MozUK

Ok, so this is my proposed build I'm trying to hold out till April in the hope the prices for core 2 will go down and the GTS, does anyone know if this will actually happen?

PROPOSED

Core 2 Duo e6300 (Maybe e6600)
£112.67 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=430631
eVGA nForce 680i
£168.15 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=491417
BFG 8800 GTS (Big maybe, GTX)
£262.37 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=548374
Tuniq Tower 120
£35.24 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=HS-000-SB
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming case
£68.02 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=501972

BROUGHT

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-6400
£117.49 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...-072-OC&tool=3

ALREADY OWN

600W Hiper Power Supply

TOTAL COST: £763.94

Questions:

1) What are your thoughts on e6300/e6600 dilema?
2) Is the eVGA 680i mobo overpriced? I like it because of the unlink feature will make OC'ing easier for a beginner such as myself.
3) What are your thoughts on the GTS/GTX dilema?
4) Will the tuniq tower fit in the 680i? Any experiences?
5) Will the antec 900 case fit everything OK? From the reviews it seems great but I've heard a few unofficial horror stories with power supplies.

Robilar

Go for the Asus P5N32-E over the EVGA. (read the review in my sig) Overclocks better and is far less problematic. (I've owned both so I know). Many of the evga issues have been resolved by the 12 or 13 bios updates but it still has other issues. Its also more expensive than the Asus, uses 6 rather than 8 phase capacitors like the asus, and has pin anchors around the back of the cpu area that can interfere with aftermarket cooling backplates.

I'd also recommend the E6600 over the lower chips in order to have 4 mb cache although the lower end chips also overclock like crazy.

The ram is good quality but is not a stellar overclocker (uses Infineon IC's). still its stable and you will be able to push it a bit.

The tuniq will fit on any of the 680i boards without issue

I had an antec 900 briefly. It is a good case for temps but wiring is a real challenge. You may run into issues with wire length depending on your power supply. Otherwise it is a great performer for the price. Just don't plan on having a sweet wiring job without planning it out thoroughly

I personally have a gtx (had two, and returned one, long story). i;ve also installed half a dozen of the gts. The gts has less power requirements and can be overclocked to near gtx speeds. Also it will be cheaper to add a second one in sli down the road.


Regarding the ram unlinked, it would be better if you got SLI Ready ram. There is a setting in the 680i bios that lets you auto overclock the ram based on built in profiles.

Unlinked is neat but has separate issues when pushing either the cpu or ram too hard on their own.

MozUK

Because they are both 680i, does the Asus P5N32-E have the same feature to set the FSB to unlinked like the eVGA im guessing?

Also I like the 6300 because I can save like 85 pounds and barely lose any performance. Does the 4mb cache make a huge difference, I heard it didn't. I've seen benchmarks of the e6300 OCed easily beating the x6800 with about 15% faster clock speed.

The RAM I was not intending to OC, I know its not great for it, but it was a great price so its okay.

P.S. the link in your sig does not work for me, redirects to forums home page.

illmatic

The extra cache isn't that important. If you can get better RAM you should. The ram in my sig has me at 3.2ghz on an e6300.

Robilar

Yes it has identical features in the bios, it just can clock much higher. If its a budget issue, the E6300 is a good choice. You will be able to hit 3.2 on this asus board without much difficulty (I can pm you settings that will work for you).

I am sort of the resident expert on this board (and used the evga a fair bit too) so I can help you with any of the bios settings.

There are issues with the site tonight, links abd other stuff is not working well. check in a bit