Hi

I'm thinking of buying the following PC from www.nsysonline.co.uk:

• Case: Case Style 21
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 1333FSB
• Processor Cooling: ASUS Triton 77 Quiet
• DDR3 Memory [RAM]: 8GB Corsair Twin3X 1333 [4 x2GB]
• Motherboard: ASUS P5E64 WS Pro 1600FSB X38
• Operating System: Microsoft Vista Home Premium 64-Bit
• Hard Drive 1: 750GB High Speed SATAII 16MB Buffer
• Hard Drive 2: 750GB High Speed SATAII 16MB Buffer
• RAID Options: Raid 1
• Optical Drive 1: CD/DVD Rom Drive
• Optical Drive 2: DVD/CD Writer 20x Lightscibe
• Graphic Card 1: 512MB GeF 8600GT Silent HDCP SLI
• Graphic Card 2: 512MB GeF 8600GT Silent HDCP SLI
• Sound Card: ASUS Integrated 8 Channel HD
• Floppy/Card Reader: Advanced Card Reader
• Power Supply: Antec Neopower 650W
• Keyboard & Mouse: Style 3
• Speakers: Logitech 2.0 Speakers
• Warranty: 12m Return to Base
• Monitor: Iiyama ProLite B2403WS-1 (Sourced separately)

It will be used for business and light gaming.

Any comments on the spec would be gratefully received.

Many thanks

Sure seems like overkill for a busines machine. What programs are you gonna run that will require 8GB RAM? And why are you getting an SLi configuration for "light gaming"? There are plenty of single cards that will beat two 8600GT's.

I'm also not sure you want to gop with a PSU with multiple +12V rails. This has been noted in this forum a few times that a good single +12V rail might be better in most cases if it has the right amount of amps. You can read about this on PC power and cooling's website. I'm not saying that the Antec NeoPower 650 is a bad PSU, however.

Thats certainly got the WOW factor! That company is well known in the film industry I work in, so I have no doubt about the components, build or service side, but whether the spec you have chosen is right for you depends on the work you are involved in.

Gaming. My brother is into gaming and uses one of those cards and it seems damn good to me, but what 'jam' says is spot on, that card is very much middle of the road when it comes to gaming. Is the SLi really going to be used (???) or do you have other reasons for two cards such as running two or more monitors? that being the case, then it would make sense; but you only mention one monitor.....

You have also chosen silent cards, is noise a deciding factor?

The RAM and Processor suggest someone in the film business too(?); its not a CAD machine as that would demand a professional graphics card like the Quadro or FireGL cards available on other machines they do (see this custom computer)so if you wanted one on that PC I suppose you'd just need to ask.

That PSU is damn good, got one at home (so biased!) Its quiet and whilst I take on board the multi rail aspect, its really a non entity. A good article about it all can be found here http://jonnyguru.com/forums/showthr...

If you're not into graphics in some form or another, then 8GB is overkill and 4GB would be better, saving you money now but allowing an upgrade route when standard applications can exploit it and DDR3 is sensibly priced!

Conclusion - just jealous, I want one.

Animation, the next step on the evolutionary ladder

Thanks to all of your replies. Yes, I did forget to mention that I will have two monitors. My existing one is an Iiyama Prolite E481S.

Has anybody had any problems running two monitors?

About the 8GB RAM, I guess I'm trying to future-proof to a certain degree but I also want to give Vista and other software as much "breathing space" as I can. My current system is sooo slow.... Perhaps overkill, but what the heck!

Will the two graphics cards run decent games?

Has anyone had problems with Vista Home Premium?

What do people think about Microsoft Liveone Care?

Many thanks folks.

Two monitors - that makes more sense then.

Personally I would reduce the RAM to 4GB and with the savings go for two 8800GT cards. Your gaming experience will be a lot better, noisier but better. Dont get me wrong, 8600GT cards are good for games, but you cant SLi them if using Multi Monitors so having two wont be any faster, just better quality on two monitors (and not all games support multi mon setups so they would only work on one screen). Saying that, a £2k gaming rig cant play Crysis on max resolutions either so dont be disheartened!

In 6 months when DDR3 is flooding the market, buy the other 4Gb for £40!

I have two monitors on mine and two graphics cards - initially I tried one card but the resolution dropped to much. As for setting it up, really easy. In my case I use the nvid control panel. So long as you can tick a box you wont have a prob, but be patient as it may need a bit of tweaking to get it just how you like it. There are third party apps which are really good too, but i dont think you need them.

Vista Home Premium 64 bit - you're a braver man than me! There are bound to be software issues with such a new motherboard, DDR3 and Vista. I wouldnt want to make such a machine. I'm an XP Pro follower and 32 bit until it sorts itself out. To many bad stories about Vista. Apparently Service Pack 1 is due out or is out and if like XP, that made a big difference.

I'd say the main concern is 64 bit since most apps are 32 bit and that means RAM will max out at 2Gb because of the emulation mode Vista will adopt. There is also better driver support for 32 bit software.

That machine is 64 bit ready, you could have Vista 32 bit and go to 64 bit when its more stable, especially if using for work?

I'm trialing One Care its really very good now; first release wasnt much cop but the new one really is - with XP - it must have better Vista Compatability too being that its from its own stable! I've tried so many makes now and this thing keeps it simple and is less invasive than any others, and believe me i've tried a lot! You can always trial it too.

It doesnt have all the flashy bits and I read an article saying that Microsoft have to test the patches far more than other companys in case they are sued! so less likely to cock machine up.

Animation, the next step on the evolutionary ladder

Hi

Many thanks indeed for such a comprehensive reply - much appreciated.

I'm going to have a conversation with the supplier on Monday about reducing the spec to 2GB RAM and XP Pro 32 bit. I don't think I want the hassle that 64 bit Vista might give.

All the best and thanks again.

Anytime - I know i'd sleep better with that spec - and youve got a good upgrade path for the future :)

At least you can configure it beforehand to determine the cost and to ensure you're within budget.

custom pc

Let us know how you get on with it.

Animation, the next step on the evolutionary ladder