Need help buying CPU & Mobo

[maly]

Hey all, i need help on knowing what's what for buying the right mobo and CPU the current hardware i got is...

550Watt ATX PSU - 24 pin connector (the cables/ribbons are IDE, the others are Molex Connectors)
Geforce 8600GT - PCI-E with GDDR3 this runs via DVI

Having an nvidia graphics card will it affect buying certain motherboards, websites i've visted like FOXCON you click on Intel mobos and it says that it supports ATI Crossfire!?! so does this mean i would'nt be able to use the Geforce 8600GT?

Processor:

overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-192-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793&name=Intel%20Core%202%20Duo%20E8400%20LGA775%20%27Wolfdale%27%20%203.00GHz%20(1333FSB)%20-%20Retail

MOBO:

I need help on this badly

Also does the Intel Duo Core 2 support all Architectures ?
What is the Chipset ?
What is the nm on a CPU what does it mean?

 

[EXCellR8]

What you need is an ATX socket 775 motherboard. Since you will be running a GeForce 8600, I would recommend looking at boards with an nVidia chipset (SLI support is a plus). These include the 650i, 750i, 780i chipsets etc... The Intel chipsets, your P35, P45, X48 etc... do not support SLI and support Crossfire by ATI. As far as Core cpus go, 45nm is the newer architecture that Intel is now using and it's faster than 65nm processors. You can find a ton of info on this over at Intel's site.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Having an nvidia graphics card will it affect buying certain motherboards, websites i've visted like FOXCON you click on Intel mobos and it says that it supports ATI Crossfire!?! so does this mean i would'nt be able to use the Geforce 8600GT?

No, you can use the 8600GT in the board, but you can't use two of them in SLI, despite having two free PCI-E slots. For that, you'd need an SLI-supporting motherboard like the MSI P7N SLI-FI.

Your CPU choice is fine, but you can go with a cheaper one like the E7200 and spend a little more on the video card. You could easily get an 8800GT, which is far faster than the 8600GT. This will give you far faster gaming performance than you would get with an E8400 and an 8600GT (assuming you're going to game on the PC). Also, try buying from eBuyer instead. They have free delivery on the vast majority of their items and lower prices too, compared to OCUK.

Lastly, as for your motherboard, I'd recommend the GA-EP45-DS3L. It is inexpensive, has superb build quality and is a great all-round board.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[maly]

I searched the mobo you suggested GA-EP45-DS3L it is cheap, but im not sure now i have a choice between 2 but what's the best?!.

ASUS P5N-D:

it247.com/Product/621-90-MIB3B0-G0EAY00Z/?channeltype=Motherboards&level1cat=Components&prodid=621-90-MIB3B0-G0EAY00Z&level2cat=Motherboards&campaign=pricegrabber&utm_medium=Motherboards

GA-EP45-DS3L:

probsolvexpress.com/products.asp?partno=GA-EP45-DS3L

Yes i will be using it for gaming but dont really care about SLI too much, what i like most about nforce boards is you can install nvidia firewall and they have technology like

NVIDIA Control Panel
Networking with NVIDIA nForce
NVIDIA Native Gigabit Ethernet
NVIDIA FirstPacket™ technology (this just sounds awsome)


Is they any difference between these processors, like the product names ?

shop.bt.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=4YCZ

overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-192-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793&name=Intel%20Core%202%20Duo%20E8400%20LGA775%20%27Wolfdale%27%20%203.00GHz%20(1333FSB)%20-%20Retail

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I'd still recommend the Gigabyte board. Just because the nForce board has 'cooler-sounding' features doesn't make it better. And NVIDIA's firewall isn't that great either. ASUS' boards are also notoriously picky when it comes to RAM compatibility.

As for the CPUs, no I can't see any differences. The more expensive one may have the newer E0 stepping, but since it isn't specified you'll probably have to contact the site and ask. The E0 stepping allows for better OCing compared to the older and more common C0 stepping.

 

[EXCellR8]

ASUS' boards are also notoriously picky when it comes to RAM compatibility.

Meh, just use the native speed and it will be fine...

I would however look for a more powerful card if you don't plan to use SLI. A single 8600GT will give good performance but like Rage said, an 8800/9800gt would be much better, especially for gaming.

 

[maly]

OK, I have decided i will be buying the Gigabyte but a different version 'EP45T-DS3R'

Does Enhanced Halt State mean C1E E0 etc? from every affordable CPU that i've searched they are all Enhanced Halt State C1E, C1E is old ?? they should be E0 ?


EP45T-DS3R
(Note) This motherboard is designed with VRD11.1 power phase, and cannot be compatible with VRD10 designed CPU. Please refer to "CPU Support List" for details.

the mobo needs to be VRD11.1, what is this all about ?

whats the 8-pin ATX12V connector for, what is its job ?

i will be needing 4GB of memory lol, but dont know which ones are right for this mobo.

Thanks

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I think you mean the EP45-DS3R. The EP45T-DS3R is the DDR3 variant of the aforementioned board.

And what you're looking for is the CPU stepping. It will either be C0 or E0, nothing else is possible.

And lastly, for RAM, go for a kit from OCZ, Crucial, Corsair, Mushkin, Patriot, pQi, Kingston or G.SKILL.