Final Parts List for Another New Build

[Caddywompus81]

Hello everyone! I'm putting together a new for my parents as a little holiday gift. The machine will be used for photo editing, web browsing/e-mail, as well as gaming--not hardcore gaming, but gaming. I think all the parts will play nice together, I just want to take some comfort in your expert opinions/advice. The only part I am hesitant about is the motherboard

• Case: Thermaltake Tsunami ATX Mid Tower
• MB: Asus P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Motherboard
• GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
• PSU: Corsair CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
• RAM: Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
• HDD(1): Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
• HDD(2): Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
• Optical(1): LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail
• Optical(2): Asus lack 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
• OS: Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

That's about it. Is this enough RAM for Vista? Will everything play nicely? Just a few questions I am concerned about. Thank you very much in advance for your time and help. Happy Holidays!

[kissfan]

Looks good to me, only thing I'd possibly change is the WD Raptor, the performance gain over another Seagate 7200.10 / 11 is minimal.

I'd get 2 of the Seagates and partition the boot drive to approx 50GB for Windows, with the rest for programs and apps, with the second drive as a storage for the photos and other data.

You could also drop the CPU down to a E6750, and have the Quad core as a future upgrade.

Also the 8800GT is better bang for buck than the GTS at present.

2GB is plenty RAM for that build.

Nice build, your parents are lucky to have such a thoughtful child.


Kissfan

[Caddywompus81]

Have the *.10/11 drives really caught up that much? I'll have to think about that, I should stay more up to date!

I personally like the new GTS card over the GT's. While a bit more expensive, it outperforms even the GTX in certain applications. But price is a good consideration--i'll think about that.

I went with the Quad core because--although the machine will be used for a plethora of tasks--the old man loves his photo shop and video editing. Do the quads perform better than the 6750 in these tasks? Is it better to go with the 6750 considering the small price difference? Just questions thank you so much for your input and response!

I figure the comp is my way of saying--thanks for letting me live to see med school.

[hitchface]

E6750 vs Q6600 in Photoshop: http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_20...=873&chart=437

The dual core beats it by about 10 seconds for the task. Take a gander at the other benchmarks and make your decision with help from that. Honestly, you'll be happy with either chip. I'd likely wait till more quad core chips come out and things get a little more refined, but then again, it isn't my build.

Also, unless heavy duty gaming is in the works, an 8800 of any kind is a little overkill. It'll last a good while, but if you need to save some bucks, maybe go for an 8600GT. Very good card for the money.

[kissfan]

Originally Posted by Caddywompus81 I personally like the new GTS card over the GT's. While a bit more expensive, it outperforms even the GTX in certain applications. But price is a good consideration--i'll think about that.

The GT currently out performs both according to recent benchmarks.


Kissfan

[hitchface]

Even the 512MB GTS? Thats the new one he was talking about.

[shadowpr]

The new 512 gts outperforms the gt.

[Katreat]

I agree with hitch that if your father does not plan on doing any gaming then any 8800 will be so fast that he would not notice the difference. If not gaming or using a very large monitor you would probably see little difference between an 8800 and 8600 in performance.

It has already been mentioned, but the E6750 is actually faster on most applications than the Q6600. However, the Q6600 is a bit more future proof when new software designed for multipal cores become standard. Both cpus are very nice and you will probably be happy with either one.

Kat

[kissfan]

Originally Posted by hitchface Even the 512MB GTS? Thats the new one he was talking about.

Oopps, I seem to have missed something, need to do some research....

Kissfan

[shadowpr]

Originally Posted by kissfan Oopps, I seem to have missed something, need to do some research.... Kissfan

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=190607

[Caddywompus81]

Well my father does enjoy his fair share of FPS-blood-baths. Compound that with his blindness (he uses a 24" monitor) I gave him what I would be happy with, the new GTS card =). I decided that future proofing was a bit more important for HIS system than a little more performance--as that is something he won't notice.

Thanks for all of the input, can always count on you guys! I'll let you know how the system turns out!