I am planning to build a gaming desktop. Because it is my first time building a computer, I do not want to try to overclock the finished product. I know the same performance can be achieved for less money by overclocking but money is NOT an issue. I would rather spend more money to achieve the same performance than worry about overclocking my first time around.
Here is what I have picked out so far:
Besides opinions on optical drives and power supplies, I have several questions.
1.1) I heard the Xeon processors are the i7 processors under a different name. Is that true? If so, why would the same processor be sold at a different price?
1.2) For a gaming desktop, which processor should I choose: i7 or Xeon? Remember money is not an issue. I am willing to spend more money for even a nominal performance increase.
2) I heard the EVGA X58 motherboards are as good as (if not better than) the Intel DX58SO for Intel i7 processors. Wouldn't the Intel motherboard work best with their own processor?
3) Out of two memory modules offered by Mushkin, the only difference is the heatsink. What exactly is the difference between the heatsinks, which are Ascent and Frostbyte?
4) I read using multiple graphics cards is better (in terms of available graphical power). Is that true? If so, does the available graphical power 'max out' at, let's say, 3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 GPUs or would a fourth contribute even more?
5) Is the hard drive I already chose a good choice with which to implement RAID 10 'The Striped Mirror'? If not, then what is a good hard drive with which to do so.
6) Are there any differences between the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7? If there are any extra features in the more costly editions that I, as a gamer, may use from time to time (however rare), then I am willing to spend the extra money to get those extra features.
Please excuse me if any of those questions were stupid. Thank you for your help. =]
Here is what I have picked out so far:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-965 Processor Extreme Edition
- Motherboard: EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI
- Memory: Mushkin 998731 Blackline (mushkin.com newegg.com)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 (nvidia.com newegg.com)
- Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black (wdc.com newegg.com)
Besides opinions on optical drives and power supplies, I have several questions.
1.1) I heard the Xeon processors are the i7 processors under a different name. Is that true? If so, why would the same processor be sold at a different price?
1.2) For a gaming desktop, which processor should I choose: i7 or Xeon? Remember money is not an issue. I am willing to spend more money for even a nominal performance increase.
2) I heard the EVGA X58 motherboards are as good as (if not better than) the Intel DX58SO for Intel i7 processors. Wouldn't the Intel motherboard work best with their own processor?
3) Out of two memory modules offered by Mushkin, the only difference is the heatsink. What exactly is the difference between the heatsinks, which are Ascent and Frostbyte?
4) I read using multiple graphics cards is better (in terms of available graphical power). Is that true? If so, does the available graphical power 'max out' at, let's say, 3 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 GPUs or would a fourth contribute even more?
5) Is the hard drive I already chose a good choice with which to implement RAID 10 'The Striped Mirror'? If not, then what is a good hard drive with which to do so.
6) Are there any differences between the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7? If there are any extra features in the more costly editions that I, as a gamer, may use from time to time (however rare), then I am willing to spend the extra money to get those extra features.
Please excuse me if any of those questions were stupid. Thank you for your help. =]
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