with the delay of penryn, one must build...

[skoiboy]

Upgrading (adding) to my old Dell 9100 (Pentium D)...

I was waiting for Penryn, but the window of break between my MBA program is smaller than Intel's plans...

I have put together this system...

I'm up for suggestions. This is what I came up with...

-GIGABYTE 3D Mercury Pro Water Cooled Case
-(2) Western Digital Raptor X - (Raid 0)
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (2.4ghz)
-AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 (to go with my Logitech z-5500's)
-SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N
-CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply
-(2 - 4 gigs) Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
-Vista Ultimate
-EVGA 8800 GTS 512mb
-ASUS Maximum Formula / SE (Special Edition to be water cooled by case)

Oh, and I ordered a KVM switch which can handle my dual DVI monitors - LINKSKEY LDV-DM702AUSK Dual Monitor (DVI+DVI) 7.1 Surround Sound KVM Switch w/ Cables

What do you think...?

 

[xx12amanxx]

Gonna be damn fast compared with what your used too..lol But keep in mind that new processor's and tech will be coming out in about 1-2 months.

 

[actionhank]

This system looks Class! But still i would suggest to wait 4 a new penryn processors! I'm building a new system as well, and what i'm doing is getting a cheap e2160 for just $80 bucks overclocking the heck out of it (probably 3.2/3.4 from 1.8!!! ) and then in 2-3 months time upgrading to a brand new penryn quad, leaving my 2160 as a spare cpu or just selling it on ebay 4 $40-50 . But decision is yours, q6600 is still a nice cpu!

Good Luck with Your Build!

 

[chookman]

2 x Raptor X are a colossal waste of money IMO get a couple of 400-500gb drivees and do that same the difference will be negledable

I dont get what your using the KVM for

 

[nhobo]

chookman nailed it. Dump the Raptors, get a 3rd monitor and the Matrox TripleHead2Go.

 

[skoiboy]

Well I have a couple monitors already through previous builds, so the KVM is almost a must have. The reason for this is to have the old computer next to the new one to use at the same time. I'd really like to have a 'gaming' computer and one I can do other stuff with. At least for the time being. I'm surprised more people don't have some sort of KVM in their setups. Why trash a decent CPU(or retire it to a worthless task - have plenty of those - in fact I have one machine that just shows weather updates on an LCD) when you could have two high end monitors with DVI connections connected to two PC's. Unfortunately the DVI KVM is expensive, but they have no competition in this area, and I'm not giving up my dual monitor setup...

Oh and by the way, I get LCD's through work all the time and try to find a place in the house for them, but the triple head is too much desk space and unnecessary for me since it just strains the computer more for little benefit in my opinion.

As for the Raptors - I have soooo many computers and external HD in my house that storage space is a non-issue. In fact I have 1TB being backed up to another TB already (between different drives - all music/data gets backed up every 2 days), that I was thinking performance here, nothing else. Plus hard drives are (relatively) cheap (especially when size isn't the biggest factor).

As for the new processors - I really wanted to wait, but March/April is a while away for me and with this motherboard I could upgrade processors then if I really wanted to. My thought was to buy then in January(won't happen due to the delay announced today) then wait till the nehalem. Now with the delay and lack of competition I can only imagine the premium cost of the new processors plus availability issues, not to mention the fact that even though they have higher overclockability, the nehalem's are going to come along and replace them within a year anyway.

What do you guys think?

 

[skoiboy]

Oh and I meant to mention my thoughts that although the new Motherboard/Processor's will come out with X48 compatibility for DDR2, I'm guessing the true performance will come out with the specs Intel originally wanted - DDR3 - leading to a slippery slope in cost for performance.

This all went into my tough decision. So I'm leaning to the build.

The more I look at things, with a clear path to a revolutionary processor in late 2008/ early 2009, this is not a bad performance to price point. The fact we know something better is coming should, possibly, only drive the market due to potential deals.

 

[ajsellaroli]

I would love to do a raid system. Could you tell me a little more about it? is Raid 0 the one where the system mirrors all the files on both disks? I'd love that - I'm always having to back up all my photos, I'd hate to lose them

 

[skoiboy]

ajsellaroli,

Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID .

RAID0 is purely a way of sharing two disks in order to improve performance. If anything it is the riskiest situation of any possible, since if one fails you loose everything.

Different RAID's accomplish different goals, whether it's speed or data redundancy.

 

[chookman]

Well I have a couple monitors already through previous builds, so the KVM is almost a must have. The reason for this is to have the old computer next to the new one to use at the same time. I'd really like to have a 'gaming' computer and one I can do other stuff with. At least for the time being. I'm surprised more people don't have some sort of KVM in their setups. Why trash a decent CPU(or retire it to a worthless task - have plenty of those - in fact I have one machine that just shows weather updates on an LCD) when you could have two high end monitors with DVI connections connected to two PC's. Unfortunately the DVI KVM is expensive, but they have no competition in this area, and I'm not giving up my dual monitor setup...

As for the Raptors - I have soooo many computers and external HD in my house that storage space is a non-issue. In fact I have 1TB being backed up to another TB already (between different drives - all music/data gets backed up every 2 days), that I was thinking performance here, nothing else. Plus hard drives are (relatively) cheap (especially when size isn't the biggest factor).

Lol when i get a new machine i just make sure my old one still has mouse keyboard and monitor so i can use it. Ever heard of RealVNC? I use it, logon to another machine via LAN and do what you want. and with 3 monitors on my machine is a cheap KVM one realvnc connection on each screen solved.

You can never have enough space i have 2TB RAID 5 and its running out really fast... for the price the raptors just arent worth it. the WD750gb AAKS are meant to be on par with them now anyways

 

[skoiboy]

realvnc is nice for the occasional access, but in a true multitasking environment a KVM is a must.

The Raptor X's might be a little on the uneconomical side but after putting together the machine it seemed silly to nickle and dime.

I use flight simulator and it can strain a computer in ways typical games don't.

There's a fine line when working to build an 'enthusiast' PC between economical and irrational. I'm thrilled with the upcoming build... :lol:

 

[dwthor02]

as far as data storage, they have drobo drives and all u have to do is put the hds in and it takes care of the rest. i thought id try it out and it works quite nicely. im running 4x750 wd hds in it and its been running like a champ
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3143432&sku=D162-1000

 

[Joe_The_Dragon]

realvnc is nice for the occasional access, but in a true multitasking environment a KVM is a must.

The Raptor X's might be a little on the uneconomical side but after putting together the machine it seemed silly to nickle and dime.

the non X Raptors are better.

 

[Joe_The_Dragon]

as far as data storage, they have drobo drives and all u have to do is put the hds in and it takes care of the rest. i thought id try it out and it works quite nicely. im running 4x750 wd hds in it and its been running like a champ
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3143432&sku=D162-1000

find one with firewire or e-sata the usb 2.0 bus is a lot slower.

Also NAS's are good as well.