[QUOTE=petrw1;194960]No games here either .... just primenet...
Would pretty much any cheap, old video card fit (and work)?
Or could I order a cheap one like:

EVGA GeForce FX 5200 Video Card - 128MB DDR, PCI, DVI, TV Out, Video Card: $39.99
[/QUOTE]

That one should work. I think most motherboards still support PCI video but there is a definite trend toward PCI-express which would be a little safer choice. It might have noticably slow screen updates with the PCI card but it should not effect gimps unless you have verbose debugging output scrolling on the screen.

Last but not least, what I've some to recently to appreciate, L1 cache is twice larger on AMD chips (per core). This accelerates lattice sieving, and here's the extra bang for the buck. Is it beneficial for LL? - don't know.

But of course, forward looking, the i5 system is probably going to be more long playing, even if taken apart later.

[quote=lfm;194962]That one should work. I think most motherboards still support PCI video but there is a definite trend toward PCI-express which would be a little safer choice. [/quote]

Right. I suggested the [U]reuse[/U] of a PCI card, in case garo had a spare one, previously retired from service. For GIMPS and general purpose home/productivity work, most of the low level video cards are acceptable.
Now, if you´re going to buy a new one, you should go for PCI-e, to ensure long term usability. There are very cheap models available, as this one: ASUS GeForce EN8400GS - 512 MB GDDR2. I can get it from an online retailer by 29€ (~ 40 $).

[QUOTE=lycorn;195003]Right. I suggested the [U]reuse[/U] of a PCI card, in case garo had a spare one, previously retired from service. For GIMPS and general purpose home/productivity work, most of the low level video cards are acceptable.
Now, if you´re going to buy a new one, you should go for PCI-e, to ensure long term usability. There are very cheap models available, as this one: ASUS GeForce EN8400GS - 512 MB GDDR2. I can get it from an online retailer by 29€ (~ 40 $).[/QUOTE]
Be aware that you can't enable the Aero graphics interface of Vista with an old PCI card, although the basic and classic interfaces should work.
If you get a new PCI-e card, just get the cheapest one you can buy, it has sufficient power for the Aero interface and everything more powerful and more expensive is overkill if you don't play games and aren't interested in CUDA development. Make sure the PCI-e card has passive cooling, as fans (active cooling) on video cards are often very noisy.

I have a PCI-e GeForce 7600GS which is passively cooled that I plan to reuse. Also, I don't plan on using Vista (I have the XP upgrade :)) though I would like to keep the option of Windows 7 down the line.

[quote=garo;195009]I have a PCI-e GeForce 7600GS which is passively cooled that I plan to reuse. Also, I don't plan on using Vista (I have the XP upgrade :)) though I would like to keep the option of Windows 7 down the line.[/quote]
that should be fine for vista i think
it also should be fine for most things you will do
my old 7300 ran slow for most 3d games but it was very much the low end of the 7 series cards
yours should at least be good enough for occasional gaming on lowish settings

The last game I bought was in 2006 and that too was not the latest and greatest in terms of graphics requirements. Two small kids and work leave no time for gaming now.

BTW, I have decided to go for the i5-750 - mainly for the overclocking potential and the ability to run 4 LLs without a hit. I'm going with the Gigabyte P55-UD2 which is micro-ATX. I would have preferred the UD3 I like bigger boards for the extra space/slots but I noticed that the UD2 had firewire but the UD3 didn't. I'm also going with G.Skill DDR3 PC3-10666 CL9. DO you think the PC3-12800 ripjaw is worth the extra $13 bucks?

Absolutely.
[SIZE=1](obviously, mind the voltage, don't get the cheap high V ones, many people step into this)[/SIZE]

The ripjaw is 8-8-8-24 at 1.6V so it is compatible.

[QUOTE=Batalov;195095]Absolutely.
[SIZE=1](obviously, mind the voltage, don't get the cheap high V ones, many people step into this)[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Who makes G-Skill?
What is an example of a "cheap high v one"? Do I want to stick with one at 1.65 V and NOT 1.9V??
Is OCZ RAM OK? i.e. OCZ Intel Extreme Edition Dual Channel 4096MB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB) at $96 for 2X2Gb

Is dual channel a good thing? or unnecessary?

Thanks

Oh and is 7-7-7-24 going to be noticeably (28%) faster than 9-9-9-24?
If it says for Intel P55 series does that mean it is not best suited for i5/i7?

Waiting in my TigerDirect.ca shopping cart....any last words or warnings?

ULT-LSP550 :: Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty $49.97

E145-7204 :: EVGA GeForce 7200 GS Video Card - 512MB GDDR2, PCI Express, DVI, VGA, HDTV, Video Card $43.99

O261-2026 :: OCZ PC12800 Obsidian 4GB Dual Channel Memory Kit - 1600MHz, 4096MB (2x 2048MB) $135.99

G452-0103 :: Gigabyte P55M-UD2 Motherboard - Intel P55, Socket LGA1156, uATX, Dual-Channel DDR3, PCIe $119.97

I69-0750 :: Intel Core i5 750 Processor - 2.66GHz, LGA 1156, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, Lynnfield, Retail $219.97