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The (new) Official PC building thread!
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 03:19 |
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Lp531,
Quote:
I thought you'd like the thumb screws I threw in...Just being thorough...
I figured since he was going to have to suffer with Vista...at least he should have a screaming media center for his $$$...
I chuckled a bit when I saw those! LOL!! I still like the Ammo Case for him as he intends to take it to Lan parties. I've seen a couple of those cases and the handle is really sturdy. I left him some options price wise in the rig I suggested. He could go HD3850 on the video and an E6750 on the CPU, add $6 for the Cooler Master cooler and just about come out with the right figure adding the OS. I may go back and revise a couple of things and see what redmars thinks! The performance would take a very small hit. LOL!!
So when are we going to see your new CPU in something?
May You and Yours Have a Happy New Year,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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Senior Member
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31. December 2007 @ 03:51 |
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@theonejrs
Quote:
he intends to take it to Lan parties
I never Saw Lan Party...If he wants a Gaming Machine...Vista is a Bust for Gaming...Cut the Ram in half...forget 64 and get XP 32...Vista is only good for a Media Center...and forget the case I mentioned...I only posted what I did because of the Vista 64 O/S...
Quote:
So when are we going to see your new CPU in something?
Ordered the parts yesterday...basically what I just posted...No Vista...2gb of the Crucial PC-8500 memory...(2) seagate 320gb H/D...and a familiar CPU are really the only difference...
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 31. December 2007 @ 03:58
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 03:58 |
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GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 04:11 |
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Lp531,
Quote:
I never Saw Lan Party...If he wants a Gaming Machine...Vista is a Bust for Gaming...Cut the Ram in half...forget 64 and get XP 32...Vista is only good for a Media Center...and forget the case I mentioned...I only posted what I did because of the Vista 64 O/S...
Hey, I'm tired and I've been scrolling through so much stuff checking all of this out. He mentioned unreal Tournament and I thought Lan Party. Dain Bread!! lOL!! Does it count if you quote your own post? ROFLMAO!!
I just went back over the whole thing and as far as the case goes he can get any number of that at the Ammo case price so it shouldn't change anything. This time I managed to include everything. take a look and let me know what you think!
Best Regards,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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Senior Member
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31. December 2007 @ 04:29 |
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Really need input from Redmars as to what he wants from this build...
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 04:44 |
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Lp531,
Quote:
Really need input from Redmars as to what he wants from this build...
I hope he didn't think we were all arguing and left! LOL!!
Honest redmars, we always do this. It's how we refine things! We post our thoughts and read what other members suggest, think about it a bit, sharpen our pencils and research a bit more and then post again. Believe me when I say, we all respect one another. It's not a peeing contest and the ultimate choice is yours. We all learn more this way! Our aim is to give you choices that will suit your needs, not ours!
Warmest Regards and Happy New Year,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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Senior Member
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31. December 2007 @ 05:10 |
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I don't think anyone would take this thread as arguing, but it is like a soap opera. If you miss a day you spend 3 days catching up with the wealth of information put out in this thread,not only for Tech but for pricing too.Chris
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Senior Member
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31. December 2007 @ 06:29 |
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Originally posted by theonejrs:
It's not a peeing contest and the ultimate choice is yours. Our aim is to give you choices that will suit your needs, not ours!
and we all know how important aim is in a peeing contest...
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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31. December 2007 @ 07:15 |
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Quote:
This will be a gaming system...
LP is right, you can't use Vista for that, especially a 64Bit version. Honestly DX9 is still very good and with a little messing around many of the effects in DX10 can be enabled in DX9. So I personally think that XP is still a pretty good choice. Either way don't pay for the OS if you get my drift...
