The old machine is dying (4+yrs), and I'm looking for help to spec my new box (my first truly homebuilt).
COMPUTER USE:
- Heavy development box (long C++ compiles)
- Limited gaming (not much)
- Some video (not much)
- Lots of pixels (will be driving Dell 3007WFP at 2560x1600)
- Probably XP (currently Win2K, would consider Vista, maybe MacOS)
- No plans for overclocking
- Don't need SLI (e.g., 2xGeForce 8800), but I suppose in a couple years if the second card is cheap I might throw it in there)
I'd like to "future-proof" the box as much as possible (the wife said "yes" THIS time, but no guarantee on next time.) In today's terms, I've concluded "future-proofing" means:
CURRENT SPEC:
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (maybe E6700)
- GeForce 8800 GTX (w/DIVX 10)
- 2xGB DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel (?brand)
- WD Raptor 150GB Serial ATA150 (10,000 RPM 16 MB cache)
- Sans Digital MS2UT External RAID (w/pair of Raptor 150GB 10,000RPM, interface to mobo w/eSATA, RAID 1, hosting all development files)
I'd *prefer* as small a box as possible (SFF would be neat), but with the GeForce 8800 GTX at almost 11", I know I need a case to hold it. Since I'm relying on an external RAID, this box only needs to hold ONE hard drive and the graphics card (ok, and an optical drive too). What's the smallest mobo/case I can use? Specifically:
NEED HELP:
- ? GOOD motherboard (Asus, Intel, NVidia, etc.): Want SPEED and RELIABILITY (prefer higher bus rates, don't care much about features because won't run internal RAID, etc.)
- ? GOOD case (will go to full tower if needed to keep things cool, thinking about the CM Stacker 830 or 832, maybe an Antec)
- ? GOOD power supply (for system stability I'm willing to invest in an over-powered unit)
- ? Extra fans, temp sensors, etc. (probably dependent on mobo/case combo)
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- I've read a lot on the latency/clocking tradeoffs for DDR2 SDRAM on this processor, and it's not clear to me if I need to get high-end memory or not (if I'm not overclocking, do I need Mushkin Redline XP2-800?)
In short, I'm ready to invest in quality parts if they make a difference. I'd prefer small, but I'd go to a full-size case with six-to-nine fans if that's really what's needed to get stability and long life out of the graphics card and processor. (Of course, quiet is preferred, I like the idea of more-and-bigger fans running at lower RPMs.)
Any suggestions would be *greatly* appreciated (as I said, this is my first real "homebuilt", and I want the parts to actually *fit* *together*). ;-))
COMPUTER USE:
- Heavy development box (long C++ compiles)
- Limited gaming (not much)
- Some video (not much)
- Lots of pixels (will be driving Dell 3007WFP at 2560x1600)
- Probably XP (currently Win2K, would consider Vista, maybe MacOS)
- No plans for overclocking
- Don't need SLI (e.g., 2xGeForce 8800), but I suppose in a couple years if the second card is cheap I might throw it in there)
I'd like to "future-proof" the box as much as possible (the wife said "yes" THIS time, but no guarantee on next time.) In today's terms, I've concluded "future-proofing" means:
CURRENT SPEC:
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (maybe E6700)
- GeForce 8800 GTX (w/DIVX 10)
- 2xGB DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel (?brand)
- WD Raptor 150GB Serial ATA150 (10,000 RPM 16 MB cache)
- Sans Digital MS2UT External RAID (w/pair of Raptor 150GB 10,000RPM, interface to mobo w/eSATA, RAID 1, hosting all development files)
I'd *prefer* as small a box as possible (SFF would be neat), but with the GeForce 8800 GTX at almost 11", I know I need a case to hold it. Since I'm relying on an external RAID, this box only needs to hold ONE hard drive and the graphics card (ok, and an optical drive too). What's the smallest mobo/case I can use? Specifically:
NEED HELP:
- ? GOOD motherboard (Asus, Intel, NVidia, etc.): Want SPEED and RELIABILITY (prefer higher bus rates, don't care much about features because won't run internal RAID, etc.)
- ? GOOD case (will go to full tower if needed to keep things cool, thinking about the CM Stacker 830 or 832, maybe an Antec)
- ? GOOD power supply (for system stability I'm willing to invest in an over-powered unit)
- ? Extra fans, temp sensors, etc. (probably dependent on mobo/case combo)
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- I've read a lot on the latency/clocking tradeoffs for DDR2 SDRAM on this processor, and it's not clear to me if I need to get high-end memory or not (if I'm not overclocking, do I need Mushkin Redline XP2-800?)
In short, I'm ready to invest in quality parts if they make a difference. I'd prefer small, but I'd go to a full-size case with six-to-nine fans if that's really what's needed to get stability and long life out of the graphics card and processor. (Of course, quiet is preferred, I like the idea of more-and-bigger fans running at lower RPMs.)
Any suggestions would be *greatly* appreciated (as I said, this is my first real "homebuilt", and I want the parts to actually *fit* *together*). ;-))
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