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donnato
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A better way to look at hyper threading is like its a car-pool lane on a highway. It allows for smaller, less process intensive things to quickly get though. So it doesnt really double your effective cores. Its still very good though.

I still think it's a gimmick; the operating system should be able to schedule tasks and threads more efficiently and hyperthreading seems to just an extra layer of complexity. As it is, I seldom find enough work for the four actual cores to do let alone another four virtual ones. I may be missing something, but it seems that my system runs better (and cooler) when I disable it...

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I vote buld too. :D It's a lot of fun and gives you a much better feeling about your PC. :yes:

Looks like a really solid system you're specking out. :thumbup: I think you could safely go with the Barracuda drive instead of the Constellation, I've been using the Barracudas for years and have been more than happy with the quality. It would shave $20 off the price and double your storage space. Link If you didn't know the Constellation is their enterprise line intended for servers. Big fan of Asus mobos and Corsair PSUs, and the EVGA 460 is an excellent choice. Never used a Thermaltake case, but it looks like a really nice unit.

WT

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6.Ram...Kingston HyperXBlu 4GB(2x2GB) SDRAM DDR3 1600#N82E16820104203$55.00

.

I would splurge a bit and get more RAM. 4GB is usually the bare minimum nowadays. I know you can get some "value" RAM (GSkill and some Kingston come to mind) at 2x4GB for a little more in cost.

EDIT: I see that MoBo has 4 memory slots, so you might be able to find some 4x2GBs for cheaper than 2x4GBs.

Edited by jaggedbubbles
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Thanks Wind...comming from you I now feel much more comfortable in my choices. :pints: JB...I`m running out of $$ here and don`t even have enough for a monitor so with Ram being so easy to add I v gone just with the minimum for now...oh yeah then there`s the sound card and OS....Can`t wait to start building...I wonder if I can drive up to newegg and just pick up my stuff...only about 30-40 miles away.

Edited by donnato
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I've built two computers myself (with all the upgrades they should probably count as six. :shrug: ), but I bought my current one from a firm that assembles them to order.

I had an interesting problem with the last upgrade I did myself, I replaced the motherboard and CPU, after reassembling the basic components, I started the computer for the first time. Well I tried to, all I got was a beep code, which was translated by the manual into a message about wrong CPU speeds. Since I had never been in the BIOS, I knew that could not be. After a weekend of trials and frustration, I brought the computer to the shop where I did buy all my hardware at that time. It took them several days to figure it out, which made me feel a little bit less stupid. They even tried to build the same computer with the same hardware from their stock to eliminate all chance of a faulty part. The problem was that the RAM-modules were incompatible with the motherboard, even though type, speed and everything were according to specification, that motherboard had been tested by ASUS with only a few specific RAM-modules and it didn't work with most standard RAM. So you should download the manual from the ASUS-homepage and check if the RAM you're planning to buy is on the compatibility list in the manual. Here's the download page for the P8P67 LE: http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=TzGzLFtd2HBF7vc5 Nowadays they even indicate part numbers and in some case even chip numbers of compatible RAM.

Concerning the case, I've got the Thermaltake Shark and I have to say that I'm very impressed by the finishing. It's well thought through, especially those little details like the way drives are mounted and the most important thing: no sharp edges inside the case.

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I wonder if I can drive up to newegg and just pick up my stuff...only about 30-40 miles away.

Newegg doesn't have walk-in service unfortunately. I only live about 20 miles from them myself and it would have been nice a few times. I usually get stuff I need right away from mwave.com instead because they do have walk-in pickup once you've ordered it on the net.

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I've built two computers myself (with all the upgrades they should probably count as six. :shrug: ), but I bought my current one from a firm that assembles them to order.

I had an interesting problem with the last upgrade I did myself, I replaced the motherboard and CPU, after reassembling the basic components, I started the computer for the first time. Well I tried to, all I got was a beep code, which was translated by the manual into a message about wrong CPU speeds. Since I had never been in the BIOS, I knew that could not be. After a weekend of trials and frustration, I brought the computer to the shop where I did buy all my hardware at that time. It took them several days to figure it out, which made me feel a little bit less stupid. They even tried to build the same computer with the same hardware from their stock to eliminate all chance of a faulty part. The problem was that the RAM-modules were incompatible with the motherboard, even though type, speed and everything were according to specification, that motherboard had been tested by ASUS with only a few specific RAM-modules and it didn't work with most standard RAM. So you should download the manual from the ASUS-homepage and check if the RAM you're planning to buy is on the compatibility list in the manual. Here's the download page for the P8P67 LE: http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=TzGzLFtd2HBF7vc5 Nowadays they even indicate part numbers and in some case even chip numbers of compatible RAM.

Concerning the case, I've got the Thermaltake Shark and I have to say that I'm very impressed by the finishing. It's well thought through, especially those little details like the way drives are mounted and the most important thing: no sharp edges inside the case.

Thank you very much. I`ll absolutely check that manual. This is one of those things I`d have never thought would be an issue.Yup I can`t wait to actually lay hands on the case. I`ve been looking around to see if there were areas I could trim some fat but I want a case that will last through future upgrades/rebuilds. Thermaltake is aname I`ve seen around for a long time. It just looks very well designed and for the price I`ll be sticking with it.

