first post, first upgrade in 6 years

[birdpic]

Hey folks. What a forum!

I am upgrading from a p-3 so I realize anything....including a squirel on a wheel would be better than I have now. But its time. I am trying to have a solid system for processing images, PSCS2/bridge and some other mem hogs. My priorities are value, performance, stability. I dont game at all. I dont plan to OC anything. Would there be someone here who could offer a sanity check on this system? My budget is $1500.

case and PS:
Case: - - Antec Sonata II Piano Black PS: Antec SP 450W
Case Fan(front): 120mm thermaltake ball bearing

MOBO:
Asus P5B Deluxe 965 Audio/GB-LAN/802.11g

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13Ghz 1066 FSB

Memory:
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 675 (PC2 5400)

Hard Drive:
(2) SATA - Western Digital Raptor 74 GB 16 MB

Optical Drive: DVD±RW - NEC ND-4570A/GNB 16X Dual Layer

Video Card:
PNY GeForce 7600 GT 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

I realize I could get more bang for buck on the Raptors but speed is important for me and I have lots of Ext HD for storage.

Has anyone used this case? Did you leave the ducting in or add any more fans? Any suggestions on this set up? Thanks.

[DarkPacMan77]

That looks good... in fact, it looks great

that case is reliable and everyone loves it, you will have no issues there. The power supply included with it should also be efficient and of good quality, so you should not have to order a different power supply.

I see no problems, good build.

[Krazeee]

The SmartPower PSUs arent bad, but they do run lower ratings on the rails than the TruePower series, also made by Antec. Just a thought, with all that ram and the dual core, might not be a bad idea. If you do decide to look into another PSU, check out the PSU thread here:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=101151

And here:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

Thats all Id suggest, it looks like a very sound system. Good luck.

[glc]

If you do not game, you do not need that high end of a video card. If you are planning on running those 2 Raptors in RAID, I'd rethink that, if you need 150gb internal storage just get a single 150gb Raptor. If 74gb is plenty, just get a single 74gb Raptor. If you need a backup of the internal drive (HIGHLY recommended) I'd use Acronis True Image to keep images of it on one of your externals.

A video card such as this would do the job you need just fine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102001

That PSU in the Antec case is plenty good for a mainstream video card such as I suggested - or even that 7600GS if that's what you absolutely must have.

[birdpic]

Thanks folks for the PS suggestion and video card. Its quite daunting to figure out the power requirements for each componet, even from manufac website. I did find a PS calculator online unfortuately it was a bit outdated.

I will research the vid card thanks.

I am not planning on a raid setup but rather OS/programs on one HD and swap on the other. I have ton of external HD.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Dont worry on the psu. No way is that a valid reason to pick a truepower II over a smart power.
Lately CWT (antec's oem) has been having some quality issues. BUT nonetheless it will power your rig and then some. Its the best bang/buck psu and case combo.

Your great as far as psu goes.

And I would suggest a card from eVga, BFG, or leadtek.

[DarkPacMan77]

like i said earlier, you have put together a good build... sure, you COULD have a better more reliable and popular power supply... but honestly, there is no need. It will be just fine. Good thing is, if it ever fails, it is Antec, and they are good ppl with their customers.

PNY is a great company and i've heard nothing but good things about them, however, if you are looking for less hassles if you have to possibly RMA the sucker... definitely go eVga, a TON of people are saying that the customer support is on par with Newegg.coms when it comes to eVga... which is ridiculously high.

[glc]

Note that I'm suggesting a Sapphire card (ATI chipset) for this use, and it's half the price of that 7600GT. Nvidia-based cards are biased more for gaming.

You don't need a PSU calculator - a quality 450 watt PSU will power anything out there except systems with real high end or multiple (SLI, Crossfire) video card setups.

Why do you need a second hard drive for swap? Just partition a single drive if you have the need for a dedicated swap file. You can take the money you save with the lower end video card and by eliminating the second hard drive and put it towards a E6600, that would be more worthwhile, it has twice the cache of the E6400.

[DarkPacMan77]

a lot of people are saying that the extra cache of the E6600 over the E6400 isn't all it is hyped up to be, however, the E6600 is definitely the "sweet spot" for the newer processors. You would be thoroughly satisfied.

[birdpic]

Originally Posted by glc Note that I'm suggesting a Sapphire card (ATI chipset) for this use, and it's half the price of that 7600GT. Nvidia-based cards are biased more for gaming. You don't need a PSU calculator - a quality 450 watt PSU will power anything out there except systems with real high end or multiple (SLI, Crossfire) video card setups. Why do you need a second hard drive for swap? Just partition a single drive if you have the need for a dedicated swap file. You can take the money you save with the lower end video card and by eliminating the second hard drive and put it towards a E6600, that would be more worthwhile, it has twice the cache of the E6400.

Thanks for your suggestions. You guys make me think more about the "why" on some components.

In addition to making sure I have enough power requirements, I learned a lot about the power supply, the 3.3, 5.5, and 12V rails.etc...So looking for the information on which components draw on which rail I came across the calculator.... A neat idea but as I mentioned, it didnt have the latest cards/procs etc on it.

I never did find all the info I was looking up but learned a great deal in the process. I am curious I suppose to learn more about something I know very little about I know it may not be apparent but I did put considerable thought into each component (with the limited knowledge I have of the current computing world). Nothing is more irritating than a poster asking for advice or suggestions and not having done any leg work on their own....

..that said there is limited utility in just seeing all these components in a picture, or reading a review online. That's where you guys have helped in real world applications...and I thank you for that.

As for the swap...maybe I am all fubar here but if windows needs to access swap and PSCS2 neeeds to access the scratch disk and they are on seperate physical drives, I should be better off than if they were on one...no? PSCS2 says to make the scratch disk separate from the sys disc. In a perfect world...and a bottomless money pit... I would use 3 discs

[chuck4456]

Please let us know how that RAM works out with that chipset, once you have finalized your build.

[glc]

There's certainly no need to spend the money on a Raptor for a scratch disk or a swap disk.