I assembled my system - advice and comments welcome

[Crakie]

I've decided on the following system, which I'd like to run by you guys. I will use my computer professionally and I want things to run smoothly with 5+ windows open, although most of these applications are not resources hogs. The main demand professionally is durability: a stable system that will last 3-4 years at least. As a hobby, I will use POV-Ray and Photoshop, which is why I need the speed. I probably will play a few games as well.


1) Intel E6600

Is there any other at the moment? It's quite a bit more expensive than the E6400, but I'm told the extra cache really makes a difference. Maybe not so important now, but with the demands anti-virus, anti-spy etc software will make in a couple of years, probably worth the money.

2) Arctic Freezer 7 Pro

I want my system to be silent. This one has good reviews.

3) ABit AB9 Pro

The hardest choice. I have a Firewire external HD for backups, so a 1394 port is essential. I also don't want to buy a soundcard, so good onboard sound is required. The AB9 Pro has these specs and I hear bad things about the Asus onboard sound. Anand reviews it as mainstream pricing and performance, which is good enough for me. Overclocking is not an issue.

My main concern is the stability of the new C2D boards. From what I can discern from reviews and user experiences, there is no real good choice at the moment, but these comments usually originate from overclockers. What do you guys think?

4) Corsair 2x1 GB PC4300, 533 Mhz

PC5300 is out of sync, PC6400 is expensive. 2 Gb will help with the rendering.

5) Asus GeForce 7600GT 256 MB

POV-Ray does not require a good card and this card will do for the older games I'd like to play. I'll wait for the DX10 ones to come out if I need a better one.

6) Maxtor Diamondmax 10 7200 rpm SATA-II

Hard choice also. Any Seagate/Hitachi fans around?

7) NEC ND-4571 DVD-burner & NEC 3,5 Inch Diskdrive

Popular choices, what can I say?

8) BenQ TFT FP91G+

I want a 19 inch. This is a mainstream choice. Not the best for gaming, but I'm sure it'll do, especially considering the giant leap I am making (P4 laptop).

9) Artic Silentium T2 Case

Again, silence is golden.

 

[akshayt]

1)Get Asus PW5, or whatever that is
2)Even if you oc, it won't last more than 2-3yrs and for gaming, not even that much.
3)Get atleast 4GB RAM DDR2 800 to last2yrs or more

 

[amr2d2]

I went for a very similar setup which i just put together a couple of hours ago.
Intel E6600
Arctic Freezer 7 Pro (Though had a few nitpickings but all is well)
Asus P5B Deluxe (really easy to work with)
Corsair 2x 1GB pc6400 800MHz
ASUS 7600GT Silent (this is very good, passively cooled, though with arctic cannot extended as should, but solved this by placing fan on middle HDD cage)
Seagate 250GB 7200 rpm SATA II
NEC 4571
Antec P180
Antec NeoHE 550 PSU

 

[Effect]

Originally posted by: akshayt
1)Get Asus PW5, or whatever that is
2)Even if you oc, it won't last more than 2-3yrs and for gaming, not even that much.
3)Get atleast 4GB RAM DDR2 800 to last2yrs or more

1) The mobo he's already chosen has all/most of the features he's after, and the P5W-DH is rather expensive.
2) The PC isn't so much for gaming as it is for professional-ish type applications, at which the E6600 (w/ the 7600gt) will be more than adequate.
3) 2GB of RAM is more than likely perfect for the system (i don't know how much RAM the programs he'll be using will need, but 2GB will suffice, i'd think), if more RAM is necessary later, add it in.

As for your build OP, so far it looks good. If 2GB PC2-5300 doesn't cost much more, it might be better to get, as you can run it in sync with lower latencies (unless your current selection is CAS 3 stuff).

Also, the likes of Seagate and whatnot might offer a better warrantee, in which case they might be worth getting. They might also offer better performance, though you may not notice the difference, in which case you'd be better off saving money.

I'd also check the LCD buyers guide in the video section, it'll give you a good idea for monitor choices, though others will offer opinions/suggestions.

