First-time builder; short-time reader. Help for the new guy?

[whimbrel]

Hi, all. The video card on my laptop is in the process of destroying itself, and so I find myself without a reliable computer. I think I've decided to build a PC for the heavy lifting work, and then to buy a portable tablet PC for my notebook needs.

I'm fairly tech-savvy, but I've never built a PC before, so I've got some pretty basic questions I could use help with.

First, here's what I'm looking for:
- I'd like to spend less than $2000, including a pretty good LCD monitor.
- I'd like to dual-boot into Windows (for games and photo-editing) and Linux (for data analysis).
- I'll use this computer for photo-editing in PS2, the newest FPS games, and some heavy duty MATLAB number crunching (gigabytes of fMRI data).
- I'd probably prefer something that's 64-bit, so I get the most out of Vista, and so that my MATLAB analyses run faster. However, I might be ok getting a 32-bit processor now, if there's a fairly simple upgrade path to 64-bit.

So, here are my more specific questions:

1) CPU: I'd like to get something dual-core, and I hear the upcoming Intel dual-core release (Conroe?) is going to be fantastic. However, I sort of need to build a PC soon, before this current laptop totally implodes. Given that, do I
a) get an AMD Dual-core CPU? (if so, which?)
b) get one of the existing Intel CPUs? (which?), or,
c) get one of the existing Intel CPUs and upgrade it when Conroe comes out? (Is this even possible, or would I need a different motherboard?)

2) Graphics card(s): I'd prefer to be able to play the latest FPS games at high settings, but I don't want to spend crazy amounts of money on a DX9 card when DX10 will be coming out with Vista next year. Am I better off:
a) getting a single nice GPU (like the 7900?)? or,
b) getting a SLI setup with two lesser video cards (which ones?)? Will this give me better performance for the money than a single high-end card? And, if I do this, will I be able to replace the SLI'd cards with DX10 cards, or will there be some socket/interface changes that prevent this?

Sorry, I know this is a lot of questions compacted into one e-mail, but I'd really appreciate guidance and wisdom.

Thanks!
Todd

 

[joefriday]

If you really have to build a computer at this time, I would suggest building an AMD system, as it will better satisfy your needs than Intel's current lineup. It would be nice to build an Intel system now, and then upgrade to a Conroe cpu when they come out, but the simple truth is that there isn't a 100% gaurantee that today's motherboards will be completely compatable with Conroe.

For $2000, I'm sure you could build a very impressive computer. I'll let others give you specific hardware recommendations. I would think any sort of X2 Athlon 64 or dual core Opteron would be fine for your needs.

 

[The_Prophecy]

As of now, the only motherboard with confirmed Conroe support is the Intel D975XBX. If you get a different board should you decide to go Intel, Conroe will not be guaranteed to work (more likely that it probably won't). I'll lay out a few configurations so you can see what you think.

Intel:

CPU: Intel Pentium D 930

Motherboard: Intel D975XBX or Asus P5WD2-E Premium

RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800

Video: eVGA Geforce 7900GT

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2

Power Supply: Aerocool Zerodba 500W

AMD:

CPU: Athlon X2 4400+ or Opteron 170

Motherboard: Asus A8N-E

RAM: OCZ Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR-400 or OCZ Titanium 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR-400

Video: eVGA Geforce 7900GT

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2

Power Supply: Aerocool Zerodba 500W

---------------------------------------------

Monitor:

17"
Acer AL1716BBD or NEC 70GX2-BK

19"
NEC 90GX2 or BenQ FP93G

 

[whimbrel]

Thanks, Joe and The_Prophecy.

In the days of yore, there were some compatability concerns when using AMDs instead of Intels. Are the two completely interchangeable now (in terms of linux support, software compatability, etc)?

Also, what about the video card questions? Do you think I'm better off with a single card, or two lesser cards in a SLI setup?

Finally, I can probably wait for another week or so, but I don't want to wait much longer. Are there likely to be more certified motherboards that I can upgrade to Conroe?

Thanks again for fielding all the questions. This seems like a fantastic community!

Todd

 

[shadowduck]

Thanks, Joe and The_Prophecy.

In the days of yore, there were some compatability concerns when using AMDs instead of Intels. Are the two completely interchangeable now (in terms of linux support, software compatability, etc)?

Also, what about the video card questions? Do you think I'm better off with a single card, or two lesser cards in a SLI setup?

Finally, I can probably wait for another week or so, but I don't want to wait much longer. Are there likely to be more certified motherboards that I can upgrade to Conroe?

Thanks again for fielding all the questions. This seems like a fantastic community!

Todd

AMD has no problems anymore, and makes Intel look stupid in most benchmarks (until Conroe anyway). I would certainly go AMD and ONE video card. Lesser cards in SLI is a bad idea and a money hole. Unless you can get 2 7900GTs in SLI, SLI is a waste of your time/money. The AMD systems Prophecy gave work nicely.

Since Conroe won't be here until July, the answer is no. Don't except anything on Conroe boards until Conroe comes out.

