Advice on MB + DDR2

hi all,

i'm a complete noob to computer building. i am wanting to build my first system, and have recently started doing some research to learn what i need/want.

first, i have decided that i want to start off with the intel Q6600 processor, athough i've thought about waiting until the Q9450 or Q9550 comes out.

secondly, whats the difference between DDR2 800, DDR2 1066, DDR2 1200, etc? price versus performance?

i've look through several threads titled which MB to get. but haven't found a definitive answer yet.

which MB would give me the best performance without making a noob crawl into fetal position begging for mercy? LOL

thanks for answering these questions for about the millionth time!

Welcome to the forums. Building your first PC is not that hard and can be very rewarding! Let be direct you to a few guides to help you along the process:

http://www.devhardware.com/forums/p...ide-116457.html
some of the examples are outdated, but the information is still true

http://www.devhardware.com/forums/p...a-pc-26535.html
once you actually have all your parts, this is a good guide for snapping them together

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Memo...th-And-Timings/
you seem to want to know more about memory

Ok, those are for you to research. Make sure you read all the guides you possibly can on this forum. You will learn much! Now, I know you want some short answers so here are those:

1. I think you are making a good choice and investment with the Q6600. That is the processor I want to upgrade to as well. The others are much too expensive and are pretty far ahead of mobo and RAM technologies so you wont see an equal return in performance for your money.

2.Those are simply the speeds of the memory. Make sure that you get what your mobo can use. Most mobo's will support a few different speeds, so obviously getting the highest that it supports is smart. However, if you get 1066 memory and your board only supports 800, you are not getting the most out of your memory. DDR2 800 is the most commonand a very good performer although DDR2 1066 is increasing in popularity quite quickly and many more mobos are starting to support it.



I dont really understand the question. No mobo's come with judo chop action and will hurt you... An expensive one installs the same as a cheap one.

In order to really make accurate reccomendations. we need to know what you want to do with it and what your budget is.

as far as the goofy question, was just curious as to whether certain MBs might be more finicky than others, maybe needing more of an experts touch to tweak them into action. noob question.

no real budget, i'll get what i need.

i want this computer to last me awhile, as far as not being an outdated dinosaur. thats why i questioned maybe waiting for the Q9550/Q9450 to come out. what is your opinion on those processors? will they be worth the wait, or barely better than Q6600?

the way i use my computer - not too much "work" type stuff done on it. will be some gaming, but i'm not needing the best for gaming - not "that" into it.

will be used mostly for video editing, photoshopping. will need to be able to handle multitasking real good. i run 2 monitors, and will be watching videos or t.v. on one monitor, while doing photoshop or other memory intensive stuff on the other.

when i first build this machine, i'll probably just use 1 stick @ 2gb ram, so i can earmark the most $$$'s to the most important items - proc, mb, video card etc. then after a month or two, load it up to capacity with as much ram as it will take.(8gb's)

after i get everything up and going to full capacity, i want to start learning how to overclock and see what its capable of.

hope this answers what your looking for.

btw - is it still necessary to have a floppy drive?

another thing - i'm afraid to say, with all the vista bashing - i'm wanting to use Vista home premium or maybe Vista ultimate.

i posted all this earlier, but for some reason its not showing up now.

my local compusa is starting its going out of business sale.

MBs are at 20% off which with their prices, makes it just an ok price. will probably wait until they hit another markdown before considering, but what they had that i was looking at was:

ASUS - ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard priced at $199

ASUS - Striker Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX
priced at $279 (i think)

i'm not too sure i would need SLI for the small amount of gaming that i'd do, what do you think?

that looks like a good mobo. I currently have an Asus P5B and have been nothing but happy with it. Do you plan on running more than 1 pci-e card, or using the built in wifi capability? Because if not, here is an excellent board at half the price: clicky

I'm going to look into some things about the new quads coming out. I dont really think they are going to be worth the money personally, especially when you can OC that Q6600. I'll get back to you on that though.

Also, you still havent given us a $$$ range. I can give you some much better ideas and examples with that!

-------------------------

Done a little research. I stole this from "GuitarDaddy on adandtech.com:


basically means that since the multipliers are locked at a low number, you will need high FSB to reach the 4Ghz mark. While it is expected that these chips can do it, good luck finding a mobo able to handle it. I think these chips are over-priced because your not going to be able to take advantage of its benefits for now.

