Computer specs

[SeK612]

I'm beginning to put together specs for a new computer. As things stand they're as follows:

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
Sound Card - Creative X-Fi Extreme
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA_P35_DQ6 (Socket 775)
Graphics Card - GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3
Hard Drive - Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 NCQ 500GB SATA-II
Memory - Crucial Ballistix 4GB
Monitor - Dell 22" x 2

For the moment I'm looking for advice on any clashes between the hardware above (stuff that may not be compatible and things like possible bottlenecks).

Is there anything big missing (I have a keyboard/mouse, network card, speakers and a case which are being ported over to the new computer).

Are things like the graphics card and memory overkill for the system. I don't plan to run the latest games on it but it needs to be able to handle having a few apps like photoshop open at the same time and be able to cope with the dual 22" monitors.

[clocker]

What OS are you planning on running?

Most Windows won't recognize over 3.1GB of system RAM.

[SeK612]

Surely Vista would (it's only a few hundred pounds to get four sticks of 1GB memory)?

I'm considering Ubuntu Linux at the moment as well as any Windows version would be cracked and MS are making it too much of a hassle to work around.

[clocker]

Surely Vista would...
Not the 32-bit version.

[peat moss]

Memory is a overkill anyway , why not just 2 gb and new keyboard and mouse or speakers ?

[limpingjaret]

You need a 64 bit OS in order to recognize more than 4GB of RAM. If you are looking at windows, I really wouldn't recommend 64 bit Vista at this point since there are still many driver issues and such. As mentioned, you could drop down to 2GB of RAM on 1 pairing and save the other pairing for future upgrades if and when you upgrade to a 64 bit OS

[Peerzy]

If you're not going to be playing the latest games why would you need 4GB of Ram? Unless you plan on editing motion pictures while doing hundreds of other things you won't need that much and it would be a waste.

[SeK612]

Dropping down to 2 GB of ram wouldn't impact on things like the graphics card (prevent it from running at full capacity) and output to dual monitors?

Mostly increasing the ram was just to create a machine that would last for a while. The max memory I've used is 512MB and it lags a little with firefox, dreamweaver and photoshop all open at the same time (and I'd like to avoid it if possible on the new computer).

I don't play too many games but it would be nice to be able to cope with upcoming releases if I needed too (but if 2GB is enough that is cool).

[limpingjaret]

you don't even need 4GB of ram to play the latest games...your GPU relies on it's own RAM which is on the video card, in your case GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3.2 GB is more than ample to cope with the upcoming releases...there should be no bottlenecks in your system....If you have 4 slots for RAM in pairings of 2, just stick 2 1GB sticks in a pair and leave the other pair in case you ever feel like you need the extra RAM.

[evacide]

Just get two 1GB sticks in dual channel like everyone else said. It won't make a huge difference. If you're willing to use a 64-bit OS for 4GB, boot up with 2GB of RAM and install, and then install this hotfix:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=91672C7C-614B-404C-850C-377541E93C18&displaylang=en
You'll then be able to put the remaining memory in.
I would recommend just getting an Audigy 2 unless you have a really good set of speakers that will work to the full potential of the X-Fi. As for the video card, if you don't plan on doing much gaming an 8600 would probably get the job done fine.