New Build

[rgmoore1957]

How does this look for a new build?


LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 - Retail
Item #: N82E16827106072


RAIDMAX Sagitta 2 ATX-928WB Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811156090



GIGABYTE GA-M57SLI-S4 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128014


LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D2S-04 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106095


RAIDMAX RX-700SS ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817152030


A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail
Item #: N82E16820211066


AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6400CZBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103228

I already have a new 320 GB HDD

[Cricket]

Don't use a RaidMax power supply, they're low quality rubbish. Look at this thread for power supply information.

The rest of your parts look okay.

Cricket

[rgmoore1957]

How about this PSU?

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817341002

[Cricket]

Do you even need 700 watts? What video card(s) are you planning to use?

Cricket

[rgmoore1957]

ATI Radeon X1550, 1 card for now

How many watts do you suggest?

[Cricket]

First, you can't do SLi with two ATi video cards on a NVidia based motherboard. You need a CrossFire motherboard for ATi video cards. If you want to do SLi you need NVidia based video cards.

As far as which power supply to use, both NVidia and ATi have web pages that show which power supplies are certified to work with either SLi or CrossFire.

NVidia SLi

ATi CrossFire

Cricket

[freakitchen]

I don't even think that the X1550s are crossfire capable - they're not gaming cards. Are you planning on running two of those to power four monitors?

[Icyman23]

rgmoore1957, I would suggest a Corsair 620w or a FSP 600w just incase you upgrade soon.

Your current setup would only draw about 440 watts. (I substituted a X1600 XT) http://www.extreme.outervision.com/p...ulatorlite.jsp

[liambl]

I get 231w on that calculator with x1600xt, although x1550 consumption would be more like an x1300pro, for which I get 220w

[rgmoore1957]

Thanks guys for all your help.

One more question.

Is reusing the HDD from my existing system that has Windows XP already installed on it going to cause a problem?

Thanks

[freakitchen]

That depends on what your existing system is. If it's a pre-built system from a brand-name manufacturer (Dell, Compaq etc.) then you won't be able to use your current version of XP on the new system. They're tied to the original BIOS of the computer they were supplied with.

If, on the other hand, you have a Retail or OEM copy of XP with its own CD, then you can use that on the new system, but the existing installation won't boot straight away with new hardware. I'd recommend a clean install, but if you don't want to do that, you can perform a repair install of XP once the HD is in your new system by booting from the Windows CD.

[rgmoore1957]

Thanx freakitchen

I have an oem disc with the product key