New build: narrowing it down

[beaky]

Okay, from what I got from that, this is what I think you should do. Off the router connect a 8 port switch to it. Then run a line to the new PC. From the new PC run a line to the old PC. As for the file shareing I suggest turning the old PC into a FTP server, and just don't give out the IP, or let anyone have read write access. Also if you share the printer your good to print from any comp.

Thats the way I would do it.

I don't see the point, really- I should have mentioned that this existing "network" isn't really a network at all. The router only allows sharing of the broadband connection; nobody eles here has access to my PC or my printer over the network(damn good thing, too- I'm the default "IT guy" around here, that's how noobish and non-technical my loft-mates are )

Wouldn't it be simpler and cheaper to just spend the extra 60 bucks on the 2-port mobo and connect the two machines via crossover cable? I'm just trying to create my own 2-
PC network that's connected "downstream" of  the house router.

[ctjoyce]

I guess thats what I ment, the only reason I suggested the switch is so your router wouldnt be so swamped.

Cheers
Cameron

[congo]

Rottydaddy, onboard ethernet has been around for a while, before that people used PCI networking cards.

I have quite a few stashed in the cupboard, they are cheap or free, depending on where you scrounge. Slap one in a spare PCI slot and you have another port yeah?

The Asus P5B has some tacky features, one of the SATA2 ports is OUTSIDE the case, which is ok for quickly hooking up a SATA2 hdd to, but it makes setting up a RAID array an odd venture and I would be scared the cable would get knocked off accidently. It's weird for them to put one of the sata ports that's on the raid controller on the outside of the box.....


Those boards are based on the Intel I965 chipset which dropped support for IDE/ATA devices, in other words, the I965 chipset doesn't have anywhere to put ATA HDD's or Optical drives, so the manufacturer must add a dedicated ATA I/O controller to support those drives. In the case of the Asus boards, (and most others), the slapped on controller only handles a single ATA cable and can only support two IDE/ATA devices, so this means a maximum of 2 optical drives, 2 IDE/ATA HDD's or one ATA HDD and one optical drive. Of course you can have a few SATA hard drives connected, but I thought you should know about this before you think you can just add a bunch of old drives to the new system.

Note also that the second PCI express graphics slot on that board only supports up to 4x PCIe lanes, another chipset limitation for I965 based mainboards.

You may have seen me harping on about chipsets before, and these facts are a prime example of why it is so important to first study chipsets, rather than just be a fanboy of a particular manufacturer.

Asus do make some very nice mainboards for Conroe, but you might review the boards based on I975 chipsets before you buy.

If the difference in features between the two chipsets makes no difference to you, then go for the cheaper board, or the one you like the best. No need to have all the features if you don't use them.

That P5B deluxe has an onboard wireless networking card as well I believe.

[beaky]

Aha!! I knew one of you would think of something... haven't "launched" my NewEgg cart yet, so it's not too late.
I've spec'd SATA HDDs (WD Caviar), and was planning on a single ATA combo drive (LG GSA-H10N)... so maybe I'll still be OK with this mobo (?).

I may go with RAID later, but the external port is not the only one, right? Besides, if my planned external drive is a SATA device, instead of a USB-to-SATA enclosure, I could use the external port to go straight SATA, if I'm not mistaken.
 Seems simpler, and simple=good, setup and troublesgooting-wise.  If I'm wrong, so be it- I"m no fanboy; I just thought this thing ould be right for me.

Not sure of the significance of the number of PCI lanes; I'm only planning on running one GPU and maybe later, if I'm not happy with the onboard audio quality, I'll add a sound card; that's it for PCI cards. But I can see trouble ahead with this mobo if, for example, I do add a sound card and upgrade to 2 GPUs or a 2-slot GPU...what's your take on that?.

If I do stick with the P5B, I'll probably get the Deluxe for the extra port- makes no sense to spend almost as much more to get a card which will then have to be made to play nice with the mobo (although I stupidly didn't even consider a card; good call.
I really don't need the wifi, but who knows? I may want to go that route at some point for some reason (like for example mice chew through my Cat 5... one of the house routers is a wireless, so I could get online with that ) But I don't really trust connections I can't see or lay hands on- call me old-fashioned... but they're a lot easier to fix, and ultimately more reliable (and generally faster).

Thanks again for the advice; I'll dig a little more, then maybe post my wish list before diving in, to see what you guys make of it.
But later... I did a few hours in the morning at the office today, cleaned house, etc. all afternoon, didn't sleep, then worked midnight to 4AM; I'm wiped out.
Zzzzzzzzzzz...

[chuckcrc]

Hi Rottydady

Been reading this thread about your new pc and thought you may want to read up on this thread from NickN about setting up hard drives etc before you go out and buy them.

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=hardw;action=display;num=1155585466

I can't offer any advice on your cpu choice as I know nothing about Intels but I do know that you have to do a lot of research to make sure you get a system that will run FS9 to your satisfation.

Remember that running FS9 is the hardest thing you can get a CPU/pc system to do as it stresses every component of your system.

cheers
chuck

[beaky]

Hi Rottydady

Been reading this thread about your new pc and thought you may want to read up on this thread from NickN about setting up hard drives etc before you go out and buy them.

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=hardw;action=display;num=1155585466

I can't offer any advice on your cpu choice as I know nothing about Intels but I do know that you have to do a lot of research to make sure you get a system that will run FS9 to your satisfation.

Remember that running FS9 is the hardest thing you can get a CPU/pc system to do as it stresses every component of your system.

cheers
chuck

Thanks; good food for thought.
I was certainly not planning on putting FS9 separate from the OS; even I know that's not right.
And other than the OS, I have never partitioned a drive.

But I have been questioning my own idea of having a separate internal drive for storage only; I might be better off getting a single (bigger) Raptor for the internal, and a big SATA external HDD for both machines to share.

[NicksFXHouse]

Thanks; good food for thought.
I was certainly not planning on putting FS9 separate from the OS; even I know that's not right.
And other than the OS, I have never partitioned a drive.

But I have been questioning my own idea of having a separate internal drive for storage only; I might be better off getting a single (bigger) Raptor for the internal, and a big SATA external HDD for both machines to share.

The Raptor you want is this one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136012

and its on sale with a rebate

The rest are overpriced and noisey

I highly recommend either a single raptor or 2 in RAID. The single will however do just fine.

The P5B motherboard is the best Conroe choice. Although you will not have the fancy SLI ability the P5B has proven it is the best base for Conroe performance. Memory choice is also critical. Most higer clocks are being made with the lower latency memory (very expensive) but probably worth the investment.

Keep in mind if you plan on going with Conroe you are better off buying to good memory such as G.Skill http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231089 -or- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231077 ....and supporting components than you are nickel and diming yourself to death over a longer period of time.

Onboard components are good. Dont discount them. Its not like it was 4 years ago when onboard was garbage. It has come a long way.

With Conroe if you put the money into the memory and the hard drive, you wont be sorry next year.

[congo]

[quote]
I may go with RAID later, but the external port is not the only one, right?