Probably not the best time to get one, with the Phenom II's being shipped out around 18th December, but I got around to building a new computer (and it looks like a while before the Phenom II's bring down prices).

Well, here's what I got (prices in AUD):
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU [$295]
- 2x2GB Kingmax DDR2 1066MHz RAM [$95]
- Gigabyte EP45-DS4P Motherboard [$199]
- Samsung 640GB SATA2 7200rpm HDD [$89]
- MSI Radeon4670 512MB GPU [$119]
- Antec NSK6580 case with 430W Earthwatts PSU [$128]
New stuff
- Xigmatech HDT-S1283 [$55]
- Logitech Desktop 350 (basic kb+mouse) [$22]
(total = $1002)

I took the ASUS DVD burner, Compro TV tuner and LG 19in monitor from my old build.
Probably shouldn't have gotten the 1066MHz RAM and stuck with 800MHz (the price different wasn't that high when I bought the stuff, but now you can get 2x2GB 800MHz RAM for $64).  Probably could've cut the whole thing to around $870 if I skimped a bit on the PSU and motherboard as well.
Was also considering a 9600GT instead of the R4670, though the former, I could only get for around $149 (the MSI overclocked one with custom cooling; other 9600GT cards were out of stock), so I thought a price saving of $30 was worth it, considering I don't often game (and I heard an R4670 runs Crysis at 1024x768 on the High setting at reasonable speeds).
Was also considering getting a better case (since cases can last a few upgrades), but couldn't be stuffed paying for the premium (was thinking about a Thermaltake V9 + Antec 380/430W Earthwatts PSU).

Anyway, rather a bit disappointed with this overall (for reference, my previous computer was an AthlonX2 4200+, 2x512MB DDR 500MHz RAM, 2x200GB Seagte SATA NCQ HDDs, ASUS 7800GT graphics and a ~10 year old case with 550W PSU):

• The CPU gets too hot at the moment.  At first, I don't think I got the cooler installed properly, and the CPU quickly hit 90ºC after turning on (and the motherboard automatically switching the thing off).  Reinstalled it, and it idled at 60ºC (CPU coolers are one of the most annoying things to install...).  Note that I didn't bother getting any thermal grease (which probably is a factor in this).  Then I took out the motherboard, stuck it on a cushiony surface, and pressed the cooler really hard into the motherboard, to ensure it went in (without cracking the mobo in half), verified that all the 4 pins came through on the other side and stuck everything back in.  Now the CPU idles at around 55ºC, but exceeds 80ºC under load.
  Currently, I've downclocked and "undervolted" the CPU - stepping the core clock down from 266MHz to 200MHz, giving the CPU a speed of 1.8GHz, and it seems to work fine under load, though a single-threaded video encode is probably a tad bit slower than it would be under my AthlonX2 4200+ running at 2.2GHz (though the difference is small).
  Might try some thermal grease later on, though I don't particularly need the CPU to run that fast (4x1.8GHz is fine for me).  Being summer in Brisbane, the surrounding temperature probably isn't helping it.  The grease probably would help a fair bit, since the CPU heatsink isn't getting very hot.
  Thing is still a little too hot for my expectations - around 35-40ºC idle at stock, and goes up to 50-60ºC on full load for a while (mobo temp ~40-50ºC, ambient room temp - dunno - 25ºC?)
  
• I can't seem to get x264 (r1046) to fully utilize my CPU, even with 8 threads :/ (gets stuck at around 50% CPU usage)  However, running multiple processes works :P
  
• When I bought the CPU, I asked the guy whether it was a B3 or G0 stepping model.  He didn't know, and I couldn't see any indication on the box about stepping, so I suspected it was the older B3 model.  When I checked Intel's Processor Identifier application, it reported "Stepping: B", which somewhat made me think B3.  Happened to do more research, and apparently the "S-SPEC" written on the label tells the stepping - mine had "SLACR" which apparently is the G0 model, so I guess I didn't lose anything there :P  (though I would've expected G0 to be written somewhere on the box)
  
• 4 "Unknown device" entries exist in the Device Manager in my XP x64 install - these correspond to each core of the CPU.  Tried the Intel INF updater but to no success in fixing this.  It shows fine under Vista 32-bit though.  Whilst the system works fine like this, I think it's hindering my ability to use hibernate on the system.
  I'm pretty much having the same issue as this guy: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-x64-e...m  Don't have Server 2003 x64 though.  Might try to get it to see if it works on that, then see if I can simply use the Server 2003 x64 driver.
  Also sent an email to Intel support - just got a response, them stating that it's the issue of the OS to provide the drivers and they suggested to reinstall the OS.  I'm pretty sure that Windows XP x64 was released before the Q6600 release though...  I might try installing a clean WinXP64, though I don't think my stripped copy would cause something like this...
  