Arthmoor, thanks again. I`ll check that site...I gess it`s ok about newegg...I`d have to bribe a friend to go there anyways. There`s also fry`s Electronics but I`m not finding any great deals there. Last time I ordered from newegg I as shocked when my order came the next day even though I paid no extra.

Edited by donnato
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I still think it's a gimmick; the operating system should be able to schedule tasks and threads more efficiently and hyperthreading seems to just an extra layer of complexity. As it is, I seldom find enough work for the four actual cores to do let alone another four virtual ones. I may be missing something, but it seems that my system runs better (and cooler) when I disable it...

Put it this way.

You may not really NEED a quad core. But from everything ive heard, once you have one, you never look back.

As for Hyper threading. It may be a gimmick, but I would put money on a single hyper threaded core outperforming a dual core for every-day use, simply because most programs we use are not coded for multi-core use, meaning that extra thread in the single core will be put to great use.

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Umm I think I may have mentioned this but I`ve forgotten to add a sound card...A: Is it necessary...B: is it desireable...C: considering my build...do you have any suggestions?? Thanks. :cookie4u:

Edited by donnato
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Just to throw a wrench into the works here.... How about this processor?

For sound card, you want something that is hardware accelerated. Since you are going to be using win7.... it will require some third party software to function as you want it to. (with vista, MS removed support for direct sound, rendering you nice, expensive, hardware accelerated sound card, to no better than an onboard chip...) Creative is the most common card, and also have Alchemy, which makes the cards do the right tricks.

I am using an old Audigy 2..... and it works just fine. I got if for 25 bucks off of amazon.... :D

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I wouldnt bother buying a sound card. If the most you do is playing games, watch movies and listen to music, you wont notice the difference onboard audio vs soundcard. You can always buy one later if youre not satisfied. Use that money on a monitor or memory instead.

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The ONLY reason to get a sound card now days is if you are having CPU bottleneck because of sound processing. The only good a stand-alone card would do is remove the strain of sound processing off the CPU.

However, most motherboards will have their own sound-chip which do well on their own, and with a set-up like you are getting, it would hardly be noticeable.

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Just to throw a wrench into the works here.... How about this processor?

For sound card, you want something that is hardware accelerated. Since you are going to be using win7.... it will require some third party software to function as you want it to. (with vista, MS removed support for direct sound, rendering you nice, expensive, hardware accelerated sound card, to no better than an onboard chip...) Creative is the most common card, and also have Alchemy, which makes the cards do the right tricks.

I am using an old Audigy 2..... and it works just fine. I got if for 25 bucks off of amazon.... :D

Thanks HY...I`d originally opted for the Phenom II X4 965 black edition...then my current config was suggested and when I looked I realized that with my cpu/mobo choice I could get reasonable performance and with the 1155 socket...upgrade to i5/i7 later in like a year or so.

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Arthmoor, thanks again. I`ll check that site...I gess it`s ok about newegg...I`d have to bribe a friend to go there anyways. There`s also fry`s Electronics but I`m not finding any great deals there. Last time I ordered from newegg I as shocked when my order came the next day even though I paid no extra.

Yeah, Fry's is fine if you can't find something online. Their in-store deals are sometimes rather shocking. Their website though is trash, you can't really judge them by what you see there. Both of the ones I know of in SoCal are farther away than mwave is though so I usually don't bother unless I'm looking for cheaper stuff and don't want to pay processing fees.

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Ok...thought of another question...do you think I`ll need a better heatsink/cooler? I`m having trouble finding out if the cpu comes with one or not. I have pretty much figured that I won`t need liquid cooling...at least for now. The case I`ve chosen is equipped for it so we`ll see how this runs first.

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Link to the processor you are considering?

Going with a meaner heatsink/fan than what comes stock is never a bad plan. There is no such thing as "over-cooling" your CPU. (well, unless you get it to absolute zero, in which case, it wouldn't work in any event.....)

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Link to the processor you are considering?

Going with a meaner heatsink/fan than what comes stock is never a bad plan. There is no such thing as "over-cooling" your CPU. (well, unless you get it to absolute zero, in which case, it wouldn't work in any event.....)

Here ya go HY...LINKY

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Heat sink and fan show as included with that processor. (it's on the details tab, towards the bottom.)

If you are going to run stock speeds, the included heatsink and fan will be fine, if you plan on overclocking, grab a meaner one, also, in either case, invest in some GOOD thermal paste. (I used OCZ FreeZe....)

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Heat sink and fan show as included with that processor. (it's on the details tab, towards the bottom.)

If you are going to run stock speeds, the included heatsink and fan will be fine, if you plan on overclocking, grab a meaner one, also, in either case, invest in some GOOD thermal paste. (I used OCZ FreeZe....)

Thank you HY. I see it now...and again...yup good thermal paste. Now I`m wondering about any other odds and ends I may want to have on hand for the build. Otherwise I think it`s time to light the fires and get this party started...:D

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