[vyper]

120GB is a minimum now I feel - especially with erm... certain "downloads" you may have

[Ace Pace]

Whoa, I just noticed (thanks vyper for making me notice), your getting an HD with a 2MB cache, if you do ANY kind of image editing, or FPS gaming, your load times are going to suck, badly, today 8MB is the norm, and even there reguler drives (7200 RPM), take ages to load stuff like D3 or HL2.

[vyper]

That too. In fact if you're going to do any serious image editing or video editing you need a lot of scratch space.

(On a side note: I once tried a 500DPI A5 sized image in Photoshop for some promotional material... let's just say my uptime suddenly ended.)

[kasperl]

HD will be upgraded later, but to buy this one I'm already borowing about 300 euro from my dad, so, well, I'll buy a bigger HD later, when I get more space for less cash.

Is the 9800 really 70 euro's better then the 9600 XT?

[Ace Pace]

Yes, the 9800 reguler for example has:
Radeon 9800 Pro  ATI R350(core)   380(GPU)256-bit(memory bandwidth)   8x1(pipes)

However, the 9600XT has:
Radeon 9600 XTRV360(core)500(cpu)   128-bit(memory bandidth)   4x1(pipes)

Basicly, as has been proven with the latest cards, the larger CPU clock does not compensate for having 4 less pipes, not even with the overdrive feature.

[Tiara]

If you want to last 5 years you shouldn't be stuck with 512 MB DDR. 1 gig minimum for the next year or two alone.

But I guess it's something you can easily expand over time.

[Ace Pace]

With the 754 however he is limited to 4GB at the furthest end, and those 4GB at DDR SDRAM, so even after 3 years that memory should be showing some serious age.

[kasperl]

Erm, sorry, the whole thing kinda changed. I'm getting a gig of RAM, plus a Radeon 9800 128MB, and a good 17 inch TFT on top of the standard config.

[Ace Pace]

Are you sure you will have enough Juice to power the thing? nothing will stop the show faster then not enough W.

[kasperl]

Dunno, the PSU seemed OK. Mind, I'm buying this thing from a store, with pickup&return garantee, so they're the ones to pay for a better PSU and stuff.

[Ace Pace]

Ah okey, so stay at 300, but bear in mind that Any upgrading(most likly to be HD and memory, as your CPU and GPU limited) will need another 50W.

[wolfdog]

I wouldn't take a TFT monitor..

[vyper]

TFT's can be nicer on the eyes - just a bit slow for gaming unless they're top spec.

[kasperl]

Not exactly über top spec, this one, but OK. And indeed, my eyes are hurting from CRT's.