Best Socket T Motherboard?

[ringfinger]

jcarle, got the case in today and its sweeeeeet! Thanks for the great suggestion, and the mobo shsould be here tomorrow or friday! May need some help getting it all connected and all. Thanks again!

[jcarle]

Well, the processor fan will come with the Retail boxed package of the processor itself (do not buy an OEM processor, not worth it). Case fans will come with the case and anything thing of the like will come either with the motherboard or the case itself.

What you could buy that could cost less for now would be things like your keyboard, mouse, speakers and such accessories. I'd recommend you invest in purchasing yourself a high-quality power bar by APC, this will protect your computer from power spikes.

As for dual-channel, all that happens is that your processor can talk to both sticks of ram simulteanously, therefore increasing memory bandwidth. For a more in-depth explanation, check out this wiki.

ADDED:

I suggest you wait for your processor before you install your motherboard in the case. The reason for this is that installing the stock heatsink on the processor require a fair amount of force. Doing so with the motherboard already installed can cause unnecessary strain to the motherboard and possibly (very low chance, but still) damage. You will see that once you install the heatsink on the processor that there is so much force pulling on the motherboard that your motherboard will actually curve slightly upwards.

The best way to mount the heatsink onto the motherboard is to rest the motherboard on a non-conductive material (plastic anti-static bag that the motherboard comes in is usually an excellent and convenient choice), then to lay the motherboard with the non-conductive material under it on a flat, solid surface (table or such). Then you install the processor by opening the locking mechanism, then placing it gently in it position (you will see two notches that must be aligned in the socket) and then gently close the locking mechanism. Once the processor is properly locked, then you can place the heatsink in position and with a firm grip, clip each of the four sides of the heatsink by going in an X pattern. Once the heatsink is firmly attached, then make sure that the mounting screws in your case line up with the holes in your motherboard, attach the I/O shield to the back of the case and then gently position the motherboard in place. Start treading each screw into their case mounts, but do not tighten yet. Only start tightening all the motherboard mounting screw AFTER you have threaded ALL the screws into their mounts first.

Edited August 12, 2005 by jcarle

[ringfinger]

Alright, thanks again as usual... haven't seen you in a while, I thought you disappeared! As far as the fans, the only fan that came with the case was the big one thats mounted in the back. There's a 'mount' for a fan to cool the hard drives, but no fan... was it supposed to come with?? Also, theres no fan for the 'cpu vent' if ya know what I mean, I forget what its called, I wasn't expecting one though. As far as the keyboard, mouse and speakers... I already have a logitech set... wireless kb and mouse that work great and a nice Altec sound system, so thats covered. I'm expecting the Mobo here tomorrow or Sat. hopefully, possible monday

Thanks for the suggestions on mounting the CPU, and yes I'm gonna wait on it untill I can get the cash, I decided on the 3.4 2M L2, Ht, 64-bit... around $400 anywhere I can find, if you know somewhere cheaper PLEASE let me know.

UPDATE: P5WD2 just arrived... WOOOHOOOO!!

Edited August 12, 2005 by ringfinger

[ringfinger]

2 questions already. First one about the PSU. The red wattage selector on the back of the PSU.... the only options are 115 and 230. I have 110 outlets in my place, will it work??

Second, whats the easiest and safest way to remove the stock I/O Shield from the new case and replace it with the one that came w/ my mobo?

Edited August 14, 2005 by ringfinger

[ringfinger]

"Intel confirms price cuts on all 6xx series processors.." Thanks Intel, just in time!

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=25446

[jcarle]

Sorry, I haven't been around much, I've been flooded with work this past week.

What fans come with a case is dependent on the case. Some don't even come with a single case fan. Which case did you end up getting?

As for the switch on your power supply, that's the voltage selector. Unless you live outside of the United States or Canada, then the 115 selection is the correct choice. There's actually a variance tollerance on the power supply to accept 115 +/- a certain amount. So 110 or 120 will both function fine for the 115 setting. 230 is used in foreign countries such as New Zealand which run on 240 volts in homes.

Unless the I/O shield is screwed into place (some cases do, most don't), you simply just tap it out of it's spot. A small punch from the outside of the case towards the inside directly in the center of the I/O shield is usually enough to dislodge it out.

By the way, curious if you have a digital camera? If you did, would be interesting to see some pictures of your development and construction of your system.

[ringfinger]

Hey no problem about the work, I understand man. I ended up getting the Antec Performace TX640B, not the cheapest one, but not the high end one either. I like it, looks sleek. I'm glad to hear the PSU will be fine. I've tried tapping on the I/O shield, I guess I just didn't do it hard enough, didn't wanna break anything before I got it together ya know.

As far as the fans go, I'd like to get one to mount in the hard drive 'cage' as it'd be nice to keep them cool, are they all generic and should just pop into place if I get the 80mm?

And yes, I do have a digital camera and will keep ya up to date once I start putting everything together. It's not much to look at right now, I just have the mobo, case, vid card and LCD. I'm waiting on the processor to come in before I mount the mobo like we talked about.

