Out of loop new computer

[slagment]

Hello to all, and please over-look my absence.

Sticky thread questions:


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Simulations and computer engineering equipment. MATLAB, Maple, PSPICE, Cadence Suit, 34 channel logic analyzer(does most of the work), EEPROM programmer. Starcraft2, like anyone can escape that.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$1700

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

Prefer Intel.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

No.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yeah, think I'm on the right track. Just want some idiot checking, example "That PSU doesn't have the correct connector."

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Default, would rather all simulations complete, then risk crash.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Now, unless something great is coming down the pipe.



Parts

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives---- x2 Raid 1

Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ------ x2 Raid 0

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 -

EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI

Thermaltake Toughpower 650W W0104RU ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire X Ready

Thermaltake M9 VI1000BWS Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop

LG Black Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive SATA Model GGW-H20L - Retail-----why not

Rosewill 18" Serial ATA II cable Model RC-18"-SA-90-BK, Black - Retail--------x4

Plan to run XP pro, for time being.

Thanks for your input, let me know if anyone wants to talk embedded 80x86.

 

[Modelworks]

You have more than enough hardware there to run just about any simulation out there. I sometimes run electronics workbench for embedded chips and it is plenty fast even on a core 2 duo cpu, I'm mainly a pic/ARM user. A couple things to watch for with using external programmers and interfaces is how they connect to the pc. A lot of equipment uses serial ports and parallel ports. Some of the newer motherboards lack one or the other, sometimes both. Some of the equipment works with usb adapters, some doesn't.

The other thing is the OS. This can be a real problem. To use all 6GB of ram you need a 64 bit OS. That means either XP x64 or Vista or 7. The problem is that if any of your equipment uses the parallel ports all three of those OS do not permit direct access to the port without specialized drivers installed. Without those drivers the data you get is either delayed or plain wrong. If you try to install the drivers the OS will not let you because they are not signed by MS, so you end up having to run with special options to get the OS to accept the drivers. I have been using 7 64 bit and over the past week most of the serial port hardware works fine, the parallel port though I cannot get to work because it has timing issues.

Best idea would be a dual boot setup. Grab the 7 beta and give it a try. Use winxp for things that require it and a 64 bit OS for everything else.

 

[slagment]

Great answer, thanks.

I'll implement your OS suggestions.