Warm: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 + ECS agp mobo - $179.98 @ Fry's

[MikeTheBuzzsaw]

Originally posted by: djIhcoro
If that ECS mobo bothers you so much, you can return it on the spot after you buy the combo. Fry's puts the two items on the invoice separate.

Yea, but once you return one item, they require you to return the other item as well.

I don't like Frys cause most of the combos they sell are refurbished.

Originally posted by: AkumaX

Originally posted by: Iceboie
I also gave in and bought the combo. At first I was convincing myself that this is just a test and I will be returning the combo when I'm done testing it. Well, it looks like it's a keeper. I'll try to go back and return the mobo alone (citing lack of dual-channel support and it didn't fit the case) but if that doesn't work, I'll just keep the board until the next batch comes out. For now, things are zipping along in this little system I built.

Here's some info. on the stuff I ended up buying today:
C2D 6300 (bare/tray CPU) + ECS P4M800PRO-M V2 $199
Thermaltake Mini Typhoon heatsink/fan $35
Thermaltake Matrix case with 400W PurePower 2.0 $79 - $30 MIR = $49

Total with tax: ~$330 (will be $300 after the MIR).

Went home and added a 200GB PATA drive, a 160GB SATA drive, 2 sticks of 512MB DDR2-533, and a Lite-ON DVD-ROM (all are extra components I was not using except the RAM.

I'll post some benchmarks later.

I also found out that my initial assumption about this board was incorrection--it DOES have overclocking capabilities! However, the max FSB is 300. I was able to hit 2.1Ghz (300x7) without doing anything special. It's not much but this little OC brings my C2D up to 6400 level. Good enough I guess. Hopefully I can return the board and get the ASROCK for more OCing.

Here's the CPU-Z shot.

WTF. 300fsb limit!! :brokenheart: :brokenheart: :brokenheart:

might have to wait for those 800fsb conroes..

Remeber, its a 15 days return policy for processors (30 days for mobo). Sometimes, if they are nice, and you pass the 15 days, they give you store credit.

 

[strider209]

The price sounds good but I'm not sure if it's worth upgrading or should I just wait/spend extra money for a more up-to-date system.

The parts I would be reusing if I was to do this would be:
2x1G PC3200 RAM
Antec 380W PSU
GeForce 6800 vanilla (non-ultra)
IDE HD, DVD burner etc.

So can anyone give me some suggestions?
Is it a good idea to hop on this deal or wait/spend the money and do a more up-to-date setup (i.e. DDR2 RAM, SATA drives, PCI-E video card?

 

[Dragoon42]

This is a good deal for people who want to get their C2D system bit by bit instead of ordering it all at once. Like me

I can pretty much just upgrade as I go now. This'll be sweet. I couldn't find it online though?

 

[sisq0kidd]

Originally posted by: strider209
The price sounds good but I'm not sure if it's worth upgrading or should I just wait/spend extra money for a more up-to-date system.

The parts I would be reusing if I was to do this would be:
2x1G PC3200 RAM
Antec 380W PSU
GeForce 6800 vanilla (non-ultra)
IDE HD, DVD burner etc.

So can anyone give me some suggestions?
Is it a good idea to hop on this deal or wait/spend the money and do a more up-to-date setup (i.e. DDR2 RAM, SATA drives, PCI-E video card?

The main thing I would want out of my Conroe system is a nice motherboard, which this deal clearly falls short of.

Yeah, I posted this, but I wouldn't get it :laugh: If I'm getting an E6300, I am going to want to overclock it to the moon. Any motherboard that would do this stably would probably cost me an arm and a leg, so I might as well get the latest features on there (ddr2, pci-e).

If you aren't into overclocking and you don't have a dual core setup yet, this might be a good deal to upgrade to along with your existing components.

Originally posted by: Dragoon42
This is a good deal for people who want to get their C2D system bit by bit instead of ordering it all at once. Like me

I can pretty much just upgrade as I go now. This'll be sweet. I couldn't find it online though?

Fry's is different from Outpost. They are the same company, but they do not hold the same deals. Sometimes Outpost overlaps deals in their "advertised specials" section, but you won't find this deal online.

 

[ThePhantom]

It all comes down to overclocking. It always does.

 

[VooDooAddict]

I know a few people who are still using AthlonXP systems with AGP 9600/9700/9800Pros ... thier gaming has dropped off over the years and the primary use is non gaming, but they still like to batch up Battefield 1942 and UT 2003/2004 on ocassion.

It's a good upgrade path to dual core for those folks or for those 2nd or 3rd boxes that some of us have laying around. That way we'll at least have a modern cpu in them. (as opposed to the $99 AMD 754 3400+ and motherboard deal that newegg had for a while.)

 

[my sons father]

I have to say this may be an option for some people, especially those who have more than 1 computer to speed up. (kids, wifes, etc.) For me, the ecs motherboard is a throw-away, or a sell-on-ebay.

 

[sisq0kidd]

Same combo, new price.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Seems like a good deal to get into a C2D chip if that's your desire, then later upgrade other components as finances allow.

While I'm sure DDR and AGP are bottlenecks for this CPU, I'm sure people with who would potentially upgrade to this would still see a significant benefit.

 

[Lurker1]

It's a great deal, and DDR vs DDR2 has not proven to be that big a bottleneck, nor is AGP, if you're not into super hi-res gaming. It's the perfect solution for those that are into heavy multi-CPU loads (i.e., not gaming). Video rendering is what I got a 3800+ X2 for. It's way better than my P4 in this regard, but with prices this low, I might bite on this deal. $180 for possibly 100% improvement over an X2? No other components to buy? Nice....

 

[Souka]

Good upgrade path for my rig...

Playing HL2 my CPU is the bottle neck.

 

[BlackG0d]

Too bad this is in-store only.

Would anyone be willing to buy and ship this inside US?

 

[Trey22]

Good deal, especially if all you want is the CPU (like me) and FleaBay the mobo for cheap.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: sisq0kidd
Fry's is different from Outpost. They are the same company, but they do not hold the same deals. Sometimes Outpost overlaps deals in their "advertised specials" section, but you won't find this deal online.

Well, in this case, it's now available online for $179.xx plus shipping!

 

[sisq0kidd]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: sisq0kidd
Fry's is different from Outpost. They are the same company, but they do not hold the same deals. Sometimes Outpost overlaps deals in their "advertised specials" section, but you won't find this deal online.

Well, in this case, it's now available online for $179.xx plus shipping!

:Q

:runs and hides;

So they did merge, and the deal is online. I am wrong on all fronts now!

 

[PG]

The deal is back!

Anyone get this combo and test it yet?

 

[BlackPear1]

From the ad image it looks like this time it comes with retail instead of OEM processor.

 

[Chadder007]

Originally posted by: PG
The deal is back!

Anyone get this combo and test it yet?

Yeah, Id like to see some benchies of this board/cpu. The only thing I could see that would bottleneck it is, there aren't any good AGP cards out. AGP itself still really isn't a bottleneck....just the availability of newer cards for the AGP is.

 

[PG]

some people have pointed out that it has single channel memory only, but I don't know how much that hurts things

 

[42z3e67pt3l]

Does any one know if this offer is good on frys website. The last offer was, but I didn't buy. Engineer found the offer on frys website last time, but I couldn't find it last time and I still can't find it this time around. Does any one have the link so I can buy this combo.