I'm also considering the original idea of the 2x512 configuration on the RAM to be able to run in dual channel right from the get go. I can always add another 2 more 512s at some other point. There shouldn't be much difference in performance between 2x1GB or 4x512 correct? Thanks again jcarle!

Oh, and another thing... The majority of all the burners I'm looking at are IDE. Is there that much a performance jump from IDE > SATA on DVD burners? I wouldn't mind buying one of the nice Pioneers thats black and IDE if the speed will still be fast. The DVD drive we talked about and you suggested, is beige. The case is black... on the hunt for a black SATA DL if you've got suggestions. Thanks!

Edited August 17, 2005 by ringfinger

[jcarle]

Case fans are standard in their respective sizes, 80mm, 120mm, and so on. What changes is the quality and accordingly, their noise levels. Papst makes the quietest of all case fans on the market.

The case you chose is just grand. It's one of my favorites. May very well be my next choice when I built up my next desktop.

The performance gain is most achieved up to 1GB of total system memory. After 1GB, the performance gains are less and less. Today's current standards opt for a 1GB minimum for optimal performance, though past 2GB, performance gains are negligable for personal use. And yes, even if you do have two sticks of 512MB running in dual channel, nothing stops you from adding another two sticks of 512MB that will also work in dual channel.

In terms of IDE burners, the cream of the crop is the Pioneer DVR-110DBK. Black, sleek, fast and an all around incredible Dual Layer DVD+/-RW. We just received our shipment here at the store, and at $74.99 CAD, they're really not expensive. I could even ship one to you if you wanted. I had a Pioneer DVR-107BK, then a DVR-108BK, and a DVR-109BK. They're all great burners. Now I can't wait to take this new generation out for a spin. Pioneer just keeps getting better.

[ringfinger]

Alright, thanks... I was kind of wondering if there would be a performance gain/decrease beetween using 4x512 instead of 2x1gb RAM in dual channel. I suppose if they are both the same type, just smaller size there shouldn't be a speed difference right?

And the IDE vs. SATA burner. Even though an IDE drive and SATA drive may boast the same R/R/RW values, will the SATA burner be 'faster' or at a better advantage due to the SATA or are IDE buners just as good? The one you suggested is $49.99 on newegg, with a couple of bad reviews . Still up in the air, however either tomorrow or on Monday I'm ordering the 3.6, the raptor and 2x512 kingston I suppose since I'd like dual channel at the beginning. I have a spare normal IDE dvd-rom I can use for install.

Anyone else out there have suggestions on a good SATA/IDE dual-layer burner, preferably black??

Thanks again jcarle.

[jcarle]

Memory size will not change performance (unless you don't have enough). What will change performance is the speed of the memory (400/533/667) and the timings (4-4-4, 5-5-5).

I'm not all too surprised that people complain. People are never satisfied no matter how good a certain product may be. Any issues that the Pioneer may have upon release will be fixed with firmware releases. I've heard good things about the NEC burners. Still loyal to Pioneer though.

[ringfinger]

Yeah, I didn't take it to literally... just would have rather seen raving reviews ya know. I just ordered the Raptor. I'm trying to decide on if I should buy some Arctic Silver 5 and a different HS/Fan for the p4 660. Obvisouly it gets very hot and I wanna keep it as cool as possible.

Edited August 23, 2005 by ringfinger

[ringfinger]

As far as the RAM, I've been doing a lots of research. I was scared at first when I read the P5WD2 QVL for RAM as it didn't say you could use 2 pairs (4 x 512mb) of RAM. After consulting with the guys on the Asus forum it turns out you can with no problem. I'm going with the Corsair XMS2 2x512mb PC 6400, 800MHz. I know you recommended Kingston, but evryone on that forum says this is great stuff. One guy even has DDR2 @ 1000MHz in the board OC'd to something like 1300MHz. Thats insane. What do ya think about that choice though??? Let me know. Thanks.

[jcarle]

Corsair is very good memory, it may very well be the best on the market, but it can be quite a bit more expensive depending on the type of memory you get (XMS Pro, TwinX).

Artic 5 is definately premium stuff. I personally use it myself whenever I need to use thermic paste that doesn't have a thermic pad on the heatsink. The stock heatsink that comes Retail with the processor is sufficient to keep it within spec. An aftermarket quality performance heatsink/fan can keep the processor cooler but they're often much louder then the stock fan. However, if you really want to keep the processor really cool with a low noise level, you can look into watercooling. Something like the CoolerMaster Aquagate R-120 is simple to install yet very effective.

Edited August 26, 2005 by jcarle

[ringfinger]

Alright... well, torn again, what a suprise. Need some opinions on the Corsair RAM. I don't know whether to go with the DDR2 800 PC2 6400 or the DDR2 1000 PC2 8000. I know the 800 would be enough, but the 1000 has much more agressive timings and is obviously faster. What do you think ? Those don't have to be the only options either, if you have better DDR2 800, 1000 suggestions... Thanks.

[jcarle]

When it comes to those kinds of differences, go with what your wallet will let you.