New Build, Need Advice Please

GroundZero · 18 Jul 2007 at 04:38

Due to problems I'm having atm with my existing board, (seems to be a pci-e slot problem), I need a new board.

As usual this isn't as simple as it seems, as unfortunately a new board also means a new cpu/memory as my existing board was 754 based.

It has 4 hdd's (2 ide 2 sata), and 2 optical ide (so no usb only boards)

So far I'm considering

Asus P5N32-E SLi
Asus Striker Extreme
Asus P5B Premium Vista Edition

and I'm also considering

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme with Akasa AK-183-L2B Amber

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850

OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2
(would 2 gig OCZ PC2-8500 SLI be better than the above?)

To go with this I have an Ati HD 2900 ( bought when i thought my card was at fault rather than the board)

This system will be running 24/7 and will be used mainly for gaming (BF2142, Ryzom, sword of the new world), and occasionally converting dvds

Can anyone give me their opinions on the above setup please, and also which board would be best, and also if they're compatible with the ram

hp7909 · 18 Jul 2007 at 05:11

Mobos you've listed have only 1 IDE connector therefore can only take 2 such devices & you have 4

Options could be to upgrade the hard disks to SATA or go for the Asus P5N-E SLi which has 2 connectors

EDIT: 4GB RAM, hope you have 64-bit edition OS?

GroundZero · 18 Jul 2007 at 05:22

hp7909 said:
Mobos you've listed have only 1 IDE connector therefore can only take 2 such devices & you have 4

Options could be to upgrade the hard disks to SATA or go for the Asus P5N-E SLi which has 2 connectors

EDIT: 4GB RAM, hope you have 64-bit edition OS?

2 of my 250 gig drives are used purely for storage, and backups, so could be left unconnected until needed if necessary i suppose

atm I'm using xp, (not 64 bit), but looking a future proof system for when vista gets its glitches sorted out (2.5 gig in my existing system but standard ddr not ddr 2)

should I just get the 2 gig PC2-8500 now then, and grab another 2 gig when I upgrade to vista, or get the 4 gig now?

was going to get 4 gig now, as it seemed cheaper than getting 2 now 2 later, even though a quarter of it wouldn't be used until in a 64 bit os, but would 2 gig 8500 in sli be better than 4 gig PC2-6400C5 dual channel which would only be utilizing 3 gig?

hp7909 · 18 Jul 2007 at 05:53

GroundZero said:
{snip}should I just get the 2 gig PC2-8500 now then, and grab another 2 gig when I upgrade to vista, or get the 4 gig now?

2GB now

Money saved, maybe, can go towards a huge SATA hard disk?

I'm no (DDR2) memory expert so can't advice on the 8500

GroundZero · 18 Jul 2007 at 06:04

hp7909 said:
2GB now Money saved, maybe, can go towards a huge SATA hard disk?

I'm no (DDR2) memory expert so can't advice on the 8500

only temporary saving though until another 2 gig is needed, then it'd have cost more

larger drive is an idea, but would mean chucking the others, (again costing money), and i've always prefered keeping my os on its own drive for quick ghosting purposes if it ever mucks up, and games/progs / storage on their own too for the same reason, (any drive dies backup images are on the storage drive, and sys can be back up and running in 10 mins)

posted memory related questions in the memory section, so basicly its back to which board

Barry1337 · 18 Jul 2007 at 13:28

I would just go with what you said 4gb of mem and wait till vista is fine means you have it there!

Cupra · 18 Jul 2007 at 13:47

Barry1337 said:
I would just go with what you said 4gb of mem and wait till vista is fine means you have it there!

agreed i think ddr2 will slowly go up till you cant get hardly any as ddr3 is on its way now