I need help

[40Doodle]

Hi Joel,


If that configuration is the HP Voodoo Firebird system, most of that system will be more than enough for you with exception of their choices for the Hard Drives. It appears they are using (2) 250GB 5400RPM Disks to achieve the 500GB which is one thing that concerns me. Usually HP provides you the ability to hit a "configure" button and upgrade components, but I don't see that option with that system. I agree with the other folks that have suggested having a hard drive that spins at least at 7200RPM. Drives that spin at 10KRPM are typically SCSI drives, quite expensive and rarely seen on a packaged PC offering. With today's improvements in Hard drives, larger buffers and other improvements, there are 7200RPM drives that perform very well and will suit your needs with no problems.


Back to the HP Voodoo system (if that's the one you referenced) there are a couple of things that jump out that are not needed for what you want to do (especially because you are not a gamer). The dual SLI video cards and the liquid cooling system are not required for what you want to do. I love that kind of stuff and for me I wouldn't mind having a system with it, but I do game. From what I've read about liquid cooling, it is not "maintenance free" and will require replacement of the coolant over time. If that is true of this system, then you may want to think about whether you're up for it and ask HP about that ongoing maintenance. If you love that system, then I would definitely request a Hard Drive upgrade to (2) 500GB Drives spinning at 7200RPM (but [2] 1TB Disk size would be my preference).


Rick

[Joel Bookhammer]

Thanks Rick, I also noticed that the Voodoo had 2 5400RPM disks, which was mentioned to stay clear from and try to get a 7200.


I have been checking out the Dell website and they have a nice option where you can select a system and make custom changes to it, but also with that I havent noticed any 10K drives yet.


So Im still "shopping" around.


Thanks


Joel

[Joel Bookhammer]

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<tbody>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]How does this sound?</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td valign="top"]</td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-940 processor (2.93GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache with QPI Technology)</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td valign="top"]</td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]8GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [4x2048]</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td valign="top"]</td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td valign="top"]</td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT [2 DVI, HDMI and VGA adapters</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

[40Doodle]

<table style="font-size: 13px; width: 474px; height: 172px;" class="fl" align="left" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1"]
<tbody>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]How does this sound?</td>
<td><a><span style="color: #003366;"][/URL]</td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td></td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-940 processor (2.93GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache with QPI Technology)</td>
<td><a><span style="color: #003366;"][/URL]</td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td></td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]8GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [4x2048]</td>
<td><a><span style="color: #003366;"][/URL]</td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td></td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive</td>
<td><a><span style="color: #003366;"][/URL]</td>
</tr>
<tr class="colorFFFFFFbg"]
<td></td>
<td><span style="color: #003366;"]1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT [2 DVI, HDMI and VGA adapters</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

Joel,


Looks better to me. I very much like the Intel i7 940 CPU and it gets very good reviews amongst people that are using it. That would be my choice of CPU if I were building a new system today. I like anything over 4GB in memory and DDR3 plays well with the new i7 processor. They could have used the faster DDR3 memory that runs at 1333mhz, but that may be a factor of packaged cost target and choice of motherboard. The GeForce 9800GT (especially with 1GB onboard memory is sweet). I'm running an older GeForce 7900GTX with 512K and it has no problem with Photoshop CS4 and getting creative with all of PS's capability.


Rick


PS: Don't get too concerned with finding a system that includes Disk
that runs at 10KRPM. Yes it's very nice to have and if I went that
route, I'd primarily want it installed as my main hard drive (where
Windows and my apps are installed). But is is not a necessity for what you want to do. Just make sure the 7200RPM Disk(s) they are selling you are the newer generation with 32MB of Cache and avoid the so-called "Green technology disks". They are "Green", use less power, more quiet, but also typically at the expense of performance (speed).

[Joel Bookhammer]

Thanks Rick I think I am getting closer to my goal.


Thanks


Joel