Ready to pull the trigger - any feedback appreciated

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edaly
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:14 pm
Location: New York

Ready to pull the trigger - any feedback appreciated

Post by edaly » Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:06 pm

I'm building a new PC and I would appreciate any advice you guys have. The goal is a quiet and fast (overclocked) system based on an E6600 processor. I plan to run Vista as the OS and the main applications will be high res photo editing and gaming.

Down the road I plan to add a large RAID array for media storage, hence the need for a large case and a beefy power supply.

Here are the components:

Case - Antec P180 (should I wait for P182??)
Case Fans - 2 x Noctua 120mm
Power Supply - SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz (OEM) O/C'd to 3.2 or 3.4GHz
CPU Cooler - Scythe Infinity Heatsink/Fan
Motherboard - Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Video Card - XFX GeForce 8800 GTS (already bought this card from Dell when it was on sale)
GPU Cooler - Stock PCI slot cooler (no aftermarket 8800 coolers out yet??)
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200.10 SATA II 3.0GB/s, 16MB Cache
Memory - 4GB of Corsair XMS2 EPP DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)


Some things I'm wondering about:
- Should I wait for the new Antec P182 case?
- Will I be able to run without the Antec fan in the power supply section of the P180?
- Think it's OK to run the Asus P5W without the optional fan? If necessary, I could re-do the thermal paste on the heatsinks as described in this guide.

Any comments or advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

edaly

McBanjo
Posts: 671
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:40 pm
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Post by McBanjo » Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:42 pm

- Should I wait for the new Antec P182 case?
That case will not be for sale for 2-3 months or something like that. I saw some post about it. Any specific features you want that P182 has that P180 doesn't? That can't be modded then ;-)
- Will I be able to run without the Antec fan in the power supply section of the P180?

Yes, just cover the ventilation around the PSU
- Think it's OK to run the Asus P5W without the optional fan? If necessary, I could re-do the thermal paste on the heatsinks as described in this guide.
Test...but most likely yes. P180 has a pretty good airflow
I might be wrong ofcourse, don't know for sure.

vincentfox
Posts: 271
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 8:35 pm
Location: CA

Post by vincentfox » Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:55 pm


edaly
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:14 pm
Location: New York

Post by edaly » Sat Jan 20, 2007 8:36 pm

Thanks for the link, it's an interesting read. My take is that Vista may certainly have some growing pains with drivers but I'm guessing these will get worked out within the first 6 months.

I guess for me the benefit of being able to use 4GB of RAM for applications like Photoshop outweighs the downside of not having perfect 3D drivers right away.


edaly

vincentfox
Posts: 271
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 8:35 pm
Location: CA

Post by vincentfox » Sat Jan 20, 2007 9:41 pm

Up to you. I got tired of living on the bleeding edge years ago. I want to game or do something else with my computer, not fiddle with drivers and patches. I'll wait a year or for Vista since for my needs, it offers nothing that I actually need. Windows 2000 from Win98/NT, now that was a big leap. This? Not so much.

Peroni
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:52 am

Post by Peroni » Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:41 am

Great system, go for it, as for Vista, I agree with vincentfox.

btw, your topic title does not really sound appropriate to me, must be cause I'm european... :oops:

jackylman
Posts: 784
Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 8:13 am
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Post by jackylman » Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:37 am

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200.10 SATA II 3.0GB/s, 16MB Cache
There are quieter drives to be had (WD 2500KS, Samsung 321KJ).

edaly
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:14 pm
Location: New York

Post by edaly » Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:20 pm

After some further research I think you guys may be right about not being on the bleeding edge.

I did some googling and here's what I came up with on 32bit vs. 64bit Vista:

Vista: Should I Install 64-bit or 32-bit Version?
Microsoft to require signed drivers for 64-bit Vista
Microsoft Vista 64 bit is no go in 2007.. Chip vendors, others think it's too early
Windows Vista Review
Part 6: Compatibility


"While the Vista x64 versions surprised me with their excellent hardware compatibility--a claim I'd never make about Windows XP Professional x64 Edition--nagging software compatibility issues ultimately sunk any hopes I had of moving to the 64-bit system."


Overall it seems the 64bit driver support will be lacking for a while, so a lot of devices won't be useable under Vista 64.

I suppose I might have to install Vista 32bit for now (only making use of 3GB out of my 4GB of RAM) and then re-install with 64bit in a year or so when there is more 64bit support.

Peroni: the title is a bit of a metaphor.. here in North America when people talk about making a large purchase it's not uncommon to hear them say they "Pulled the trigger" i.e. bought the item(s).


edaly
Last edited by edaly on Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

K9-Cop
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:09 am
Location: Canada

Post by K9-Cop » Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:22 pm

I really like the idea of the Corsair psu reviewed on this site because of the modular power cables. Saves you from having to hide away unused power cables in your case.

I agree, change the HD. I went with a Samsung Spinpoint and have been happy.

P180's fine.

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