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Building a new system -- can someone double check my list?

E

ekatsumata

Member
Good evening everyone.

I posted a similar thread yesterday, but I've now narrowed down my components, which I will hopefully order tonight or tomorrow morning:

GIGABYTE GA-K8N Pro-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128301

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103562

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS2GBKIT400C3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145579

PNY VCG6600GXPB Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814133129

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103931

HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145082
OR
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148040
OR
maybe a Raptor, but I've read that they're too overpriced for the performance.

Hard drive will only be used for OS and apps. I already have 1TB in IDE storage that I plan to use until they're full, at which time I'll replace them with WD Caviar 400GB SATA drives. I don't plan on configuring a RAID stripe for my main drive.

The case and optical drives are already taken care of.

Memory -- can I use the Corsair ValueSelect listed above if I overclock the A64 x2? (I don' t really plan to OC, but just in case I do, it would be nice to know if my gear is capable).

Video card -- I need dual DVI, and this seems to fit the bill. Again, I don't play games, so I don't really need a super-powerful video card. Also, this PNY card is offered as one of Newegg's "combo deals" so I can save $15 on it.

I think the power supply might be a bit overkill, but it's always nice to have more than needed. I currently have a Thermaltake 430W power supply, but I was advised against using that.

I primarily need this system for digital image editing (lots of large files in Photoshop). I require FW800, and have no need for SLI, as I'm not a gamer. The Gigabyte board seems to be one of the few Socket 939 boards out there that offer FW800 (1394b). I do lots of multitasking (e.g. processing batches of images in Photoshop while listening to iTunes and working in data asset management applications).

So before I go ahead and order this stuff, does anyone have any thoughts or advice they'd like to share? Any possible problems with these components?

Thanks in advance.
 
If you're not a gamer, screw the 6600 man. Get some cheap thing like a x300 or something, use the extra cash to get another gig or two of ram.
 
Originally posted by: goobernoodles
If you're not a gamer, screw the 6600 man. Get some cheap thing like a x300 or something, use the extra cash to get another gig or two of ram.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I was originally thinking. But dual DVI is something I'd like, as I plan to get another LCD in the coming months, and the expanded desktop would be quite nice. And unfortunately, the 6600 is about the cheapest dual DVI PCIe card out there.

This cheaper 6200 card seems tempting, though:
ASUS Geforce 6200TC EN6200TC256/TD/64M Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121193
I suupose I can just get one of these for now and run a single display, and order another one when I get a second display down the road, since I'll have a 2 PCIe x16 slots (and have no intention of running SLI). Will this allow me to run a dual display in extended desktop mode?
 
For digital image editing...get the Matrox Millenium P650 PCIe card. I know it's probably more expensive but it is dual DVI (up to 1920x1200 per port I believe).

The 2D quality on a Matrox card will be much better than on an Nvidia card...and if the primary use is digital image editing I highly recommend the Matrox.
 
Originally posted by: OdiN
For digital image editing...get the Matrox Millenium P650 PCIe card. I know it's probably more expensive but it is dual DVI (up to 1920x1200 per port I believe).

The 2D quality on a Matrox card will be much better than on an Nvidia card...and if the primary use is digital image editing I highly recommend the Matrox.
Click to expand...

I considered a Matrox P550 AGP for my last build 3 years ago, but don't remember the reasons why I didn't get one. The P650 PCIe is a bit over my budget for this build -- it certainly isn't cheap.

The PNY 6600 that I list above seems like a decent deal. I find the fact that most Apple G5 PowerMacs use Nvidia 6600 video cards to be somewhat reassuring. I am still open to other suggestion.

Some questions:

Does anyone know if it would be possible to run two lower-end video cards (Ge6200) in non-SLI mode to get an extended desktop (i.e. monitor spanning, as opposed to mirroring)?

Also, how will the Corsair ValueSelect RAM hold up to CPU overclocking?

Thanks for the responses so far!
 
wow, I was literally about to make the same post as you, except I'm thinking about getting the DFI Lan Party UT NForce4 Ultra-D instead because I am definitely going to overclock.

I'm making the same build, for HTPC purposes.

The one thing I can tell you is people have told me that RAM with the lower latency (2) will OC better. Also, I would go with the Seagate for the better (5-year) warranty.

EDIT - what case are you using?
 
what case are you using?
Click to expand...

I am using a RAIDMAX case that I have -- it'll more than suit my needs. I was looking at the Antec P180, but don't think I want to spend that much right now.

Thanks for the info on the RAM.
 
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