dual chip processors worht it?

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Why do I want a bigger hard drive if 80 gigs is plenty of space. I'm looking to mainly optimize the speed of the apps I'm running

[/ QUOTE ]

Then get a raptor (150GB faster than the 75) or a gigabyte I-ram (overkill)

[ssmallz]

I doubt I'll be doing much expanding. I need enough USBs to hook up a mouse, keyboard, 2 monitors, and an occasional ipod. I don't plan on overclocking so it looks like I'll prolly go w/the 4200+ and the ASUS A8N5X motherboard. I found a 74g Raptor hard drive for $100 which is definatly affordable and prolly worth the price. I think I can find a decent video card taht can power 2 monitors w/out much problem and the sound card shouldn't be much of a problem either. Anything else I need?

[Nomad84]

FWIW, I have a 3800+ and I love it. I haven't compared it with the other X2 chips or even a good single core, but it's nice to be able to run a ton of programs and not see any hit to the usability. I can easily datamine 40 tables on 1 XP user account (while not importing those hands until later) and have two or three different poker sites running on my main user account with several tables up, PT auto-importing every minute, PAHUD running, music playing, several Firefox windows open, etc. Even when doing all of that, it is rare that I experience any noticible delays. Even when I do, it's usually when I've been datamining for 2 or 3 days without rebooting. It's also nice that I can import 20k hands or more datamined hands without impacting what I am working on. I guess you've already decided on a dual core processor though, so maybe there wasn't much point to this part of my post.

The only other thing I wanted to add was a case recommendation. I got the Antec Sonata II, and I love it. It was pretty easy to work with and the quality was top-notch. I like the look of it too. Most importantly, though, it's super quiet. I keep it running more often than not, and it is sitting about three feet from my head when I'm on the couch watching TV. I never notice it unless I'm specifically listening for it with the TV off, and that's on the back side of the case, which is louder than the front.

[ssmallz]

Looks good. The reviewer said something about problems w/overheating due to lack of fan power or something to that extent. Do you have this problem?

[MrMoo]

Your question is very broad and difficult to answer. With what you've provided, Dave has answered great. I'd trust his advice.

You're probably better off suggesting an amount you'd like to spend. Once you've posted that, people can mix and match components to get you the best bank for your buck.

[ssmallz]

I think Dave has given me a great start and I've been doing some more research on the issues. I'd like to spend under 1k on the system and I think its very possible

X2 4200+ - 352
ASUS A8R MVP - 97
Raptor 10k HD - 99 after rebate

Total = 552

The rest is the easy stuff to fill in

2 512 DDR ram

I think I'm going to go with the Sonanta case that Nomad recommended, a cordless mouse/keyboard combo, cheap video card, just needs to be handle the 1600x1200 res. I'm sure I've got a spare pair of speakers I can hook up so all is good. Should be good enough to handle my poker programs for years to come.

What do you guys all think

[Terry]

Excellent choices. You have done your homework and it shows.

If only those guys in the "help me choose a Dell" threads were as willing to take expert advice as you are.

[ssmallz]

X2 4200+ - 362
ASUS A8R-MVP - 87
Antec Sonata 2 case - 100
Corsair Value ram 1g - 78
Geforce fx5500 128mb ddr video card - 62
Raptor 10k rpm 74g hard drive - 100

Final price ~$850 including shipping and handling, can't beat that price and the performance should kick a$$.

[Nomad84]

[ QUOTE ]
Looks good. The reviewer said something about problems w/overheating due to lack of fan power or something to that extent. Do you have this problem?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've had no overheating problems, but I haven't been monitoring my actual temperatures. I tried to install MotherboardMonitor when I first built the computer, but I couldn't find my mobo in it's list and I never bothered to try to sort it out and make it work. I am using the Asus A8N-SLI Premium mobo. It doesn't have a chipset fan, so that also helps with the noise, I guess, but I don't have any real reference to compare it to. As far as overheating goes, I'm pretty sure there are people that overclock with the factory heatsink and fan, but mine is not OCed. I wouldn't mind trying a mild OC later though.

Regarding video cards: When I built my computer, I pretty much just went with one of the cheapest DVI+VGA PCI-express x16 video cards since I was just planning to run 2 CRTs for a while. I ran into a problem when I figured out that there are different types of DVI. I had DVI-D, which cannot be converted for use with a CRT monitor. If you won't be running a CRT, then this won't apply to you, but I just wanted to give you a heads-up. I am constrained to 1 CRT right now, even though I have a spare in my closet. For converting DVI to VGA, you need a DVI-I port. If it doesn't say in the description, you may be able to tell from the pics, but this isn't 100% reliable. The pics can confirm that it is DVI-D, but they can't show for sure that it is DVI-I. Apparently, some manufacturers use DVI-I connectors but only have DVI-D support. The opposite is not true. You can google for a site that has pics of both connectors, but basically, DVI-I will have holes above and below the long flat hole, and DVI-D will not.