The Need 4 Speed - New System Suggestions 2007 Edition


just throwing some thoughts out here ... i'll clean it up & clarify later (2morrow)


How does the Core 2 Duo E4300, $176USD compared to the E6300, $187USD & which would be the preferred chip to go with?


I like the idea of that "Dual" board. Allowing use of older existing components (DDR RAM, AGP video) while also giving the option of upgrading to newer (DDR2, PCIe).

The DC description shows the ASRock board as PT800 where Newegg shows it as a PT880. Are they one in the same? Typo, I guess. ASRock webpage 775Dual-VSTA shows 880.


Any other dualies you might recommend?


Power Supply? Anything to be aware of? 24 pin + 4 extra?

I would be using IDE (PATA) drives as that's what I have. In the future SATA perhaps.

Is the lack of PCIe16 a limitation?

If I go with DDR2 memory, do i also need to use PCIe, or are they not related in that
regard? In other words, if I use DDR2, can I still use an older AGP video card?

If not, then any video recommendations? Right now I'm running a GeForce MX440 64MB or some such beast, & that is fine. No gaming.


Integrated graphics?

And you definitely recommend the Core 2 Duo over any similarly priced AMD Athlon?



If I decided against a "dual" board? Then what recommendations on MB/CPU & I would almost certainly need a video card.


Reason of the dual is simply to hold costs down by using existing components.

This is basically a follow on to this thread ...

"Motherboard upgrade"
http://www.pcqanda.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=2&topic_id=439188


My earlier Need 4 Speed thread ...

"The Need 4 Speed - New System Suggestions"
http://www.pcqanda.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=2&topic_id=298570

I've got ...

Case
DVD
HD

1GB DDR2 coming.
Sufficient amounts of DDR.

AGP video cards.

Some lower(ish) end P/S.


Need ...


CPU
MB

I don't believe you can run DDR and DDR2 in the board at the same time. Has to be one or the other.

NewEgg's got some Kingston DDR2 for $67.99 per 1 GB stick.

The is no sense in buying the AsRock board unless you plan to reuse an old AGP video card and/or DDR ram.

As for the difference between the E4300 and E6300... buy the E4300 if you plan on overclocking it. Otherwise, buy the E6300.

As for a motherboard choice...

BUDGET:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

Not So BUDGET:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012

BEST:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131045

Well I never did get very far with this - yet.


How about some comments on this (newer to the US) board:

"ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA LGA 775 VIA PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157107

vs. the older model at virtually the same price ($60):

"ASRock 775Dual-VSTA LGA 775 VIA PT880 PRO ATX Intel Motherboard"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157092



Also available at: eWiz, ChiefValue.
eWiz.com: ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA LGA775/ PT880 Ultra/ DDR&DDR2/ PCI-E&AGP/ A&L/ ATX Motherboard
ChiefValue: ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA LGA 775 VIA PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard

The 4Core model will support quad core CPUs. You may as well buy that one instead.

Quote:

How does the Core 2 Duo E4300, $176USD

$116, now at $114.50.

Quote:

I like the idea of that "Dual" board. Allowing use of older existing components (DDR RAM, AGP video) while also giving the option of upgrading to newer (DDR2, PCIe).

DDR2, 2x1 GB, $65 Kingston.

Quote:

Newegg shows it as a PT880.

ASRock webpage 775Dual-VSTA shows 880.

Now a newer model, ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA LGA 775 VIA PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard
$66. delivered.

Quote:

Power Supply? Anything to be aware of? 24 pin + 4 extra?

M/B uses a 20-pin.

Quote:

I would be using IDE (PATA) drives as that's what I have. In the future SATA perhaps.

Poor layout (placement) of IDE connectors (2). Or at least the placement on the M/B compared to HDD locations in a particular case, it could be a pain in the butt.

Quote:

Is the lack of PCIe16 a limitation?

Yes if you are a gamer.

Quote:

If I go with DDR2 memory, do i also need to use PCIe, or are they not related in that regard? In other words, if I use DDR2, can I still use an older AGP video card?

Runs fine with DDR2 & an older AGP video card. (But NOT with a 3.3V AGP card!)

Quote:

Reason of the dual is simply to hold costs down by using existing components.

That it does.

So are you saying that you finally built your new box?

Yes.
Sort of. I've put a system together. What its final configuration will be, I'm not sure just yet. And how it performs, I won't have a good feel for a bit while longer yet.

  $0 Case, Ultra, Computer Cases + Mother Board Layouts.

  $0 Power Supply, Ultra, V-Series 500 Watt PSU.

$116 CPU, E4300, Intel Core 2 Duo Installation Guide?.

 $66 Motherboard, ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA.

 $65 Memory, 2GB (2x1) DDR2 Kingston ValueRAM.

     HDD's, existing.

     CD/DVD, some Sony purchased on the cheap.

     Video, existing (AGP) Nvidia GeForce4 MX440 64MB.

     Sound & NIC, onboard.

     OS, XP Pro.
   

It's quiet!