I recommend doing a google search for Q9xxx and see some of the arguments for both sides. Personally, I would get the Q6600 with decent cooling and crank it up.

i think i'll stay with the Q6600.
as far as whether i'll be running more than 1 pci-e card, this i don't know, and where i'm hoping for advice. what i would like to get is a MB that will allow me to upgrade in the future, if/when i find something i can't live without. my current P4 setup i chose because it has 7 pci slots and 1 agp slot - this was important to me for upgradability. i know have every one of these slots full.
i'd rather have empty slots and not use them, than to need them and not have them.

as far as $$$'s - my initial plan before talking to you was to buy the MB and processor, case now, then a lil time for my wallet to recover from christmas, then get the rest. i've got about $700 for sure to spend right away.

now that i'm sitting here thinking about it, i'm gonna end up having time constraints to deal with, because i've got a surgery that will be coming up in either january or february.

also, to start with i plan to get a somewhat less expensive video card - not cheap bottom of the line, but something thats acceptable, then hopefully the 8800GTS will be coming down in price, and i'll swap that out.

memory - plan to start with 2gb ???(enough to start with?) and then load it up in about 6 months.

am i sounding stoopid? lack of sleep last night,,,,

thats sounds pretty good. Do you already have any components (like a case or psu) that you can use towards this project? Do monitors need to be included in that price, or you have them already? (i know you mentioned wanting duals...)

I'll get to work on newegg and see what I can do for you. It might be a challenge to stay at that budget though.

i've got 2 19" monitors already that i'll use. the case is already covered. i've got a fsp group 500 watt psu - that should do until i get more cash - correct?

now i need you to tell me if this sounds too stupid.... i've got 2
brand new harddrives sitting in my closet , a 200gb and a 400gb.
but their ata drives. and i do have a dvd burner that is ide. i'd just use these temporarily until i get more $$$'s.

ide and (p)ata are the same thing, and you will probably only have 1 ata port on a new mobo (most are headed that way). I would use your pata (ide) burner and get new hard drives that are SATA, because you will benefit more from the gain in speed.

your psu may work, if it has the proper connectors. It really depends on what video card you get. You may need 1 or 2 pci-e connectors for different video cards. you also have to make sure you have enough amps on the 12v rail. Most high end video cards suggest at least 20-25 amps.

edit~~~

I guess i should have you clarify: by ATA do you mean parallel or serial? if they are serial (SATA) thats awesome, use them. If they are PATA, return them my DVD burner is pata too, thats really not a big deal. messes with airflow, but thats really about it.

the hard drives are pata. i was only considering using it temporarily, to divert those funds to other components.
i realize how much slower pata is, but would it be horrible for like a 3 month or so use? i guess i could just get a smaller (GB) sata drive than i originally planned, then upgrade that later.

i'll check the PSU out tomorrow and report back. i know its a model: AX500-A fortron fsp group.


thanks

PSU specs -

FSP Group (Fortron Source) - AX500-A Specs

* Dual 12v Yes
* Efficiency > 70%
* Fans 1
* Hold Up Time 16.6ms min.
* Input Current 10A @ 115V, 5A @ 230V
* Input Frequency Range 47 - 63 Hz
* Input Voltage 115/230 V
* Main Connector 20+4Pin
* Max Power 500W
* MTBF >100,000 Hours
* Output +3.3V@30A, +5V@28A, +12V1@15A, +12V2@15A, -12V@0.5A, +5Vsb@2.0A
* Over Voltage Protection +5V: 6.5V, +3.3V: 4.6V, +12V: 15.5V
* PCIe Connector 1 x 6Pin
* PFC Passive
* Type ATX12V

that psu has low amperage on the 12v rail. You posted that it has 15amps. However, that would probably work for the video card I suggested, because it doesnt even require a supplemental connector. I would get a new one when you upgrade the video card though.

As far as the Hard drives are concerned, at best you could use 1 hard drive and your burner at the same time. You only have 1 PATA port in a new mobo. That one PATA cable will be able to hook up to a max of 2 devices. HOWEVER, the cable is short and you may have trouble finding a way to get it to reach from the burner to the HD.

your next issue comes with memory. the types of mobos that you are looking at will support UP TO DDR2 1066. However, its really hard to find that kind of memory in 2GB sticks. AND its very expensive. I would probably get 4x1GB sticks, although then you wont be able to go any further...
look around on newegg. That is going to be up to your discretion.

Here are my suggestions thus far:
Gigabyte GA-P35
Q6600
AC Cooler 7 Pro
OCZ Plat 2x1 GB DDR2 1066
8600GT
Seagate 320GB
AS5
Total is just over $700

good info, thanks.

officedepot has a WD 320 sata II that i can get for around $60 after coupons i have. so it would be ok to use dvd writer (ide) that i already have...... just for a couple months, right?

as far as the psu, everybody said when i bought that one, that it actually has 18amps....saying that fsp group lowballs their ratings. again, that would only be temporary.

as far as the MBs, is there a better way to go? you commented about the availabilty and price. i'd like a MB that can support up to 8gbs, but not at having to get a loan to pay for it, LOL!

thats not a mobo issue. The gigabyte mobo i posted will support 8GB.