New computer has been purchased - specs, rationale, and thanks

[Freddie]

You're welcome! Microsoft doesn't do much to publicize these limits. I think there are also limits on the number of network connections.

If you go with the beta, you should make sure it will be continuously available. I just tossed the idea out without checking.

[Owltoid]

Just got off the phone with www.buyxg.com and man, those guys are great. The guy was surprised to hear that different versions of Vista support different levels of RAM, but he was thankful and said he's going to pass the word around and check other's configs. I really like that company because I know they check everything for capatibility and this just may be a case of nobody knowing (I mean I can't imagine they'd hide the knowledge that Vista Basic only handles 8GB of RAM just to sell more RAM... the upgrade to Premium is only 14 bucks and not worth them hiding it for their reputation).

Long story short I am getting the computer w/o an OS and I'm going to roll the dice with Windows 7. It's risky, but it saves my $105 (difference between Vista Premium and no OS). They were willing to remove the charge and gave me no problems at all.

[Freddie]

Woot you're a daredevil!

They sound excellent. I'm sure they didn't know. I imagine that this issue almost never comes up because Vista Basic and 8+ GB almost never get bought for the same PC.

By the way, I was about to say in the other thread -- but I'll say it here instead -- there's no way Windows 7's limits will be smaller than Vista's. So you're guaranteed that the most expensive home edition will handle at least 128 GB, because that's how much Vista Ultimate handles.

[suicidesspyder]

Yo owl one day when you get it you need to drop a line and show me in person how well it works since im only like 5-10 mins at the most away from you. Think big ass etna building i am near there. I wanna see this work in person before i would decide to get a new comp. not make the same mistake twice and getting something i thought was good and not.

[Owltoid]

Heh, sounds like a plan!

[-silencer-]

The choices are fine, but I've read enough reviews (not idiot-user reviews on newegg, but actual professional hardware tech reviews) on so many x58 boards, MSI's included, having trouble remaining stable on 12GB of memory. That's the only decision that may hurt. That's why I like the Asus Rampage 2 Extreme & 12GB Corsair DDR3-1600C5.. Running perfectly stable on 12GB memory at 1600MHz.. higher than specified (1333MHz) without issue. Many boards have trouble running 12GB faster than 1066MHz.

[-silencer-]

Long story short I am getting the computer w/o an OS and I'm going to roll the dice with Windows 7. It's risky, but it saves my $105 (difference between Vista Premium and no OS). They were willing to remove the charge and gave me no problems at all.

You are aware you won't have a computer from August to Win 7's release in early 2010 right? The Win 7 beta will expire in August, at which point you'll have to find an OS. Just get Vista now and dual-boot with Win 7 if you want to save the hassle. (Oh, and don't use MP3's on a network hooked up to Win 7, unless they've fixed this issue.. Win 7 was removing the first few seconds of ALL MP3s that contained meta-data on the *network* connected to a Win 7 machine.)

[Owltoid]

That's unfortunate news about the mobo being unstable with 12GB, but at this point it's too late to change and I'm going to have to cross my fingers and hope it works out

Regarding Windows 7, I realize there is a significant chance it will not be released by the time the beta is up. I'm hoping it is, but if not then I'll have to buy a copy of Vista when the beta is nearing its end.

[Freddie]

The choices are fine, but I've read enough reviews (not idiot-user reviews on newegg, but actual professional hardware tech reviews) on so many x58 boards, MSI's included, having trouble remaining stable on 12GB of memory.

Your knowledge is enormously valuable, and I wish I had known what you know to warn Owltoid in time. It's a lucky thing having you on this board.

But I want to defend the "idiot-user reviews on newegg." They are good for revealing certain kinds of facts but not others. They have to be read with discretion.

One of the things they are good at revealing is a product's inability to do something it's advertised to do. Ordinary customers notice this kind of thing easily. (Of course they often make mistakes about this so their complaints have to be investigated further. But they are good at ringing warning bells.)

That's the kind of problem we have here. So why did the Newegg reviews fail in this case? (If they did, I didn't read them.) Probably because these boards aren't selling in large numbers yet and because relatively few people are installing 12 GB in them.

If this had happened next year, when far more reviews will exist and far more people will have installed 12 GB of RAM, I think the Newegg reviews would have revealed this problem.

[muffe]

Antec and Cooler Master make some great cases you can't go wrong with either.

That's a classic power supply, solid and will last a long time. I think it's always good to a little headroom with power. You don't want to just barely make your power requirements. Plus if you upgrade hardware that has more power requirements, your headroom will help spare you from upgrading to another power supply in the future.

About the liquid cooling, waste is probably one of the most misused words in the English language. You didn't waste money. You used it. If you didn't buy something with that money and had it stacked up in a vault until you died, then it would have went to waste. Money not spent is money wasted, you can't take money to the grave. I have no idea what this cooling system is but you shouldn't feel bad about investment.

I've heard the asus forums are on fire right now about their rampage board having problems. You made a good move to avoid a potential problem. Even though you're covered with warranty service, the easiest way to solve a problem is not to have a problem.

Warranty is always great. I would not get sucked into a 5 year warranty or longer though. After 5 years computer parts need replacing anyways because they become obsolete so quickly. If something goes after 5 years, you got it's "lifetime" out of the product, and it maybe time for a whole new build/rebuild.

Grats on your system! Enjoy it.