New System Need Expert Opinion

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Giuseppe

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Hey guys, I have read a bunch of your threads especially the ones about how to create your own custom system. I have decided what I want my computer to do and tried my best to piece together a system to suit my needs. My needs are 70% games, 30% office work with light video editting etc. Here is what I have so far:

CPU: E6700 Dual Core CPU

Motherboard: EVGA nForce 680i SLI NVIDIA

Memory: OCZ Dual Channel Titanium Alpha, 2048MB DDR2 1000MHz

Video Card: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX

Hard Drive: 2 X Seagate 320GB SATA II

Case: I need your opinion on this. I have seen the threads about which cases will fit the 8800GTX but I can't seem to make up my mind on the best for around $150. Good airflow is obviously important.

PSU: I am thinking any 600Watt OCZ.

CPU Cooler: I also need your opinion on a cooler that will be able to handle the E6700 CPU.

Thanks for taking your time to read this. Any suggestions are welcome.
 
dont get a e6700 save your money and get a e6600 they both overclcok the same and one is alot cheaper

and save your money and get an asus p5b because unless your going sli 680i is not worth it at all
 
P5B Deluxe to be exact. Has SLI like the 680i, and overclocks just as far. No need to waste money on a motherboard whose capabilities you're never going to use in conventional computing.
 
Great ideas guys. The only thing with the motherboard is that the 680i supports 1000MHz memory while the ASUS only supports 800MHz. The Memory I am planning on getting is 1000MHz which means the ASUS is no good.
 
First of all, what are you doing with 1000Mhz memory? Planning on taking that E6700 to 5.0Ghz?

Both of them support 1000Mhz+ of memory.
 
Excuse me if I don't know what I am talking about because I am still new at trying to understand how the computer really works. It was my understanding that the faster the RAM the better your computer will perform, especially for gaming. Am I wrong on this? Because if I am I could use your help. Thanks
 
The "DDR" in memory means "Double Data Rate." This means that for every clock cycle that the memory goes through, there is an instruction sent on the rise as well as the fall of the clock cycle. This means that for every actual clock cycle, there are 2 effective clock cycles. That's what the DDR2-XXX speed denotes. DDR2-533 is memory that is actually at 266Mhz, but is effectively 533Mhz. Same with DDR2-800; Actually 400Mhz, effectively 800Mhz. The memory you're talking about is more than likely DDR2-1066, since actual 1000Mhz memory does not exist yet. DDR2-1066 would be 1066Mhz effective and 533Mhz actual. The actual is what your system most often sees.

You memory is supposed to run at a 1:1 ratio with your FSB, which on Core 2 Duos is 266Mhz. For this reason, DDR2-533 memory is the memory needed to run a Core 2 Duo system without any overclocking at all. However, some motherboards will take higher-clocked memory and automatically set a ratio that runs the memory at the higher speed (DDR2-667, DDR2-800, DDR2-1066) even if the FSB is at 266Mhz. You can change this setting, and you will have to change it if you want to overclock.

On a Core 2 Duo E6700, with a 10x multiplier (266Mhz FSB x 10 = 2.66Ghz), the memory required for 4Ghz (a very unlikely overclock) is 400Mhz, or DDR2-800 memory. Any more that that, I see no use for. You could, ofcourse, set the memory to run at a higher speed than the FSB, but the premium for DDR2-1066 is not worth this effort.
 
OHHHHHHH, thanks alot. That makes sense. So I will probably go with Corsair DHX XMS2 Dominator Dual Channel 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Memory. Thanks for taking your time to explain that to me. That probably just saved me $200 lol.
 
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