What do you think of this budget XP 6000+ build?

L

lhoney2

New Member
I've already ordered all of these parts from Newegg, so I can't change any of this build.

I'm NOT an overclocker. After some research, I determined the performance of the XP 6000+ was comparable to the Intel E6600 dual-core chip. The deciding factor, I found a package deal at Newegg for the XP 6000 cpu and 2 gigs PC6400 RAM for $309. The E6700 chip retails for $317 by itself, so I saved ~$100 on the CPU/RAM and still have approximately the same performance.

224.50 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail
104.99 G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ - Retail
94.99 EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
49.99 BIOSTAR NF520-A2 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
79.99 COOLER MASTER Mystique RC-632S-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
59.99 RAIDMAX Hybrid 2 RX-530SS ATX12V 530W Power Supply - Retail
69.99 Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM3320820AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
20.99 EDIMAX EW-7128G PCI Wireless Card - Retail
21.99 Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergonomics Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM
9.99 ALTEC LANSING ACS22BW 5 watts 2.0 Tower Speaker - OEM
119.99 Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
27.99 Lite-on DVD burner combo drive

-20.00 CPU/RAM combo discount
-15.00 MIR for case
-15.00 MIR for video card

+24.00 Shipping

$860 total build cost
 
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that is very similar to my system. you wouldn't regret. You could just follow my step. Get Zalmann 9500 cpu cooler if you want to Overclock. The processor gets pretty hot when you OC. you might want to step up on video card and motherboard. Go for asus m2n sli deluxe. It is pretty simple to install and I bought my psu and mobo as a combo for pretty cheap with lots of discounts. I don't regret anything. I love my system. And about intel C2D, E6700 is pretty fast chip. If you are not an OC'er, than go for 6000+. After OCing my chip, I realized why people want to get intel. But if not go for 6000+! I had a case and cd driver, and it cost me $800. I've also heard that some of Gskill ram doesn't work with vista 64bit. So do some research for it.
 
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why not get a e6600???
its faster in most testes and is cheaper and is a better overclocker
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The tests I looked at were at Tom's hardware. The results were pretty close between the C2D 6600 and XP 6000+. I noticed the testbed they used was a little wacky. For the C2D they used 800 MHz RAM, while they used 750 MHz RAM for the 6000+.

I haven't seen where the E6600 CPU is cheaper. I've seen it at the same price as the 6000. Newegg has them both for 229.00 in retail packaging. The RAM deal I got with the AMD CPU made the AMD deal a little better.

Aside from that, my last two computers have been AMD. I had a K6-400 MHz, then an XP 2200+ after that. Since it looked damn close price/performance wise, I went with them again.

I've also heard that some of Gskill ram doesn't work with vista 64bit. So do some research for it.
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GAH! I've never heard of RAM being incompatible with a friggin' operating system. I really hope that's not the case here... I'll check into it. I notice that you are using GSkill RAM. What has your experience been like?

Get a better psu, that raidmax one is CRAP
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Can you please elaborate? AFAIK Raidmax is a decent manufacturer. 530 watts should be ample power. It's modular. It has some cool blue lights. It's ~$60. Just got it in the mail today, and it feels nice and heavy. The cheap-o ones are always so much lighter. I wasn't in the mood to spend big bucks on a PSU, but I though this one would be adequate, unless you have some more info before I take the shrink wrap off?

Thanks for the comments!

BTW - Newegg is FAST. I ordered on Thursday around noon, and everything but the case came in on Friday around 4PM.
 
lhoney2 said:
Can you please elaborate? AFAIK Raidmax is a decent manufacturer. 530 watts should be ample power. It's modular. It has some cool blue lights. It's ~$60. Just got it in the mail today, and it feels nice and heavy. The cheap-o ones are always so much lighter. I wasn't in the mood to spend big bucks on a PSU, but I though this one would be adequate, unless you have some more info before I take the shrink wrap off?
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When it's cases maybe, but when it's PSU's no, they barely meet any "standar", they have low amps and they aren't efficient as they say to be
 
Thought I'd give an update on the build.

First of all, Newegg was awesome. They shipped everything in 4 different shipments, from 3 different locations. My total shipping bill was 18.00, which a lot of places would have charged for just the case. Everything came in on time and as ordered.

The first thing I did was mount the Biostar MB in the Coolermaster case.

I then installed the XP 6000+ CPU. Smooth sailing.

I ordered the retail version of the AMD 6000. It comes with this really bad ass looking heat sink. There are copper pipes jutting out from the side of it. I'll add some pictures of it later.

The problem was, these pipes make it damn near impossible for the HSF to fit inside of the CPU mounts. I fought with it for 20 minutes before I decided to take the MB out again so that I had better access.

I took the MB out, and after 15 more minutes of repositioning, prying and cussing was able to properly install and clamp down the HSF. I was really concerned about damaging the CPU or MB, and almost quit. I've built about 10 systems total now, so I'm no newb. I came very close to boxing the MB up and sending it back.

The rest of the install was a breeze. The Coolermaster case was the easiest I have ever used for a build. The drives are all tooless, the expansions cards are tooless. The only thing you need a screwdriver for is to install the MB and power supply. I actually slowed down and enjoyed myself during this build because the design of the case actually made it FUN.

I bought Win Vista Premium OEM from Newegg. So far, it has been great. The install was the most painless OS install ever. It took about 40 minutes. On the first boot, Vista had installed EVERY driver except for one. It didn't have a driver for my Edimax wireless G PCI card.

I bought the Edimax wireless PCI card for two reasons. #1 - it was only 21.00. #2 - It has an antenna with a cord that can be located a few feet away from the PCI card. That is huge! Do you know how much electromagnetic interference there is at the back of your computer? Moving the antenna to the top of the desk or case gives you MUCH better reception.

Anyway, no driver for the Edimax wireless card. I used the included disk and installed the XP driver and it works absolutely perfectly.

Aside from installing the HSF, this build was an absolute dream and everything is working fine. The programs I have run so far are running very fast.

Extremely satisfied with this build so far. I HIGHLY recommend the Coolermaster Mystique case.
 
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