestions from linderman.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

yep core 2 duos are still the daddy, unless your into virtual machines and video editing quad cores and i7s don't really have much of an advantage plus the E8400 c2D and E8500 overclock really easily.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Also, for a GTX275 you'll want a minimum 700w power supply. The HX620 is nice, but it won't cut it for a GTX275.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

agreed go for a seasonic m12 850 and you will have enough power to power your house too


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Thanks for the comments guys. Thanks for clearing all that up for me Linderman. I guess iv sided with the duo as iv also realized other than maybe arma 2 that ill mostly be playing valve games (css, tf2, l4D). And the duel core system save enough cash to buy a HX 1000W for Xfire in the future if necessary.

Although after your mentioning of the i5 i seem to now wander if it will be on the same chipset as the i7 for future upgrading. That would definitely extend the time between making a full system upgrade again. I cant seem to find any ansers on that from googling around.

Also, I'm forgetting to mention my use of photoshop, flash and possibly 3d studio max for my multimedia class. Although the duo build seems the way to go.

And about the motherboard, It is on sale, cheaper than most ddr2 mobo's. And would it accept 6G through 3 X 2G? or is 2 X 2G the way to go?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

the i5 will not be the same chipset nor the same socket / the i5 will be released VERY soon (fall at the latest of 2009) the socket will be a 1200 pin or something less than 1366


DDR2 is faster than DDR3 because of the larger letencies of DDR3


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Thanks again for the help. So now im stuck on deciding on the mobo and ram.
Iv been looking at the x48 chipset and thus this board has come up:
GIGABYTE GA-X48-DQ6 X48 M/B
if youd like to check out the specs to see if you could find any compaitability problems with my proposed parts? and im sure ill soon buy a second g-card for Xfire.

And for ram ill be able to go ddr2 with maybe these.
http://www.umart.com.au/newindex2.phtml?bid=4


different suggestions maybe?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

that board is a king amoungst the lot! it sold for $400.00 in its glory days


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

any DDR2 memory that is DDR2-1066 mhz and is rated for 2.0 volts or higher is what you want

patriot / gskeil/corsair/ ocz / crucial

I am really starting to turn into a die hard OCZ memory fan; most because I am turned off by Corsair rebates though


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

dont overlook the GA-EP45-UD3P not really much hype; BUT it will keep pace with any board on the market and without throwing money around like a drunken sailor


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Hmmm. Well i supose ill go for the x48 to get the most out of my 4870's or 4890's. You willl probaly fast palm yourself at this question but from all my reasearch of parts Iv never come across the rules for how ram is Installed.
Such as what dims need to be used first? and whether duel channel is strictly 2GB, 4Gb and 8Gb or may i simply upgrade to 6Gb no problems.

Anyway I think iv decided on this ram:
OCZ DDR2 4G(2x2G)PC8500 1066Mhz Platinum
*
from the website:*
1066MHz DDR2 
CL 5-5-5-18
Available in 4GB (2x2048MB) Dual Channel Kits 
Unbuffered 
Platinum-Mirrored XTC Heatspreader* 
OCZ Lifetime Warranty 
1.80v Low Voltage Operation 
1.85v EVP** 
240 Pin DIMM 

So yuo think Iv made a good choice there?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

That's the set I have, I've had it at 1040MHz 5-5-5-15, at the moment it's at 900MHz.

http://searchwarp.com/swa289351.htm


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Sweet, thx for the link. Next ill have a look at what the timings and speed of the ram is all about. Also, i cant seem to find much OCZ on the memory support list.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-x48-ds5.pdf


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Ok here is what i think will be my final build

Intel ATX E8500 CORE 2 DUO/3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB/LGA775
Zalman CNPS9700NT CPU Cooler, 2-Ball bearing, Multi Socket, Ultra Quiet 110mm PWM Fan with green LED
Gigabyte GA-EG45M-DS2H M/B
OCZ DDR2 4G(2x2G)PC8500 1066Mhz Platinum(2P10664GK)
Seagate SATAII NCQ 750GB 7200RPM 32mb Cache(ST3750330AS)
Sapphire HD4890 1GB OverClock GDDR5 PCI-E
BenQ G2412HD 23.6 Full HD Gloss-Black 2ms HDMI VGA DVI
Samsung SE-S224Q/AUBN External DVDRW Lightscribe Vista Support
CoolerMaster RC-922M-KWNI HAF Black w Side Panel
Corsair HX-1000 1000W ATX Modular PSU,140m Fan,3-way SLI
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
Microsoft Windows VistaHomePremium 64bit w 7 UPG(OEM)buy w Hardware


Now, will it all fit into that mid sized case?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

With the 4890 I think you should get the Vapor-X version before an overclocked version, as the 4800 series cards run very hot, and Sapphire's Vapor-X system helps with that problem tremendously. Also, with their cooling you should be able to overclock it well yourself.

