new rig-any advice?

I'm getting a new rig this weekend. Anything I need to watch out for/do in terms of problems I'd pitfalls?

It'll be:

Vista home basic
Gigabyte ga-ep43-ds3L
Intel pentium dual core e5200 2.5g
Geforce 9600gt
4gig DDR2 800MHz cL5

Eco

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

Power supply make and model?

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I hate Home Basic. Microsoft should just do away with it. If possible, upgrade it to Home Professional at the very least.

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If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.

Black Pebble is my new hero.

Size of PSU and amps/watts at +12 volts is important. The case is unimportant as long as the parts all fit and you have the front port connectors you are interested in.

Vista Basic blows. Get Premium.

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Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components

Tempus unum hominem manet

Psu is Modecom premium 500 ATX

I thought the only different between vista basic and premium was the aero thing and media center?

Is there much difference between xp home (what I'm using now and m v happy with) and vista basic?

Eco

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

Win7 RC1 is, currently, free (as in beer). It will begin to shut itself down in a year, but you can't beat the price.

Especially since most PCs should have their HDs formatted and the OS reinstalled about once a year.

Caveat emptor: some folks don't like using beta / RC software, but I've gotta' say that Win7 beta has impressed me so far.

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[ QUOTE ]
Win7 RC1 is, currently, free (as in beer). It will begin to shut itself down in a year, but you can't beat the price.

Especially since most PCs should have their HDs formatted and the OS reinstalled about once a year.

Caveat emptor: some folks don't like using beta / RC software, but I've gotta' say that Win7 beta has impressed me so far.

[/ QUOTE ]

Er, Im sorry, but i dont know what 'Win7 RC1' is Im afraid.

hm. i guess iu can google it.


ah, lol, nope. googling ''Win7 RC1' ' just gives me a load of confusing stuff that doesnt mention Vista orXP.

Eco.

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

Windows 7 RC1 download

Windows 7 is the next major release of the Windows operating system. Right now it's still in Beta, and free to download and use (for test/review purposes only, of course!). Once it goes live and hits the store shelves, that will more or less stop being the case!

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First, I've never heard of that power supply brand so I'm leaning toward the notion that it's a cheap and under powered where it counts.

Second. Win 7 RC1 stands for Windows 7, Release Candidate 1. Windows 7 is the next Windows Operating System from Microsoft after Vista and Release Candidate 1 means it's still beta but feature complete. This doesn't mean it's still not buggy as all get out and then there's the whole are there stable drivers for all your hardware with this new OS.

Also there are a few other differences between Vista Basic and Vista Premium than missing Aero.

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Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components

Tempus unum hominem manet

[ QUOTE ]
First, I've never heard of that power supply brand so I'm leaning toward the notion that it's a cheap and under powered where it counts.

Second. Win 7 RC1 stands for Windows 7, Release Candidate 1. Windows 7 is the next Windows Operating System from Microsoft after Vista and Release Candidate 1 means it's still beta but feature complete. This doesn't mean it's still not buggy as all get out and then there's the whole are there stable drivers for all your hardware with this new OS.

Also there are a few other differences between Vista Basic and Vista Premium than missing Aero.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks very much for all the advice, everyone.

The Modecoms specs are:

+3.3V 20 A
+5V 20 A
+12V1 14 A
+12V2 13 A
-12V 0,5 A
+5VSB 2,5 A

Looking at the list of things Vista Basic doesnt have that premium has,m i cant see that I'd miss any of them. Apart from maybe the swichy graphics thing lol.

Its no worse than XP Home in terms of functionality, is it?

Eco.

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

EVGA recommends 26 amps at +12v

You're just barely there, so I'd say you're ok, but definitely no headroom for OCing or future upgrades.

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[ QUOTE ]
Especially since most PCs should have their HDs formatted and the OS reinstalled about once a year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pfft, what? Nuts to that.

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The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. --- Thomas Jefferson
Formerly known as YFNDBA

[ QUOTE ]
EVGA recommends 26 amps at +12v

You're just barely there, so I'd say you're ok, but definitely no headroom for OCing or future upgrades.

[/ QUOTE ]

hmm...i want to overclock my processor to 3gig, and at christmas ill be wanting to buy a better gfx card. what specs should my PSU have ?

Eco.

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

Hard to say without knowing your PSU budget.
If you're looking to upgrade your GPU later, it would help to have an idea what you may be considering as well, as that would tell you how much power surplus you need for later.

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[ QUOTE ]
Hard to say without knowing your PSU budget.
If you're looking to upgrade your GPU later, it would help to have an idea what you may be considering as well, as that would tell you how much power surplus you need for later.

[/ QUOTE ]

I won't be upgrading my CPU for quite a while, and at christmas Ill be getting something like a Geforce GTX 285.

My PSU budget is, well, pretty budget lol

Eco.

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

Seems pretty straightforward then

You need something with over 40 amps on the +12v rail(s), and since you're looking to OC your CPU as well, I would say you want something in the 45-50 amp range.

Something like that isn't going to be a budget PSU.
You simply cannot skimp on the PSU and expect to be able to splurge on the rest.
When building systems, my budget priorities are always PSU, RAM, mobo, CPU, GPU.

Edited to add:

I always buy PC Power and Cooling

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Right. Ill aprove an increase in the budget. Thanks for the advice.

Eco.

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

How about this PSU?

Corsair 550

Eco.

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MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

I know not everyone agrees, but I'm a proponent of large, single rails, so the 41 amps on +12v is good.
120mm fan looks good for cooling and noise level.
Corsair is a known, decent brand.

Nice

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Yes MrCaptainMan, the Corsair VX550 is a good power supply.

Gamma, the only real difference between PSUs with a single large +12 volt rail and those with multiple smaller rails is simply assigning and capping rails for specific components. Few PSUs actually have multiple, independent +12 volt supplies.

The problem is few PSU manufacturers document which rails supply which components. As long as the manufacturer choose wisely, no one's the wiser.

The problem with a single rail is if some component draws more current than the wiring harness is suppose to handle, wires gets hot, insulation melts and smokes and you have the possibility of a fire. The use of lower gauge wire mitigates this.

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Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components

Tempus unum hominem manet