Need Hardware Advice for SLI System

[Shana]

I am building a new pc and want to make sure I am selecting the right hardware. I want the system mainly for gaming and want to install dual SLI GPU's. I also would like RAID1.

Would you all be so kind as to review my "proposed" hardware list and let me know if I am making good choices or please point me in the right direction if not.

Oh ya, one more thing ... I will ask this in another forum if this Q is not appropriate here but, I'm also looking for advice on a good Linux distribution that has an easy (non-admin type) setup and operation, as well as all of the graphics and audio programs for advanced gaming.

Thanks so much! Here's my hardware list:

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CPU: (939-pin) AMD Athlon™64 3200+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: (Sckt939)ASUS A8N-SLI nForce4 SLI Chipset SATA RAID Dual PCIE MB w/Gb-LAN, USB2.0, IEEE-1394, &7.1Audio

MEMORY: 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Kingston Hyper-X High Performance Memory w/ Heat Spreader)

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA Geforce 7300 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
VIDEO CARD 2: NVIDIA Geforce 7300 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD

HARD DRIVE: 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
Hard Drive 2: 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive

[Michael]

Seeing as this is a new build, why aren't you going with AM2 instead of Socket 939? It will also require a different motherboard and RAM (DDR2), but shouldn't be much more expensive

Instead of SLI, if you're on a budget for this build, you may see the best performance going with say a single 7600 or so. The Linux SLI performance at this time is also lacking when it comes to performance advantages.

What are the hard drive brands that you are looking at?

[Shana]

Yes, I think I will go with the AM2. I read about it awhile ago but I guess I just kinda forgot it was out there. Tunnel vision!

I guess I'll probably stick with a single video card:
NVIDIA Geforce 7600 GS 256MB PCI Express x16
or
NVIDIA Geforce 7600 GT 256MB PCI Express x16
Think one of these will do the trick?

Hard drives ... Hmmm good question! I didn't have any specific brand in mind. What are your thoughts? Is RAID1 a possibility?

[Michael]

Yes, a 7600GT or 7600GS will likely do the trick. Will you be doing much gaming or what generally will you using this system for?

Seagate manufacturers some terrific hard drives, and they also offer a 5 year warranty on the drives compared against the common 3 years.

[Shana]

Well, im hooked on Second Life so that's where I'll be hang'n out most of the time. Their "recommended" Video/Graphics Card**:

* nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better
* OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better

I guess I don't want to go rock bottom on the video just somewhere mid-range. A single video card is just fine for now - as long as linux likes it!

I'm planning on taking your advice and getting the AM2 motherbd (most likely the Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe). Probably 1G ram, a 500Watt power supply (to handle future dual SLI GPU's) and matching (Seagate sounds great!) hard drives with Raid1.

My main concern is getting the "right" hardware so I don't run into problems when installing linux.