Otherwise it looks like a very capable build. I think you'll enjoy it.


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

I found a vapour cooled 4890 and it looks good.
So any help on the compatibility of the ram and is the haf 922 a good choice.

Also, I chose the cooler in attempt to allow for overclocking in the future and for easy installation. Am i right there?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Sure, having an aftermarket heatsink is nice even if you don't overclock, and Zalman is one of the leaders in the computer air cooling industry, though Thermaltake I've found is pretty good as well.

I had that problem when I got my RAM as well, very little on the OCZ page. In my case no one had my motherboard listed (Asus P5Q Pro, or any P5Q boards at all), but obviously some RAM had to work with it. So I just winged it and it worked. If it's a high end motherboard then most low density PC2xxxx RAM should work flawlessly, if not you can RMA the part back as incompatible, get a refund, and buy another set, at most you'll lose $20 due to shipping and restocking.

The case looks good, I've never used one but there was one pretty similar to that on display in the computer shop I got my Antec 900 from, seemed very nice but I liked the Antec's looks and layout (PSU on bottom) a bit better.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

I'm wondering why you changed to a board with onboard, mATX, less slots, and on and on. Linderman linked the UD3P in an earlier post, that's 115 after rebate right now. Less cost and a much better motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 

Maybe it's just me, but unless you need a real small board or onboard video, there's rarely any sense in getting mATX.


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Oh, so the x48 board i hose was Micro ATX, yuck.
Thanks for that, ill have a look at your link.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

0kizza0 said:


> Ok here is what i think will be my final build
> 
> Gigabyte GA-EG45M-DS2H M



Not the x48, the one you have in post #16.
That's an mATX board.


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Ok then, How about this one: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

The ocz compatibility check came up with a lot of results for that board but all where of 800Mhz
OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 / 800MHz / Vista Performance / Platinum Edition / 2GB Modules / 4GB (2x2048) Kit
^^seems like the best choice^^ amirite?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

GA-EP45-UD3P is an excellent board and a perennial favorite around these boards. I'd say you can't go wrong with it.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

grimx133 said:


> i'm wondering why you changed to a board with onboard, matx, less slots, and on and on. Linderman linked the ud3p in an earlier post, that's 115 after rebate right now. Less cost and a much better motherboard.
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16813128358
> 
> maybe it's just me, but unless you need a real small board or onboard video, there's rarely any sense in getting matx.








*ditto*


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Ok, thank or all the help so far, i just ant to eliminate most of the problems i might come across. So will the 800mhz ram be enough or is the 1066mhz am what i really. Id get the 1066Mhz ram for sure but i'm not sure its compatible with the ud3p.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Either should be compatible, 1066 is mildly faster, programs might load a couple seconds faster, but that's all. Your call.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

the cost of 1066mhz ram is sooooo close to that of high quality 800mhz ram; why not get the 1066mhz ? amd YES its compatibl;e with the UD3P


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Thanks, i was just a lil concerned if it was compatible. But there is also the ep45T ud3p which seems to have the bonus of ddr3 ram and maybe more. Is it worth getting for extra future proofing.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Not really. DDR3 has maybe 10% more performance than DDR2 but costs twice as much and is still buggy. DDR2 will be fine.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

DDR3 is not really faster than DDR2 memory; the DDR3 has much larger latencies which negate much of its benefits


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Exactly, so most DDR3 memory will give you no performance boost. However, higher end DDR3 (2000MHz+) will achieve higher performance than DDR2... if you can afford it.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

Phædrus2401 said:


> Exactly, so most DDR3 memory will give you no performance boost. However, higher end DDR3 (2000MHz+) will achieve higher performance than DDR2... if you can afford it.





not to mention you will need the i7-965 extreme cpu which costs $1000.00 to fully use the 2000mhz memory; :wink:


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

While we're doing that let's just tack this on... http://www.ramsan.com/products/ramsan-20.htm XD

The guy at SIGGRAPH quoted it as $15k...


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

You forgot to mention the air conditioning unit? 
Anyway I think iv got a complete build ready for order?

Intel ATX E8500 CORE 2 DUO/3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB/LGA775
Zalman CNPS9700NT CPU Cooler, 2-Ball bearing, Multi Socket, Ultra Quiet 110mm PWM Fan with green LED
OCZ DDR2 4G(2x2G)PC8500 1066Mhz Platinum(2P10664GK)
Seagate SATAII NCQ 750GB 7200RPM 32mb Cache(ST3750330AS)
Sapphire HD4890 VaporX 1G GDDR5 HDMI PCI E
Samsung 2333SW+ 23inch Wide Full HD LCD 5ms High Glossy Black Tilt DVI-D
Samsung SE-S224Q/AUBN External DVDRW Lightscribe Vista Support
Antec TWELVE HUNDRED Full Tower Gaming Case NO PSU
Corsair HX-1000 1000W ATX Modular PSU,140m Fan,3-way SLI
Logitech Newtouch Keyboard 200 USB
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
Microsoft Windows VistaHomePremium 64bit w 7 UPG(OEM)buy w Hardware