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Newbie
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31. December 2007 @ 12:36 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 31. December 2007 @ 12:38
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 13:54 |
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redmars,
I would be very careful with that particular chioce of motherboard. It has had a number of problems since day one, and continues to have problems popping up. I know 2 people that RMA'd theirs and then finally sent them back for a refund! Abit's development is still a good bit behind both Asus and GigaByte, especially in their bios/chipset implementations! Asus and Gigabyte have an advantage there because both companies were contracted by Intel to help develop some of the new "P" series chipsets. I know it did well in some of the motherboard tests, but I wonder just how honest those tests were. Then again I always question whether "special" boards were supplied for the tests. It wasn't that long ago that Abit was making and selling a whole line of very cheap motherboards, in the high $30 to min $40 range. I do a lot of computer repairs and I see more failures with Abit, ECS, Jetway and even Asrock than any other brands. They all seem to have a lifespan of a couple of months past the warranty. I rarely see problems with Asus, Evga or GigaByte.
Very few of these are overclocked as I do a lot of Office machines for Doctors, Dentists and accountants. I also build over 40 computers a year (48 this past year) and use lower end GigaBytes for the Intels and Biostar T-Force for AMDs, all with built in graphics for all my office builds and I rarely ever have any problems so warranty work is rare for me. Considering that more than half of these run 24/7/365, that's remarkable!
I am AD's #1 GigaByte Fanboy! Why? because they make very good, high quality product and their extraordinary Customer service is second to none. They will even discuss and encourage overclocking and give you help with it. Asus makes good, high quality products as well, but their customer service is light years behind GigaByte's. When I asked to exchange my GA-965P-DS3 motherboard for a GA-P35-DS3R after having it for six months, because of an advertising error, they swiftly came up with a great deal for me. When FedEx lost it and it finally got to me and it had been tampered with by the party FedEx delivered it to, it was less than 2 days before I received a replacement. They paid for all the shipping, both ways. When that MB had a failure in one of the Voltage Regulation modules, a replacement was shipped overnight at thier expense. They also took care of the shipping on the return and even gave me 30 days to do it without a Credit card charge! Amazing!
GA-P35-DS3R Rev. 2.0, E6750 @3.52gHz, 32,000+ MIPS, SuperPi 1M of 14.750s and all that stops me from running it faster is my current 800MHz memory. When I get the 1066 Crucial Ballistix Tracer memory, it's straight to 3.8GHz. It does 4.0gHz easily but I'm not comfortable with how hogh you need to set the voltage to do it! It's on about 15 hours a day and is just about bullet proof! Wonderful machine! NO glitches or Blue screens either!
Best Regards,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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31. December 2007 @ 14:19 |
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Redmars, you don't get it. You CANT use that OS for gaming. The support, as far as games go, is horrible for 64bit. Also the 8800GT does not have as good as a image quality as the HD 3870 so yeah take your pick. The third thing is that the Gigabyte motherboards is just fine. Like Russ said that ABIT motherboard isn't all that good. Honestly Gigabyte has been cranking out some very good boards.
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 14:45 |
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abuzar1,
Quote:
Well why don't you just raise the FSB in 5mhz increments and when it gets unstable increase the voltage a little bit. I don't know what the max safe voltage for your cpu is, you would have to google that, or you could ask Intel.
You do like to laugh, don't you! LOL!! All intel will tell you is what's on the box! 1.350v! LOL!! It's especially funny since it's tech papers say 1.50v! ROFLMAO!!
Increments of 5MHz ar too small! It would take you forever. Take a realistic desired overclock like with mine when I first built it and did a burn in at 3.0GHz or 3000MHz with Orthos for 12 hours. Divide 3000 by the CPU's multiplier (8) and you get 375MHz as your base fsb which gives you a 1500MHz fsb, 3.0GHz. once the burn in is complete go up in 25MHz increments. If it crashes, drop it in 5MHz increments until stable and play with the voltages from there. It's real hard to hurt anything these days as most motherboards these days have active bios and won't let you burn it up. If your power supply turns on and off check the post screen to see that the bios hasn't reset to defaults. If it has, lower your settings a bit and try again. There's lots more, but this is just a basic start.
AnandTech makes a case for finding the limits of the memory first and then overclocking the CPU. Find it here. Works very well with any C2D!
http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3184
Best Regards,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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31. December 2007 @ 15:51 |
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Yes I do like to laugh lol. Look I did it again! Anyway he wanted to be safe so I just said 5mhz. Wrong thread by the way.