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: akshayt
1)Get Asus PW5, or whatever that is
2)Even if you oc, it won't last more than 2-3yrs and for gaming, not even that much.
3)Get atleast 4GB RAM DDR2 800 to last2yrs or more

The system is not for gaming. He is not going to overclock. It's a WORK pc. Do you read?

 

[ForumMaster]

Originally posted by: Crakie
I've decided on the following system, which I'd like to run by you guys. I will use my computer professionally and I want things to run smoothly with 5+ windows open, although most of these applications are not resources hogs. The main demand professionally is durability: a stable system that will last 3-4 years at least. As a hobby, I will use POV-Ray and Photoshop, which is why I need the speed. I probably will play a few games as well.


1) Intel E6600

Is there any other at the moment? It's quite a bit more expensive than the E6400, but I'm told the extra cache really makes a difference. Maybe not so important now, but with the demands anti-virus, anti-spy etc software will make in a couple of years, probably worth the money.

2) Arctic Freezer 7 Pro

I want my system to be silent. This one has good reviews.

3) ABit AB9 Pro

The hardest choice. I have a Firewire external HD for backups, so a 1394 port is essential. I also don't want to buy a soundcard, so good onboard sound is required. The AB9 Pro has these specs and I hear bad things about the Asus onboard sound. Anand reviews it as mainstream pricing and performance, which is good enough for me. Overclocking is not an issue.

My main concern is the stability of the new C2D boards. From what I can discern from reviews and user experiences, there is no real good choice at the moment, but these comments usually originate from overclockers. What do you guys think?

4) Corsair 2x1 GB PC4300, 533 Mhz

PC5300 is out of sync, PC6400 is expensive. 2 Gb will help with the rendering.

5) Asus GeForce 7600GT 256 MB

POV-Ray does not require a good card and this card will do for the older games I'd like to play. I'll wait for the DX10 ones to come out if I need a better one.

6) Maxtor Diamondmax 10 7200 rpm SATA-II

Hard choice also. Any Seagate/Hitachi fans around?

7) NEC ND-4571 DVD-burner & NEC 3,5 Inch Diskdrive

Popular choices, what can I say?

8) BenQ TFT FP91G+

I want a 19 inch. This is a mainstream choice. Not the best for gaming, but I'm sure it'll do, especially considering the giant leap I am making (P4 laptop).

9) Artic Silentium T2 Case

Again, silence is golden.

1)a fine choice. although the extra cache only adds 5-10 percent, this CPU has the best bang per buck and is a solid choice.

2)A good choice as well.

3)most C2D mobo's have some problems that will probablly take a couple of BIOS revisons to iron out. as long as you don't plan on OC'ing it, this mobo should be fine.

4)even though DDR667 is more expensive, it does increase performance and it worth the extra dough. especially in the long run.

5)since you don't plan on gaming much, this is fine. but if you like to play older games that don't require so much power, look for a passive one. you'll enjoy the silence.

6)nope. i won't allow you. maxtor is bad brand. they fail often and the warrenty is not as good as a seagate.

7)NEC makes good drives but from what i know, the 3550A is esecially good.

8)i'd suggest you get a 20" with a rez of 16x12. the 4:3 ratio will be better for gaming where you can lower the rez without losing too much quality and it will be good for photoshop and such.

9)case isn't that important. this one is fine.

make sure you get a good PSU. Seasonic, FSP are all good brands.

 

[Crakie]

Thanks for the feedback guys. The system is indeed NOT for gaming, primarily that is.

About the graphics: yes I was shooting for the silent version, but I forgot to mention this.

About the memory: I am not sure now. PC5300 really isn't that more expensive, but I won't be overclocking any time soon so I would just be running it at 533 MHz for a long time (and I don't know how to do that, actually). PC6400 is a quite bit more expensive (40 euros or so), but is is really worth it? What kind of performance increase could I expect?

I'll look into the Seagate (HD) and NEC (DVD) drives and the monitor. The drives are probably roughly the same price, but TFTs get expensive quite easily. There's little room in my budget left as we speak.