When to Build New System

LunarMist

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Thanks. I'll see what the results are tomorrow before deciding when to build. :crnval:
 

LunarMist

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Can I assume that all of the X58 boards work fine with 24GB (6x4GB), which is a main reason for having a new system? :tounge:
 

LunarMist

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I'll save some money by buying just a simple $100 video card. :alb:
 

LunarMist

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I assume it must be Win 7, though it would be nice to dual boot with XP64. :reindeer:
 

Handruin

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I don't know if it's still sold, I assume it is not.

Products Released
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
General Availability Date
4/24/2005
Mainstream Support Retired
4/14/2009
Extended Support Retired
4/8/2014
Service Pack Retired
4/14/2009

You can find the information here.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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It can still be activated. You can obtain it through downgrade rights on Open License purchases of Windows 7 Professional and there are still OEM copies floating around the retail channels. Until the beginning of the month it was possible to exercise downgrade rights on OEM and Retail copies of Windows 7 Pro as well.

Or if you ask me really nice I'll be happy to share one or more of the dozens of XP x64 licenses I'm entitled to through my various MSDN subscriptions. You just have to tell me you're thinking of buying a computer from me first so we can maintain the fiction that it's pre-sales testing. ;)
 

LunarMist

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Hmm. Do you build serious computers, but not so extravagant as the Drueding?
 

Santilli

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Mercutio:
What do you use for a Linux box these days?
Needs HDMI output.

Thanks

Greg
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I wouldn't call a computer that has to have HDMI output a basic computer, for one thing.
I don't build "linux computers" very often any more. If I did, I'd probably use the same parts I use for any other PC. The only place where hardware is any kind of a big deal with Linux is 802.11 chipsets. Everything else either works right out of the box or just needs some tiny amount of effort to get working.
 

LunarMist

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Results were inconclusive, so I can't decide what to do in the short term.
 

LunarMist

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What is the story on new builds now? Is there anything new and exciting since Q2?
 

CougTek

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Sandy Bridge is coming soon, but it won't be the very high-end. Not much news otherwise, except for the huge decrease in price of DDR3 memory and the arrival of the GeForce 460GTX which shuffled the maintream video cards segment.

There's a new X58 moterboard from Asus with a lot of features and a very reasonable price : the X58 Sabertooth. ~200$.
 

Adcadet

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Will a Sandy Bridge but the first CPU in over 10 years that I don't overclock? I have less time to play with my computer than ever, money isn't as tight, processors are getting so fast as to make overclocking less necessary (?), it looks like Sandy Bridge will be harder to OC, and the turbo boost features of Sandybridge may take away some need to OC (?). Thoughts?
 

LunarMist

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How would the Sandstone bridge CPU compare to the i7, both at ~4GHz?
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Perhaps Q1 2011 will be nice time to build a new system, with both Sandybridge and the new Intel X25-Ms (http://www.anandtech.com/show/3965/intels-3rd-generation-x25m-ssd-specs-revealed). Are there other SSDs slated to be rolled out around Q1 2011 that will offer similar price:performance?

SSDs are funny in that the product announcement seems to coincide almost entirely with the release date. I don't see much advance publicity at all for new drives. The just show up and then there's a post on Engadget or something that says "Oh by the way Corsair released a bunch of new drives today and their specs are here."

In the case of Intel, there's a roadmap so we know roughly where they're going with things, but we don't know what we're actually going to get until we get it.

Regardless, the thing to understand about SSDs is that you're getting a staggering benefit just from having a decent one. Personally, I'm not interested in performance. Just being an SSD with a good controller is good enough performance. Hell, it's a game-changer. What I'm more interested in is higher capacity and lower price.

Overclocking is fun but it's also a pain in the butt. Core iX CPUs legitimately are fast enough that you don't need to mess around with it if you don't want to. To a certain degree they'll even do it for you. They really are that good.
 

LunarMist

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Regardless, the thing to understand about SSDs is that you're getting a staggering benefit just from having a decent one. Personally, I'm not interested in performance. Just being an SSD with a good controller is good enough performance. Hell, it's a game-changer. What I'm more interested in is higher capacity and lower price.

I experienced that staggering benefit of the X25-E almost two years ago. It is high time for a better one. :santa:
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I experienced that staggering benefit of the X25-E almost two years ago. It is high time for a better one. :santa:

It's extremely unrealistic to think you're going to get any greater subjective improvement once you've gotten the SSD thing going. I say use what you have and be happy that things are only going to get bigger and cheaper.
 

LunarMist

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Your'e probably right. Maybe I should buy a cheaper monitor and get the good CPU.
 

ddrueding

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In my experience, nothing is more important than the monitor, keyboard, and mouse (in that order). After that, any good SSD, lots'o'RAM, and a good CPU.
 

LunarMist

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I have a $7 keyboard and $25 mouse. They are just fine. :) The Wacom is far more expensive.
 

LunarMist

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The difference in cost between the two monitors is almost $1000. The specs are the same except for the built-in calibrator.
 

ddrueding

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The difference in cost between the two monitors is almost $1000. The specs are the same except for the built-in calibrator.

Yeah, not worth it. How often do you calibrate your screen? Will you be able to get the same quality display using an external calibration device?
 

LunarMist

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Yeah, not worth it. How often do you calibrate your screen? Will you be able to get the same quality display using an external calibration device?

I used to calibrate the display every few months, but have not done that since about a year ago. :( The more I read about calibration issues the more I'm thinking that the built-in type is worthwhile. The whole upgrade cost would approach $7K at this rate, and that does not include new hard drives. :eekers:
 
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