P4C800-E - What constitutes a legacy OS?

[barbados]

A couple of questions for you astute guys……

Thinking seriously about building another computer, but the last one I built was three years ago – an eternity in the computer business, yes?

Anyway, looking at the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe. Downloaded the manual and I am confused.

The manual states (in one place) that one only has full access to the full compliment of hard drive connections when using Windows XP. Other (legacy) systems negate the SATA capability and/or only allow using the four IDE channels. One has a choice on how to configure but the results using a legacy operating system definitely limit the board.

Now, in another part of the manual it states Windows XP **AND** Windows 2000 as giving a full compliment of drive choices.

So, which is it? I plan to run Win 2000 Pro and want the SATA option. Will it work? Anybody done it?

The last question ( for present ((grin)) ), assuming windows 2K will allow SATA interface, can I just run one (1) WD Raptor SATA drive without doing the RAID bit?

This is the last box I’m going to have before retirement and a fixed income, so I would like to do it right.

Your guidance is greatly appreciated.

-dave-

 

[ChipDeath]

It'll be fine. I think they're just saying that no-one's written any RAID drivers for DOS :lol: ...

There's no problem with running a single drive on a RAID controller. I've done it myself, and in fact one of my available RAID channels is set up just that way now.

But..... What do you want the system for? You can probably build a better system for less. you may find an A64 system would be more suited to your needs.

---
"Sex without love is an empty experience...
But as empty experiences go, it's one of the best" - Woody Allen

 

[barbados]

Thanks, ChipDeath for the fast response! I feel better now!

Well, as far as the system uses, I do heavy Photoshop/Pagemaker/Illustrator work, so I’m looking for fast seek times and large storage. No gaming per se.

I haven’t got as far as choosing the video card, but the Matrox Parhelia with two monitors should suit my graphics needs nicely, but haven’t checked to see if it’s compatible with the board.

…And AMD vs. Intel. Boy, have things changed in a couple of years! A few years ago AMD was racing to catch-up with Intel, now it’s the other way around! I did build an AMD machine and it worked fine but Intel had the speed advantage at that time so I switched.

Do you think AMD may be a better choice now for my application? I’ve presently have the means to build whatever I want (last time I’ll be able to say that!), so I am always open to suggestions.

Thanks again for straightening me out on the legacy/raid thing with the Asus board.

-dave-

 

[ChipDeath]

According to <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2249&p=7" target="_new">Anandtech</A>, the A64 is generally a little better than the equivalent P4 at Photoshop...

I’m looking for fast seek times and large storage. No gaming per se.

on the AMD side, the nforce (3/4) chipsets have some extremely flexible RAID options.

You could get some 10,000RPM WD Raptors. They would give nice fast disk access, whether in RAID or not. Not cheap though.. .. I would suggest getting a 72Gb Raptor for the System, and as a 'Work' drive, with a much cheaper 400Gb or so drive for longer-term storage.

I would advice 1Gb of RAM as a minimum too.

---
"Sex without love is an empty experience...
But as empty experiences go, it's one of the best" - Woody Allen

 

[mrwhipper]

They are both good CPU's for whay you want to do. If you feel you are going to go 64 bit I would say AMD. If not, what ever you can get cheaper. If you were gamming at all, I would say AMD 64. Good luck with your new comp.

They are our, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors. They are OUR TROOPS! Please support them.

 

[tweebel]

You should check the VGA forum on the Matrox Parphelia. Compared to other cards, it is a quite old card. Almost all new cards have good double output support. And, of course, last time I checked, the Parphelia was extremely expensive.

 

[barbados]

Thanks, ChipDeath! I’ll check out the AMD boards w/ ¾ chipsets for RAID options before I make any serious decisions either way.

Yes, 10K raptors are in the master plan. I believe they are SATA drives. If I don’t do RAID, I can still use one in the SATA port.

And, yes, a 300-400G IDE drive as a work drive is a definite, too. I may do one additional small drive for ghosting. I used to just partition a large drive for this, but had three IBM Deskstars go south and lost everything. A gig+ of RAM is a given, but thanks for mentioning it. Us old analog guys need all the help we can get!
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Mrwhipper, Thanks for the additional vote-of-confidence for AMD. I’ll keep an open mind and check it out.
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Tweebel, thanks for your comment RE: Matrox Parphellia. I didn’t realize other vid cards offered two-monitor support. That certainly opens up new avenues. I’ll bug the guys in the VGA forum as I get closer to choosing.
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And to all of you: Thanks for taking your valuable time to share your knowledge with me. I greatly appreciate it.

-dave-

 

[mrwhipper]

My pleasure

They are our, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors. They are OUR TROOPS! Please support them.

 

[endyen]

Hi Dave
Just a word of caution. The win2K os supports multiprocessor systems, but not HyperThreading. Photo Shop also supports Multiprocessors. If the 2 are used together, in the new P4c or e systems, HT will treat wait states as applying to the whole chip. This generally causes a slowdown. It is recommended that HT be shut off in such systems.

 

[barbados]

Ohhhh, good information! Thanks, endyen!

I didn’t know that.

I am doing my best to resist XP. It just grits me to have to call for activation, especially as many times as I change things.

Guess it’s the shape-of-things-to-come, as I just received Notron Ghost 9.0 and they also require activation after 30 days. Wonder if it will refuse to work if I put it in another of my machines?

Thanks again for passing that along, I would have had a slow(er) machine and probably would have never known why.

-dave-

 

[mrwhipper]

I was worried about the same thing with XP. I also change harware all the time. I usually upgrade every 10 months. The only time that I hAD TO reativate was just reciently when I took out a 3400+, GigapyetK8VNXP, 6800 GT to a FX 55, K8NXP-SLI, and 2x 6800 GT's. XP looks at the hardware each piece gets a number rating. Sorta like a points thing. If the points changed are below a certin number no reactivation in nessary. For what it is worth, it takes 2 seconds online. Good luck.

They are our, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors. They are OUR TROOPS! Please support them.

 

[barbados]

“XP looks at the hardware each piece gets a number rating. Sorta like a points thing. If the points changed are below a certin number no reactivation in nessary. For what it is worth, it takes 2 seconds online.”

Boy, am I misinformed. Perhaps noninformed is a better term (grin).

I was under the impression that one had to telephone MS for each change you made.

That puts a different light on XP for me, then. Perhaps I’ll put it on my tentative short-list along with the Matrox video card.

I just have to discipline myself to take a peek at what’s going on in the computer world every month or so.

Thanks again for putting me on the right track!

-dave-