I'm looking into putting a system together. I've built systems before,
but it's been a number of years so I find myself pounding the web
trying to get "caught up" with the latest and greatest.

I want to put Linux on one drive (most likely the latest
flavor of Ubuntu) and Windoz on the other (for the occasional
game).

All the stuff below is from NewEgg and they offer different combo
deals on different pieces. Basically, the two systems below
spec out around the same price ~$950-$1,000. They should
also be fairly comparable in performance, I think.

I'm looking for feed back mostly on things I know little about
like PSU, Cases, and CPU coolers. But all comments are welcome!

Thanks.

ASUS Based System:
MOBO: ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit

GPU: EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready

---------------OR-----------------------------------

Gigabyte Based System:
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit

GPU: HIS H489FT1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready



The rest would be the same on either system:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz

PSU: Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS

HARDDRIVE: 2 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

READER/BURNER: Some kinds of DVD/CD RW-Combo (Dual Layer)

CASE: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

COOLING SYSTEM: CPU: ?? Suggestions ??

Everything is fine.

The GTX275 and HD 4890 performs close, if you find any "overclocked" card take it. (I saw some 4890s).

Asus makes good motherboards, just like GB. Pick the cheapest or the niciest in your oppinion. I'd take the GB, but that's personal :D

The cooling system I recommend Zalman 7**0 or 8*00 series, silverstone heatspreaders or CoolerMaster Gemini II series but make sure that the cooler you choose is compatible with the motherboard, because this coolers are something wide..

Case, have you looked at this one ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

I recommend it.

Thanks Cheetos,

that was EXACTLY the kind of advice I was looking for :D.

The case looks great (and there's a combo deal with the CPU I want too!)

I'm thinking I'm pretty partial to the GB mb as well ;)

Thanks again.

V