New build questions. Fasst, durable PC

[mose84]

Another first builder in need of some suggestions.

barebone:
Here is what I have thought:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110071

Will the system work just fine with 2 GB RAM (2 1GB sticks), given its only 25% of its RAM capacity?
How is Samsung DDR DIMM 667(PC 5300) 1 GB modules?

Do the video cards come with MOBOs by the way?
What PSU would you recommend?---a link on to newegg or any other site will be appreciated
Chip: Intel Core 2 Duo

It says PCI: 2. Does this mean there are only 2 slots for PCI? Is that expandable in case I need more than 2 slots?

Vista: Asus website says this is XP compatible. Is it usually easy to upgrade to vista? I would like to install XP first, then upgrade couple of months later. I dont mind doing the driver upgrades, as long as they work.

The system has 1 IDE 2 serial-ATA and one E-SATA: I would like to use 2 SATA internal optical drives and SATA hard drive. Is it possible to do this with only 2 SATA?
Any cooling suggestions?

Bottomline is, I want to get an ASUS barebone that supports these:
-atleast 4 GB
-Upgradable to Vista
-Intel Core 2 Duo chip
-more than 2 PCI and one or more PCI express
- 2 internal DVD drives
- 2 SATA Hard drives
Budget $1500 (not including monitor, keyboard, speakers)

Any suggestions / links are appreciated

Usage: I don't play video games---But lots of CAD graphics and simulations + multitasks (of multiple CAD software).
I also want it to last a looong time.

[Freakitchen]

Welcome to the forums!

I'd generally recommend builders stay away from barebone kits. Asus is a quality manufacturer, but you can customise yourself a system a lot better by purchasing individual parts. With a budget of up to $1500, you can certainly afford to do this.

Suggest you configure yourself a system based on the ASUS P5B-E motherboard, a full size ATX board with plenty of on-board features (more SATA ports than the barebones kit offers, for example). It supports the requirements that you list.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131070

From there, I'd recommend 2GB of Corsair DDR2-667 RAM (2x1GB). This his higher quality memory than Samsung. No problems using 2GB - in fact, that's pretty much the maximum that is necessary with any 32-bit operating system.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098

The Core2duo E6600 is a great processor. It's scheduled for a price drop at the end of the month, though, so you might consider waiting until then.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003

You don't need a powerful gaming video card for a CAD system, but it is a good idea to get a low-end dedicated one that does not steal system RAM (as opposed to on-board video, which does). Something like this will do the trick.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102079

And here's a quality case and power supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129012

Beyond that, I'd recommend a couple of Seagate 7200.10 320GB Hard drives, and a Lite-on Retail SATA DVD-RW drive.

[mose84]

thanks a lot. Let me start checking them out. I'll wait for the pocessor price drop--- someone told me they already dropped at compusa during their closing sale but I'm in no hurry.

[LeftyAce]

"Closing sale"
I'd buy from someone who's in business.....returning parts to newegg for replacement is dead easy, and they'll often ship out the replacement before receipt of the defective part....a closed Compusa store, on the other hand, won't have nearly the same level of customer service :-)

The price drop is coming from Intel, so you'll see the benefits wherever you purchase.

[mose84]

Will this memory work?

I was looking at this mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131070

and in the specs, they say :
Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets.

Does that mean this RAM wont work?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

Any suggestions to a similar mobo that can take the memory-- I already got the RAM

[glc]

I would recommend you exchange the ram. It's CAS 4 and 2.1 volts.

[mose84]

thanks.

DO you think this RAM, which is 1.9 V will work, though mobo specs require 1.8 v?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590


I am finding it hard to find a corsair that is compatible with the P5B - E motherboard.

What is the next best durable RAM brand that you could recommend?

[glc]

That IS our recommended ram for P965 boards. It will fire up fine at defaults. 1.9 is close enough.

[mose84]

I appreciate the help

[mose84]

Does anyone know a more quiet HD with 16 MB cache, 3Gb/s transfer?, preferably over 250 GB?

The seagates 7200.10 seem noisy when seeking according to many reviews I have seen