This is the hardware I am looking at buying. See any problems?

[HousieMousie2]

Hi ya'll!

I have been drooling over other people's computer specs for long enough... it is time I had something that was made in this decade... before it is over, since it is 2008 already.

I have gone to NewEgg and selected the best I thought my needs and budget could handle... then came/comes the arduous task of finding out if Linux will make use of the hardware in question.

After hours of pouring over threads (mainly the threads about what is compatible and what is not, but also specific search term threads) I am thinking what I have selected looks pretty good, but thought I'd toss a post into the water and see if it floats. ((**Suddenly hears Pennywise saying, "We all float down here." **Shivers and shakes it off))

Here are the links for everything...

I already bought my new case, should keep things nice and cool, and be fabulously roomy:

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

These are what I am looking at buying this weekend (8/30/08):

MSI P7N Diamond LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard with SoundBlaster X-Fi Extreme Audio

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

XFX PVT96GYDSU GeForce 9600 GT XXX Alpha Dog Eddition 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Buying two of these CD Drives:
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner

ABS Tagan ITZ Series ITZ800-V2 800W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

In addition, I already own a Western Digital Caviar 320GB EIDE hard drive that will be moved from my current machine to the new one.

Uh... let's see, aside from that, I will be keeping my 19' LG Flatron monitor (HDMI... I know, I know, it is going the way of the fishes, but I have a converter, okay? lol )

Also an ancient keyboard (that I adore,) it has no bells or whistles to worry about for compatibility (Microsoft Natural Elite II... sorry for saying the "M" word and even sorrier of having padded you-know-who's pockets, but what can I say...?)

Logitech Marble mouse, four button... have yet to finish messing around with btnx to get all four buttons working... been hoping to find 'scroll keys' so I can use them like a scroll wheel, but no luck yet, no SERIOUS searching yet either though. But if that fails, I will make one of them the 'third button' and pick something else for the other button to do.

Anyway, feel free to make any comment(s) you would like, cheers and jeers welcomed too!


EDIT:

Here is my current setup:

HP Pavilion 743n
AMD Athlon Thoroughbred XP2400+ 2.0 GHz
1GHz RAM
80GB HDD (Win XP Home SP2... and don't want SP3 until they fix it.)
nVidia GeForce 6800 PCI
uh... Realtech on-board audio
320GB HDD (Hardy Heron 8.04, Kubuntu, KDE 3.5.9)

Since the Win XP Home was obviously pre-installed, I will be replacing it with a boxed XP, that I will also have to buy. A shame too. If I could get my Wacom pen tablet to work right in Linux, I think I could see ditching Windows for good. I use the software that came with the Wacom frequently... and for 500 dollars, I am not going to relegate it to being a doorstop or dust collector. lol

[Bucky Ball]

The case looks good but the page you have given for it doesn't give any specifics on the power supply. That consumes the most energy of any of the components in the box. Check it conforms to the 85+ standard (which they all eventually will - 85+ efficiency) and you are good to go. This will save you a little cash on power and a bit environmentally. Antec make some great stuff and a lot of it is also RoHS standard (responsible creation and disposal of the components). You could also check out the Coolermaster Green Power series.

When I build a box, I like to keep these things in mind. Green Power hard drives are becoming more common and lots of components are RoHS too (you will find that WD make virtually the same drive as you have listed but with GP tagged on - 4 watts less consumption and run virtually cold). Time computer users started getting responsible! And you will save a bit of money in the long run (more if your comp is on 24/7).

The 85+ standard is all about conversion of electricity to power up your machine, not to wasted heat (which wastes precious resources). The old ones ran at 70-!

I am an AMD fan so that would be my preference, but that is me.

As for compatibility with Ubuntu (and I guess that is what you are aiming to run or dual boot as this is a Ubuntu forum!), you will need to do some research in the forums and elsewhere.

Good luck.

[nicedude]

Looks fine to me, and I don't see you having problems.

[HousieMousie2]

The case looks good but the page you have given for it doesn't give any specifics on the power supply.

Click the orange-ish Specifications tab. It says it is 80%.

As for compatibility with Ubuntu (and I guess that is what you are aiming to run or dual boot as this is a Ubuntu forum!), you will need to do some research in the forums and elsewhere.

Yes, you are correct, well... Linux anyway.

I had thought about posting my current specs only after I had made my original post, so I will edit and add them now.

[HousieMousie2]

Looks fine to me, and I don't see you having problems.

Thanks!

[starcannon]

The sound card has had some linux complaints, not sure if its been resolved or if people have found a work around, but its worth mentioning.

The 9series Nvidia cards may need a little tweaking, but if your patient that will be resolved.

Overall a very good system. And the only possible real fly in the ointment is that X-fi audio card.

[HousieMousie2]

The sound card has had some linux complaints, not sure if its been resolved or if people have found a work around, but its worth mentioning.

The 9series Nvidia cards may need a little tweaking, but if your patient that will be resolved.

Overall a very good system. And the only possible real fly in the ointment is that X-fi audio card.

Thank you for making sure I was aware of that issue.

I have been reading threads on the X-Fi as well as the nVidia issues.

It seems that the X-Fi is a swapping dance between the Creative Labs driver, OSS4 and ALSA, but it looks like the problems are getting solved, just different ones work of different users/systems.

I will be patient, I am fond of nVidia, despite the complaints... and the jockeying I had to do just to get this older card working up to spec.

Thank you.

[starcannon]

Thank you for making sure I was aware of that issue.

I have been reading threads on the X-Fi as well as the nVidia issues.

It seems that the X-Fi is a swapping dance between the Creative Labs driver, OSS4 and ALSA, but it looks like the problems are getting solved, just different ones work of different users/systems.

I will be patient, I am fond of nVidia, despite the complaints... and the jockeying I had to do just to get this older card working up to spec.

Thank you.

Anytime, I'm an Nvidia fan for now as well; that said, I am keeping an eye on ATi, I used to use them exclusively until my Radeon 9700pro debacle.

[HousieMousie2]

Anytime, I'm an Nvidia fan for now as well; that said, I am keeping an eye on ATi, I used to use them exclusively until my Radeon 9700pro debacle.

Yeah, I read a lot of posts about incompatibilities with ATI/Radeon. I hope they get it sorted out soon.

To be honest, I have only ever used video cards with the nVidia chipset. That was due to a screaming deal on NewEgg for an AGP card... lol and it was the only one I could find that was not too much for my old machine to handle. My old machine only had a 500MHz processor.

[HousieMousie2]

No turning back now... the order is placed.