XenaWP
04-07-2007, 01:02 PM
It's all coming together with just a couple of decisions left to make.
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534 (have)
Motherboard: Intel D975XBX2 (on the way)
Processor: Intel C2D E6600 (waiting for price drop)
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (have)
Power Supply: PCP&C Silencer 610 (on the way)
DVDRW: NEC ND3550A IDE 16x (have)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 250GB or 320GB (boot) (will flip coin/wait for deal) + Seagate IDE 250GB (have)
Video: PCIE: HIS Hightech Radeon X1950PRO 256MB OR SAPPHIRE Radeon X1650XT 256MB
I think I'll hold off on a floppy drive until the need manifests itself. Is that foolhardy? I know they're cheap.
I don't have any strong feelings about the HDD ... my success with Seagates is about 50% (one DOA, one good) though I have no experience with WD. WD seems to beat Seagate in Tom's Hardware tests (marginally) but that isn't a huge deal to me. So I'll wait it out until an irresistable deal occurs sometime in the next week or two, and choose one.
The real issue for me is the video. I just can't decide which way to go here. I'm currently running an ATI 9600PRO and (stop laughing) that's working just fine for me. I don't game on the PC, mostly on XBOX and PS2. I have a backlog of about 30 games for those 2 consoles, so it will be a while before I have time to play on the new system, if I ever do. (And if I do, I'm likely to buy games that are maybe a year or two old, probably FPS types.) So in this regard, the X1600XT would be fine, more than enough really. And I like that it's less power hungry. My main apps are photo/film scanning and editing, and some video editing.
OTOH, the X1950PRO is not that much more in price these days (an extra $40-$50), as I understand it, is no contest much more powerful. My PSU should handle it without breaking a sweat, so that really isn't an issue. And it would go longer before I'd need to think about upgrading, if and when I get through all those console games.
So, does anyone have any words of insight that might help me decide?
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534 (have)
Motherboard: Intel D975XBX2 (on the way)
Processor: Intel C2D E6600 (waiting for price drop)
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (have)
Power Supply: PCP&C Silencer 610 (on the way)
DVDRW: NEC ND3550A IDE 16x (have)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 250GB or 320GB (boot) (will flip coin/wait for deal) + Seagate IDE 250GB (have)
Video: PCIE: HIS Hightech Radeon X1950PRO 256MB OR SAPPHIRE Radeon X1650XT 256MB
I think I'll hold off on a floppy drive until the need manifests itself. Is that foolhardy? I know they're cheap.
I don't have any strong feelings about the HDD ... my success with Seagates is about 50% (one DOA, one good) though I have no experience with WD. WD seems to beat Seagate in Tom's Hardware tests (marginally) but that isn't a huge deal to me. So I'll wait it out until an irresistable deal occurs sometime in the next week or two, and choose one.
The real issue for me is the video. I just can't decide which way to go here. I'm currently running an ATI 9600PRO and (stop laughing) that's working just fine for me. I don't game on the PC, mostly on XBOX and PS2. I have a backlog of about 30 games for those 2 consoles, so it will be a while before I have time to play on the new system, if I ever do. (And if I do, I'm likely to buy games that are maybe a year or two old, probably FPS types.) So in this regard, the X1600XT would be fine, more than enough really. And I like that it's less power hungry. My main apps are photo/film scanning and editing, and some video editing.
OTOH, the X1950PRO is not that much more in price these days (an extra $40-$50), as I understand it, is no contest much more powerful. My PSU should handle it without breaking a sweat, so that really isn't an issue. And it would go longer before I'd need to think about upgrading, if and when I get through all those console games.
So, does anyone have any words of insight that might help me decide?