New to Computer Building

[Vitaminx]

Should I get this instead of the E6750?

Intel BX80570E3110 Xeon E3110 3.00GHz 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 Cache LGA775 Retail
http://www.excaliberpc.com/Intel_BX..._3.00GHz/BX80570E3110/partinfo-id-584805.html

 

[worshipme]

No, the Xeon line is for servers. Their L2 Cache is optimized for handling databases etc.

 

[Vitaminx]

If I have a XP Professional lying around my house, but have already installed it on a laptop. Can I still install it in another system as long as I have the code or w/e its called. If I can't install it, I suppose I'll get xp home edition 32 bit or vista 32 bit (been hearing 64 bit has problems and 32 bit is more stable).

 

[worshipme]

You will need to buy a new key to install XP on your new build if it's an OEM version which it most definitely is.

I seriously recommend 64 bit if you're getting 4GB of RAM. I am running 64 bit and have had zero issues and a lot of other people on this forum are running Vista 64 and they would back me up.

 

[Vitaminx]

Should I be running 4 gb's of ram? At the moment I only have 2 gb's planned.

 

[worshipme]

You may need to upgrade in the future, where having a 64 bit OS will come in handy. It will make your system much more future-proof.

 

[Vitaminx]

I should be fine on vista 32 bit with 2 gb's of 800mhz ram right? That is, if i decide to pick up vista. Still hearing there are a good amount of problems with it so I'm not sure yet. And also say I want to run 4 gb's of ram. I can do either the 2x 2gb sticks of ram or 4x 1gb sticks of ram correct? No difference I'd imagine

 

[worshipme]

OK, get 32 bit if you want to. But I assure you that Vista is a good OS, I have had no problems at all and I'm very happy with it.

2x2GB or 4x1GB. The advantages of 2x2GB are that you will have room to upgrade in the future and ummm... well that's about it. And by the time you will need more than 4GB, you will need to buy a new system. The advantages of 4x1GB are tha it's a lot less expensive and I have not yet seen 2x2GB modules available with CAS 4 latencies (4-4-4-12) so I'd say get 4x1 if you're going to be getting 4GB.

 

[Vitaminx]

Alright. Cool. Think I'm almost set. I changed my hard drive to a Western Digital 320 GB, so I'm saving some good money there. Overall total build without the keyboard, mouse and operating system costs $1,095. Pretty good right for those parts? By the way worshipme, do you ever get lag spikes or choppy game play since you have vista. I assume you don't but I had to ask. Whats 3DMark06 score mean by the way?

 

[worshipme]

No, I never have any trouble in games, apart from Crysis, but nobody can run Crysis smoothly but that depends on the hardware and not the OS.

3DMark06 is a benchmarking tool used to determine how well a system will perform in games. You can download and run it for free from Futuremark's website: http://www.futuremark.com/download/3dmark06/