The Ordered Spec and the Thank You's UPDATED 23/04

@ Axel, the bit-tech boys have said DDR3 wont be mainstream for another year or so if not more, I don't want two 22"s I want one 24", so I am getting th best one out there.

Again, for raid, it is software raid unless I get a card and to be honest, I don't want to do that either.

I cannot stand using razer mice, hence the G5, and I want the EVGA card due to its cooler and the step up (so I can get the ultra if it is good).

As for the ram, I may swap is for dominator, I am on a project in a hotel at the moment so there is no point ordering because I wont be at home, but I'm still getting stonkingly fast stuff that is DDR2.

@ Dimebar, I think, from what I have read on the flex XLC I may switch to some 8500 dominator, not sure at the moment, I'll see whats going down when I order it next weekend. I'll see if any of the top end stuff is on offer as well OR I'll stick with it lol

I might ask scan if they will flash the bios for me as I don't want to screw it up.

As for the Freezer 7, I'm not oc'ing yet, but I've got one on my mates comp on a EX6800 and it more than capable.

p.s. I'm sorry if I sound rude but this wasn't really a thread to change the spec just to let you know what I am getting, if you want to spend your money on different combinations that is your choice, and this is mine....apart from that ram...of course.

 

Quick note, Vista 32bit supports max 4GB of RAM, 64bit supports more.

 

I'm going for 64-bit anyway but cheers for checking

 

nice setup anyways.You cant go wrong with it if you have that much money to spend.

 

i currently have no issues with my flex9200, but i have had in the past, recent bioses are far better. also there are no problems at all flashing the bios via the floppy, you wont need scan to do it for u.

however i have also seen issues with dominators, from asus forums, but not to many on 8500's

IMHO if your not going to run high fsb, or high mem speeds, get some good ram that will do cas 3 @800-900mhz, or cas 4 @1066, which is where i run my flex at the moment.

do you need all the features on the striker motherboard, because to be honest if i was starting today, i would get a EVGA, as they have excelent support, (and ASUS in non existant) and offer a 680i solution which allows overclocking of the quad cores by means of GTL voltage options.

also although the freezer 7 is a good quiet cooler, you will at some point push the q6600 a bit, and it will strugle, so if u can get somthing better for future proofing.

finally i have a BFG 8800 gtx and recently RMA'd it due to the thread stuck looping error that plages the cards at the moment, and although everyone with the issue seams to confirm its a driver issue, my replacement a 8800gtx OC NEVER shuffers from the same issue. so stick to a EVGA or BFG card that offer excellent warrenty and quick RMA processes.

 

I wouldnt suggest going with the 64bit version just yet, look at this Vista 64bit requires you to have all the device drivers digitally signed which they are not. Software developer's who want to digitally sign there software have to pay a license and as there is not a demand for 64bit drivers they won't buy it plus it very expensive.
If you was to download a freeware or open source application created by me i wouldn't have buaght the license so you wouldnt be able to run the software.

Dont get me wrong there is alot of drivers that work with the 64bit version but what happens if you encounter a problem with the drivers and it really pisses you off!! It would piss me off!

Sam Culley

 

@dimebar - good points all round there, I think I'll flip a coin when it comes to the RAM, they are both pretty much the same price.

As for the striker extreme, I don't reaaaaaly need it, but as you mentioned earlier, future proofing is the aim here, plus I like all the handy features....and i can afford it so I might as well I guess. If it gives me jip though it is going back and I will get an EVGA RevA.1

As for the freezer 7, there is a cunning reason for this. Atm I'll run it stock, within the next 6 months I will re-build my dads comp with a C2D, at which point I'll put the freezer on his, a ninja on mine and then OC )

I was looking at the BFG 8800GTX OC, I am tempted, more power but cheaper than the EVGA, although, no fancy cooler and no step up program, so the EVGA has won based on that.

@ culley: I am in two minds about installing vista atm, I've got it though

 

yay its finally ordered... btw the updates for your mobo can be done in windows... thats what i did... however i did it all on xp pro so that i knew what i was doing with installing components and making sure they all worked... i aint used vista at all until now... good luck matey im sure youll have fun... i did!!!! any q's about vista ultimate 64bit i might be able to help... oh and get the stackers power wires in the right place... look straight at the mobo manual, dont try and wrk them out like i did!!!! lol... i thought some of my comps were fooooooooked.!!!!!!

scott b

 

HAHA dude I'm actually excited now that the bad boy will be around soon!

