Jacked Up PC

[RaTix]

Any 32bit Operating system can only use 4GB of RAM. It's not just a windows XP issue. Even 32bit Vista or 32bit Linux flavors can only use 4GB.

2^32 = 4,294,967,296

4,294,967,296 / (1,024 x 1,024) = 4,096

You can always try the PAE modification to increase it to a 36bit system. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system...e/default.mspx

Also, the 4GB of RAM also includes your Video Card into the equation as well. So if you have 4GB of RAM and a 2GB video card, 2GB is gonna be wasted. Any 32bit system can only allocate 3.12 or 3.2 GB of RAM at any given time. Only other option for utilizing over 4GB is using a 64bit system. If you do decide on that, make sure all the hardware you get is 64bit compatible.

OR.. Do what I do. I have only 2GB Physical RAM (512MB on Video Card), but I have a separate partition that holds my 9GB paging file or "Virtual Memory". This makes it so I can have AudoCAD, Photoshop, 50 tabs in FireFox open while playing Civ4 and it still runs like a champ.

If you go with RAID at all you should only focus on RAID 5 instead of mirroring, as mirroring does slightly slow down the HDD performance in comparison. But you would need at least 3 (4 highly recommended) HDDs for RAID5.

If your looking to keep cost down, AMD is probably better. This is completley biased, but I personally prefer AMD over Intel. And no, I couldn't explain why lol. Perhaps I just prefer David over Goliath.

[Capthemfoos]

This is the link to the final parts I will be buying.


PC Build

Ignore the Asus motherboard and the hard drives, I am buying other ones that are on a sale and that have more memory.

[norm]

Looks good, still really expensive though. I'm glad to see more SATA stuff on there:p

Cheaper PC

Pricey PC

Here's two lists I did really quick. The cheaper one is basically the same as the pricey one.

The cheaper one was done with you able to upgrade it over time. I picked a basic case that had lots of room and good airflow. The motherboard will let you run dual core or quad core processor. The MB also let's you run in Crossfire if you want. I picked one video card that isn't as top of the line as the Nvidia brand, but works very well. I went with 2Gb of ram, one CD/DVD drive and added in the software. I didn't add in a fan for the processor, it's something I have and love, but you may not want to get it till you finalize a processor. I put in the dual-core processor which should run whatever games are out there including Bioshock, Gears of War and CoD4.


The pricey list has pretty much the same parts. There is a quad core processor. Not as fast as Intel's, but more then capable of running games, applications now or in the next year or two. I went with a better case that has a removable motherboard tray, great airflow and plenty of room.

Both of the lists are with AMD and ATI products which work just as well, but for a third to half the cost of their counterparts. They may not be as "fast", but unless you are running some seriously memory or graphic intensive programs you won't know the difference. From what I can tell you're not mixing music, finding the cure to cancer or editing film for the next Pixar film so AMD and ATI should be fine...lol:D

[Capthemfoos]

By memory and graphic intensive programs, you mean Crysis?:)

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into it.

[norm]

By memory and graphic intensive programs, you mean Crysis?:)

lol, I believe the Pricey rig will handle Crysis with ease, quad core and dual cards will eat it up..lol. The Cheaper one should handle it and from the reviews for the processor it shouldn't have any issues. I believe the one video card should be fine for it.

I was thinking more along the lines of Blender, Premiere, Renderman, and the like as intensive programs.;)

Also in the 3rd Quarter Intel is coming out with new processors, dropping some of their older ones (quad and dual) and slashing the prices on the ones they keep. So it may be better to buy an Intel then if that's what you want.

[Capthemfoos]

Ok, thanks. Also, what is the difference between a 7200.10 hard drive and a 7200.11. I got the 7200.10 since it had much better specs, but now I'm worried that it may be junk.

[norm]

The .11 is the 11th generation of Seagate's HD tech. Holds more, provided a slightly faster transfer rate and so on. To be honest there isn't enough of a difference between the .10 and the .11 to worry about which one. The .10 is proven and reliable and works great. Besides you get a 5 year warranty on it!

Seagate Product Info


Here is some info about modular PSU's. There's also some good info about rails, watts and other things you may not be familiar with. It helped me when I was learning about it.

PSU


Hope that helps and keep us updated on things. I'd love to hear about your experience of building it yourself. If you read through my thread, you'll see I had a fun time with the motherboard..lol

[Capthemfoos]

Alright, I'm in the process of ordering stuff. I need help in a couple more areas before I begin.

Graphics Card:
The ones I put on my Newegg wishlist disappeared because they were no longer available. I looked at a new one here. Its pricey, but I'm more than willing to make this investment. The cons are that it is hot and long. Tell me if I should look for another card, preferably GeForce 8800 GTX. Here is the card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130346

RAM:
If I get 64 bit Windows XP Pro, will that support 4 GB of RAM? Or is it still restricted to about 3.5 GB.
Also, If I put in 4 GB and it only accepts up to 3.5 GB, will it use 3.5 GB or will it only use 2GB since it is two sticks.

Alright, thanks.

[norm]

64 bit will support more then 4Gb.


Wow that's a lot for a video card.

