demonchild Wrote:The other thing I need to decide is whether I shall go 64-bit Vista or 32-bit XP.

If you are getting fast RAM that is 2-4GB+ then I would say Vista 64-Bit. Unreal has an x64 exe, and so do a few others (very few). Just keep in mind running Vista 32/64 Bit
= a very big registry after time. Which can really suck.

(This post was last modified: 31/07/2008 02:20 PM by demonchild.)

What RAID are you going to use?  (I'm going to assume RAID0)
Having a RAID0 array myself, it's seriously not worth the bother, unless you're going to do a LOT of *LARGE* (read ~1GB+) sequential writes (and even if so, it's generally not worth the bother).  I'm going to assume you're not getting a hardware RAID card either (using the thing that comes with the mobo right?) - these have quite a number of issues - they will slightly tax your CPU (not being a genuine hardware RAID), require underlying software drivers to make them work (Windows is usually fine, but will probably be fiddly with some Linux distros), and if one HDD dies (though not often) you lose everything.
(considering you're planning on installing your OS onto those drives, I'm guessing you're not going to be doing a lot of sequential writes, so my tip is don't bother with RAID, or those HDDs)

Anyway, your choice :P


I personally run XP 64bit and it works wonderfully.  If you want to go Vista x64, I'd recommend 4GB minimum.  If you're going to 2GB, use Vista 32bit or XP 32/64bit.

demonchild Wrote:How about this if I'm going to go 64-bit?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820220314

That ram is OK, just don't overclock your system using it.

ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:I personally run XP 64bit and it works wonderfully.

Sure does, it's most likely Gates's best OS, but it can really suck getting drivers for it. if at all.

xero1 Wrote:Sure does, it's most likely Gates's best OS, but it can really suck getting drivers for it. if at all.

I must be lucky then ;P  Interestingly though, the Vista x64 driver for my TV Tuner works perfectly fine on XP x64.
Only have 1GB RAM here, so couldn't use Vista x64 (without seriously choking something up).
nVidia has XP x64 drivers.  I would somewhat expect Intel to have them as well (for the m/b chipset).  Probably the only things left would be the soundcard, and any other stuff you add on, so unless you have a lot of accessories/additional cards, you should be able to get all the drivers.

(This post was last modified: 01/08/2008 01:58 AM by ZiNgA BuRgA.)

(This post was last modified: 01/08/2008 03:55 PM by demonchild.)

I have no idea what the graphics card requires - you should probably investigate what people recommend for that.  Apart from the GPU, it should be fine.