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Senior Member
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31. December 2007 @ 17:03 |
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@redmars
We can't really help you...if we know nothing about you...or what you want out of your computer...so far...you have given use very little info...I know it seems like a lot of question to answer...but it really helps...We all spend a considerable amount of time making these lists to try and help people...the least you could do is answer a few questions...so we are not just...taking a stab in the Dark..:)
All we know is...You have built a system before...and you want it to play UT3...and you appear to want Vista 64 as your O/S...
Why Vista 64?...have you ever used Vista?..
What are you wanting from this build?..
Why did you originally want a Micro Build?..
Is this a Gaming only Computer?..
Is this a Business Computer?..
Is this a Media Center?..
Is this a combination of the (3)?..
Is this for a living room?..Bedroom?..Media Room?..
How Old are you?..
What is your Computer Knowledge Level?..
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 31. December 2007 @ 17:35
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Newbie
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31. December 2007 @ 18:20 |
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Ok I understand now about Vista 64 is not the way to go. I was thinking because I wanted to have access past the 4 GB of RAM if I was to buy more later.
What are you wanting from this build?
Mainly a gaming system.
Why did you originally want a Micro Build?..
Making it easy to carry to LAN parties
Is this a Gaming only Computer?
Most of the time.
Is this a Business Computer?
Replace my Dell 8200 that I have had now 7 year.
Is this a Media Center?
Will build another one later for this.
Is this for a what room?
Home basement office.
How Old are you?
38
What is your Computer Knowledge Level?
PC tech support field now 20 years. I have build other older system like dual Pentium Pro, other 486DX systems, but that has been a while I have been out of the loop on what is good to get. My Dell 8200 has lasted me 7 years. Its been sitting off now because I got a new laptop.
But having a nice laptop does not compare to having a desktop. I stated using CMP systems in 1980, Used all different versions of Windows and OS/2 Warp, Redhat/Fedora, and Solaris it feels like a long time ago now. I glad the time of the IRQ is really gone now. lol
Mainly doing corporate server support now.
theonejrs,
I do actually like nVidia more also. Many problems in the past getting ATI drivers to work correctly(most uninstall or update) or flash the firmware on the card.
I do like the idea of having the Intel X38 chip set to give support for PCI Express 2.0 x16.
The GIGABYTE board do look good and the reviews are also very nice.
This GIGABYTE GA-X38-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Looks good. But no review on it yet, same as the board that looks like it but just has the better cooling is GIGABYTE GA-X38-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Ultra Durable 2, Ultra Cooling Intel Motherboard - Retail But most of the reviewers had problems with it.
I have had so many browsers windows open trying to compare all of the various features and reviews sometime enough to make you hear explode.
LP531,
Can't forget the thumb screws:
Sunbeam TS-AL-BZ Bronze Alien
http://www.svc.com/ts-al-bz.html
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 31. December 2007 @ 18:23
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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31. December 2007 @ 18:42 |
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Well I have a PCI-E 2 card working fine in normal PCI-E. Actually I believe the P35 overclocks better than the X38 chipset. Ok now if it was up to ME, this is what i would build. That is if I had the same needs as you. I don't go to lan parties so I have a full tower case. Obviously you wouldn't want to carry around a 55 pound computer with you.
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Senior Member
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31. December 2007 @ 18:48 |
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So...it will be a Home Office Gaming Computer...that you will take to Lan Parties...and I am assuming you do not sleep in the basement with the system on...so cases with Led's are OK...and a M/B with dual lan is preferable...
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Newbie
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31. December 2007 @ 18:58 |
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Yeah the system will not be near me when I sleep. What does dual lan nic's get me? I understand in server why you would have dual nic's to have on different subnets.
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Senior Member
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31. December 2007 @ 19:10 |
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It allows you to use your PC as a Router/Gateway to share the Internet connection with the other PC's at the Party...most upper end M/B will have it...
