Thanks again for the information Q4U. Unfortunately, a printer that I have already. I will probably have a Windows computer for services like printing, etc... I am not terribly concerned.

I may take your advice and use the onboard audio for the mobo. It has a Realtek ALC883 chipset, which I don't see on the ALSA website, but it appears people have had success with it in Linux. I could use the money I save toward an optical digital audio cable, and connect it to my home theater system. I may do away with the wireless card, too. I think I will be within reach of the router, and that could be an unnecessary headache/expense.

I am a little disappointed that I haven't gotten much information from people who have used a lot of this hardware, but the input I have gotten so far has been invaluable. I'll just have to keep hitting the reviews and posts

One other question I've got... Power supply. I was going to go skimpy and get this:
HIPRO TOP-500P5 ATX V2.01 500W Power Supply
Which has two 12V rails rated at 20A each... It also has great reviews on newegg. But I've never heard of the company, and I would prefer not to have a power supply fail and destroy all of my hardware. Any suggestions on one that would handle all of the hardware I have listed, plus possible upgrades to the video card, processor, etc? If not, I may take my chances on el cheapo... on paper it looks pretty good.

Wow.

I've spent the last two weeks or so on NewEgg piecing together and tweaking a system that is almost indentical to yours but not as beefy. Seriously everything is almost the same except I'm going the AMD Athlon 64 X2 route instead with MicroATX and only 1GB of RAM. I'm also going with the integrated audio and graphics until I can save up more for cards that I won't need immediately.

Anyway... LaCie makes a Linux LightScribe program and linux drivers for Lightscribe technology. There's also one or two other's out there but I forgot. LaCie sticks out in my mind. If it weren't for the remote possibility that this LaCie software might work, I would have abandoned Lightscribe entirely. I also heard good things about that burner but I'm going with the IDE version. I hear that the SATA doesn't give too much if not any speed improvement. Am I all wet here?

Let me know how that Trendnet pci wireless works. I'm going with the D-link simply because it's more with the "networking brands."

Let me know how this all works out. I'm watching now.

I strongly recommend staying away from wireless NIC for desktops. Only idiots uses WiFi for desktops. Use wired NIC because it is a lot faster, reliable, stable, and it works with out any headaches. I recommend using wireless to wired bridge (aka Access Point). Access Points have may uses and are easier to configure. They can be connected directly to a computer's NIC to provide wireless with out any software and with out any performance penalty when using encryption. You can also hook them up to a hub or switch to provide wireless connectivity to another network. To configure them, you use a web browser.

Like someone already said, change the memory speed to DDR2-800. For dual processors or more, I recommend ECC memory.

Right now game developers decided to wait a few years to include DirectX 10. DirectX is for Windows only, so I do not recommend make a decision based on this feature. OpenGL actually provides better quality.

Samsung does not make good computer hardware like CD-ROM and hard drives. I strongly, strongly recommend stay away from Samsung hard drives and CD-ROM drives. Samsung sucks period and taking chance with this brand is just asking for trouble. If you care about your data go with better brands. I suggest Western Digital 'Raptor' series. Western Digital's 74 GB is the fastest in this series. To make sure you have enough space and be reliable when dual booting, I suggest any 3ware controllers and setup RAID-5.

I suggest do not based your decision on a technology like LightScribe. Yes, it gives that "Cool" factor, but there are better and more reliable drives that be look at first. I suggest buying a Linux compatible ink printer and print directly to the CD or DVD disc with out any labels. The quality will be a lot better and you get color.

I suggest Chaintech 7.1 based on VIA ICE1724HT chip or Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (OEM). Both are very, very cheap and they are supported. If you care for sound quality, I suggest Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 HiFi, M-Audio Revolution 5.1, M-Audio Revolution 7.1, or M-Audio Audiophile 192.

I recommend do not buy Vista because it just creates problems for now and the future. Microsoft's new OS still has flaws. I would never buy Vista even though it could hurt my career. If you are considering getting Vista, buy a Mac instead.

The processor is ok, but I suggest E6600 if you want to be faster than AMD processors. If you go with E6300, you are better off buying any AMD Athlon64 X2 processors.

For printers, I recommend laser printers. B/w and color printers are within everybody's budget. I have a Brother HL-5140 (B/W laser) and it is very easy to use in Linux. Linux has better half-toning than Brother's half-toning. All printers now use PPD file. Linux can create a PPD from a Windows PPD file, but some features will be left out or needs to be tweaked. Printers from Lexmark needs additional brains, so creating software is more involve. If the software is written wrong for Lexmark printers, they are indeed paper weights for all eternity.

Buying a pre-built desktop computer from a company like HP/Compaq is ok for farmer John like people. If you want to do it right, you build your computer. If you want a computer that works in Linux, you definitely build your computer. By building your computer, you usually have components that have 3 years of warranty which actually defeats the purpose of buying pre-built computer. However, a company like Apple provides very, very high quality components, so farmer John like people and enthusiasts may want have a look at Apple computers.

