Question about compatibility + recommendations

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i think home premium is fine. i dont use it, but my wife's lappy does. i would get the 64 bit version unless you have absolutely no idea about computers. there are a few tricks and problems you will encounter, but nothing impossible.
 
if you're gonna reformat anyway, i'd suggest getting a new sata drive as they can be found for like 70 bucks on the egg. and get 64bit, but all you need is home premium as ultimate really offers not a whole lot more.

So what I'm gonna do is take my computer to my local computer store (acctually called "Your Local Computer Store" lol) which built my custom computer about 2 years ago and did a great job. They said if i bought all the hardward and stuff that they would install it for about $100. So they shouldn't have any problems if i get this for them to install?

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - Operating Systems

Also, If i do get like a sub-100gb sata drive, will i still be able to use my 250gb drive that is IDE? Of course the sata drive would be for my OS and main files while the 250gb will remain my storage and where I install my software/games alone with my 750gb external drive.

*this is if i get Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards instead of the MSI i posted before
 
it isn't hard to do yourself, but if you'd rather have them do it, and if they'll put everything together and install an os for 100 bucks, i'd go for it. that's a real good price for what they'd be doing. and to the other question, yeah you could keep the 250, but i would recommend getting a good sized sata drive, and just use it and use your external for backups
 
it isn't hard to do yourself, but if you'd rather have them do it, and if they'll put everything together and install an os for 100 bucks, i'd go for it. that's a real good price for what they'd be doing. and to the other question, yeah you could keep the 250, but i would recommend getting a good sized sata drive, and just use it and use your external for backups

Well with the added $100 for vista and $100 for install, my budget is starting to get tighter and tighter. As is i'm sitting at around $700 including everything + install. The way I see it is that when i get these upgrades, am I really gonna care about how much faster my data is being read when it's already going much faster with the duel core amd and 4gb of ram, etc etc.

Let me also give a complete update on what my list looks like now:

Motherboard: Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Video Card: Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Memory: Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
OS: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - Operating Systems
CPU: Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Processors - Desktops
combined with
PSU deal: Newegg.com - Rosewill RX750-S-B 750W ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91 SLI 8800GTX SLI CrossFire Ready Active PFC PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

as is - total comes out to $607.74 with shipping.
 
So are you saying, get this mobo instead and add a 2nd 4850 for only $15 more? lol I didnt do the math yet =P

no, i meant if you want you can spend 15 more and get the same mobo with xfire support. even tho itll only be second card 8x, which 'supposedly' doesnt make a whole lot of diff.
 
Ok so I'm making my final choices before I get out my debit card. I'm all set on the memory, OS, CPU, PSU, and video card. My only concern is my motherboard choice.

I just realized that the biostar mobo is for only 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16 video card. So in terms of upgradable, would this be the better option (my first choice):
Newegg.com - MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
or is there a better option for true crossfire support with 2 x16 slots? I don't really think I'll need 4 different slots at any point, but the MSI mobo is only $150. It doesnt make sense to me that a board that offers so many more pci-e 2.0 x16 slots only cost $50 more than the biostar one.

Here are my needs once more for a motherboard:
-crossfire support (both at 16x)
-IDE and SATA 3.0mb/s support
-socket AM2

Just wanted to know if there are any solid options other than the MSI since the BIOSTAR isn't xfire.

Oh and i picked out a drive for my OS. Small but it should be fine for now to at least keep vista running quick, along with a few of my most played games. Plus it's only $40 =P
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
 
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