hold on to your lug nuts, it's time for an overhaul

[k0NG0]

So, it's been 6 years or so since I last upgraded and my 1.2GHz Tualeron is getting a bit long in the tooth, and the 512MB limit of the i815EP doesn't help.

I've been to and fro about AMD vs. Intel, but I'm thinking of an Intel rig currently. Mostly because the difference in price isn't that big and, well, I can afford it these days. And I like the idea of a 45nm chip.

This is what I've poked together as a probable rig right now.

Asus P5E-VM HDMI
Intel Core 2 Quad 9300
4GB of Corsair PC2-6400 CL5 bog standard memory
2x Samsung F1 750GB
Antec SOLO (a black P150 with factory HDD suspension)
Corsair 450W PSU

(It's a mATX card, but I could fit a sound card and a graphics card on it if need be, I can't see myself needing expansion beyond that.) I intend on using the G35 chipset graphics since I don't game, and it will work well enough with Vista should I feel like using that. If it just blows all over the place, a cheap ATi card will be purchased, we're talking $100 tops (a 3840 or something). I have a Matrox G400 currently (8 years running) and believe me, I don't need much more.

In the coming months I will get me a monitor that will match the total cost of the rest of the system, the 24" BENQ FP241W (which in the reviews I've read runs circles around even the latest 24" Dell and any 24" Samsung).

Thoughts, other suggestions? I still intend to spend as little as possible.

[Gorganzola]

I presume you intend on running a 64-bit OS with that setup.

How is the hardware compatibility with that hardware and Linux?

[ctal]

Hi kONGO -- My only comment concerns the monitor. Are you sure it's still available? Based on a quick look it seems to me that it might not be. What seems to be available is the T241W, which while pretty good for the money according to the user comments at NewEgg, I suspect uses TN panel technology. Which means higher speed, reduced ghosting, and lower cost, but inferior color rendition and very inferior range of vertical viewing angle, compared to PVA or similar types.

Since you are not a gamer, and since it will be a largish panel (meaning you'll be looking at it from a variety of angles, even if your eyes are positioned optimally), and you are willing to pay the price for a top quality monitor, my suggestion would be that you ascertain the panel technology that is used (which isn't always easy to do), and try to avoid TN types.

Good luck with the build!
-- Al

[Gorganzola]

I have to agree, I have the Dell 2407FPW and it has the S-PVA panel in it. The colours are great and watching movies is never an issue. The panel is plenty fast for it. I don't game either, so I don't have a basis for comparison there. I had to turn down the brightness on the panel though. It was considerably brighter than the 1905FP's that I have. StarTraveller has the 2408FPW and has no complaints about it. Bajo upgraded his 2407FPW to a 2408FPW, read more here: New 24" Dell 2408WFP...!. He actually uses it for gaming.

Dell 2407FPW - 12 ms (g2g) S-PVA (Samsung) panel
Dell 2408FPW - 6 ms (g2g) S-PVA (Samsung) panel

Personally, I think they are so close that for your application, I'd go with whichever has the features you like and is the best bang for the buck. The one thing that I like about the Dell is all the connectivity, not sure how it compares in that respect to the Samsung.

Originally Posted by ctal

Hi kONGO -- My only comment concerns the monitor. Are you sure it's still available? Based on a quick look it seems to me that it might not be. What seems to be available is the T241W, which while pretty good for the money according to the user comments at NewEgg, I suspect uses TN panel technology. Which means higher speed, reduced ghosting, and lower cost, but inferior color rendition and very inferior range of vertical viewing angle, compared to PVA or similar types.

Since you are not a gamer, and since it will be a largish panel (meaning you'll be looking at it from a variety of angles, even if your eyes are positioned optimally), and you are willing to pay the price for a top quality monitor, my suggestion would be that you ascertain the panel technology that is used (which isn't always easy to do), and try to avoid TN types.

Good luck with the build!
-- Al

[Brian]

I can certainly vouch for the P5E-VM HDMI! I have built at least half a dozen systems with that board and have grown to love it so much that it is my new, current motherboard!

I can also vouch for the Corsair RAM (CL5 bog standard stuff) working just fine on that motherboard as well (see sig!).