This is a pretty good video card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121247

It has 1Gb of ram and the reviews say it'll handle games like Age of Conan and Crysis with ease.

Pros: Dual GPU for high res muscle power. This card performs under stress very well. Don't expect miracles but this card will not dissapoint you. Out performs my 8800GTX, my friends 8800GTS G92, and my other friends 8800GT hands down. This is also again faster than my other friends two 8800GTS SLI (G80) by about 3k in 3dmark06. All using e8400 ~4GHz + under good water and comparable motherboards/ram.

Cons: I needed to upgrade from my single 8800GTX 630/1400/950. Going back to ATI takes a little getting used to. Make sure you have a 650w + PSU of good make to run this properly. My 1200 turbocool has no problems even with a 20amp TEC on the same rail. =) This card is slightly bigger than a 8800GTX because of the fan design, which idles much lower than the GTX at around 35C.

Other Thoughts: I game at high resolution 3840x1024 and the 8800GTX did OK but this new card screams even with NO overclock. After turning it up to 855/955 this card gave me a 19,128 3dmark06 score. That beats my 88GTX by 5K!!! For the price this is the BEST single slot solution to date. The 9800GX2 is way expensive so that isn't an option or even close at these prices. For p35 motherboard owners this is a must buy for maximum performance. You only have one PCIe 16x slot so fill it with glory.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339

You may want to think about that one. It's a good card and it's about half the price of the one you're looking at. From the reviews it'll run Crysis at high settings with no problems. You can always order a second one later on and run SLI.

[norm]

bump for edit

[Capthemfoos]

Wow. Looks solid. The only thing is that it is not "certified" for Windows Vista and it doesn't support SLI. Also the MHz is less then the one I posted.

Ok.

(1) Does it matter if it is "certified" for Windows Vista or not?

(2) WTF is SLI?

(3) 2200 v.s. 1800, is that a big difference?

(4) What is the Radeon HD 3870 X2 vs the Geforce 8800 Ultra?

(5) Is PCI Express 2.0 better than just regular PCI?

[norm]

I'll get back to you during practice tonight Cap so remind me! I've got to pick up my niece for softball game..lol

[RaTix]

(1) Does it matter if it is "certified" for Windows Vista or not?

Usually not. Just means that Vista will probably be able to install the drivers itself. Whereas opposed to going to the manufacturers website to download the drivers. Which is what you should do anyway. Go to their site and make sure there is a Vista driver for it. More then likely at this point YES, but it's good to make sure.

(2) WTF is SLI?

SLI is the ability to install two graphics cards for one output. Essentially doubling your video processing if you install two identical SLI cards. (don't think they have to be identical just using as an example).

(3) 2200 v.s. 1800, is that a big difference?

That's the memory clock speed. It's how fast the memory executes commands on the card. Mhz on computers are basically the amount of ticks or cycles a second that it can send and process commands.
I think the bigger thing to look at is the Core Clock of the chipset itself as well as the Memory interface, which is much higher on the ones Norm listed.

(4) What is the Radeon HD 3870 X2 vs the Geforce 8800 Ultra?

The Radeon has higher memory and slightly faster memory (384 bit on the 8800 vs 512 bit on the Radeon). I think the core speed of the Radeon with the faster PCI-e 2.0 interface will be faster then the 8800 Ultra overall. And about $200 cheaper.

(5) Is PCI Express 2.0 better than just regular PCI?

PCI Express 2.0
PCI-SIG announced the availability of the PCI Express Base 2.0 specification on 15 January 2007.[8] PCIe 2.0 doubles the bus standard's bandwidth from 0.25 Gbyte/s to 0.5 Gbyte/s, meaning a x32 connector can transfer data at up to 16 Gbyte/s in each direction.

PCIe 2.0 is backward and forward compatible with PCIe v1.x. Graphic cards and motherboards designed for v2.0 will be able to work with v1.1 and v1.0, and vice versa. In some rare cases it is possible that a PCI-E 2.0 card will not work correctly on a PCI-E 1.0a slot. This is only limited to certain video cards.

[Capthemfoos]

Alright, thanks. So all in all, Norm's card is better. I think I'll just but one and then buy a second one down the line.

[RaTix]

Yeah, Unless your gonna be doing heavy CAD or design work (or flight sim 10 from what I hear), you probably don't need two SLI cards right now. But it's always good to leave the option open for you.

You don't need much to do gaming and everyday stuff. This is my setup.

MSI K9N Neo-F AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130050

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Orleans 2.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Single-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103637

* OLD CPU, I bought this one first to keep cost down, then upgraded a year later to the following CPU.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103741

ASUS EAX1600PRO/TD/512MB Radeon X1600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121555R

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

It's not unusual for me to have Photoshop, Notepadd++ w/20 tabs (this seems to have a memory leak in it as well), FireFox w/20-50 tabs, WoW (or any other game), various folders and README files, all on at the same time and have no problems. Even right now I have VLC, VirtualDUB and GrabIt open as well. My whole setup was under $600 if not $500. So you don't need top of the line unless you plan to REALLY stress your system with many heavy applications.