recomendations

[ssahl]

I need to build a workstation where stability is my main objective
I will also be running 3 monitors, but will not be used for gaming so no SLI or Crossfire
This is what I put together, again stability is what I'm wanting
I will probably be putting XP pro 32bit on it, or possibly Windows 7 pro 32bit

Motherboard--- Asus P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55
RAM--- Corsair Dominator 3GB DDR3 1600 Triple Ch kit
CPU--- Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield
Hard drive---- 2 x Seagate Constellation ES 500GB SATA Enterprise hard drive
Video Card---- 2 x EVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB
Power Supply---- Corsair Enthusiast 850W
Optical Drive--- Asus SATA DVD Burner
Case--- Antec P183


After shipping and taxes this came out to about $1265
Which is about my budget, although I can spend more if I really need to.
The Antec case is expensive I know, but I thought this would deal with the extra noise and heat and help to run cool and quite.

Any input is welcome

[jdeb]

I would use the sandy bridge 1155

ASUS Corporate Stable - Advance Swap Program

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards- ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM

Make sure you order 1.5V DDR3-1333 memory. I would use Kingston, Crucial, or Corsair from the QVL.

Use Western Digital Cavair Black hard drives, better quality and warranty.

What applications do you intend on using? Video cards seem a little dated to me.

[glc]

I'm afraid that system needs a total revamp from the ground up.

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-650HX 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600

Newegg.com - Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3K2/4GR

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Ultimate 100289UL Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Active DisplayPort Adapter 100924 DisplayPort to DVI Interface

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Rosewill RX358 RX-358-U3B Full Aluminum Cover, metal tray 3.5" Black USB 3.0 External Enclosure

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit 1-Pack - Operating Systems

Notes: RAID not recommended, the Green and Rosewill enclosure should be used for a comprehensive backup strategy. The video card supports 3 monitors and is a silent fanless card, the ADP adapter is for the 3rd monitor. With Win 7 Pro, you can have XP Mode, which is legal XP running in a VM, not just a compatibility mode.

[ssahl]

So I should hook up the 6Gb/s drive for the OS drive, should I set it up to run like that in the bios or just run it normal? I haven't used a motherboard with that yet.

As for the OS, I'm worried about using 64bit, the user may have 16bit applications


If I do stick with a 32bit OS would that mean I shouldn't put more than 3GB of RAM, or will the 4GB be ok?

[birddog_61]

DOSBox - free opensource DOS & X86 Emulator for Windows & Linux | Windows Reference

Should let you run just about any 16bit software you want.

[glc]

Put the hard drive on the P67 SATA 6.0 controller and it will work optimally.

You may not be fully understanding what XP Mode is. If the user's software will run on 32 bit XP, you can run 32 bit XP in a VM inside Win 7 Pro 64 bit. You do not have to buy XP, you download the special version from MS free to run in the VM.

Anyway, 4 gigs is fine in 32 bit, it just won't use it all.