Building a computer for Linux/Windows & Gaming

[Aziz]

I posted around a bit over the past week and got some suggestions about a computer I plan to build in January-February, and was told to check out these forums. I read the article on the 9800GT, which is what made me choose it.

Original post:

Hey dudes, I'm planing on building a new desktop soon. I've only owned laptops for the past 4 years, and I'm looking to build myself a good desktop for gaming, development and other stuff.

So I'm looking for an open suggestion on what kind of hardware I should put in it. I'm going to be running Windows (Vista, likely), and Linux for sure, either Ubuntu, Arch, or something else.

What I want is good hardware that is *really* compatible. Compatibility is more important than performance for me.

So, my requirements/guidelines:

- Powerful hardware, including (especially) video card with dual-outs. I'd like something that will have good linux driver support. My current Radeon HD 2600 doesn't fair so well.
- Large disk space, for 2-3 operating systems, school work, projects, and of course, games
- Both ethernet & wireless card
- Only 1 optical drive, probably a dvd-rw, as I don't use it much
- Decent sound card, but again, driver compatability

So I'm thinking I'll probably go with the whatever the current mid-high range CPU is at the time, a decent Nvidia card with proven driver support (my previous experience with ATI hasn't been pleasurable), and either 1 or 2 500GB drives. I'll be running 2 20" monitors soon (currently only have one), so dual-head support is needed.

My current laptop is Atheros wifi, which I have been happy with, so I'll probably go with that. I really don't know two much about sound cards, or optical drives, and I'm not sure whether to go 32 or 64 bit, as the details of each still confuse me. One more thing, motherboards, I really don't know what's out there and how it's going to affect me as a dual-os gamer/developer.

Let the discussion begin, and my thanks!

You can see a detailed post at http://blog.aaziz.org/the-not-so-ult...gaming-machine, but here's a rundown:

Motherboard $122
ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU $206
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200
(Fan $38) Rosewill RCX-Z2 7 blades 80mm reverse ball bearing fan CPU Cooler - Retail

Power Supply $100
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply

Memory $108
OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2G10664GK

HDD $138
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Optical Drive $29
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30

Video $150
MSI N9800GT 512M OC GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Total: $795 (depending on the price of the Canadian dollar)

I originally had a second OS, but I thought it was unnecessary, and I had an E7200 for the CPU. I'm open to suggestions on parts (and where to buy them, too, keep in mind I'm in Canada).

Thanks

[LinuxID10T]

I posted around a bit over the past week and got some suggestions about a computer I plan to build in January-February, and was told to check out these forums. I read the article on the 9800GT, which is what made me choose it.

Original post:



You can see a detailed post at http://blog.aaziz.org/the-not-so-ult...gaming-machine, but here's a rundown:

Motherboard $122
ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU $206
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200
(Fan $38) Rosewill RCX-Z2 7 blades 80mm reverse ball bearing fan CPU Cooler - Retail

Power Supply $100
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply

Memory $108
OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2G10664GK

HDD $138
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Optical Drive $29
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30

Video $150
MSI N9800GT 512M OC GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Total: $795 (depending on the price of the Canadian dollar)

I originally had a second OS, but I thought it was unnecessary, and I had an E7200 for the CPU. I'm open to suggestions on parts (and where to buy them, too, keep in mind I'm in Canada).

Thanks

That is way too much on the video, the card costs $110 on Newegg. You can also get an E7300 on newegg for $119. I am also willing to say you could get a $50 500 watt power supply instead.