[polonyc2]

I'm surprised you decided to go with a quad core...not that it isn't an awesome chip but with your needs/usage I thought you would be more inclined to get a 45nm dual core (E8400/8500)...but then again with your upgrade pattern of once every 6-8 years I guess the quad is the better option

[k0NG0]

I'm not sure if I'll go 64-bit or not. Probably, depends on how tricky it is to set up a 32-bit toolchain in 64-bit Linux. If Vista, then certainly 64-bit, at least.

About Linux, the only thing that's made me cautious is the ICH9R and RAID. Seems to be slightly tricky to get it working, I might go for a 4-port RAID card (PCIe x1) just to be sure.

I have found the FP241W at an etailer in Sweden, it's a full $150 cheaper than the Dell 24" as well. At TrustedReviews the Dell 2408WFP came pretty close to beating the Benq, so if it turns out I can't get the Benq, I'll go Dell. An S-PVA panel is a given, no TN for me. I might be looking at Eizo as well, but it's hard to find reviews of their larger panels.

(The FP241W has HDMI, DVI, VGA, component, S-video for connectivity. I'll be using HDMI, if I can stay away from D-SUB type connectors I certainly will. Lack of DisplayPort isn't a huge deal for me at this point. If it should become a problem in the future, DisplayPort-to-DVI should be a distinct possibility.)

[k0NG0]

Originally Posted by polonyc2

I'm surprised you decided to go with a quad core...not that it isn't an awesome chip but with your needs/usage I thought you would be more inclined to get a 45nm dual core (E8400/8500)...but then again with your upgrade pattern of once every 6-8 years I guess the quad is the better option

I want to be able to build e.g. Mozilla quickly, more cores aren't a bad thing for that. But I hear you, I haven't fully decided yet. Mostly, I can't find good benchmarks for various configurations when it comes to building e.g. the Linux kernel. It's a bit of a crap shoot, but I've done it multiple times on my Tualeron and, well, I'll happily avoid 7 hour builds in favor of 1/8th of that.

But, as you say, I'll probably not be getting a new CPU in at least a couple of years after this. (If anything, I'll probably be looking at expanding the workshop with a laptop first.)

[ctal]

Another comment -- You might want to consider the WD 640AAKS drives in place of the Samsung's. Smaller cache and slightly smaller capacity, but they will most probably provide significantly faster sustained transfer rates. The Samsung's I would assume have three 250gB platters; the WD's have two more densely packed 320gB platters. They're about $25 cheaper at NewEgg, also.

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

-- Al

[k0NG0]

Originally Posted by ctal

Another comment -- You might want to consider the WD 640AAKS drives in place of the Samsung's. Smaller cache and slightly smaller capacity, but they will most probably provide significantly faster sustained transfer rates. The Samsung's I would assume have three 250gB platters; the WD's have two more densely packed 320gB platters. They're about $25 cheaper at NewEgg, also.

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

-- Al

I looked at that one first, but SPCR found some weirdness with some of the WD drives, and the F1 is slightly more quiet as well. Sustained transfer rates aren't that big a deal to me, I seldom transfer lots of large files in such a manner that I would notice a difference between the two. (Also, my WD5000KS died within a year, my Samsung P80 has been going for years and years.)

[yamawho]

I purchased a WD 640AAKS last week and just started using it yesterday to transfer over 150GB of data, very quite. Since this is the largest hdd I have at the moment, I will be using it for data transfers and as an external hdd.

I just finished installing a Asus P5N-EM HDMI and it took some tinkering to setup. The HDMI output was good for video but the sound did not work in XP. Needed to used the green output for sound. In vista I got it working but for the moment is works only in stereo ... no option for 5:1. I use this system to watch movies on my HDTV.

[Gorganzola]

Just read the reviews here commenting on the fact that the Q9300 isn't supported in the board: Asus P5E-VM HDMI w/ DualDDR2 800 ,Video, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, 1394, PCI-E x16, HDMI Customer Reviews, from 6/19/2008.

Trying to check the ASUS site for compatibility, but it's slow for me.

[Gorganzola]

Ok, it appears that the Q9300 isn't supported on this board, but the Q9450 is. I would have totally missed out on that had I not gone to that one site and read about someones experience.

So you don't have to go through the pain on the ASUS website I attached a PDF of the supported CPU's.

[SRTDodge05]

Q9300 isnt on the support list for that board as of right now. But ive seen some people running the Q9300 in that board fine.

[Gorganzola]

Ya, it's going to throw a wrench into kONGO's plans, that's for sure.

Originally Posted by SRTDodge05

Q9300 isnt on the support list for that board as of right now.