3g future proof vista system; please help

[Whokidmo]

Hey all, this is my first time posting in this section, I’m building a computer for a friend. She wanted it future proof and wanted to keep it for about 4 years and vista compatible.

I have built full computers before but this was about 3-4 years ago my last build. I don't have experience with some of the new parts, RAID HDs, PCI-E, C2D processors. If you can just tell me if this computer is future proof and if the parts are compatible I would really appreciate it. Tips for the build are welcome.

I want to, maybe in the future add another 8800 GTX and maybe quad core CPU, please tell me if this is possible. The limit is 3,000 maybe if someone can propose another build to me distributing the money differently I would appreciate it.

Also I haven't RMAd products or used warranties for computer parts before, this website, if you can please make suggestions about the site, warranties for products, durability, and return policy. I need this computer to last her 4 years I am going to make a promise to that, please help me keep it, I tried to make sure all manufacturer warranties on the parts have more then 4 years.

She uses the computer for normal use, copying DVDs, downloading music, burning music, surfing the net, and she just got a camera so I guess a little video/picture editing. No OCing, no gaming ATM, just normal use during the day only, and this should consist until the end of the 4 years.

I was going to do a 1500 build each 2 years but i think this will suffice. It is pretty top of the line ATM and should be until about a year when 45nm CPUs come out and new Geforces etc. I think for the price this computer is as good as a new computer worth 1500 2 years from now, plus this is her first computer upgrade in 3 years to her, this thing will be as fast as lightening. Plus the case, PSU, and DVD burner card reader etc are somewhat savable if she wants to put it into her new computer 4 years from now, plus the 680 chipset can take the first generation 45nm CPUs plus has PCI-e etc for upgrades so it may save her money in the long run. They say by 2009 C2D processors will be the new standard. At this point I gave her all quality standard parts. In 4 years when DDR3 and quad cores and DX10 become the new standard I believe will be a good time to upgrade.

Please tell me if I should buy a fan controller for the 3 120mms in the case and a CPU cooler. Silence would be nice, I heard the Lite-on DVD burners and the GTXs and get loud, is this true? Any alternatives?
https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=6561727&WishListTitle=3G+nice+c2d+vista+system

1. Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

SILVERSTONE ST75F ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail

2. Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail

3. (2) Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1005 - Retail

4. MITSUMI Cold Gray 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM

5. (2) Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail

6. BenQ FP94VW Silver-Black 19" 2ms GTG DVI Widescreen HDMI LCD Monitor - Retail

7. (2) LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 - Retail

8. HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

9. Logitech Z-4 40 watts 2.1 Speaker - Retail

 

[jordanwise]

2 power supplys? adventurous, but personally i'd go for 1. the hiper 720W one is good, not to expensive either and can probably handle 2 8800gtx's. Also wouldn't mix the brand of ram, get 4 gb of the same stuff, and make sure its the same speed, what you have there is a difference of 100mhz, could match them by over/underclocking one kit. Definatly wouldn't do that though

another thought, with all that horsepower you might want a different monitor, it'd be wasted on 19'' but i suppose it would also handle everything on full for longer, your choice though.

and finally, no need to get a 7.1 sound card for a 2.1 speaker system, get any creative soundblaster and some logitech z-540's, very cheap and decent 5.1 speakers

for a better idea of what you can achieve with a precise budget i would recommend that you read though sanji's guide:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Sanji-Guide-Gaming-PCs-Budget-ftopict228067.html

Edit: you also notice that sanji's guide has the very best rig at around $2000, leaving the rest for better case,a monitor and other peripherals

 

[Whokidmo]

2 power supplys? adventurous

i only see the silverstone, maybe it's just my browser can u copy what items u see on there, i'll copy it and past it into original post, TW about the sound card, i was thinking and i heard sound cards not only increase sound reproduction quality but also takes off some strain from the mobo and CPU

 

[apt403]

That's a monster system, even a hardcore oc'er/gamer would be proud to have it. If she isnt gaming the 8800gtx is a total waste. Even an 8600gts, Nvidia's midrange dx10 card, would be fine for her, and cost 1/3 as much.

