Third Times a charm

July 26, 2007 8:34 AM

I am building a new computer and was wondering if this setup seems good I already have the OS and case/power supply more details after break. (previously, previously)

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

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA

MSI NX8400GS-TD256E GeForce 8400GS 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Xeon 3060 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX805573060 - Retail

Already have the case Alienware MJ-12 Mid-Tower ATX Case with 700 Watt Power Supply

Os XP

posted by DJWeezy to technology (13 comments total)

Really what i am looking for is whether or not everything here is compatible I am pretty sure this about what i am looking for otherwise.
posted by DJWeezy at 8:37 AM on July 26, 2007

I'd compute with that.

But, seriously, all looks good to me. Plenty of power; plenty of SATA ports for your drives; memory, CPU and video card match the motherboard. I don't see an explicit reference to the power supply having a PCI/E connector, but it's very hard to imagine it wouldn't.

You may want to add a big honking CPU heatsink/fan, though. It's not that much more money on top of what you're already spending, and apt to keep the CPU cooler and make less noise (not that the provided HSF won't keep the CPU alive.)
posted by Zed_Lopez at 8:58 AM on July 26, 2007

IMO it looks good. I would swap the 320gb HDD for a 500gb one if money permits.
As Zed_Lopez said, get another heatsink/fan for the CPU. I would recommend this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223
and attach it with Arctic Silver thermal paste. (I think that CPU cooler will work with Xeon's).
Also get 2 DVD drives, having 2 is useful.
2 video cards for SLI as well.

This is all stuff I would upgrade, money permitting.
posted by jammnrose at 9:40 AM on July 26, 2007

Agreed. It'll work.

But why go back to Xeon? A Core 2 Duo will do fine. The whole line just got price cuts.
posted by nilihm at 9:40 AM on July 26, 2007

You can ditch the xeon for the E6600 and save 20 dollars.

I'm a little concerned about that motherboard. 200 dollars? For what? Do you really need a integrated Wireless access point? Do you need to pay for SLI? It looks like youre just going to put in a budget card. Or are you planning to move to SLI in the future?
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:00 AM on July 26, 2007

Or double up on the HDs and set up a mirror RAID.
posted by trondant at 10:06 AM on July 26, 2007

Do you really need a Xeon?
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:07 AM on July 26, 2007

i realy want the xeon and i am planning on putting in a raid with two hard drives. I like this mobo because i do need the access point and i am thinking about moving to sli in the future (think vista service pack one or two).
posted by DJWeezy at 10:11 AM on July 26, 2007

Like I said last time you posted this: You're buying way too much motherboard and CPU for your needs, and probably more GPU than you need as well.

It'll WORK okay, but it's a fairly silly Frankenbox of overly high-end components with bargain basement hardware. I'm having a lot of trouble understanding why you'd spec some of these parts.
posted by majick at 10:14 AM on July 26, 2007

Ok, if youre going to use those features then it sounds like its worth it. I'm a little worried about that overclocked high-voltage ram. I'm sure it will run fine with that board.
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:18 AM on July 26, 2007

Nthing the suggestion to use Core 2 Duo instead of Xeon.

But you've heard that suggestion several times and are still sticking with the Xeon anyways.

As far as raid, I still suggest mirroring instead of striping.

Have fun.
posted by Argyle at 12:02 PM on July 26, 2007

You've gotten a lot of good advice on this question and your previous two. I'm honestly not quite sure what you're looking for, here. I totaled those components up, including $130 for the case (only price I found) and came to right about $850 without shipping. Without knowing exactly what you want out of the computer I can't say for sure, but that sounds like more money than you need to spend on a system like that.

I think you'd be much better off buying a pre-made system. I just looked on Dell's site and they had some decent systems with similar specs* for less including a 19" flat panel widescreen monitor. A comparable system for less money with a decent monitor sounds like a good idea to me. Return or sell the case and buy a Dell. That's my advice.

Building systems is fun but isn't really the way to save money unless you can recycle components from an old machine or you've got spare parts hanging around. It can be a good idea when you know exactly what you want and can't find it off the shelf, but you really don't sound like that person or, to be blunt, you wouldn't be asking the same question over and over.

*They had AMD Athlon 64 bit dual core chips. Don't know how that directly compares to your chosen Xeon.
posted by 6550 at 12:53 PM on July 26, 2007

IMO, pre-made systems are junk... Too much integrated crap and upgrading is too hard and/or voids your warranty. The only pre-built computer I would buy is a MacPro/MacBookPro. Runs windoze as well as mac and you can't beat (or really find) the hardware for the cost.
posted by jammnrose at 1:08 PM on July 26, 2007