New mid level system.. (looking for opinionshttp://img.tomshardware.co

i give up. what are you trying to accomplish? just sharing? or...?

I'd go with 2x2gb sticks instead of 4x1gb. Fills less slots so you have room to add later.

Raptors are no longer worth it. Agree with Cheese go 2X2 on the ram, it uses less voltage than 4X1, here's the same ram in 2X2;

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E168...

If you're gaming, ditch that 8600GT.

was not looking for games as much as download and converting videos.

Now the memory isn't as fast, guessing that is why it is cheaper.

The following will save you $120 and be FAR faster then your setup

Instead of Raptor get the following:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA-300 Hard Drive - OEM $ 119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

AND With the money save get this:

MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

In fact get two Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 and Raid0 + the 8800GT for the same price, now you have more speed in HDD AND more room (1Tera)

OK, let me RE-phrase this a bit:

The following costs the same as you listed and be FAR faster then your setup in HDD and the Video card will be blown away.

Instead of Raptor get the following:

TWO Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA-300 Hard Drive - OEM $ 240.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148288

Instead of the 8600gt get the following:

MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127329


MY Total = $440.00
Your build raptor ($339.98) and 8600gt ($104.99) = $445.00

SOOO you will have a WAYYYY faster Rig, with 1000 GIG Storage and save $5
 

what about Motherboard and CPU comb and possibility of OCing?

makes sense.. Now got 700 watt box so that down the road I could update and reuse the case and power supply.

hoping for more input.. On MoBo the OS maybe should go with 64 bit version XP. On 24' monitor and on OC and anything I will need to get. Maybe better CPU fan??

for OC, yes, you will need a better CPU fan

what about differences in memory suggested... I dont believe it is as fast as the type I had picked out.. Also what OS should I go with 64 bit XP or 32 XP.

With using the stock fan how much could I OC?

dunno... i do know the cpu does pump out a lot of heat...

any other comments on the question I had before

Unless you are doing serious benchmarking, you won't be to tell CL4 from CL5 ram. I would get something better than stock cooling if you're OCing.

what is a stable OC with Q6600 w/o major cooling?

I would say about 3.0 on the stock cooler. Anything higher will start pushing the limits of the cooler

but I need to get open source CPU temp monitor... What about running XP or XP 64 bit?

For temp monitoring use Coretemp and Speedfan.

Im running Vista   (god help me). Coretemp doesnt work on it, but Speedfan and Coretemp are the ones everyone use

sure it looks better just wooried about how stable it will be 64 bit OS I figure is the way to go.

Sure it does

RAM over DDR2 800 is a waste of money on that CPU. Get the DDR2 800 and buy yourself a good heatsink, you will be glad you did.

as mentioned before, depends on how much gaming performance you want- "midrange would be" 8800gt. 9600gt, HD3870.

Agreed. The 8600GT's price vs. performance is not very good. The new 7200.11 drives are just as fast as the Raptors but they have much bigger storage and its cheaper.

If OCing get a better coolers like these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

7200.11 only problem I see with new one was 32mb cache is a number quality issues relating to the new model. That buy two 500 gig ones and run them in raid 0. Does raptor has any advantage in design for running in raid? I am guessing not.

So look right now I take a chance on two new 7200.11 500 gig drives with 32 cache.

Is there a big difference between 32 bit OS and 64 bit. Sure if not running 64 bit I am not going to take advantage of it. Is this something I should consider?

Figuring best way to do this for 4 gigs memory, is 2 * 2 gig sticks. Any preferences on making I should go with for OCing? Also what additional heat sink should I run with.

The performance of 8600 gt isn't the best but is $79 after rebate. One u are suggesting is $200. Your point is that is just that much better. Figure I am dropping raptor idea so that isn't topic now.

The 8600s are terrible performers. An 8800GT would be very good, but a HD3850 would suffice if you are not going to game.

8800 GT that was suggested does PCI E. If this is true how much of a difference does that make?

The PCI-E isnt the main difference...its just a different connection,the 8600's just suck. The 8800GT will play anything you want and perform well. Its a much better card

which card are you suggesting in 8800 gt cards?

All 8800GT's are the same. The only difference is manufacturer. My personal choice is EVGA but XFX is also good.

see msi 8800 gt is going for $200 it was mentioned above. I see prices in this class vary but this one seems to be cheapest. But drivers for msi are easy to find? I had a off breed video before that wasnt well supported.

bump.. Also looking for suggestion on Vista 64?

go for it... driver problems now apparently, but it IS the future...

I don't know what people are using I have P35-DQ6 with Ballistix DDR2 800. I do know that at 1:1 you will be running 400 x 9 or 3.6G. I don't think you will to go over that on air. Not that it can't be done, but any higher you really should use water.

I'm using a Thermalright Ultra120 Extreme with a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fan and IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound, but there are other good ones. Just don't get one with the same push pin mounting setup as is on the stock HS, it's garbage. That IC7 is really good, but thick and sticky. If you use it, then make sure you apply it with a razor blade.

being this is a new build all new components should work with Vista. Figure got to go with 64 bit OS.

so is seagate barra. HD 500 gig w/32 cache the best option for Raid 0 setup. Load time for me is important.

chrisfroma lbany you will be happy with those 2 drives in raid 0. They are blazing fast and they don’t have the noise like the raptors. The difference in speed is minimal, you wont even notice… Miliseconds.

what are you thoughts about running with Vista.. and you have comments about the 24' monitor?

Thanks BTW..

figure not after seeing some reviews... I see others were more high end Motherboards, how much does this help compared to

ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813131225
$139.99

I see other ASUS boards going for $100 more but not looking to for the be all gaming machine so I figure it isn't worth it..

Well if you want to dump A LOT more cash you can get a small gain from 2 or more raptors in raid.
1) WAY more money.
2) Minimal gains in speed (seriously, minimal)
3) Raptors are very loud

I would go for 2 barracudas, just make sure there Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 you could even get smaller ones for the OS... like two 100GIG for the OS in Raid 0 and then have a Third 500 for storage.

No.. no... I am sold on not getting the Raptors.. The motherboard I am getting comes with some basic sound card. Figure this will be ok. How good it is? And adding $100 for a better motherboard isn't worth it, I am guessing..

I for one like Vista, (I know it is bloat ware) you will have 2gigs of ram, a smoking processor and a nice vid card, that machine will run Vista beautifully.

I would get the following:
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

You may only need home premium or business premium. Go here to help you decide which version is for you:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/...

*** Just don’t get home basic, and make sure you get OEM (1 license, full version, cheaper)

If you have a nice speaker system I would consider getting a sound card. But ultimately why not wait till you hook it up, listen to the sound that comes on-board and decide from there… You can always add a SoundBlaster the next day. Generally on board sound is pretty decent.

This is your Mother board, It is a good one, don’t change. The sound also looks good.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=534&l4=...
ADI® AD1988B 8 -Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports
ASUS Noise Filter

What software am I going to need to run RAID on two Seagate drives? Thanks for all the help.. OK figure the stock one will do for now.

why not run vista 64 bit?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I know you need 4 gigs of memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...