Building a new computer myself
 

Hello all,

Last summer I posted questions about building a computer myself.
I received a lot of feedback. Meanwhile, a serious health problem in
the family occured and prevented me from continuing. Now that things
are gladly under control, I come back to my computer issue.

Given that some time passed, I need to check if any new ideas appeared.
To remind that my computer is to be used for home studio music recording
and production, often using effect processing with virtual machines.
I’m using software like Cubase SX3, Kontakt, Finale etc.

So, my questions:

ABOUT PROCESSORS:
1. What about AMD’s three-cores CPU with L3 cache, expected to run
20% faster than Quads?
2. What’s better, all-cores-in-a-single-die or two-cores-on-two-dies?
3. Is the advantage of Dual and Quad cores so big, given that
almost NO SOFTWARE is able to use this technology?
4. Is it wise to get a 45nm technology processor while it’s just the beginning?

I hesitate what to chose between these Intel models:
Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz
(Socket 775 - 3.0GHz - Bus 1333 MHz - 65 nm - 4MB L2 cache - Intel
Virtualization Technology)
or
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
(Socket 775 - 2.4GHz - Bus 1066 MHz - 65 nm - 8MB L2 cache - Intel
Virtualization Technology)?

ABOUT MOTERBOARD:
I hesitate what to chose between these:
Asus P5K
(Socket 775 - Intel® P35 chipset ICH9R - Intel® CoreT2 Quad / CoreT2 Extreme
/ CoreT2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 Processors -
Dual-channel DDR2 1066/800/667 MHz - 4*SATA/1*SATA on the Go/ 1394 - Gigabit LAN -
8-channel HD Audio)
or
Asus P5KC
(Socket 775 - Intel® P35 chipset ICH9R - Intel® CoreT2 Quad / CoreT2 Extreme
/ CoreT2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 Processors -
Dual-channel DDR2 1066/800/667 MHz or DDR3 1333/1066/800 - 2x1394 - 12xUSB 2.0 - Gigabit
LAN -8-channel HD Audio)
or
Asus P5PK-V
(Socket 775 - Support Intel® next generation 45nm Multi-core CPU - Intel® G33 chipset
- Dual-channel DDR2 1066/800/667 MHz - Heat Pipe - Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 integrated - 2x1394 - 12xUSB 2.0 - Gigabit LAN - 8-channel HD Audio)
or
Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6
or
Intel D975XBX2KR Bad Axe 2 (wich I'm not sure if it supports Quad CPUs and/or 45nm technology)

ABOUT HARD DISCS:
1. Now that S-ATA drives came, is it still worthy putting 2 HDs in a RAID 0
(for OS and programs) with a separate HD for data saving, and expect that
RAID 0 will speed operations up? (And backup the RAID 0 discs so I can
restore my OS and programs if any crash occurs?)
2. Is it helping speed wise if I use one physical drive only for my Windows OS,
a 2nd physical drive for my Program Files and a 3d physical drive for my Data saving?

ABOUT OS:
1. I know there is a separate Windows XP available for 64-bit. What do the 64
bit stand for?
2. Does the XP Pro have multi-processor capability built in?
3. I use to hear really bad opinions about Windows Vista, that it really sucks when it
comes to extended professional use. Any feedback?
2. And again and again, the eternal question, is a Mac still more reliable than a PC ?

Hey,

About your questions:

A good cpu deal is now the e8400 (price/quality)
As motherboards concerns with the P5K you have everything you need, I wouldn't go for DDR3 yet. Maybe look for the new chipset P45. As Asus releases the P5Q
For the harddisk take a disk with a long warranty like Seagate.
Raid is nice if you need it, it's all about that.
The XP 64-bit supports more ram memory.

Grtz
Kwak

James, please stop replying to old threads... without adding anything valuable.