• The Gigabyte motherboard seems to take about 5 seconds after pressing the on button, to give the startup beep sound and start showing up anything on the screen.  Fortunately resuming from sleep isn't that slow, but this extra 5 second delay is a bit annoying.  Also, restarting isn't much better - the machine gets (almost) fully powered down (all the fans stop etc), hangs for about 2 seconds, then boots up again (with the 5 second delay).
  
• The AHCI "BIOS" seems to take longer to load than the RAID "BIOS" on my old mobo... (maybe I should have disabled AHCI)
  
• Can't get the MSI graphics driver to install on XP x64.  It works fine on Vista32 though.  ATi's Catalyst driver still works on XP, but it's obviously lacking MSI's extensions, which, aren't that much anyway, so not too big an issue.
  
• Can't get Gigabyte's EasyTune app to work on XP64 either - their other apps work though.  So I'm forced to check CPU temps in the BIOS (or rely on the warning signal, which I've set to 80ºC (the motherboard sends an annoying buzz through the PC speaker once it exceeds that temp)).  Back to the CPU temps, the numbers I've given are based on stuff in the BIOS.  The BIOS gives one other temperature reading, "System Temperature" (temp of the chipset?) which idles at around 47ºC.
  May be an alternative app to Gigabyte's one though, for viewing temps.
  
• The Samsung drive is _too_ quiet.  Well, I like a quiet computer, but I also somewhat like to hear when the HDD is being used (helps you know when you're biting into swap space, for example) rather than rely on the HDD
  LED.  Might be good if you're on Vista though (which constantly uses the HDD from my experience).
  
• On the other hand, the system itself is a bit loud-ish, though quieter than my old system (but I like a silent computer).  Was unwilling to spend any more on the case as well.
  
• The MSI R4670 GPU is interesting - it's pretty much a single slot card, except for the heatsink/fan which makes it a dual slot card...  I've got plenty of space, so it's not really an issue.
  
• Even running the Q6600 at stock 2.4GHz, a single threaded encode isn't that much faster than my AthlonX2 4200+ - probably around 20-35% (had expected more than that).  I guess the good thing is that there's 4 cores, meaning I can run 3 encodes at the same time and still use the PC without issues.  Graphics performance isn't that much better, though I haven't done much tests on this.  FEAR seems to run a tad bit faster, though I'll need to test a few other things before saying much about it.
  
• There's a yellow exclamation (missing driver) next to "high definition audio" device in Device Manager in XP.  In Vista, it just says "High Definition Audio Device" (without the exclamation).  Audio works fine in XP, so I really wouldn't know what this "HD audio" refers to (perhaps for 8ch sound or digital?).  Only mention I've seen would be the case's connector to the motherboard, for the case's headphone/mic. plugs.  Obviously these work fine in XP though.
  
• Even with these 2 unknown drivers (Q6600 and "HD audio device"), the system works fine, but I can't hibernate (apparently the reason is because of this).  Would be nice if I could just get rid of the device entries in Device Manager >_> (don't care about missing drivers, but do care about hibernation)  Hibernation doesn't work with 4GB of RAM :(
  
• I got a BSoD once from the ATI driver, but haven't gotten it again - hopefully it doesn't show up.
  
• Interestingly, it appears that drivers these days are just adding more and more software bloat... (though most of it can be disabled, fortunately)
  
• Probably I've stuffed up my nLiting of XP64 - can't seem to get Windows File & Internet sharing to work, though I've always sucked at networking (mainly, haven't had the opportunity to play around with them).  Can get a connection across the two computers though (ping works, can get internet via a HTTP proxy (might try setting up a SOCKS proxy to allow more stuff), can network Starcraft...).
  

Otherwise, it's not that bad.  General speed seems to be around the same as my old comp, a tad bit faster perhaps, but since I'm setting everything up again, got to try some new things (like better partitioning layout).  Also trialing manual preloading of applications since I have 4GB of RAM, which seems to work well (probably better than Vista's Superfetch) - Word 2007 loads in like 0.5-1.5 seconds.  Also a bit quieter and more energy efficient (old comp using a 550W PSU, but the R4670 uses a lot less energy than the 7800GT, as well as me only using one HDD).
I just have to go through the fun process of transferring everything across >_>
"Upgrade" probably wasn't worth the $925, but I wouldn't have gotten a new computer anyway if it wasn't for the fact that our other comp broke down.  Expected a bit more of a performance gain - otherwise, might have gone with a cheaper build with a AMD Phenom 9550 CPU ($189 vs $295 for the Q6600 (plus AMD mobos are cheaper than Intel ones)).