CPU fan is quiet!
Power Supply is quiet!
Rear exhaust fan (on lowest setting, 1700 RPM I believe), is quiet!

Temperatures are fine.

No other fans on the M/B.
No fan on the video card.

Hey, my computer is quiet!

-------

On my existing computers, AMD's, the stock (small) CPU fans are NOISY.
On my existing computer, the (small) rear exhaust fan is NOISY.
On my existing computer, the power supply is noisy.

Particular HDD's can be extremely noisy.
Some are not, but then you'll run into some that just are.

Took a small (20GB?) HD from (I think) a Compaq system (XP?), tried to boot in the new system, & it bluescreened.


Took existing HD with Vista installed on it, & put it into new system. It reconfigured itself & worked. There was a driver issue, but I'm not sure with what? Didn't find it on the M/B CDROM nor online (via MS). Did not look elsewhere for it.

It ran like a DOG. (Only had 512MB DDR2 installed in it at the time - nevertheless.) I think I abhor Vista.


Took existing HD, installed XP onto it, & put it into new system. It ran fine with 512MB DDR2.


Took existing HD with XP installed on it, & put it into new system. It reconfigured itself & seems to work fine. I did need to use the M/B CDROM to get the audio drivers & at the same time I put in the (VIA) Hyperion 4in 1 driver.

XP says there was major hardware change, & I now have 3 days to activate x(.

I didn't & wasn't necessarily looking for any of the above to work. I just wanted to see if it did.

I was moving existing HDD's from existing systems into the new system with totally different configurations. From AMD based systems, to Intel. From SIS or nForce chipsets to VIA.

With the exception of the HD from the Compaq, all worked admirably.

(That is not to say that I still might not wipe out my OS partition & reinstall fresh.)

Questions?


Memory.
Kingston DDR2 PC2-5300 (333 MHz)

CPU-Z Memory Timings shows 266 MHz.
Should my memory bus speed be set to 333 MHz rather then 266 MHz?
(I'll need to go into the BIOS & adjust that.)



Front Panel M/B Connectors ... Power Reset HD Led ...

The pins should be connected Horizonally (red)?
Not Vertically (yellow)?
(I'll need to adjust that.)
((Woops. In my picture, I "hooked up" the reset incorrectly.))

HDD Led is 2-pin, so that is no problem.

Power Led is 3-pin connector, with two wires, 1 (blue) & 3 (white).

How do I hook that up, or do I just not worry about it?


Power & Reset <happen to> work in any case cause no matter which way you go, horizontally or vertically, one side is ground <& it is only a momentary connection>. Never did hook up any of the other connections, yet.



Bios.
I am at 1.50. Current is 1.70.

1.70 says, Update Microcode 6F2/56,6F6/C6,6F7/66,10661/32.
6F2 is my CPU. Don't know what "56" is nor what "Update Microcode" might do for me?

Don't know that I've ever updated my BIOS, & my though is not to do so.

Any reason I might want to?

ASRock Motherboard - 4CoreDual-VSTA - BIOS & Drivers
http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=4CoreDual-VSTA&s=

Quote:

Power Led is 3-pin connector, with two wires, 1 (blue) & 3 (white).

How do I hook that up, or do I just not worry about it?

I would reconfigure the pins in the connector body. Use an X-Acto blade or other similar tool to CAREFULLY lift the latch that holds the contact for blue wire in place. Just lift it enough to be able to pull the contact out. Then put it right back into the middle position in the connector body. Push it in till it clicks. Then you can put the 3-hole connector body on the 2 pins for the power LED. The empty hole will hang off the end.

Thanks, thats got it.
Extremely difficult for me to see, but it is done.

Heh heh! That's when you need a magnifying lamp.

Like this. Or like this.

Quote:

QUOTE:
Heh heh! That's when you need a magnifying lamp.

Like this. Or like this.

------------------------------------------
Or---Poor Mans Eyes




:-)

Memory.
Is it any wonder there is confusion? Lets see how many numbers we can add to the mix.

Kingston KVR667D2K2/2GR
2GB 667MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL5 DIMM (Kit of 2) Retail
PC2-5300 (333 MHz)

So we have 667 & 5300 & 333 & when I put it into my system it shows 266 :rolleyes:.

And thats not even mentioning that some memory comes in differing voltages.
I believe 1.8 is spec (when talking about DDR2), but then you'll find some at 1.9 or 2.2 or such.

Quote:

Should my memory bus speed be set to 333 MHz rather then 266 MHz?
(I'll need to go into the BIOS & adjust that.)

Went into BIOS & set DRAM Frequency from AUTO to 333.


"The Memory FAQ"
http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=320351

My father took some pictures as I was putting my system together.



The rest are here:

Steven\'s Need 4 Speed - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ EE (65nm)

I always found it hard to put the little LED plugs on while wearing the Yellow rubber gloves so I switched to forceps. Only, because I couldn't find the old fashioned ICE tongs like our Ice Man used when I was a kid.
I do wear a wrist strap though.

ed