Chipset Installation Confusion & Other ?'s

[DVHost]

Getting ready to put together a new system:

* Antec SX1030 Server w/Vented Side Panel and 5 80mm fans
* Antec TruePower-II 550w ATX v2 Power Supply
* Intel Pentium® 4 640 Prescott 3.2GHz, 800MHz FSB, Socket 775, 2MB Cache
* Asus P5LD2 Deluxe i945P 1066FSB LGA775 DDR2 ATX w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA
* Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit
* Arctic Cooling ACFZP7 Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler
* eVGA 256-P2-N389-AX Geforce 6800GS CO SE 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
* Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 5.1
* Viewsonic VP901G 19in Flat Panel Display
* Logitech MX1000 Cordless Laser Mouse
* Windows XP Pro SP2

A: 3.5 Floppy
C: Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 80GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer (OS)
D: Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 80GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer (Software Installs)
E: Hitachi Deskstar 120GB UltraATA 7200 (Library/Media)
F: Hitachi Deskstar 40GB UltraATA 7200 (Swap File/Temp Cache for Apps)
G: Pioneer A09 CD/DVD-R/RW

Q1: My first question is about the chipset installation utility. Logic dictates that you should install the chipset utility provided by the mobo manufacturer. But I am wondering if I should install the one that Intel provides? Which choice is better?

Q2: My second question is about memory placement. I am getting a 2GB Crucial kit, 2 x 1GB. I have four DIMM slots:

A1 Yellow
A2 Black

B1 Yellow
B2 Black

If I am not mistaken, to take advantage of the dual-channel architecture I should install my DIMM's into the A1 & B1 Slots. Would this be accurate?

Q3: Lastly, I want to make sure that my setup process is in the correct order:

Setup Process
----------------------------------------
1. Install BIOS Updates
2. Configure BIOS Settings
3. Install Windows XP Professional SP2
4. Install Intel Chipset Drivers
5. Install DirectX Runtime
6. Install Video Drivers
7. Install Network Drivers
8. Install Audio Drivers

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rhys]

Stay with the MOBO manuf. in case they've made enhancements. Check their site if they've updated it. (Chances are that intel's would be fine but use the manuf.)

Match the colors so yes you were correct.

Yes, your order looks fine. I install DirectX last but that's probably wrong.

I'd turn the firewall on before you install the nic drivers if you don't have a hardware firewall.

 

[DVHost]

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I have heard that DirectX should be first, last. But I have yet to hear a solid answer on that. I used to install it last but I have been reading VGA forums and many talk about having installed it first.

Again, thanks!

 

[vanilla_guerilla]

re directx. depending on your version of winxp sp2, the latest directx might be installed during xp install. there are different schools of thought, but i dont think it much matters when you install it. nothing to get anal about, anyway. some guys will claim they get extra 3dmark points one way or the other, but.......