A lot people do not consider buying a power supply or invest in a excellent power supply brand. Chassis that comes with power supplies should never be bought because the power supply is a very, very low end model. I recommend power supply brands such as Eneramax, Power & Cooling, and Seasonic. People think Antec should be in my list should know about the quality of Antec power supplies. Antec power supplies do not have quality that it takes to handle today's computers. Today's computers needs 400+ watts of clean power which Antec power supplies do not provide. They did in the past, but are now lousy.

The video card brand eVGA is ok, but you can do better. I suggest XFX or BFG. These two brands are better for hardcore gamers and they provide better quality components.

Sorry zetabill, but I decided to do away with the wireless card. As Electro stated, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense...

Electro, I will stick with the RAM I've got listed... I don't think I can justify the extra cost for the memory...

I am trying to conserve cost on this machine... RAID is not in my budget. I have changed from a Samsung to a Seagate Barracuda, and I have also changed the DVD to a Lite-On (If it ever gets in stock at newegg).

I wasn't basing it on the lightscribe technology, it's just that every SATA DVD drive I have seen includes lightscribe. Was just trying to give a brief explanation of what it was earlier.

I think that ENERMAX EG495AX-VE FMA ATX12V Ver 2.2 485W Power Supply would be suitable, yeah? That's my frontrunner now that I've looked a little more.

I'm thinking maybe I will take your advice on this one and go with the XFX.

Without further ado... the most update list...

1. GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
2. Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
3. 2x Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) System Memory Model KVR533D2N4/1G - Retail
4. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
5. LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write and Replaceable White Front Panel Black SATA Model SH-16A7S-06 - Retail
6. XFX PVT71PUDP3 GeForce 7900GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 EXTREME Video Card - Retail

Other:

1. COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
2. ENERMAX EG495AX-VE FMA ATX12V Ver 2.2 485W Power Supply - Retail
3. Hanns·G JW-199DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail (already own)

Thanks for the input Electro

In this case it's a no-brainer - go for the wired solution. I purchased a 20m ethernet cable two weeks ago and paid around 5 GBP (something like 7.5 USD).

The system you are planning is too new to have a lot of feedback unfortunately. There is no consensus yet over which is the most Linux-friendly 965.

1. The power supply is the most important component as far as the reliability and durability of your system is concerned.
2. The power supply noise is also very important, as the fan is on very often and close to the opening of the case.
3. Finally, it's a part where you can get away with shoddy engineering (e.g. how stable is the 12V line?) as nobody will notice the difference until it's too late.

So, I wouldn't skimp on the power supply and trust only very well regarded brands like Enermax, Antec and Seasonic (the latter is my favourite, as they win out re: 2.). 500W should be more than enough. If you want to be sure check with one of the many websites who calculate the wattage of your system for you (google).

If you want to skimp on something... I notice that you upgraded the processor (6400 now, 6300 before... or am I wrong?!). Well, there is only marginal benefit from that upgrade, the real step in terms of performance is from the 6400 to the next one (is it called 6500 or 6600?! can not remember right now...) which features a doubled cache. And this has a real impact in things like compilation, encoding etc. The rest of your desktop activities are not cpu-bound anyway.

I just ran this power supply calculator:
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
It says I only need a 272W supply, lol. I think that Enermax 485W will be a good fit.

I did some contemplating about your suggestion. I don't really want to overclock my system, so I think the 6400 will give me the best bang for my buck. If I was to get a 6300, I would feel obligated to try to overclock it to at least the same performance as the 6400. In order to do that, I would probably have to get ddr2 667 or ddr2 800 RAM, plus a non-stock cooler which would outweigh the savings.

Not that I would have to do that by any means, but I would feel obligated too (call me crazy, lol).

I think my system is basically finalized. I'm just going to wait till next week and hope that everything will be in stock by then (there seems to be a shortage of RAM and SATA DVD drives). I hope to get my hands on it on the week of the 19th. And then, with a little bit of luck, I will be posting from my new computer

I hate to rain on your parade now that you say you have the list "finalized", but you may encounter some major problems with the SATA DVD drive. Check out this thread:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=520961

They will be better supported over time, but if that support was added last week with the new 2.6.20 kernel, or on 3 months or so when 2.6.22 comes out, I don't know. I would heavily research the problems with SATA DVD drives before doing this. I know you'd be angry to put a CD or DVD in the drive, try to boot, and have the CD start but then have the install program on the CD tell you it can't find itself. That's a ton of fun.

Peace,
JimBass

This is why I started this thread

The problem is that the PATA drives are not supported (jMicron), and now you're telling me that the SATA drives are not supported either. How am I supposed to install Linux when booting from a CD then?

Suggestions?

I'd change the whole board to be honest with you. Intel has sucked for linux relative to AMD for some time. You could get a blazing fast AMD X2 processor and solid board for less than the cost of the Intel processor. I've read that the Intel out benchmarks the AMD processors, but having seen a high number of servers, desktops, and laptops, I'll take AMD anytime. That's just a personal preference though. I'm a big newegger myself, and they have had AMD X2 processors in the specials section almost every day the past month accept today. Regardless of if you go with the top of the X2 line or get into the AM2 sockets and move up to the FX models, you'll win over Intel's cost.

