Thoughts on this "Vista Ready" box

[moodyblues100]

PC Magazine had an article with regards to building a Vista Ready machine. Using their configuration as a basis, I came up with these components. Just curious about the thoughts of the masses about my choice of parts.

Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811129152

ASUS P5B Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131045

MSI NX7900GT-VT2D256E-HD GeForce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814127218

Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817103941

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6700 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115002

Crucial Technology Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA663 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820146567

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3200820AS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148146

LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner W/ LightScribe http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827106019

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835186134

ViewSonic VA712B Black 17" 8ms DVI LCD Monitor 350 cd/m2 350:1 Built in Speakers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824116352

Priced at about $1,700 US +shipping

[flanzig1]

Looks good.
Just to let you know using an aftermarket CPU cooler can void the CPU warranty. Start with the stock unit first.
OS?

[786ARS]

If I were you, i would downgrade to an E6600, as the $100+ premium is not worth the performance gain, and I would instead beef up my graphics card to either the 7900 or 7950 GT with the money you saved from the processor. Or better yet, get a low end card (x300) and ait for DX10 card prices to drop. Then buy one of those.

[newbuilder14]

I'd recommend an EVGA 7900gt, they make good video cards. As for the RAM, shoot for DDR2 800. Everything else looks nice.

[fleeingpepper]

Originally Posted by flanzig1 Looks good. Just to let you know using an aftermarket CPU cooler can void the CPU warranty. Start with the stock unit first. OS?

Actually, I think they honor the warranty if you just send in the heatsink with the processor.

http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/24/215243

[moodyblues100]

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 I'd recommend an EVGA 7900gt, they make good video cards. As for the RAM, shoot for DDR2 800. Everything else looks nice.

I've used EVGA cards before on other builds and have found them reasonabley priced. The MSI was the card PC mag had listed and I didn't bother to change it. Probably won't be able to afford this build, I just wanted to get a general idea about how much it would cost to be Vista ready. PC mag had 3 Seagate hard drives, but I cut back to one.

Is there any big benefit going with 2 vid cards if you are not gaming?

[newbuilder14]

^ Not really, unless you are after four monitors. What you are looking at is complete overkill if you are not gaming. You can be vista ready for $1,000, like me.

[Mr.Ferrari]

I would much rather opt for one of these:
Silverstone ST65ZF
Enermax Liberty 500W

Same price, but much better quality.

And, If you can afford the E6700, then great choice. If not the E6600 would be the next logical step down.

I also highly suggest you dont always try to mirror exactly to what a magazine says. Most of the times, their just going by freebies that they get for advertising.

[Jerseysbest]

I'd also probably downgrade the CPU, based solely on the price.

[fleeingpepper]

I strongly agree on jerseys, PC magazine was not quite smart making this list. They could make one that runs just as well, or better for Vista for cheaper.

[Paintbait]

Looks great, their Minimum System Requirements are really low for vista (though you'll want two or three times their modest estimates) and the "Vista Ready" PCs being sold in the last year have a bare minimum of something like 1.25x what the Minimum suggests, if not more. (Ie. 1GB RAM, 128MB Graphics Card, <1.0GHz Processor) With that system you'll probably smoke Vista's needs.

[chuck4456]

Looks good, but the Zalmann CNPS 9500 (or9700 if you want lites) is a better cooler. If you are going with the P5B: definitely DDR2 800. Good luck.

[moodyblues100]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari I also highly suggest you dont always try to mirror exactly to what a magazine says. Most of the times, their just going by freebies that they get for advertising.

I was just using the magazine as a guideline. When (and if) I build this machine I would compare other components for quailty and price. A while ago I put a wish list together on Newegg that was in the $1,000 - $1,500 range that I think would also be more than adequate for a Vista box. I'm not ready to rush into Vista when it finally comes out anyway. Let the dust settle, and maybe by the 3rd or 4th patch it will ready for prime time.