How would you configure these

[Helicopter]

CPU, mobo, RAM

• Q6600, ATX BFG 680i SLI LT, 4GB DDR2
• i7 920, MATX Foxconn OEM Gateway, 9GB DDR3

GPU's

• BFG 8800GT
• Gigabyte HD 4350

Hard drives

• 1x 150GB Raptor
• 1x 1TB Western Digital 5200rpm
• 2x 80 GB WD and Samsung 7200rpm

Cases

• Antec 900
• Thermaltake RS Wing 201

One has to be a primary machine capable of gaming, the other a HTPC. Which pieces would you put together for which machine? Right now the i7 is pulling HTPC duty in the Thermaltake, with the slow 1TB disk. Should I bother swapping the GPUs and HDD's, and making the i7 my main rig? One problem is that the i7 motherboard does NOT support IDE HDD's, and my wifes HDD with XP is on an IDE, along with one of my storage drives.

 

[Dangman]

Which one is your wife's PC? The gaming or the HTPC? Why not just get a new SATA drive in place of that IDE XP drive?

 

[tiraides]

Along with what Danny suggested earlier...

Gaming Machine - Antec 900, i7 920, MATX Foxconn OEM Gateway (which model?), 9GB DDR3 (which brand/speed?), BFG 8800GT, 150GB Raptor

HTPC - Thermaltake RS Wing 201, Q6600, ATX BFG 680i SLI LT, 4GB DDR2 (which brand/speed), Gigabyte HD 4350, 80GB Samsung/WD 7200RPM HDD (for OS), 1TB WD 5400RPM HDD (for storage)

I have a few other things that I believe you should take into consideration:

- Which games are you playing that would justify having 9GB of RAM? You may be able to sell the 3x1GB kit.
- Which monitor(s) and resolution(s) are you going to use for the gaming machine and the HTPC? You may want to consider getting a new video card for the gaming machine, especially if you plan on using a 22" or larger monitor some time soon.
- If you can afford to, I recommend getting one or two of the newer 640GB hard drives (ideally, the WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS would be at the top of the wish list). One of those drives offer a nice compromise of storage capacity, speed (it will be faster than the 150GB Raptor in many areas), and price (available for $70-$75 each). The 640GB HDD could be the only drive needed for your gaming machine, and it (or one of the single-platter 320GB drives, like the WD3200AAKS) could serve as the main/OS drive for the HTPC.

 

[Helicopter]

Along with what Danny suggested earlier...

Gaming Machine - Antec 900, i7 920, MATX Foxconn OEM Gateway (which model?), 9GB DDR3 (which brand/speed?), BFG 8800GT, 150GB Raptor

HTPC - Thermaltake RS Wing 201, Q6600, ATX BFG 680i SLI LT, 4GB DDR2 (which brand/speed), Gigabyte HD 4350, 80GB Samsung/WD 7200RPM HDD (for OS), 1TB WD 5400RPM HDD (for storage)

I have a few other things that I believe you should take into consideration:

- Which games are you playing that would justify having 9GB of RAM? You may be able to sell the 3x1GB kit.
- Which monitor(s) and resolution(s) are you going to use for the gaming machine and the HTPC? You may want to consider getting a new video card for the gaming machine, especially if you plan on using a 22" or larger monitor some time soon.
- If you can afford to, I recommend getting one or two of the newer 640GB hard drives (ideally, the WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS would be at the top of the wish list). One of those drives offer a nice compromise of storage capacity, speed (it will be faster than the 150GB Raptor in many areas), and price (available for $70-$75 each). The 640GB HDD could be the only drive needed for your gaming machine, and it (or one of the single-platter 320GB drives, like the WD3200AAKS) could serve as the main/OS drive for the HTPC.

The motherboard is of unknown model #, Foxconn had no claim to it other than manufacter, and RAM is 3x2GB of Corsair something he ordered, I believe select, and the other 3x1GB are whatever a Gateway FX6800-01E ships with. Right now the "gaming" machine is dual booting Xp (wife) Vista (me). The games I have been tinkering with are Far Cry 2, Crysis Warhead. I am not really playing too many games nowadays since CAL died, I just still refer to it as such for sentimental reasons lol, nowadays it does more video encoding backing up my HD DVD's and BD's. Dual monitors both 1280x1024. Ive got another SATA drive coming, 150GB I think that is going to pull OS duty in the HTPC.

 

[tiraides]

I recommend against getting another 150GB Raptor, as the new 640GB hard drives perform better and cost less.

A nice, cheap upgrade for gaming would be the Radeon HD4850. Again, that upgrade is whenever you can afford it. Then again, newer video cards are expected to arrive some time around September; their arrival may result in price drops and/or additional sales.