(This post was last modified: 22/12/2008 07:08 AM by ZiNgA BuRgA.)

I got almost the same set,. except for motherboard, GFXcard and maybe dif mem brand,.

i also had troubles with cpu and cpu cooler,. encoding video's the pc sometimes crashed because of overheated cpu,.
Now i got meself a cpu bracket to mount on the back&front of the motherboard using reall metal screws instead of those front-only plastic thingy's,. i also used alot of thermal grease!! << i think you really need that! ;)
This front&back mount thingy was second hand and i don't think they sell these anymore but you know for sure the cooler is mounted 100%
i have had no more heat issue's and cooler is at min rate most of the time.

"meaning I can run 3 encodes" << i don't think it works like that,. O_o but you be able to set affinity for each core in task manager,. but maybe i might be wrong,..
and yes encoding is't much faster,. but you be able to run other programs without any troubles while encoding,..

i am saving for a geforce 280 its prob the best graphics card there is now,. but i read the 8800gts is still very good,. i have never bought a ATI graphics card,.

(This post was last modified: 16/12/2008 04:32 AM by Vegetano1.)

feinicks Wrote:

Vegetano1 Wrote:i am saving for a geforce 280 its prob the best graphics card there is now,. but i read the 8800gts is still very good,. i have never bought a ATI graphics card,.

GeForce 280 can be considered as the best card for gaming... but for encoding, rendering etc, even the Quadro FX series is excellent...

if you got the $$$'s!! Quadro FX would be great!

whot part does a graphics card do when rendering/encoding,. i thought you needed a good cpu for that,.!>?

feinicks Wrote:Regarding your MSI card, I rebuilt my PC after eventually getting tired of Dell. I have faced a similar problem with my 8600 GT in Vista x64. The driver doesn't install saying "No NVIDIA device was detected." However, I downloaded a previous driver version and that installed properly. Updgrade to the new driver was without glitch.

The ATi drivers work, it's just that I can't install the modded MSI drivers (they probably didn't make an XP 64 compatible version) :(

feinicks Wrote:Quad core CPUs usually run hot, but getting that grease and an extra fan would be wise.

But the Q6600 apparently runs pretty cool - one of the reasons why it's so overclockable (people saying they can get 3GHz on the stock cooler)...
It's probably the lack of grease.

feinicks Wrote:Quad cores not being recognised is simultaneously an issue of the Processor, Mobo and OS. I suggest that you download the Vista x64 drivers from net and not rely on the provided driver cd.

I downloaded the XP 64 Intel INF update thing...  Might try Server 2003 rather than Vista, since both Server 2003 and XP64 use the NT 5.2 kernel, whereas Vista uses the NT 6 kernel (former might work better).

feinicks Wrote:Regarding the HD Audio driver, it could be an incompatibilty of the onboad Audio device with Vista. Should be fixed by downloading and installing the latest drivers from the net (Realtek I assume?), although my Gigabyte driver cd installed the mobo audio and gigabit ethernet drivers smoothly.

It works on Vista, not on XP.  Yeah, it's Realtek.  But the device's audio drivers work fine (Realtek device is there, but there's some other "High Definition Audio" device)
Here's a screenshot:

feinicks Wrote:How old is your Motherboard? Its only recently that included software has become compatible with x64 (esp. Vista)

It's a Intel P45 chipset based motherboard, which I believe P45 came out after the Q6600, so it should be new enough.  I've updated the BIOS, and the software does work with x64 (the software provided on my old comp's CD was x64 compatible too, though the old comp was a high end system in its day).

feinicks Wrote:Even I notice that AHCI BIOS takes a couple of seconds longer than RAID BIOS (of my old PC)... but I see no harm in leaving it on. Moreover, not leaving it on gives a message "blah blah... Do you want to turn AHCI on?" and this is there for 5 seconds, so in actuality, its quicker, though that message can be disabled in BIOS.

Mine doesn't show a message with AHCI disabled though.  Just read that using RAID mode is probably better however - might see how that works...

feinicks Wrote:The Motherboard power button behaviour/timing can be adjusted in the BIOS.

