New Build advice needed

[cliffhucker]

I am building a system for a friend.
Money is not an issue but I do not want to over build it.

He will be using it for CAD, photo editing, movies etc. and his construction business. He says he wants a "race car" so I will overclock whatever I build.

I am thinking of building it around a Q6600 Kentsfield using a ASUS P5B mobo

Does this sound like a good start?


Memory:
I will be using XP Pro 32 (he has a retail disc in the wrapper already), so , Is it senseless to install more than 3GB of ram, or can XP Pro SP3 32bit utilize 4GB now?
I was thinking of using G.SKILL , or Corsair; at least 2x1GB and most likely another 1GB stick if not another pair (2GB) of 1GB sticks.
Should I use something faster than 6400?


Hard drive setup:
I was thinking of something fast for the OS and programs (80GB) and something big for storage and backup (320GB). ?? set up in a RAID array?

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W

Case:
Antec P182
or,
Centurion 5

Video Card:
maybe, GeForce 8600GT


TIA for any advice/suggestions.

 

[jantar]

P965 chipset is kind of outdated now; you could buy something newer, for example this board:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

or other with P35 chipset. Or even newer with X38 chipset but they are more expensive.

Ram is cheap so (especially for CAD) I would get 2 x 2GB. ( Xp 32bit can use 3.5GB of it)

And a better video card: 9600gt, 8800gt 512, or 8800gts 512.

 

[tehdigit]

if money is truly not an issue you should be helpin your friend future proof. all you are building him right now is a satisfactory rig. build him one that will be able to handle **** down the line. thats my opinion n that u prolly shouldnt be overclocking to much if this is a computer you want to use for a while. especially when money isnt an issue and you could get **** that doesnt need overclocked.

 

[jantar]

I forgot about a hard drive, for example:

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

 

[cliffhucker]

thanks for the replies.

I did not know anyone had replied??? I am subscribed for instant email notification but have not received a single email??

So is that a good choice for processor?

And if I go with the Giga mother board you suggested what would be a good speed RAM to get? 1066 or stay with 800 and don't OC it?

And why put 4 GB of memory in if only 3 will be utilized?
is there any benefits other than using it in the future if the OS is changed to XP 64 or Vista?

And would it not be better to have 2 hard drives and ghost the primary to the second HDD for back-up in case of crash?



thanks again for the replies.

 

[maroon1]

Newegg.com - XFX PVT88SFDFU GeForce 8800 GS 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[Redmo0n]

64 bit OS will recognize 4 gig of ram.

Get that if you want to use 4gig+

 

[jantar]

thanks for the replies.

I did not know anyone had replied??? I am subscribed for instant email notification but have not received a single email??

1. So is that a good choice for processor?

2. And if I go with the Giga mother board you suggested what would be a good speed RAM to get? 1066 or stay with 800 and don't OC it?

3. And why put 4 GB of memory in if only 3 will be utilized?
is there any benefits other than using it in the future if the OS is changed to XP 64 or Vista?

4. And would it not be better to have 2 hard drives and ghost the primary to the second HDD for back-up in case of crash?



thanks again for the replies.

1. Yes

2. The ds3L board doesn't have raid; if you need it get a ds3r or other instead. 800 mhz ram is enough, just buy a good brand

3. not 3 but 3.5 and CAD programs like to use much memory and you have free slots to upgrade in the future

4. Yes, you could buy two (the same) hard drives and put therm in raid 1 for backup

 

[cliffhucker]

1. Yes

2. The ds3L board doesn't have raid; if you need it get a ds3r or other instead. 800 mhz ram is enough, just buy a good brand

3. not 3 but 3.5 and CAD programs like to use much memory and you have free slots to upgrade in the future

4. Yes, you could buy two (the same) hard drives and put therm in raid 1 for backup

Thanks, sounds like some solid advice.

I will have to figure out how I want to go with the hard-drive set up; if I should run them in a RAID or not, I do not ]have that much knowledge in different options for backing up OS installs and data.


Why do I don't get email notifications?

 

[Prototype]

1. Yes

2. The ds3L board doesn't have raid; if you need it get a ds3r or other instead. 800 mhz ram is enough, just buy a good brand

3. not 3 but 3.5 and CAD programs like to use much memory and you have free slots to upgrade in the future

4. Yes, you could buy two (the same) hard drives and put therm in raid 1 for backup

i heard that u need to subtract 3.5GB with the memory of the GPU and thats how much RAM will be used

cliff try check in ur USER CP -> Options