Core Upgrade Idea

[timwhit]

I'm looking to upgrade my 3+ year old system with a few new parts.

I'm looking to get these core parts as the rest of the components are fairly new, except for my boot drive and I'm waiting for a more affordable 32GB SATA SSD.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Video: GIGABYTE GV-NX86T256H GeForce 8600GT 256MB

This will all be going into an Antec P180. Are any of these parts subpar in any way? Is there something else out there that is better for close to the same price? How is the stock cooler that comes with that CPU? Should I spend money on a better HSF?

 

[Mercutio]

I've had issues with Gigabyte Intel-based boards and certain types of RAM. I've not tried one with an nVidia chipset, but I know that 965-based models don't seem to like PNY, G.Skill or Geil DIMMs that newegg.com carries - and by "not like" I mean "not boot". Oddly enough, Gigabyte AMD-based boards don't seem to have a problem with them.

That has been my experience anyway. I have some 2GB PC800 G. Skill modules coming next week for a customer, and I'm planning to try those out to see if they work.

My Gigabyte boards do work OK with expensive Corsair "Dominator" RAM and less OC-friendly Crucial and Corsair modules.

 

[Bozo]

I have had good luck with Kingston Value RAM in my GA-P35C-DS3R motherboard.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Fushigi]

For less than $40 more you can get a 512MB ATI card and run the Folding GPU client if desired. The downside, I suppose, would be the 1950 has a cooling fan.

The stock CPU cooler seems to be fine. I've got one on my secondary C2Q which spends it's life Folding. Of course it's running in the basement so I can't really speak to how loud it gets & the ambient temp is naturally on the cool side. In my main rig I went with the HSF in my new PC thread from a few months ago; it's decently quiet.

 

[timwhit]

For less than $40 more you can get a 512MB ATI card and run the Folding GPU client if desired. The downside, I suppose, would be the 1950 has a cooling fan.

The stock CPU cooler seems to be fine. I've got one on my secondary C2Q which spends it's life Folding. Of course it's running in the basement so I can't really speak to how loud it gets & the ambient temp is naturally on the cool side. In my main rig I went with the HSF in my new PC thread from a few months ago; it's decently quiet.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I would rather stay away from fans on a video card. Plus, I dislike the ATI control center even more than the nVidia one.

 

[timwhit]

I've had issues with Gigabyte Intel-based boards and certain types of RAM. I've not tried one with an nVidia chipset, but I know that 965-based models don't seem to like PNY, G.Skill or Geil DIMMs that newegg.com carries - and by "not like" I mean "not boot". Oddly enough, Gigabyte AMD-based boards don't seem to have a problem with them.

That has been my experience anyway. I have some 2GB PC800 G. Skill modules coming next week for a customer, and I'm planning to try those out to see if they work.

My Gigabyte boards do work OK with expensive Corsair "Dominator" RAM and less OC-friendly Crucial and Corsair modules.

That Corsair RAM is ridiculous.

Bozo, is this what you used?

 

[timwhit]

I have had good luck with Kingston Value RAM in my GA-P35C-DS3R motherboard.

Bozo :joker:

How does it overclock? Not, that I really care that much.

 

[Bozo]

How does it overclock? Not, that I really care that much.

This is the RAM I used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134117

I don't know what the difference is. I have it running at 1000MHz.

Bozo :joker:

 

[timwhit]

This is the RAM I used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134117

I don't know what the difference is. I have it running at 1000MHz.

Bozo :joker:

Seems like it's working pretty well then for fairly inexpensive RAM.

Has anyone successfully used the G.Skill RAM mentioned in the first post with an Intel chipset Gigabyte motherboard?

 

[Bozo]

Seems like it's working pretty well then for fairly inexpensive RAM.

Has anyone successfully used the G.Skill RAM mentioned in the first post with an Intel chipset Gigabyte motherboard?

I think the most important spec to look at is the voltage. Intel specs 1.8v.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Mercutio]

The 2GB G. Skill modules I have don't work on a P965-DS3. And yes, they are 1.8V, in pairs or one at a time. The Corsair "Dominator" modules I have a 2.1V and work fine on the same board.