Haven't seen the setting - might have to dig around more.  Thanks.

feinicks Wrote:I have a another issue. I have enabled Password protected power on. That is at every boot, the computer should ask for a password before loading BIOS... sadly, the PC doesn't seem to know that...

You mean a BIOS password?  Do you have "Password Check" set to "Setup" or "System"?

Vegetano1 Wrote:Now i got meself a cpu bracket to mount on the back&front of the motherboard using reall metal screws instead of those front-only plastic thingy's,. i also used alot of thermal grease!! << i think you really need that! ;)
This front&back mount thingy was second hand and i don't think they sell these anymore but you know for sure the cooler is mounted 100%
i have had no more heat issue's and cooler is at min rate most of the time.

Sounds good :P  Yeah, might try a custom cooler too.

Vegetano1 Wrote:if you got the $$$'s!! Quadro FX would be great!

If you want value, I wouldn't get the GTX280 either.  The only people who get top of the line products are serious enthusiasts who don't give a care about money, and companies obviously know that, so they charge excessive premiums on top of the line goods.  A GTX260 should be more than enough really...

Vegetano1 Wrote:whot part does a graphics card do when rendering/encoding,. i thought you needed a good cpu for that,.!>?

Currently, most encoders rely primarily on the CPU.  Some do use stuff like nVidia's CUDA, but they're very few...

Thanks for the advice guys!

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

I can't seem to get x264 (r1046) to fully utilize my CPU, even with 8 threads :/ (gets stuck at around 50% CPU usage)  However, running multiple processes works :P

x264 authors actually suggested using 1.5*cores. So try 6 threads.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

The Gigabyte motherboard seems to take about 5 seconds after pressing the on button, to give the startup beep sound and start showing up anything on the screen.  Fortunately resuming from sleep isn't that slow, but this extra 5 second delay is a bit annoying.  Also, restarting isn't much better - the machine gets (almost) fully powered down (all the fans stop etc), hangs for about 2 seconds, then boots up again (with the 5 second delay).

Mine does that too, but only like 1 second.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

Even running the Q6600 at stock 2.4GHz, a single threaded encode isn't that much faster than my AthlonX2 4200+ - probably around 20-35% (had expected more than that).

Actually, would you mind doing this encoding speed test I made?

Download the package » here (341KB) Edit: Fixed some stupid typo in script.

Comes with x264 r1057, some batch files and an avs file.

Pretty much, just run the single thread and multi thread batch files. And tell me how fast your computer managed to encode it. (Run the insane .bat if you want. Originally put it there, then I realized it's going to take absolutely ages, so don't bother if you can't be stuffed waiting for that).

Anyone else wants to do it, feel free. But it requires you to have Avisynth installed.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:

The CPU gets too hot at the moment.  At first, I don't think I got the cooler installed properly, and the CPU quickly hit 90ºC after turning on (and the motherboard automatically switching the thing off).  Reinstalled it, and it idled at 60ºC (CPU coolers are one of the most annoying things to install...).  Note that I didn't bother getting any thermal grease (which probably is a factor in this).  Then I took out the motherboard, stuck it on a cushiony surface, and pressed the cooler really hard into the motherboard, to ensure it went in (without cracking the mobo in half), verified that all the 4 pins came through on the other side and stuck everything back in.  Now the CPU idles at around 55ºC, but exceeds 80ºC under load.

So how do I check my cpu temperature? With some program?

(This post was last modified: 17/12/2008 08:19 AM by Assassinator.)

(This post was last modified: 16/12/2008 09:17 AM by feinicks.)

feinicks Wrote:

Vegetano1 Wrote:

feinicks Wrote:

Vegetano1 Wrote:i am saving for a geforce 280 its prob the best graphics card there is now,. but i read the 8800gts is still very good,. i have never bought a ATI graphics card,.

GeForce 280 can be considered as the best card for gaming... but for encoding, rendering etc, even the Quadro FX series is excellent...

if you got the $$$'s!! Quadro FX would be great!

whot part does a graphics card do when rendering/encoding,. i thought you needed a good cpu for that,.!>?

a simple example would be Photoshop CS4 which uses GPU rather than CPU to add filters...

essentially, a GPU is a lot more capable of high calculations that are required in encoding/rendering..

you mean the open-gl feature in PS CS4!>?

but not many programs use gpu>!? maybe 3d programs and such,. but for encoding cpu is used,..>?

also i thought the quad core was made to prevent overheating,. so i was told,. but seems quad core cpu's reach high temperature's also.

(This post was last modified: 16/12/2008 09:22 AM by Vegetano1.)