I saw you wanted to run Windows and Linux. Instead of dual booting (which is frankly a pain in the ass) have you every consider virtualization? It works much better and the applications to do it are now free.

 

[The_Prophecy]

I would say stay clear of SLI right now, especially if you want this build to stay under $2000. Everything that will run on an Intel based system, will run on an AMD based system... although the performance may not be the same in each case between the 2 brands...

 

[clue69less]

First, here's what I'm looking for:
- I'd like to spend less than $2000, including a pretty good LCD monitor.
- I'd like to dual-boot into Windows (for games and photo-editing) and Linux (for data analysis).
- I'll use this computer for photo-editing in PS2, the newest FPS games, and some heavy duty MATLAB number crunching (gigabytes of fMRI data).
- I'd probably prefer something that's 64-bit, so I get the most out of Vista, and so that my MATLAB analyses run faster. However, I might be ok getting a 32-bit processor now, if there's a fairly simple upgrade path to 64-bit.

Case: TT Armor Jr.--------------------$103
Mobo: DFI LP nF4----------------------$120
CPU: Opteron 170---------------------$400
GPU: MSI X1900XT--------------------$400
RAM: OCZ gold 2X1GB DDR500------$170
PS: OCZ Modstream 620--------------$77
HDs: 2 x WD 250GB 16MB------------$160
DVD-R/W-------------------------------$50
OS: XP Home---------------------------$85
Monitor: Viewsonic 19"----------------$340

 

[shadowduck]

First, here's what I'm looking for:
- I'd like to spend less than $2000, including a pretty good LCD monitor.
- I'd like to dual-boot into Windows (for games and photo-editing) and Linux (for data analysis).
- I'll use this computer for photo-editing in PS2, the newest FPS games, and some heavy duty MATLAB number crunching (gigabytes of fMRI data).
- I'd probably prefer something that's 64-bit, so I get the most out of Vista, and so that my MATLAB analyses run faster. However, I might be ok getting a 32-bit processor now, if there's a fairly simple upgrade path to 64-bit.

Case: TT Armor Jr.--------------------$103
Mobo: DFI LP nF4----------------------$120
CPU: Opteron 170---------------------$400
GPU: MSI X1900XT--------------------$400
RAM: OCZ gold 2X1GB DDR500------$170
PS: OCZ Modstream 620--------------$77
HDs: 2 x WD 250GB 16MB------------$160
DVD-R/W-------------------------------$50
OS: XP Home---------------------------$85
Monitor: Viewsonic 19"----------------$340

Very nice, except I loathe XP Home. Pro is lightyears better.

 

[whimbrel]

Wow, I'm learning so very much. Thanks for the SLI advice. I'll plan on a single GPU for now. And the OS isn't a problem; I'll just move the XP Pro install from my decrepit laptop to the new PC.

Clue69Less suggested an ATI GPU, but I've heard that their Linux support was ... subpar. Is this true? If so, it might constrain me to nVidia GPUs

Shadowduck -- No, I hadn't considered virtualization over dual-booting. Can you give me a quick run-down, or maybe a pointer to a website explaining the concept? I suspect I'll want to run it native, simply because my Linux data analysis is ridiculously processor-intensive (I've got processes that take 3 hours on a dual-processor Xeon server, with 4g of RAM), but maybe virtualization would work?

Thanks for the quick feedback!

 

[clue69less]

Very nice, except I loathe XP Home. Pro is lightyears better.

Yea, I was thinking of the least expensive bridge since he mentioned Vista. Not a prohibitive price jump to go to Pro for a rig of this cost. Not sure how the upgrade price structure will look for Vista and not really worried. I don't have any plans to upgrade any of our boxes when it is released. Not yet anyway.

 

[whimbrel]

One more question: I'd like to buy all of these components from New Egg, but, since I live in California, I'll be taxed on them. I'd really prefer not to waste the $160 in state taxes, since, frankly, California already gets plenty of my money.

Is there a comparable shop that doesn't charge California tax?

Thanks!

 

[dliberate]

I'm afraid I'm from the UK so I've no idea about the taxes. AS for your other questions... I'm surprised no-one's mentioned (or I've just missed it) thatif you want Conroe support on the Intel BadAxe D975XBX you'll need Board Rev 304 earlier versions don't support it without hard modding.

You could also look at getting a Core Duo setup which overclocks pretty well as a lot of review sites have demonstrated. I'm not sure what socket Merom (mobile conroe) will be, but it's possible that you'd be able to upgrade the core duo to core 2 duo at a later date. Core Duo is 32-bit.

As for ATi on linux - I've never had any problems. Though if you aren't playing games (on Linux) you don't really need to worry too much about having the official ATi driver or an optimised version. A better place to ask would probably be over at linux-gamers. ATi Guide

I hope that's helpful.

 

[kinky777]

Well Let me tell you that newegg would deffinatly be your better place to purchase from considering the alternative (ZIPZOOMFLY.COM) ZIP really did a number on me that I would rather not go into but I PROMISE YOU if you knew- you would not ever buy from them or reccomend then to anyone. just read my other post that is labeled "you gotta read this" you'll understand.....lol