New system build question about what motherboard and Intel CPU (and CPU cooler) to get (and before I get flamed, I'm not an Intel fanboy, all of my personal PCs are actually AMD- but this particular system /will/ be Intel-based)
System purpose:
------------------------------
Run Vista (possibly-64 bit to take advantage of >3.5MB RAM) on which I will run virtual machines (not virtual server) for software testing purposes. Testing will include video rendering/encoding under different software configurations.
No gaming
Overclocking not required
Not overly worried about RAID
Components I already have:
------------------------------
Ultra Wizard steel series case (or can use an old tower case with plenty of bays for HDs)
Ultra V Series 500W ATX PSU (will upgrade if needed)
EVGA e-Geforce 7900GS (dual monitor support)
I/O Magic Dual Layer DVD Drive (because it was FAR back when I got it)
2 19" Hanns-G LCD Monitors
Vista (business edition), Office2007 Pro, Technet Plus subscription
Things I need:
------------------------------
Motherboard (preferably with plenty of expansion slots)
CPU
reasonably priced RAM (either 4GB or 8GB)
good CPU cooler
Reasonably priced large HDs; one for Host OS, one for guest OS(es), maybe additional drives. I'm thinking 500GB each (or more if there is a good deal on HDs). This will allow me to save and compare test results more easily.
It doesn't look like I would currently get much performance premium for quad core (no 3D rendering or photoshop; virtual machine only uses one physical core), but if the price points are close ($50-75) I would get a quad core just to be prepared in case the virtual machine software is ever upgraded to take advantage of multicore CPUs. Motherboard with built in Firewire and Ethernet would save me a few expansion slots. Built-in sound is fine, I'm not an audiophile and won't be doing any serious audio stuff on this PC. I will need several HDs, probably SATA/SATA2?
I am looking for the sweet spot on the Intel CPU price/performance curve (with the possible exception of paying just a little more for quad core if appropriate)- I don't want to spend extra money for incremental performance improvements. Then I need a good MB to put it on. I was looking at the 6600 dual and quad cores, but I really can't tell if those are the ones I should be comparing for this system.
Also, forgive the (pseudo) off-topic (vendor-related) question- does anyone know why new.egg offers 1-yr warranty on some motherboards, but only 30 days on others (including brand new ones)? Without knowing more, I'm leery of buying a motherboard that only has a 30-day warranty...
Thanks!!
/K
System purpose:
------------------------------
Run Vista (possibly-64 bit to take advantage of >3.5MB RAM) on which I will run virtual machines (not virtual server) for software testing purposes. Testing will include video rendering/encoding under different software configurations.
No gaming
Overclocking not required
Not overly worried about RAID
Components I already have:
------------------------------
Ultra Wizard steel series case (or can use an old tower case with plenty of bays for HDs)
Ultra V Series 500W ATX PSU (will upgrade if needed)
EVGA e-Geforce 7900GS (dual monitor support)
I/O Magic Dual Layer DVD Drive (because it was FAR back when I got it)
2 19" Hanns-G LCD Monitors
Vista (business edition), Office2007 Pro, Technet Plus subscription
Things I need:
------------------------------
Motherboard (preferably with plenty of expansion slots)
CPU
reasonably priced RAM (either 4GB or 8GB)
good CPU cooler
Reasonably priced large HDs; one for Host OS, one for guest OS(es), maybe additional drives. I'm thinking 500GB each (or more if there is a good deal on HDs). This will allow me to save and compare test results more easily.
It doesn't look like I would currently get much performance premium for quad core (no 3D rendering or photoshop; virtual machine only uses one physical core), but if the price points are close ($50-75) I would get a quad core just to be prepared in case the virtual machine software is ever upgraded to take advantage of multicore CPUs. Motherboard with built in Firewire and Ethernet would save me a few expansion slots. Built-in sound is fine, I'm not an audiophile and won't be doing any serious audio stuff on this PC. I will need several HDs, probably SATA/SATA2?
I am looking for the sweet spot on the Intel CPU price/performance curve (with the possible exception of paying just a little more for quad core if appropriate)- I don't want to spend extra money for incremental performance improvements. Then I need a good MB to put it on. I was looking at the 6600 dual and quad cores, but I really can't tell if those are the ones I should be comparing for this system.
Also, forgive the (pseudo) off-topic (vendor-related) question- does anyone know why new.egg offers 1-yr warranty on some motherboards, but only 30 days on others (including brand new ones)? Without knowing more, I'm leery of buying a motherboard that only has a 30-day warranty...
Thanks!!
/K