Not a hardware person, would like some comments?

[MikeThorne]

Hi

As I said in the title I'm not big on hardware.
I'm getting ready to buy a new computer and I'd like to run a configuration by some people who know what this stuff really means and get some comments.

I'm open to suggestions...

Here is the config.

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850 Watt Velocity Micro® Power Supply - Nvidia® SLI™ Certified

Motherboard EVGA nForce 780i SLI, Socket 775, PCI-E, DDR2

Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9450, quad 2.66GHz cores, 12MB L2 Cache

CPU Cooling Arctic Cooling® Freezer 7 Pro Heatsink, Ultra Quiet Fan, Copper Heat Pipes

DDR2 Memory 4096MB Corsair™ XMS2 DDR2-800 Low Latency Extreme Memory with Heat Spreader (2x2048)

PCX Video 2 x 1GB EVGA GeForce 8800GT in SLI DDR3 PCI-E w/HDCP

Video Cooling VideoCool™ Positive Pressure Airflow System - Speed adjustable, with light

Audio Creative Labs SoundBlaster® X-Fi™ XtremeAudio

Speakers Creative Labs SBS380 2.1 Channel Stereo Speaker System with Compact Subwoofer - Black

Hard Drive 1 500GB Hitachi 7200rpm 16MB Cache SATA 300 w/NCQ
Hard Drive 2 500GB Hitachi 7200rpm 16MB Cache SATA 300 w/NCQ

Optical Drive 1 20x Lite On® DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner with LightScribe Labeling Technology, Black

Optical Drive 2 16x DVD/48x CD-RW Lite On® Combo Drive, Black Bezel

Floppy Drive & Media
Reader 8-in-1 Floppy Drive & Media Reader Combo, Black Bezel

FireWire 2 Integrated IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports, 1 front & 1 rear

ONLY Integrated 10/100/1000MBps Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter

USB 2.0 Ports 6 USB 2.0 Ports, 2 front & 4 rear

Operating System Genuine Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium 64-bit, now with Service Pack 1 installed

Internal Cables Standard Premium Ribbon IDE and Floppy Cables

Thanks for the help

Mike

Ps. Is there any reason that I would chose 32 bit Vista over 64 bit Vista? Why are there 2 versions?

The option for processor would be a Intel Core 2 Duo at 3.1ghz.

I should have said that I use this computer for graphic arts applications and gaming.

 

[roland63]

I don't mean to rain on your parade but, although that's one hell of a rig getup you describe, you may want to rething that MoBo (EVGA nForce 780i SLI).

Plenty of postings on the EVGA forum (

http://evga.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=38)

about that dreaded FF code (displayed right on the board) that not even the manufacturer can figure out - basically it comes down to overheating cause the MoBo will shut down shortly after power up.

Just an FYI....

 

[dseaver]

Have you thought of looking at the nVidia 9800 series? The 9800 GX2 is an absolute beast. Its 2 graphics cards in one

 

[tf1]

Floppy: haven't used one for 10 years at least!
Speakers looks understated, especially considering the sound card.
Case with good ventilation?
Quad core doesn't get very hot, so Freezer 7 may be ott.
Those HDD do get hot - so ventilation important.
You don't need IDE - just get SATA DVDRs.
You choose 32-bit Vista because 64-bit drivers can still be a nightmare.




Regards: tf1

 

[paparazi]

tf1
AC Freezer 7 is a $25, slightly better than retail cooler, not really OTT even acepting the 45nm architecture.
I'm not sure why anyone would want 3 rom drives especially when two are DVD combo's not full DVDR's
I would go for just two DVDRW's and go for LG or Pioneer as the 20X liteon's I've used have been noisey.
Onboard sound is more than adequate to drive those 2.1 speakers
I'm fairly sure that there is no advantage paying the extra for 1gig versions of the 8800GT especially when in SLi
32bit Vista for better driver and game support although it won't benefit from having the full 4 gig installed.
I would go for an Asus/Gigabyte over the EVGA motherboard

Martin



On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[MikeThorne]

Hi

Thanks for the information.

That's not 3 CD/DVD drives just drives one and two.

I like to have two because I do a lot of movie disks and after editing I make a master that I copy. It's easier to copy directly from one to the other.

The only reason that I included the floppy was because I recently had problems making a bootable CD when Ghost wanted my to put drivers on a floppy at boot up during the process and I didn't have a drive to do it. For some reason it would not let me put the drivers on a CD. This is the only time I needed one in years. Since I will make a bootable Ghost CD as soon as I get the new rig set up I thought I would be prepared.

Is it worth it to go with 3 gig of ram if I use 32 bit Vista?

I will look into the hard drive issues.

The video card is one place I was really undecided.
I was thinking that a Nvidia 9800 GTX was the way to go then I read that I would get better performance out of two 8800 GTs. I’ll reconsider that too.

Thanks for the help, when I get this modified I’ll come back and ad the new setup here.

Mike

 

[MikeThorne]

Hi again

Here is a modified configuration based on the comments that I received earlier.
How does this look?

Like I said, even thought I have been around computers since the DOS days (actually I started with Windows 3.1 but in those days you had to learn DOS to get anything to work) I really don’t know much about the specific hardware items, especially since this stuff changes so fast. I just can’t keep up with it.

Here is the new configuration….

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LX-W Black - Velocity Micro Signature Aluminum Case - Full Sized, removable front door, side window

Power Supply 850 Watt Velocity Micro® Power Supply - Nvidia® SLI™ Certified

Case Lights Single Blue Cold Cathode Chassis Light Kit

Motherboard Asus® P5N-D nForce 750i SLI, Socket 775, PCI-E, DDR2

Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9450, quad 2.66GHz cores, 12MB L2 Cache (IN STOCK NOW!)

