Thoughts please.

[UncleDave]

Hi Guys,

I'll use the PC for converting DVD's and .TS files, some programming, and gaming. I play C&C, WIC type games so no Crysis requirement. Since I tend to keep my PC for some time (still running a Athlon) I think that Crossfire is the way to go since the video cards do not need to be the same. The hard drives will be in RAID 1. I choose this m/b since it has 2 x16 buses. I plan a mild overclock. Will run XP-Pro.

■Antec Neopower 650W Modular PSU
■Gigabyte Radeon HD 3850 Pro 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI HDMI HDCP PCI-E Graphics Card
■Seagate ST3250310NS 250GB Hard Drive 7200rpm SATAII *32MB Cache* - OEM
■LiteOn DH-20A1S 20X DVD1RW/DLRAM Black Bare Drive - OEM
■Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P iP35 Socket 775 8-channel audio ATX Motherboard
■Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-18) Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty
■Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler
■Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping L2 8MB Cache OEM Processor

Thanks for your thoughts.

UD.

 

[mihirkula]

Hi...that PSU is overkill...a 450W PSU from a reputed brand like Corsair or Antec is good...

The 8800GS is a better GPU than the 3850 for a cheaper price

The E8400 is a cheaper and better option...though its a dual core, its lightning fast.

 

[Arctucas]

And 4GB is a waste on XP (unless it is 64, but you said Pro).

 

[UncleDave]

Thanks for the feedback mihirkula. AFAIK the 8800GS is an Nvidia chip so Crossfire isn't an option? Maybe I'm being a (or proving that I am) n00b but I'm thinking that the Q with a mild OC should be as good as an E <--- but it does appear to be the debate of the season. Maybe I just want a quad¿

As far as the power supply goes - I'll have a look-see.

Thanks again

UD.

 

[UncleDave]

And 4GB is a waste on XP (unless it is 64, but you said Pro).

Yes I did say Pro - take it down to 3Gb?

Thanks

UD.

 

[UncleDave]

Hi...that PSU is overkill...a 450W PSU from a reputed brand like Corsair or Antec is good...

I think pretty much either of these from what you said...


Corsair VX 550W PSU - 120mm Fan, 5 Year Warranty (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132563)
Antec EarthWatts 500W 80%+ Efficiency PSU - 80mm Fan 4x SATA 2x PCI-E (£55.21)
(http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120377) (£48.00)

I think the five year warranty on the Corsair is worth £7

UD

 

[litlrabi]

Your choices look solid. For Crossfire you'll need the ATI card.

Your PSU isn't overkill for a multiple GPU machine. Depending on how long you want it to last, you might look into a PC P&C Silencer 750W. It will give you the headroom for bigger video cards in the future.

If you aren't going to change the processor any time soon, sticking with the quad might be a good idea. More and more programs (especially heavy duty multimedia ones) are going to full utilization of more cores. In the short term, the faster E8400 will beat it out, but that might not be the case in a year or two.

What kind of case are you getting / do you have? The build above lists one 250GB HDD, and you mentioned RAID1. Are you getting two of them, or is the RAID a future upgrade? Either way, if your budget allows, think about the WD 640GB drive, or the Seagate 7200.11 500GB. Both are good performers with a lot of room.

Finally, stick with the 4gb. Having the two matching sticks will allow dual channel, and while XP 32bit doesn't support all 4 GB, it will see about 3.5 of them.

 

[UncleDave]

What kind of case are you getting / do you have?

I'll put the kit into my current case, a Lian-Li PC-V1100. I'm going to get a Antec P182 to put my existing kit and hard drives from my file server. This will end up as an Athlon 3200XP, 2.5Gb, 4 X 250, 2 X 160 running Windoze Server 2003.

The build above lists one 250GB HDD, and you mentioned RAID1. Are you getting two of them, or is the RAID a future upgrade? Either way, if your budget allows, think about the WD 640GB drive, or the Seagate 7200.11 500GB. Both are good performers with a lot of room.

I was trying to keep everything below £700 - but an extra £40 for the two 500s should be a no brainer!

Thanks for the advice!

UD

 

[mihirkula]

Uncledave...yeah the Corsair 550vx is a powerful PSU... it should suffice you for years to come...check if its avail for a cheaper rate... you get it for $58 on buy.com

ok the quad vs dual is a forum war allright... i suggest you look at the benchmarks and prices and buy whichever you think is a better deal .. both the CPUs will give you a great performance

ps: for that setup the Corsair 450vx is quite sufficient too.... 750 or a kilowatt of power supply is just bragging rights... and as far as the RAM goes, 2GB is a lot.