What about a AMD Phenom X4 965/955 Black Edition?
It is cheaper as the i5-750 and in about the same speed.

in german language:
[URL]http://www.chip.de/news/AMD-oder-Intel-Welche-150-Euro-CPU-ist-besser_38786759.html[/URL]

[quote=petrw1;195221]Who makes G-Skill?
What is an example of a "cheap high v one"? Do I want to stick with one at 1.65 V and NOT 1.9V??
Is OCZ RAM OK? i.e. OCZ Intel Extreme Edition Dual Channel 4096MB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB) at $96 for 2X2Gb

Is dual channel a good thing? or unnecessary?

Thanks

Oh and is 7-7-7-24 going to be noticeably (28%) faster than 9-9-9-24?
If it says for Intel P55 series does that mean it is not best suited for i5/i7?[/quote]
[URL]http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=3589[/URL]
(this was written before i5, but it looks generally applicable.)
Definitely not 28% faster; it's latency.

"Dual channel" (when they sell it to you) means only that you are getting two sticks, reasonably binned together, and should be just a bit cheaper than two separate ones. It's your m/b that will make it dual or not. Which still doesn't prevent from buying dual for not-dual use. If they are cheaper :-)

[U]Do not[/U] buy 1.9V. See anandtech article where they take apart this recomendation (1.65V max) ...and find it correct. :smile:

All of these companies are [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.Skill"]Taiwanese[/URL] or around. Don't be fooled by names. Some are better than others, but I don't know.
_________

P.S. The memory scaling article sort of contradicts the usefulness of [B][I]any[/I][/B] expensive memory (they even put it in the title), but I do believe that for Prime95 use, you should blend the expectations from the synthetic tests and the applications tests. (More leaning towards synthetic, maybe.)

When you get the system, would you be interested to run the tests with memory set in BIOS as 1600-C8, 1333-C7... etc? that would be really cool.

[QUOTE=moebius;195224]What about a AMD Phenom X4 965/955 Black Edition?
It is cheaper as the i5-750 and in about the same speed.

in german language:
[URL]http://www.chip.de/news/AMD-oder-Intel-Welche-150-Euro-CPU-ist-besser_38786759.html[/URL][/QUOTE]

Thanks but I want to keep all my hardware Intel ... no real good reason other than it has proven itself for me.

[QUOTE=Batalov;195225][URL]http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=3589[/URL]

P.S. The memory scaling article sort of contradicts the usefulness of [B][I]any[/I][/B] expensive memory (they even put it in the title), but I do believe that for Prime95 use, you should blend the expectations from the synthetic tests and the applications tests. (More leaning towards synthetic, maybe.)

When you get the system, would you be interested to run the tests with memory set in BIOS as 1600-C8, 1333-C7... etc? that would be really cool.[/QUOTE]

Thanks a lot for your comments.
In the synthetic tests faster RAM performs better but when comparing the 1600 C9, C8, C7, C6 there is very little difference so I guess latency is NOT a big factor.

Yes, I will tinker in the BIOS; I assume the MB I selected will allow this?

[quote=petrw1;195222]Waiting in my TigerDirect.ca shopping cart....any last words or warnings?

ULT-LSP550 :: Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty $49.97

E145-7204 :: EVGA GeForce 7200 GS Video Card - 512MB GDDR2, PCI Express, DVI, VGA, HDTV, Video Card $43.99

O261-2026 :: OCZ PC12800 Obsidian 4GB Dual Channel Memory Kit - 1600MHz, 4096MB (2x 2048MB) $135.99

G452-0103 :: Gigabyte P55M-UD2 Motherboard - Intel P55, Socket LGA1156, uATX, Dual-Channel DDR3, PCIe $119.97

I69-0750 :: Intel Core i5 750 Processor - 2.66GHz, LGA 1156, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, Lynnfield, Retail $219.97[/quote]
Newegg has some better prices adn even combos of what you want, e.g.
[URL="http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.286295"]this[/URL].
UD2 is minimalistic, but BIOS is usually good. As far as i remember, when in BIOS hit Ctrl-F1 to see "expert" setings (it is not a secret, should be in the manual somewhere).

[QUOTE=Batalov;195241]Newegg has some better prices adn even combos of what you want, e.g.
[URL="http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.286295"]this[/URL].
UD2 is minimalistic, but BIOS is usually good. As far as i remember, when in BIOS hit Ctrl-F1 to see "expert" setings (it is not a secret, should be in the manual somewhere).[/QUOTE]

I tend to agree.

I priced out a "similar" system at New-Egg. I couldn't get an exact comparison since they don't have all the same manufacturers as TigerDirect but for what I believe is equivalent it was about $25 cheaper.

And I had noticed some packages too that peak my interest. The one you show here has a higher end Video Card and MB for a total price about $100 more than my package; however the CPU/RAM combo is cheaper.

Thanks

So I decided to go for the i5-750, UD2 and G.Skill Ripjaws 1600/CL8. Should arrive by Friday. Will update you all once I build it over the weekend.

Great. That´s about the same config I´ll be going to in a couple of weeks.
Benchmarks (OC included!) impatiently awaited... :wink:
BTW, don´t forget to grab a decent cooler.

Noctua NH-U12P-Rev2 cool enough? :smile:

Wow!
Now I know why you were willing to save a couple of bucks on the CPU and memories... :smile: its price around here is roughly 60% of the P55M-UD2 mobo.
It´s a very well reputed brand, you will surely be well served.

[QUOTE=lycorn;195273]Great. That´s about the same config I´ll be going to in a couple of weeks.
Benchmarks (OC included!) impatiently awaited... :wink:
BTW, don´t forget to grab a decent cooler.[/QUOTE]

Me three....similar config to be ordered this week.

Sorry for the noobie question but do I need:
- Memory Cooler?
- Heat Sink?
- Extra Fan(s)?
- All of the above?