If the board you're looking at doesn't have a PATA interface, you may have to wait on the next release cycle of distros to get an install. The reason for that is first the hardware has to make the kernel, then that version (or a later version) has to be on the install disk. 2.6.20 came out superbowl sunday, but you most likely won't see 2.6.20 on an install disk for a month or so I would think. That's if people are rushing. If you find that a brand new kernel does support the SATA DVDrom, then you can make your own kernel for installing, but that is a major job. You have to be very comfortable with linux to accomplish that. It isn't impossible for a newbie, but ranks up there with learing to drive by parallel parking a standard transmission on a steep hill!

Peace,
JimBass

I have actually always used AMD when building computers in the past... have been out of the tech geek loop for a few years now. Hopping back in I was hearing that Intel had retaken the performance lead. I have no problems going with AMD again. What do you think of:

BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+(65W) Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO4200CUBOX - Retail
Pioneer 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Read Black ATAPI Model DVR-111D

Instead of:
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write and Replaceable White Front Panel Black SATA Model SH-16A7S-06 - Retail

I really appreciate your input

edit: Another question. Would there be more benefit using higher clock speed RAM in this setup than with an E6400?

In building a new system, I would stay away from the bottom of the processor families, unless you plan to overclock, which you had said you didn't. This link has the 4600+ X2, along with 2 Gb of DDR2 800/6400.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103749

The intel Core Duo are the fastest, that is true, but I still favor the AMD on power, heat, and cost.

Peace,
JimBass

The motherboard brands that I suggest are Abit and Gigabyte. Biostar makes POS motherboards. I also do not like ASUS because they are not high quality like a lot of people mention.

AM2 socket boards has some confusing information. In order to achieve DDR2-800 speeds, the clock have to be even integers. You can go with 939 socket boards that does not have this confusion. IMHO, DDD2 is not any faster than DDR because of higher latency for DDR2. AMD is going to introduced K8L soon, so you could wait. Hopefully, AMD uses GDDR3 for the K8L core which is a lot better than DDR2 and matches the latency of DDR.

For optical drives, I suggest using PATA or IDE models. Same goes for hard drives. Unfortunately, today's motherboards only comes with one IDE connector. This should be enough to provide for two IDE drives at a cost of performance during installation.

Now my head is going around in circles... With the Intel format I had the CPU, MOBO, and RAM for $492.98.

I really don't want to go any higher than that. If I am going to switch all of this up, I would prefer to go lower. I'm not sure that the 2.4GHz is worth $50 more than the 2.2GHz processor. Could also get dual channel DDR2 800 RAM for under $200. I guess that leaves the motherboard...

GIGABYTE GA-M55plus-S3G Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail?

I think I want to stick with AM2, because they will apparently maybe someday possibly phase out 939, lol. I would like to have something that won't be obsolete quite as soon.

Anyway... How does this look? I know you won't agree with some of the directions that I have taken, Electro, but just bear with me. Remember that I don't want to make changes that will increase the price, unless they will have SIGNIFICANT performance increases. Here is my list:

1. COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
2. GIGABYTE GA-M55plus-S3G Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
3. XFX PVT71PUDP3 GeForce 7900GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 EXTREME Video Card - Retail
4. ENERMAX EG495AX-VE FMA ATX12V Ver 2.2 485W Power Supply - Retail
5. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+(65W) Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO4200CUBOX - Retail
6. G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
7. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
8. Pioneer 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Read Black ATAPI Model DVR-111D - OEM

Anything here give you the creeps? I think I am pretty happy with the layout...

That setup seems fine by me. The only thing I question at this point is the Sata drive. If you aren't running some type of RAID (with only one disk you aren't), you're not going to see much benefit to PRT on a single sata. You can probably save a bundle getting any generic Sata2 drive.

Something to consider in regards to cost - do you need to buy every component of the machine? By that I mean is it necessary to have a brand new case and power supply and such?

It's fine to buy all that, but if you're like me and always have parts around, there is no problem reusing some previous piece of equipment if it still works. That $500 budget goes alot further if it is only for a board, cpu and memory, if you can reuse an old case, power supply and video card. Many times I've had friends with bottom of the line Dells ask about upgrading, and have had much luck just replacing the guts, (board, cpu and ram) and leaving everything else in place.

Of course all of this is just my 2 cents.

Peace,
JimBass

Jim,

I presently am running an Athlon XP 2600+ machine that is fully functional, so I would like to leave it that way for a secondary computer. I don't really have any good quality power supplies, so that is why I am getting that particular Enermax... Same goes for video cards... I only have AGP, no PCIe here. The case is for something that will be aesthetically pleasing, lol.

I'm not sure I understand why it is only beneficial for a RAID configuration, that particular hard drive is honestly the best value I saw out there. 320 GB for under $100? I also glanced at reviews on newegg and it had the best rating of any 250-320GB SATA hard drive. It's not something I'm dead set on, I just don't see anything more reasonable out there.

This thread has made me change my mind more times than I thought possible. I know there are no absolute answers out there when it comes to this kind of stuff, but some solutions are definitely better than others. I'm hoping that I end up with one of the better ones