Building a system - input requested

[LifeZagger]

I'm going to be building a new system towards the end of the year, and I'm intending for it to be primarily a Linux system (I'll still keep my dual boot options open). A little background:

My current system is a Athlon XP 2400+, MSI KT3-Ultra mb with 756 mb of RAM, with a Radeon 7500 video card. I made the main purchase of that system in 2002 with a chip and RAM upgrade in 2004 - so its time to start fresh!

I have tried various distributions of Linux 3-4 times over the past 8 years, and have always run into some kind of hardware compatibility issue that prevented me from using the distro full time. I installed Ubuntu 7.10 about two weeks ago and have been loving it thus far. I had been planning to build a new system anyway, but now I'd really like to focus on making it as Linux friendly as possible. I've spent some time reading Phoronix based on recommendations in other threads here, and consulted my Windows oriented friends on hardware questions in general. I am by no means a hardware expert, but I have learned a lot in the last week!

As far as usage, I'm not a heavy gamer. I'd say a lot of general use. Some specific examples of applications I use - audio listening, video watching (some editing of home movies), internet usage of course, the occasional music recording and editing, etc. I like to both tinker with the hardware and try various software packages (hence my affinity for Linux ).

Here is what I am looking at thus far (I'm copying the titles right out of newegg):

Athenatech A5719BB.500 I-Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
XFX PVT86SWAHG GeForce 8400GS 512MB (256MB on Board) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
(I go back and forth between this and 8600GT)
OCZ 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P8004GK
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 l
(I go back and forth between this and the E6550. Since I don't upgrade all that often, I'm thinking I will go with the longer term solution).

I'm primarily looking for Linux-centric comments on this setup, but any comments are welcome. Alternative suggestions are welcome as well!

Thanks in advance!

 

[linux_0]

I recommend the 8600GT you can get it for about $100 on newegg.

RAM, HDD, DVD look good

You might want to wait for the AMD Quad Cores before you select a CPU and board, even if the AMD Quads are not that great the competition will push prices lower.

GL