Be sure to get a 64bit os, or else you wont be able to use all 4gb of that ram.

I would get a single raptor, and use it for the OS, programs, ect. Then use the money that would have been spent on the second raptor, on a couple 320gb drives for storage.

 

[hunter_green32]

An 8800GTX is so far overkill for this box it's patently ridiculous. The user you are describing will never tap 5% of the power of that card.

Most gamers dont need that card, because they lack a monitor of a high enough resolution to justify that kinda horsepower.

There are cards with the G80 processor that are more affordable, more appropriate for your user. All of them are DX10 compliant (future proof), all will support Vista Ultimate with all it's eye candy.

Put that money into dual raptors or something she will actually feel. You can get a second 150 gb raptor, and upgrade the burner to a plextor with what you will save on the video card, and both of those things will improve your user's experience much more than graphics horsepower that will never be used. A pair of 150 gb raptors in RAID 0 config will clock 150mb/s sustained read, according to the benches. Peppy indeed.

Another way to zip a system along is to install a gigabyte ramdisk into a PCI slot, and run the pagefile off of that. Then the virtual RAM that goes on the hard disk is actually on ddr400 RAM emulating a hard disk instead. A ramdisk tops out at 125 mb/s sustained read, with a seek time measured in fractions of milliseconds. That hardware can be had (and filled with 4gb RAM) for about $400.

EXCELLANT CPU choice, IMO. Perhaps the best performance per dollar CPU in the current intel product line. You might consider waiting a few minutes... Intel and AMD are in a price war, and tray prices have dropped considerably in some market segments these last two weeks. Those price breaks filter down, but not instantly.

 

[Whokidmo]

yeah i was debating about the GTS and GTX but look at the performence difference considering the money. I sort of balanced it out i believe. No bottlenecking, med-high cpu, med-high memory, med-high HDD, med-high GFX(SLI is high) what do you think?

the plextor writer, the lite on is more, i was looking into a SATA one for the speed, plus litescribe is important for her cause she loved the idea of it, i heard the lite-on i selected is the fastest and has 100% 5 star rating.

o yeah the while ram card thing won't work cause if u turn off your computer for more then 16 hrs everything gets erased, plus the heat from it. and 4gbs for vista isnt alot, maybe a 36gb but not 4gbs man.

 

[hunter_green32]

I wasnt clear you were running vista. I was suggesting that you use a ramdrive for the pagefile.sys file, seperating it from the rest of windows and making it blister. Really helps XP performance, and it wouldnt matter if you deleted it on each shutdown... windows will recreate next boot. I wasnt suggesting that you boot to it. I honestly dont know enough about vista (I ditched after the second beta) to make performance suggestions of any kind that are not general hardware. Im now thinking this is your GF and you wanna game on her box when she aint lookin lol.

A 7600 card would be fine here, I still say.

Have fun man, GL with the build.

 

[Whokidmo]

lol nah nothing like that haha but im sure i'll install some games here and there. She complained many times about her old computer being slow, don't want it to happen again.

 

[Mondoman]

Seems like you might be building it more for yourself.
Having a computer future-proof for 4 years likely means massively overpaying to start with. For example, for such a computer, you really need to be going quad-core CPU, 2-4x 2GB DIMMs, eSATA connectors and so forth. Since she's not gaming, the last thing she needs is 8800 graphics cards or even SLI. Instead, a decent $70 graphics card with dual DVI outputs should be fine. Dual 19" monitors (preferred) or a widescreen 22" monitor will help her a lot. At least one raptor does sound like a good idea, in addition to a pair of big drives in RAID 1 (2x 750GB drives).

 

[proof]

Yeah, your computer will be future proof for maybe 3 months with said components. Even mine is not entirely future proof and I can't fit it all in my sig...