New computer system

[cpt nick]

Hi, just to let you know im going to rebuild my system to a more powerful one and even with 64-bit windows, heres what ive put together to buy:

Windows XP 64-bit
Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 3.06GHz 3MB L2 Cache
8GB DDR2 PC2-8500 1066MHz SDRAM
ASUS P5Q SE iP45 8 Channel audio ATX LGA 775
nVidia XFX GTS250 1GB DDR3 Dual DVI HDTV PCI-e
620WATT ATX PSU

to put with my current:

ATX case
AKASA silent case fan
150GB S-ATA 7200RPM Hard drive
DVD-RW/CD-RW Combi ATA disk drive

to replace:

Windows XP SP3 Home Edition 32-bit
Intel Pentium 4 (3.7GHz) 1MB L2 Cache
4GB DDR2 PC2-6400 930MHz SDRAM
nVidia XFX 8500GT 1GB DDR2 PCi-e 450MHz
Gigabyte mATX 1333MHz FSB S-Series nVidia 7100 Chipset/ 630i Southbridge
400WATT ATX PSU

In the future I'd probably get an SLI motherboard and have triple SLI on the GTS250
and a separate soundcard

anyway, your views and opinions are appreciated!!

[Tom Alder]

What are you doing with the old system?

[Randy]

What are you doing with the old system?

LOL Would make a good add on to the flight computer!

[cpt nick]

What are you doing with the old system?

Most likley selling it to my brother.

[sanins192]

That looks good. I would personally go for 4GB of the 1066MHz RAM and go for 32-bit Windows (have you priced up DDR3 RAM?). I would also get a faster (and newer) CPU (if they still sell E8*** series go for one of those and overclock). Good motherboard. I do not know what the GPU is like, as I haven't read any reviews. 150GB is far too small for any PC. Go for 500GB minimum, and don't settle for cheap brands as cheap HDDs can be really loud. Good luck with the build, and be sure to post pics!

[cpt nick]

Thanks Alex!

Ive reconsidered it to come up with this, I cant really go higher on the CPU because I want to keep the overall price under £380.

32-bit Windows XP SP3
Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 3.06GHz 3MB L2 Cache
4GB DDR2 SDRAM PC2-9200 1150MHz OCZ Platinum
nVidia XFX GeForce GTS250 1GB DDR3 PCI-e
620WATTS ATX PSU
500GB Seagate 7200RPM S-ATA HDD
ASUS P5Q SE iP45 8 Channel audio ATX LGA 775

However I may get an SLI Motherboard so I could get another GTS250.

Anyone know where i could get a resonably priced SLI motherboard which has the same specs as the ASUS (1600MHz FSB 8 channel audio, S-ATA, ATA-300, DDR2)?

Thanks

[cpt nick]

just to let you know, I have placed an order for this SLI Motherboard:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139415/sh ... e=extended

I feel this suits my needs perfectly.
However feel free to suggest other things

[sanins192]

Hmm... don't know if this will be a problem but your mobo says it will only support PC2-8500 RAM.

[cpt nick]

Hmm... don't know if this will be a problem but your mobo says it will only support PC2-8500 RAM.

Ignore the previous link, they discontinued it as soon as i orderd so i bought an XFX nforce750i which does support everything im planning to do

[cpt nick]

just to let you know, Ive recieved my:

nVidia XFX GTS250 1GB PCI-E card
nVidia XFX nForce 750i SLi ATX 775 motherboard

im still saving up to get:

Eye-T 750WATT 12CM Fan ATX PSU
Kingston 2x2GB (4GB) DDR2 HyperX PC2-8500 SDRAM
Intel Core 2 duo E7600 3.06GHz 3MB L2 cache
Hitachi deskstar 1TB 7200RPM HDD S-ATA (for master and my current 150GB to backup laptop files (slave))

When ive got that im most likley going to get

1. Another GTS250 and SLi them
2. another 4GB of RAM
3. Intel Core 2 duo E8*** 3GHz+ or a Quad core

id probably get 2 GTX295's when the price goes down

[cpt nick]

an update

Ive ordered 4GB RAM (Corsair DDR2 2x2GB PC2-8500 1066MHz SDRAM) and a 750WATT ATX PSU

heres what the lastest picture of what Im going to do

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 6MB L2 LGA775
nVidia XFX nForce 750i ATX SLi Motherboard
2x nVidia XFX GTS250 1GB PCI-e (in SLi)
4GB DDR2 CORSAIR XMS2 2x2GB SDRAM PC2-8500 1066MHz
750WATT ATX PSU
1TB 7200RPM S-ATA II HDD
150GB S-ATA HDD (to backup data)
ATA-300 DVD-RW/CD-R Combi Disk Drive

I might install 64-Bit Windows XP onto the new hard drive and test it, if it works ok i might get another 4GB RAM just for good measure, but i might stick with 32-bit.

Depending on how much data needs backing up in the future i may get a 500-700GB hard drive for backups.

[sanins192]

That sounds good. A few remarks:

- If you are going for an E8*** processor, go for the E8400 or even the E8200. They are basically the same processor but Intel clock them at different speeds. If you are planning on overclocking (which you should be if you are getting that processor), an E8200 has been known to OC the same as an E8500. I have an E8400 and it is running at 4GHz.
- Now that you are going for 2 GPUs, definitely invest in a large monitor (at least 22", even 24" if you can afford it).
- If both hard drives are SATA, you do not need to bother with master / slave.
- Stick with 4GB RAM. Going any higher will not reap any benefits.
- Have you considered RAID 1? If you get two hard drives that are identical (say 2x 1TB Hitachi drives), you can set them up in a RAID configuration which automatically backs up files onto both hard drives, without a decrease in performance. Definitely worth a look. Only downside is that you may have 2TB of hard disc, but only 1TB physically to save onto.

As ever, keep us informed if anything changes!

[cpt nick]

That sounds good. A few remarks:

- If you are going for an E8*** processor, go for the E8400 or even the E8200. They are basically the same processor but Intel clock them at different speeds. If you are planning on overclocking (which you should be if you are getting that processor), an E8200 has been known to OC the same as an E8500. I have an E8400 and it is running at 4GHz.
- Now that you are going for 2 GPUs, definitely invest in a large monitor (at least 22", even 24" if you can afford it).
- If both hard drives are SATA, you do not need to bother with master / slave.
- Stick with 4GB RAM. Going any higher will not reap any benefits.
- Have you considered RAID 1? If you get two hard drives that are identical (say 2x 1TB Hitachi drives), you can set them up in a RAID configuration which automatically backs up files onto both hard drives, without a decrease in performance. Definitely worth a look. Only downside is that you may have 2TB of hard disc, but only 1TB physically to save onto.

As ever, keep us informed if anything changes!

Thanks for the info!

one question though, do I configure which drive to boot from in the BIOS, rather than the old jumper pins?

never had 2 S-ATA drives before.

I'll probably get an E8400 then, do you use your standard heatsink and fan, when running at 4.0GHz?

yes, once I do the main PC, I will get a better HD screen in the future.

Thanks for the info Alex, I'll post any new updates

[sanins192]

With SATA you do not need to set any jumpers. Just make sure that one drive is higher up in the boot menu than the other (I think it will know which one to do first). For your first boot-up I would just put one HDD in, and then add the other once the OS is installed.

I have upgraded my heatsink to the Tuniq Tower 120. It's a massive thing but cools well.