CPU Cooling Velocity Micro™ LiquiCool 3™ Advanced Thermal Electric Cooling

DDR2 Memory 4096MB Corsair™ XMS2 DDR2-800 Low Latency Extreme
Memory with Heat Spreader (2x2048) (+$60.00)

PCX Video 1GB EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 PCI-E Dual DVI (LXe or LXe-W)

Video Cooling VideoCool™ Positive Pressure Airflow System - Speed adjustable, with light

Video Tuning Basic 3D Video Performance Tuning & Optimization

Audio On-Board Integrated High Definition 7.1 Channel Sound

Speakers Creative Labs SBS380 2.1 Channel Stereo Speaker System with
Compact Subwoofer - Black

Hard Drive 1 500GB Hitachi 7200rpm 16MB Cache SATA 300 w/NCQ
Hard Drive 2 500GB Hitachi 7200rpm 16MB Cache SATA 300 w/NCQ

Optical Drive 20x Lite On® DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner with LightScribe Labeling Technology, Black

Optical Drive 16x DVD/48x CD-RW Lite On® Combo Drive, Black Bezel

8-in-1 Floppy Drive & Media Reader Combo, Black Bezel

FireWire 2 Integrated IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports, 1 front & 1 rear

Integrated 10/100/1000MBps Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter

USB 2.0 Ports 6 USB 2.0 Ports, 2 front & 4 rear

Operating System Genuine Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium 32-bit, now with Service Pack 1 installed

Benchmark Software NEW - FutureMark® 3DMark06® Velocity Micro Basic Edition - gaming performance benchmark software

Internal Cables Rounded Silver Braided IDE and Floppy Cables

Keyboard Microsoft Natural Elite 400 USB

Velocity Micro™ Ultimate Laser Mouse with 2400 dpi Resolution, USB

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This setup actually prices out less then I paid for my present 3 year old Dell XPS (which has been kind of a dog from the start). I guess that’s why I don’t want to screw up my next computer. I have had to live with this thing for 3 years.

The Dell crashed the first time I booted it up and I spent 7 hours on the phone to get it running (it wouldn’t even recognize the DVD drive so I couldn’t reinstall Windows or anything else) I had to hand type in the boot sector information and start from scratch.

I got even by naming my computer the “HCS Titanic”.
The HCS stands for Home Computer System.
It’s been a standing joke ever since.

I wish that I had the nerve to try and put the system together myself but I don’t.
I’m sure that I would get it all bolted together boot it up and nothing would happen.

Thanks again, the comments have been very helpful.

Mike

 

[acewarlock]

The real question is WHAT are you going to use this system for? All of this is meaningless if won't meet the job. If you just doing Email, then it is OVERKILL.




This is a Signature and not part of the answer, it appears on every reply.

This is an Analogy so don't take it personally as some have.

Why change the engine if all you need is to change the spark plugs.

 

[MikeThorne]

Hi

As I said at the end of my original post I use my computer to run Graphic arts software i.e. everything from Adobe Illustrator CS3, Photoshop CS2, Indesign CS2 and Premiere to several 3D creation and animation programs.

I also use my computer to play computer games.
I’ve been an addicted gamer since Ultima 7 and Tomb Raider 1.
I’ve played online MMOs since Ultima Online.

Right now I Play Lord of the Rings Online which really pushes my present computer.

I just downloaded the Client for Age of Conan (12.7 gigabytes and 17 hours) and am going to play in the beta starting May 1.

So I need something that will handle all this stuff, and most of all is reliable since I have deadlines to meet and can’t afford downtime.

I get a new computer every 3 years or so and that time is coming up soon.
I use it for my design business so I can write it off.

I have always bought Gateway or Dell before but as I said I haven’t been too happy with my last one and want to try something different.

I don’t have the guts to build my own, so I’m shopping around.
At one time there were a lot of local shops that would build a computer for you but they have all disappeared around here.

I have looked at both Falcon Northwest and Velocity Micro but there are a lot of choices to make and I’m not an expert on what all this hardware stuff means.

That’s why I would like the input from some people who do know something about this stuff, like the graphic card thing, I think that I have settled on the 9800 GX2 after getting the suggestion above.

Thanks for the help

Mike

 

[dseaver]

Good choice on the 9800 GX2, I would get when I build a new rig if i have the money. I don't know if I would buy benchmarking software, since you'll really only use it once. It doesn't seem like it is worth it, just my opinion

 

[acewarlock]

There was just to much to read, I fell asleep.




This is a Signature and not part of the answer, it appears on every reply.

This is an Analogy so don't take it personally as some have.

Why change the engine if all you need is to change the spark plugs.

 

[MikeThorne]

Hi

The benchmarking software comes along for free.

I think this is pretty much it; I have gotten a lot of suggestions and listened to what people had to say.

I still have a feeling that I should stick with XP Pro and maybe get only 2 gig of ram.
I have never noticed that running out of ram was a problem on my present 2 gig setup.
Not sure if there is any reason to get more then 2 with XP?

Thanks again for the help.

Mike

 

[tf1]

That's looking good. The only suggested addition is EST NOD32 AV suite to protect against threats. This has a very low demand on resources and once installed truly is a 'set and forget' suite.



Regards: tf1

 

[MikeThorne]

Thanks

I usually use AVG antivirus on Antivir, and Zone Alarm for a fire wall along with SuperAntiSpyware and SpyBot for the other stuff.

I'll check out EST NOD32 AV suite.

Thanks again

Mike