Building a computer

[stormgren]

I'm looking to get a new computer, and I want to build my own. I've never done so before. So far I've got this:
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wis ... er=7707687

Does anyone have any suggestions either for hardware or advice for building one?

[b.i.o]

Looks pretty good. You might want to go with an E6600 c2d processor as opposed to the one you have though. Really depends on what you're going to be doing with it. If you're going to be playing games or doing something else CPU intensive, I would say go for it. Also I know the E6600 can overclock up to around 2.9GHz stably on my laptop, and one of the motherboard reviews for your board mentions 3.8GHz, which is FAST for that price.


Also, looking back I just realized you don't have a case or a power supply, although you probably already knew that.

As for tips...everything is pretty straightforward in putting it together, just don't despair if it doesn't POST the first time--usually it's just some little mistake you made.

[Æshættr]

Indeed it does look good. The only thing I would change is maybe wait to see what AMD's new quad-core chip will offer, and then make a decision. Personally I go with AMD because competition for Intel is good.

[b.i.o]

He doesn't really look like he's in the price range for a quad core processor though...

And if he ever plans to play any games at all, the money would be better spent on a graphics card, as those are a lot less likely to increase hugely in power with overclocking, while intels core 2 duos are excellent overclockers.

(Looking at some of the comments for that motherboard, it looks as if even the processor he has already could hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 3GHz with a little cooling.)

[stormgren]

Yeah, the component I'm most uncertain of is the graphics card?

Should I go with the 7900GS or the 8600 (which is what I currently have). Unfortunately the 8800 is a bit out of my price range, and I'm not a very heavy gamer so I don't think I'll need it.

I'd like to play around with overclocking, and the processor/mobo I've chosen seem to get good results. Should I get a different heatsink then?

[b.i.o]

The 7900 GS has significantly better performance, while the 8600 GT has directX 10 compatibility. I'd go with the 7900 GS. For now at least, directX 10 doesn't mean a whole lot.

People in the reviews for that motherboard were suggesting a good north bridge fan, and arctic silver always helps. I would not spend too much, and see what things are like. Then, if you need to, you can get a new heatsink or whatever you need.

[Arancaytar]

(Looking at some of the comments for that motherboard, it looks as if even the processor he has already could hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 3GHz with a little cooling.)

Something I've heard but am not quite sure about: Is it now possible to dynamically alter the clock speed according to system load? The main drawback of beefing up the cooling and speed (aside from lowering the life expectancy of the CPU) is probably the noise, so it would be good to decrease the tact rate when the CPU is idling. I've seen this in laptops, but does it work in desktops too?

[MFHodge]

Some general advice: Be quite careful when installing the thermal paste and heatsink. It's easy to mess up and a bad paste job will fry your processor.

[joeframbach]

Are you in college/university?
Most places will give you a discount/free XP install disks. I saw $139 on Newegg and I almost shat myself.

[TheTankengine]

The e6750 is 260 MHz faster than the e6600 and its only $13 more on newegg. It also supports a FSB of 1333MHz (I'm pretty sure that is the fastest on the market right now), instead of 1066MHz with the e6600. I'd definitely recommend that.

[b.i.o]

(Looking at some of the comments for that motherboard, it looks as if even the processor he has already could hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 3GHz with a little cooling.)

Something I've heard but am not quite sure about: Is it now possible to dynamically alter the clock speed according to system load? The main drawback of beefing up the cooling and speed (aside from lowering the life expectancy of the CPU) is probably the noise, so it would be good to decrease the tact rate when the CPU is idling. I've seen this in laptops, but does it work in desktops too?

Well, my laptop does it, but I've never heard it used for desktops.

[EvanED]

Well, my laptop does it, but I've never heard it used for desktops.

AMD chips have it; they dub it Cool'n'Quiet. <-- Someone got their URL-describing regex wrong

I don't know if Intel offers it or not, though it looks like not. I wish they would though.

Edit: I take that back. It looks like the Core 2 Duos do have Speedstep.

[haveblue]

CnQ/Speedstep only clock down though. There's no way to automatically overclock under load, but both of those underclock when idle or have very little load in order to save power and keep temperatures down. Just to clarify.

[refreshingapathy]

Some general advice: Be quite careful when installing the thermal paste and heatsink. It's easy to mess up and a bad paste job will fry your processor.

QFT. I blew out my very first 64-bit AMD chip with a bad paste job. Felt like an idiot too.

[WolfoftheNyght]

(Looking at some of the comments for that motherboard, it looks as if even the processor he has already could hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 3GHz with a little cooling.)

Something I've heard but am not quite sure about: Is it now possible to dynamically alter the clock speed according to system load? The main drawback of beefing up the cooling and speed (aside from lowering the life expectancy of the CPU) is probably the noise, so it would be good to decrease the tact rate when the CPU is idling. I've seen this in laptops, but does it work in desktops too?

Yes. My PC actually does it. It's a setting in the bios of my motherboard. It's VERY useful for people who game and multi-task at the same time. This is the motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130082
MSI P6N SLI-FI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

The motherboard also has built in levels of overclocking that they classify using military terms which I thought was pretty amusing. Mine is a 'Private' at the moment

[Axman]

CnQ/Speedstep only clock down though. There's no way to automatically overclock under load, but both of those underclock when idle or have very little load in order to save power and keep temperatures down. Just to clarify.

Yes there is, it's called CrystalCPUID and it works great. Overclock the machine and then set the rules for underclocking manually.

[davean]

My motherboard came with over clocking on load built in, I've never actually looked at it though.

[Amnesiasoft]

My motherboard came with over clocking on load built in, I've never actually looked at it though.

Was it an ASUS board? I'm pretty sure they're the only ones with it ("AI Overclock")