Help with building new PC

[pyhon89]

I know very little bout computer, but I'm trying to build a new PC. I'm planning to have the following hardwares (and I'm finding all the numbers very confusing):

1)Intel Quad 6600 Processor (supplier suggested the Intel Xeon Quad x3210/2.13MHz);

2)Intel Dx38BT Motherboard;

3)Kingston HyperX KHX9600D2K2/2G DDR2 1200 RAM (supplier suggested Kingston KVR1333D3/N9K2/2G DDR3/1333 Mhz);

4)Nvidia N9600GT T201G 1024MB Graphics Card;

5)Western Digital WE Caviar SE16 320GB x2 HDD.

Confusion:

1) Processor: can anyone tell me please, I thought Intel Xeon is a server processor, what's the difference?

2) I looked up Intel website on the kind of RAM the motherboard supports, and I don't see DDR3. And I don't even know the difference between DDR2 and DDR3!

Can anyone tell/ help me with the choice of processor and RAM please? Somehow, i have a feeling that the dealer is not being very honest.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Traditionally, as far as I know, Xeons are readily available with higher core and bus frequencies as well as more L2 cache. Today, I believe their architecture is virtually identical to the Core 2 Duo, although, they might have some additional programming to handle operations that are more desirable in a server environment. That is my guess anyway, I haven't really taken the time to compare todays Xeon to todays desktop chip, but assuming Intel kept with the trends of the past, everything I said should be fairly accurate.

There is no reason for you to buy a Xeon, tell that salesman to stuff it and go with the Q6600 .

You can read the Wikipedia page about the Double Data Rate technology here.

Essentially, DDR is a technological advancement where by data can be transfered with two data cycles per clock cycle. This increases throughput without actually having to increase the operating frequency. DDR2, and the latest DDR3 take that to the next level and you can read about them via links on the Wikipedia page I linked above .

The Intel DX38BT requires DDR3 SDRAM. Here is a 2GB kit of DDR3 SDRAM that has the data throughput of 1066MHz (equivalent to the FSB on the Q6600).

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The X3210 is identical to the Q6600 except for the fact that it has an 8x multiplier compared to the Q6600's 9x. A simple OC will allow you to reach the same clock speed as the Q6600. But if it's B3 stepping, stay away from it and get a Q6600 with G0 stepping instead or get a X3210 with G0, whichever is cheaper for you. But the Xeon will need you to update the motherboard's BIOS to the latest version and is not guaranteed to work, so be warned.
As for the RAM, it's best to have RAM that is at the same speed as the FSB of the CPU if possible.