 

[timwhit]

The 2GB G. Skill modules I have don't work on a P965-DS3. And yes, they are 1.8V, in pairs or one at a time. The Corsair "Dominator" modules I have a 2.1V and work fine on the same board.

Noted. Thank you for the update, I think I will avoid them for this reason. Though they did work on a GIGABYTE GA-965GM-S2.

 

[Mercutio]

Dammit. That makes me annoyed. Now I am wondering if there's something wrong with the boards I have (an S3 and a DS3).

 

[timwhit]

Dammit. That makes me annoyed. Now I am wondering if there's something wrong with the boards I have (an S3 and a DS3).

Maybe you got memory from a low quality batch? It could easily be a number of variables that effect the outcome.

 

[timwhit]

Just ordered the parts. Everything is the same as the first post, except the memory which is the same as Bozo's Kingston.

This is the first CPU upgrade I have done since 2004, hopefully it will be easy to tell the difference.

Just realized I will have to reinstall, what a pain in the ass. Anyway around that going from a Via chipset to an Intel?

 

[ddrueding]

2004...is it an SATA hard drive? Does your old drive have a 3rd-party SATA controller? Might as well plug it in and try. If it fails, try doing a "repair" installation...

 

[timwhit]

2004...is it an SATA hard drive? Does your old drive have a 3rd-party SATA controller? Might as well plug it in and try. If it fails, try doing a "repair" installation...

My boot drive is a SCSI disk. All my other drives are SATA.

 

[timwhit]

My parts got delivered today but they are stuck in the building office. Damn, now I have nothing to do tonight.

 

[Mercutio]

I have two Q6600s sitting right here.

 

[timwhit]

I have two Q6600s sitting right here.

Very funny. I have one sitting in a box in the management office, I just can't get to it. Hopefully, it will get dropped off tomorrow.

Back to one of my previous posts, has anyone been able to plug-in an Intel motherboard and not have to reinstall? Running Win2k3.

 

[Mercutio]

All the time.
You can pretty freely switch Intel and nVidia-based motherboards.

 

[timwhit]

All the time.
You can pretty freely switch Intel and nVidia-based motherboards.

What about Via to Intel?

 

[Mercutio]

Not so much.

You can do a repair install, or make the hardware switch halfway through an upgrade install, and it'll be OK.

 

[timwhit]

OK, I will try the repair install. I haven't done this in a long time, do you have a good resource which explains the steps?

 

[Bozo]

You might also want to download the latest INF chipset driver from Intel for you motherboard. Install it after the bazillion reboots Windows will want to do.

Bozo :joker:

 

[timwhit]

Didn't need to repair or do in-place install. Posting from the new system. I guess I got lucky.

The CPU 12 volt cable is not long enough to reach, so the power supply is currently resting on top of the case. I think this will take care of it. Anyone know if I can order one somewhere that won't charge $5 shipping for a cable?

 

[ddrueding]

For stuff like that, it's always cheaper to get locally. I'm not sure what you have around you, though.

 

[timwhit]

I don't know either, that's why I will probably just order it online.

 

[timwhit]

Newegg will actually ship USPS for $2.15. Seals the deal.

 

[Fushigi]

In Naperville.

I wouldn't be surprised if Fry's in Downers Grove had something but I couldn't find one on their site (which sucks anyway).

 

[Bozo]

Didn't need to repair or do in-place install. Posting from the new system. I guess I got lucky.

The CPU 12 volt cable is not long enough to reach, so the power supply is currently resting on top of the case. I think this will take care of it. Anyone know if I can order one somewhere that won't charge $5 shipping for a cable?

I would still run the INF update either from Gigabyte or Intel.

Bozo :joker:

 

[timwhit]

I would still run the INF update either from Gigabyte or Intel.

Bozo :joker:

Yeah I installed all of the drivers from the Gigabyte CD after it came up.

 

[timwhit]

In Naperville.

I wouldn't be surprised if Fry's in Downers Grove had something but I couldn't find one on their site (which sucks anyway).

That's more than from Newegg. Plus, Naperville is 40 miles from here. I'd rather not drive 40 miles for a cable.

 

[timwhit]

I'm running with the case open because of that cable that is too short and if I leave the computer idle the CPU fan stops running some of the time. This thing really runs cool. The heatsink is barely warm to the touch.