Iain Young

Hi folks,

My desktop pc has just decided to go bang, (dodgy motherboard) so I think it is now time to upgrade. I'm looking to replace the motherboard, processor, and ram, so I was wondering if anyone out there has any recommendations?

I was thinking of getting a Core2 Duo processor (maybe E6600), but there seems to be such a wide selection of motherboards and chipsets out there that I've no idea what to go for. Basically I need it to be quick, support 4 sata connections, my nvidia 8800 gtx, firewire and usb 2 ports, etc.

Any ideas? What is the current favourite?

Thanks,
Iain

Iain Young

Something like this perhaps?

Intel Core 2 DUO LGA775 E6600 2.40GHz Retail / Asus P5W DH Deluxe / 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2 Dual Channel Kit - Bundle

ScoobyJawa

Hi Iain,

I bought the motherboard bundle from Novatech. Features the E6600 (best bang for buck and oc's to 3ghz on stock cooling) which came with an MSI 975x mobo - which supports everything you need, plus its SLi. On the downside due to the SLi theres a limited number of PCI expansion, but wasn't an issue for me.

Its a great bit of kit, only weak link is the mem isn't top spec but its good enough and from Crucial or Corsair (cant remember which!).

Motherboard Bundle Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2048MB 667Mhz DDR2 Heatsink And Fan MSI Motherboard : mbb-c2d620

Oh, that lot plus 2x Hitachi 320GB SATA2 disks and a 8800GTS card give me a Vista rating of this:



Thats with stock CPU as I've not oc'd it yet!

spectrum48k

I'm going to build myself another one of these
Shuttle XPC SD37P2 Aluminium Barebones System - Intel Core 2 Duo (LGA775)

Was pretty impressed with them, last time I did it a few years back. I just don't need a tower these days for home.

Rob D

This is what I bought recently after I upgraded my PC.

Gigabyte GA-8I965P-DQ6 SKT 775 P965
Intel Core 2 Duo 6420, Socket 775, 2.13 GHz
BFG Technology 320MB 8800GTS OC2
2GB Corsair Twinx XMS2, DDR2 PC-6400

Then added a 24" widescreen monitor

DanPhillips

Hi Iain,

I bought that bundle about 8 months ago, the components all work well and should last you a couple of years, there are some of the p35 motherboards coming through (the asus deluxe one is very nice) but at £160+ isn't worth it for what realy is a couple of hundred Mhz FSB speed that your ram wouldn't be able to use...DDR3 is on the horizon but only a fool buys cutting edge

the P5WDH is a feature packed, but that does mean it isn't the simplest, it does have the AI overclock option which'll get you to 3.11GHZ with no effort what so ever, CPU fan...Arctic Freezer Pro 7 for a budget other wise I'd go for

Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink

or

Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler


Cheers

Dan

Iain Young

Thanks folks, I'm getting a better idea of what to go for now

Any ideas if a standard e6600 (before overclocking) would be any quicker than my current (now defunct) Amd 4800+ ?

PeteBrant

In a word - Yes.


Heres a comprison with all sorts of applications - just pick the app/cpus you want to compare

Tom's Hardware Guide Processors: CPU Charts