My SFF plan, suggestions?

[Mexicorn]

Here's my plan for a SFF which i'm probably going to order this weekend:
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/WishShareShow.asp?ID=1517203&WishListTitle=SFF system

right now i basically have 3 hesitations though:

1) Video card: I'm pretty sure an x800XL is a great compliment to the SN25P, but there are so many, I'm not sure why the price range varies so much, i.e. which of these cards ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=48&Submit=Property ) is better?

2) CPU: ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...value=517:7439,2663:16752&bop=and&Order=price ) The 3800+ seems to be the highets I can go without going up a big jump for teh same clockspeed. First of all, is the 1MB L2 cache from the 4000 worth spending an extra hundred bucks on it? Or, conversely, is it more practical to downgrade to the 3700+ with san diego core which is slower proc speed, but has the 1MB cache?


3) WIN XP: There's all this hype around getting winxp 64-bit right now, but is it really worth the driver hassle? I don't use many "rare driver" devices, but it seems like the performance boost really isn't that noticable (in games especially). However, it is only $10 more than 32-bit and I need to get a legit copy of windows no matter what, so i'm at a loss. There's also longhorn on the far horizon, so i'm not sure if that will be worth upgrading to. Also, if going with 32-bit, is there a valid reason to use pro over home that's worth the $60 premium?


I know these questions should be all over the place, but they all revolve around my upcoming SFF purchase so I figured i'd put it in that subject. mods, just move it to the respective forum if it's ill-placed.

Thanks for any info you guys can provide.

 

[Skin]

I would get the cheapest x800 XL. The preformance between all these cards is probably no more than 3%.

About windows 64-bit, dont bother. Its a total joke and has no real features that are worth the work.

Cpu.... Id personally get the cheapest venice you can get and O/C it. Even with SFFs, a 3000+ can get to 2.5 ghz easy. But its your cash though, and if you need the cache, go and get it .

 

[Perrupa]

I'll agree on getting the 3700+ and OCing it

get win XP home, there is not a $60 difference between the two (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx) though I suppose that's your decision.

I don't know much about video cards but I usually just buy the 2nd tier high end cards for cheaper (ie: 9500Pro just when the 9800Pro came out)

Good luck

 

[Mexicorn]

i'm pretty sure i'm gonna go with the 3700+ now, since I'll have the abillity to overclock it in the future, as upposed to adding more cache...as for winxp, I'm gonna go with pro simply because i use remote desktop a lot. Still debating about the videocard though. I think i'll stick with ATI though, since they seem to have the best warranties

 

[Warrior_Rocker]

ATI not only has good warranties but they also make a damn nice card, and as for xp pro, of course, if you build a new machine and put home on it, you should be put to death slowly, and have your computer handed over to hmm, me of course, and you can never go wrong getting a better proccessor....

 

[IdiotInCharge]

I'm personally dissapointed with my X800Pro- would go with a 6800GT in heartbeat if I had another chance. For an SFF, quiet and cool are number one- and this is where Seagate makes a better hard drive. Would go with the NEC 3520 for optical; it's the best performing all around drive made right now. And look into PDP's 1GB low latency sticks, I'm pretty sure they are both cheaper and faster than Corsair's, and can hit the tightest timings out there on an SN25P (which the Corsair will not hit).

I've personally invested some time researching all of the above- it is my hobby- and the above represents what is sitting in my wish list right now for my next build (that is, bought today build, as CPU and GPU will likely change given impending releases of more dual core CPU's and lower end 7800's).