*antec 1200 awesome?
OS ok?
Hard drive?
Should i build myself? or let the possible trainee employees get their hands on my build .
Most improtantly, compaitable components?
I don't think i can get a refund for opened components.*


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Looks like a good build, but some of the parts are a bit overspecced. The Antec 1200 is a great case, but it's a full tower which means that it's very, very large and when full of components you may have difficulty moving it around if, say, you rearrange your room. The Antec 900 should suffice for your needs. Also for just a Radeon 4890 you don't need a 1kw PSU, you could safely go as low as the tx750w, though the tx850w would be quite good as well and allow you to go for Crossfire later on if you so desired.

As for the OS, I would skip the Vista+upgrade, I would just download the Windows 7 RC. You'll end up paying the same anyway, only you won't have to put up with Vista while waiting for the Windows 7 retail upgrade package to become available. The hard drive is fine, and it's all compatible.

As for building it yourself, that's your call. It really isn't too difficult as long as you read the manuals and read a few tutorials before starting. It's so easy even a trainee employee can do it. :grin: So it's up to you.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

All your bits are compatible and yes the Antec 1200 is a great case that's why I have one

And every build I do for customers I recommend they use the 1200 especially if they are into overclocking.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

0kizza0 said:


> You forgot to mention the air conditioning unit?
> Anyway I think iv got a complete build ready for order?
> 
> Intel ATX E8500 CORE 2 DUO/3.16GHz/6MB/1333FSB/LGA775
> ...




the antec 1200 is a great case! 

OS = go windows 7 for sure

hard drive = very good choice

YES build yourself.........most all parts will have 3 year warranty anyway

power supply = Corsair 8509-TX is plenty

*what motherboard did you deciede on ?*


NICE build spec IMHO


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Oh, i decided on the ud3p ddr2 mobo. As for the Hx1000W, its modular (makes it easier for my first build) and i'm definitely planning on going crossfire. 

And the 1200 was just my pick of a full tower case to hold it all. Others i was looking at were the HAF 922 and xaser VI 4000.

Also, anyone here know for sure that the ud3p can take 4-8GB of 1066mhz ram? seems that on most forums people are posting with problems about having to alter voltages to get more than 4gb of ram posting.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

That's typical of almost all motherboards, you almost always run into voltage problems when all four RAM slots are filled.


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Ok, so you guys cant think of anyproblems ill have with the antec 1200? I think i remeber a pic of that case with the HX 1000W upside down on the BOTTOM OF THE CASE... Does that mean the antec 1200 only really accepts power supplys with certain fan positioning.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

No, the PSU can be positioned either way since the Antec cases have room for air to flow under the PSU. Facing it with the fan facing up provides slightly better cooling, but makes attaching your SATA cables difficult because they're upside down. Facing down it'll be easier to hook up your devices, but the PSU will run a few degrees hotter. That's all, I have my fan facing up because I like high efficiency. :wink:


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

How about I use the Thermaltake Tough Power 850W instead? Would that be better for the case and still have enough power for all my parts/upgrades and crossfire?


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

I like the Corsair power supplies as they run very quiet. The toughpower would be just as good, usually corsairs are lower in price though. As long as you get a quality brand, that's what really counts.


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Well, im putting ym order in tommorow afternoon, If there anything youd like to add please do and ill check the forums before hand. Thanks for all the help so far.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Pick up a tube of Arctic Silver 5: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007 $7
And a bottle of 90+% (that means 90% pure or MORE) isopropyl alcohol and some paper coffee filters. That's for cleaning the CPU and heatsinks' contact points prior to application of the AS5.


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Well, you guys probs be suprised casue i ended up ordering the i7 build. They didn't have the ud3p in stock anymore and it ended up only costing about $300 more. But thats with an extra 2G ram and becuase iv paid for them to build it i also get a 3 year onsight warrenty . Im sure their technicican will clean the cpu heatsink as you said.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

you should have built it yourself, its more fun and it's not very hard. Building a computer is a lot like doing a jigsaw, it'll take time but once your done you will be happy with a job well done.


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Yeah, but if i stuff up or parts arnt compatible im up for more mula! Ill be upgrading it form here on in though.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

You could just send the parts back saying they were DOA... Newegg doesn't check very hard. Just learn from your mistake, that's what I did. :grin:


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## 0kizza0 (May 28, 2009)

Im not buying frow new egg by the way. they dont ship to aus do they?
Anyway, that doesnt fix the fact that i cant return it if it aint compaitable.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

You can, for a 15% percent restocking fee, but you're right they don't send to Australia. Oh well.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

your parts are compatible, look for the letters ATX om psu and mobo and they'll work


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