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REAM
Suspended permanently
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31. December 2007 @ 19:51 |
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id say go for vista 64bit. firstly, any signed drivers have to have a 64bit version as well as a 32 bit, so nearyl all your driver will do. most if not all component hardware does. also vista is a damned good OS, and has improved with the fixes, and with SP1 to be release soon, itll be better.
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 20:07 |
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redmars,
Quote:
This GIGABYTE GA-X38-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Looks good. But no review on it yet, same as the board that looks like it but just has the better cooling is GIGABYTE GA-X38-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Ultra Durable 2, Ultra Cooling Intel Motherboard - Retail But most of the reviewers had problems with it.
One of the sad truths with new chipsets is they are usually very "Green"! LOL!! It's also sad that most manufacturers sometimes can never get the design to fit around the chipset properly, no matter how many bios revisions they try. They all build "Duds" from time to time! LOL!!
I had a huge nightmare with a build for a friend in Chicago with an Asus P5N-E SLI motherboard that I bought on the basis of the tests done on at either tom's or AnandTech and the advice of Leo PaPorte (the computer guy) on the radio. Early tests and rewiews were great. To make it short, it took 3 motherboards before I got one that would even work, $1200 in Credit Card charges (which did finally get credited), $80+ in phone calls and wasted better than 2 weeks. Leo publicly admitted that he made a mistake and apologized on his radio show to all that bought one because of his advice. It just never lived up to the performance of the earliest models. I believe that we've had only one successful build and overclock by a member here and that was one of the first to hit the shelves and still going strong. sammorris had one and now enjoys his GA-P35C-DS3R. My friend's is acting the way Sam's did so I expect it will eventually die too. I know I must have set a record for BSODs as I had so many of them. What irked me the most through all of this was that Asus customer Service and Tech Service were denying that there was any problem with the P5N-E when their own forum was choked with people complaining about the exact same problems I was having. I know as I'm a member there!
That experience, and on the advice of some fine folks here and at DVDHounds that know a lot more than I do is how I got my first ever GigaByte, a GA-965P-DS3 Rev. 1.33. I put it together and it worked no problem, and then I overclocked my E4300 to 3.2GHz. Easiest OC of my life! never got any error messages or BSODs It will actually OC higher but considering the amount of use I give a computer I don't like to run anything stressed to the max. That's why I'll settle for 3.8GHz with this one as I know it will easily run at 4.0GHz but I won't run the CPU voltage over 1.5V. I've already borrowed the Tracer memory from my buddy so I know it works well!
Best Regards,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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31. December 2007 @ 20:15 |
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Seems all of us have good experiences with Gigabyte boards. I had one die on me, but I don't blame Gigabyte, some boards are bound to be faulty. They were speedy about the RMA process.
In my build above I only have 2GB of RAM, which is all you should need right now. Later on you can upgrade. I also have two dvd burners in there because it makes it much easier if you are copying and burning disks.
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AfterDawn Addict
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31. December 2007 @ 20:23 |
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abuzar1,
Quote:
In my build above I only have 2GB of RAM, which is all you should need right now. Later on you can upgrade. I also have two dvd burners in there because it makes it much easier if you are copying and burning disks.
I don't plan on ever going with Vista so 2MB is more than enough ram. Someone mentioned to redmars to halve the memory and run XP, but C2Ds run much better with 2GB instead of 1GB.
As far as two DVD Burners goes, I have my NEC/Optiarc 7170A to burn with and an Asus E616A DVD Rom to use for copying from. Both excellent drives!
EDIT: Glad to see that I'm not alone in getting Speedy Service from GigaByte! GigaByte Rocks!
Best Regards,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 31. December 2007 @ 20:26
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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31. December 2007 @ 20:26 |
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I have the drive I added in the build and it's very good. I think as far as a gaming PC goes thats your best best, and with rebates it's under a thousand!
I've also read reviews about that case being VERY good for lan parties, so you might wanna keep that the same. It's up to you if you want something a bit more expensive you could try to future proof by getting a DDR3 compatible X38 board.
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