Proposed new PC build - any advice?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Agent47
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Agent47

Dismember
My proposed spec is:

Intel Q6600 Quad core
Zalman Heatpipe cooler 110mm blue LED fan
Abit IX38 Quad GT
PSU (possibly salvaged from current PC)
4 Gb Crucial Ballastic DDR2 1066 RAM
Western Digital Caviar 7200 SATA 250Gb x 2
ATI X800GT dual-head gfx card (salvaged from current PC)
Yamaha SW1000 XG (salvaged from current PC)
Windows XP Home SP2 OEM
Coolermaster case (maybe CM690)
Keyboard/monitors etc. I already have

I've had enough of my current machine and I'm about to do my first ever self-build PC. Please let me know if the above is generally compatible.

Questions:

1. Can I create a dual-boot system drive using a new OEM Win XP software, or can I only register it once, thus not allowing me to install it twice? I want to have a separate boot for music/audio work, and another boot for games/internet/imaging etc. I need to install Win XP twice on the same drive. Will Microsoft not let me?

2. The PSU - how powerful should it be? I think my current one is 350 Watts (?!). Can I use that or shall I go higher to 500 - 600 W etc.?

Thankyou in advance. I may have more question as they come to me... :)

Thanks,

Agent.
 
Just a few changes:

No need to get 4GB with WinXP as it cannot address it anyway.
2GB should be fine.

Noctuna fans are more quiet than Zalman. I would use a Noctuna cooler, or buy a Thermalright cooler to use with a Noctuna fan.

The Corsair HX series of power supplies are very reliable and very quiet.

Get at the same amount of storage that you get internally, externally for backup purposes.

I can recommend the Antec P180 case. It's insulated for noise and the PSU is at the bottom of the chasis, keeping it away from ears, hot components and microphones!

You can indeed dual boot with WinXP home.
You may need to obtain a new license though - I'm not certain.
One work-around is to use hardware profiles instead and swap between them, but this is not as good as dual booting.

That rig won't draw very much power - 450W is fine as long as the PSU is a good one and actually delivers!
 
Thanks Codmate. I'll check out those bits of kit now. It's good to know about reliable brands. I haven't really looked into the case yet, but I guess that's just as important!

I currently have a 500Gb USB drive for back-up purposes.

Thanks.
 
I think you'd have to check the EULA for Windows XP.

It's possible to do (I've maybe been a naughty boy), but might be in breach of the EULA...
 
Its absolutely useless to have 4GB of memory with XP Home. Also, you don't want to skimp on that power supply. Those are the main cause of funkiness in self built computers. I wouldn't build a system with less than 500, but thats me.
 
Penryn CPU

Spend for the best CPU available, which is really well worth it -
Penryn QX9650!

I've read several articles and reviews, and the experts are in love with it for many good reasons.
 
Toddskins said:
Spend for the best CPU available, which is really well worth it -
Penryn QX9650!

I've read several articles and reviews, and the experts are in love with it for many good reasons.
Click to expand...

~$1200 for an X9650 vs. ~$300 for a Q6600...you're kidding, right?
 
^^ yup, don't by the brand new top of the line cpu, you're mainly paying for the fact it just came out. I'm only just buying core 2 duo now, and its doing me fine AND I run resource hungry slow tools =D
 
Updated proposed system:

Intel Q6600 Quad core
Zalman Heatpipe cooler 110mm blue LED fan
Abit IX38 Quad GT
Corsair HX 600W PSU
2 Gb Crucial Ballastic DDR2 1066 RAM
Western Digital Caviar 7200 SATA 250Gb x 2
ATI X800GT dual-head gfx card (salvaged from current PC)
Yamaha SW1000 XG (salvaged from current PC)
Windows XP Home SP2 OEM
Case - either Thermaltake or Coolermaster
Keyboard/monitors etc. I already have

Thanks for your helpful comments all. It is great to get advice from people who their stuff.

I'll probably stick with 2Gb for now, although I may upgrade the non-audio boot to Vista in future, which I guess can make use of more RAM.

I had a PSU blow up on my current computer a while ago, and I think that's why the motherboard has been a bit funky for ages - it's never really worked right. I'll be getting a quality PSU this time - basically quality components all round.

I don't think I'll be buying the Penryn as it retails for around £650 here in the UK! I think the Q6600 will do the job for me.

Cheers,

Agent.
 
Toddskins said:
Here it is for $1,050.

http://www.tankguys.biz/product_info.php?products_id=1776


And you could consider the next best chip in the world, the QX6850 for $650, or 545 pounds (don't know how to make your currency symbol).

http://www.exactive.co.uk/products.asp?partno=BX80562QX6850
Click to expand...

Ummm - the QX6850 is £575.74 and the Q6600 is £166.84 here:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?&groupid=701&catid=6&sortby=priceAsc&subid=793&mfrid=

The Q6600 offers the best bang for buck - no question.

The QX6850 is barely faster in clock speed, and although it has twice the L2 cache, this doesn't equate to much more power in the real world.
 
Agreed the Q6600 is a WAY better deal. And with the right knowledge it overclocks easily to 3.0Ghz and 1333 FSB. I would never buy an "extreme" Intel chip. You pay for the black sticker.
 
Y'know...

Hard2Hear said:
Agreed the Q6600 is a WAY better deal. And with the right knowledge it overclocks easily to 3.0Ghz and 1333 FSB. I would never buy an "extreme" Intel chip. You pay for the black sticker.
Click to expand...

And the QX9650 can be overclocked, safely, to 4.0 Ghz,
and the QX6850 can be overclocked to 3.8.


The original post did not mention money as a consideration.


Not everybody pinches pennies. On a technical forum, and a forum for music specialists, money is generally not the big issue.
 
Money's not a huge consideration to me right now - I just want a system that will work well and last for a few years.

But I'm not spending ~£600 on just the processor just because it might run Half-life 17 at a slightly better frame-rate... :) To be honest my single-core 3.6gHz PC has always been fine for my music and audio work.
 
Toddskins said:
And the QX9650 can be overclocked, safely, to 4.0 Ghz,
and the QX6850 can be overclocked to 3.8.
Click to expand...

I'm curious which board you did this testing on and if you verified it works for Pro Audio. Because I have done the testing myself and those numbers are not stable for a Pro Audio application. For the 9650 you'd have to use a FSB (and voltage) out of spec for any current mobo. Plus penny pinching and wasting money for no reason are two different things. Have you done any audio benchmarks to show performance differences between those chips? I have. And its definately not enough to justify the difference.

Oh yeah, and don't try to tell me how this board thinks. Ive been here since it started.
 
Tell anyone how the board thinks?

Hard2Hear said:
I'm curious which board you did this testing on and if you verified it works for Pro Audio. Because I have done the testing myself and those numbers are not stable for a Pro Audio application. For the 9650 you'd have to use a FSB (and voltage) out of spec for any current mobo. Plus penny pinching and wasting money for no reason are two different things. Have you done any audio benchmarks to show performance differences between those chips? I have. And its definately not enough to justify the difference.

Oh yeah, and don't try to tell me how this board thinks. Ive been here since it started.
Click to expand...

I have not told anybody how the board thinks. But, smart alec, I'll tell you what I think for you. Why don't you take a valium and call your mom.
 
I'm willing to be that a quad Xeon could smoke the proc you're talking about.
 
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