Building new PC

[djeyewater]

I'm looking to get a new PC, mainly for editing large photoshop files (1GB). I don't really have any time to do gaming so I've gone for a cheap graphics card. I've gone for XP Pro x64 instead of Vista as I understand a lot of programs aren't Vista compatible. I'll probably OC the processor & RAM.

£55 Jeantech Phong II Case
£280.00 4Gb G.Skill DDR2 PC2-6400 PQ CL5 Series 800MHz Dual Channel kit
£12.16 Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
£209.15 Intel Core 2 DUO E6700 2.67GHz 'Conroe' 4Mb Cache LGA775 (1066 Mhz) - Retail
£117.69 Asus P5B Deluxe Wifi
£74.98 Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500GB S300
£74.98 Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500GB S300 (Together in RAID 0)
£60 256MB Leadtek 8500GT
£6 Akasa Pro Grade+ AK-TC 5022 Thermal Compound
£84 Microsoft Win XP Pro x64 SP2B OEM


Total cost: £974

From my current PC I'll use:
Seasonic S12 600W
LG DVD+/-RW DVD-RAM
LaCie Firewire 800 card

How does that sound? Anything I've missed?

My current PC also has a Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX, would the built in sound on the P5B be better quality?

 

[xaeniac]

Built in sound will not be better

 

[theYipster]

I use both Vista 64 (at home) and XP-64 (at work.) In general, you can expect a less troublesome (and headache filled) experience running XP, but I've found this not to be the case with the 64-bit editions. XP-64 is an odd duck, being part Windows XP and part Windows Server 2003. It also came out several years after XP, and driver and software support for the OS has always been problematic.

I've actually had a much better experience with Vista-64. The 64-bit code base is more mature, and I've even found that certain programs and utilities work quite well on Vista-64 when the wouldn't work on XP. Photoshop runs well on both OSes, but since it's a 32-bit compiled program, you will not see any performance advantage when running it on a 64-bit operating system (I don't know if CS3 will come with 64-bit binaries, but if it does, then it would be wise to use it on a 64-bit platform.)

Mark.

 

[Roguestar]

FYI XP x64 is sh1t.

 

[Boyo]

I would buy a backup HD if you are working with photos. Last thing you want is your Raid to fail and you lose your info.

 

[theYipster]

Good point.

I won't say that running a RAID-0 array is a bad idea, as I've been using them myself for years. In addition to the small performance advantage, I enjoy the convenience of being able to work with a single large volume instead of two smaller one. However, it would be foolish to run RAID-0 and not take proper care to actively and continuously backup your data, as hard drives do tend to fail, and RAID-0 arrays tend to doubly so.

Mark.

 

[Operandi]

Case looks a bit cheap and tacky, particularly for the price.

As far as the sound goes the P5B Deluxe has a very good HD chip but it is a bit prone to picking up interference that result in (odd back ground noises) from other activities taking place on the board (particularly hard disk activity).

 

[djeyewater]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

For Backup I have just bought a 500GB Freecom USB2 drive & I also have a LaCie 320GB FireWire 800 drive & a Maxtor 160GB FireWire 400 / USB2 drive.

For the OS would you recommend Vista Business 64bit edition? Ultimate edition seems to cost quite a bit more and doesn't seem to offer much more. I want a version with remote desktop so I can buy a cheap laptop and work on my PC from the garden during the summer.

 

[theYipster]

Business or Home Premium should be fine. I'm not certain if Home Premium comes with Remote Desktop, but if it does, then that would be your best bet. Be sure to stay away from Vista basic, and if you're confident that you can setup and troubleshoot Vista w/o the need of any Microsoft handholding, you can save money by purchasing an OEM copy.

Mark.