 

me too...so excited...

 

Having had experience with vista x64 i would STRONGLY recommend avoiding it like the plague. Digitally signed drivers are exceedingly irritating, especially if you are looking to overclock using atitool. Also, there is a general lack of compatibility all round.

 

I hate blind judgments like this. just use the free 30-day trial.

If it works, then use it, if it doesn't then go back to XP. But from my experience installing vista on multiple computers for others (Being practically the only tech-minded one in the dorm) that it varies widely depending on the system. some systems get along fantastically well with it, others do not.

so don't blindly judge and try it for free before judging it.

[edit:] also make sure that it is in fact vista that is the problem and not some screw-up you made along the way. I initially hated vista, until I realized it was my own screwup causing the problem and fixed it; Loved the OS ever since. [/edit]

 

have you gone for the 32 bit or 64 blue?

 

not trying to start a flame war or anything, but if he has used it, how is that a "blind judgement"? especially since many sites say it is crap if you game? what exactly in his thread was a "blind judgement"?

 

assuming that since it was crap for him, it would be for everyone else, which is not the case.

@goose - 64 bit. aside from my own screwup its been running perfectly, and is just as fast as XP for games and faster for everything else.

 

sweet!
well I have ordered that anyway, I will run it with XP to make sure all the hardware works fine and then I'll probably drop vista on to it

 

i dont take it as an assumption...it just happens to be the case for most people right now, so it stands to reason it will be for most who try it from this point forward until they fix some of these issues...i haven't tried it, but have read 3-4 reviews from respected sites that ensure my win xp cd will stay safe and warm in my desk...vista wont be in my list anytime soon...if you haven't read any of the reviews gooser, i would...

 

I suppose that I'm just unique in wanting to try things out before I pass judgment, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and to what advice they wish to follow.

best of luck with whatever OS you use.

 

quoted from Paul Thurrott's Windows SuperSite.

"For the most part, the x64 support in each Vista edition is identical. One exception is that they each support different amounts of RAM. Vista Home Basic (and Home Basic N) support up to 8 GB of RAM, compared to 4 GB for all 32-bit versions of Vista. Home Premium, meanwhile, supports 16 GB. And Business (and Business N), Enterprise, and Ultimate all support 128 GB or more of memory. (The "or more" bit refers to the fact that there are currently no PCs available yet that suport over 128 GB of RAM; when that happens, these Vista versions will support it.)"

"Compatibility issues and other limitations

Sadly, the various benefits of the x64 Vista versions are counterbalanced by a number of limitations, the most important of which are compatibility issues. 16-bit applications are not supported, which is less problematic than it was a few years ago, but still an issue for some applications that use legacy application installers. 32-bit device drivers are not supported, so you can't use any of the existing hardware drivers out there, but must instead use the subset of x64-based drivers that are currently available. This situation will improve over time, but x64 Vista users are going to be orphaning hardware.

New 64-bit applications will need to adhere to the new Windows Vista application standards in order to run correctly on these versions. That means that even some software written specifically for XP x64 might not work correctly.

Those hoping to upgrade should be aware of a few other issues, too. 32-bit versions of XP can only be upgraded to 32-bit versions of Windows Vista. And Windows XP Professional x64 Edition can only be upgraded to 64-bit versions of Windows Vista (Business and above).

Finally, it's worth noting that while Microsoft is proudly trumpeting the fact that Vista's new modular architecture will allow corporations to rollout Vista to multiple desktop types using only a single Windows Imaging Format (WIM)-based installation image, the truth is a bit more complicated. Companies that plan to rollout both 32-bit and 64-bit Vista versions will need to maintain separate install images for both 32-bit and x64 Vista versions."

Some cool informations i found, corrected what i write early.

 

Culley, thats really interesting. I am tempted to send vista 64 back and get the 32 bit version now OR get a refund, wait and get the retail version of ultimate after a while which will let me install it multiple times if I need to format, what would you recommend? I think I like the Vista 32-bit option the most at the moment.