Got Parts for nu rebuild..???

Clarifications

1. Set the partitions during windows set up
2. Depending on your Mobo the bios will take care of CPU control automatically
3. You can plug case fans into the PSU if they have the correct connectors or adaptors but why would you want to
4. You will almost certainly need to load SATA divers during setup (press F6 when prompted)
5. If you have 2 yellow slots and 2 Red ones put your RAM in the 2 Yellow slots
6. I have been using Vista since pre release and have had no significant issues with it, there is too much whining going on about it and it works fine, you will however need to make sure that ALL your hardware is supported by Vista or supports Vista.
NB Your 74Gb Hard Drive is not really big enough if you are going to install all your software applications on it, I would go for something like 250Gb minimum

OK for starters you can not use a Quad Core with XP Home it only supports 1 Core. XP Pro will support 2 Cores but not 4.

Vista Ultimate 64 will support all 4 Cores but may not support some of the older software, this may be an issue for you but I'm not sure. It may however not support your Hardware this is because there are many 64 Bit Drivers that are yet to be written. The 32 bit Version works quite well and is what most use. Just because you have 64 Bit Hardware doesn't mean that you need a 64 Bit OS or Software as there isn't anything much of the latter. Even still there is even fewer applications that are optimised for Quad Core CPU's.

Ram should go in the same colour Slots and if you are looking at Vista anything I would recommend using all 4 GIG as it will just be happier. Vista is a [b]Resource Hog[/b] and the more resources that you throw at it the better it works.

[i]Do I have to use the RAID on the two hard drives to set up my partitions to alllow about 40GB on the primary Hard drive,or is this done while in setup Windows O.S?[/i]

Depends on the RAID type you are using some require more than 2 HDD and this is set in the Initial Windows Setup by pressing the [b]F6[/b] Key at the initial Blue Screen in XP at least.

[i]Another thing is the Quad..Is this alot of work trying to control the temperatures,or is this pretty straight forward Plug/play? (I'm thinking I should have got a DuoCore2 E6850 instead)[/i]

You just need to plug this into the M'Board and set the BIOS for it to work correctly. But some cores may not be utilised by the Software that you install. As for if you brought the wrong thing well I can not say. Personally I would have saved some money now and waited for Quad Core OS and Applications to become available more freely or at least allow the OS to be optimised for Quad Core CPU's.

[i]Can I plug the case fans directly into the Power supply leads instead of the Mobo?[/i]

Most Defiantly but they will have no speed control so the running costs may be slightly greater. Also you need to regularly check for a build up of Dust & other crud inside the case. This can affect the operation of the hardware. Also while there is no set rule about Case Fans most people set them up to suck in at the front and blow out the back,. While you can use the Power Supply for the CPU Fan you will need to disable the CPU Fan Control in BIOS to prevent a Warning Alarm sounding.

[i]Do I need to install e-sata or Pci-e drivers from somewhere in Bios, before any certain time during the rebuild[/i]

With XP you need to install these before the OS Starts to load by pressing the F6 Key when the very First Blue Screen Appears. The PCIe are installed after the OS is installed along with any unsupported drivers for hardware.

[i] have four 4 Dimm DDR2 Slots.I am going to use two @ 1GB each, Can they be consecutive like start in A1, A2, side by side,...Or do you go A1, B2 slot[/i]

While you can do as you like you will get better performance if you insist on just using 2 Sticks of RAM by installing them in the same colour Socket.

[i]I have a version 2002 Serv. Pack II ((2004) Windows XP Home O.S. It does not say on the CD whether it is 32 or 64 Bit[/i]

This will be a 32 Bit product if it was 64 Bit it would be marked as such. The 32 Bit versions are not marked as they are the expected products.

I would suggest that you assemble the M'Board, RAM, CPU and Video Card outside the case and test it before assembly. It always helps to know if you have a working bunch of parts before fitting them to a case. If you sit the M'Board on Paper there is no possibility of it getting a Static Hit from the surrounding area and very little chance of a Short Circuit occurring if the paper is clean & unused.

Col

Just my additional comments to what has already been posted.

I would plug the CPU fan into the motherboard that way you get a warning should the fan fail.

You will need to use adapter cables for many fans in order to plug them into the power supply leads. And, unless your power supply has lots of extra drive connectors, you will need to use Y cables. For overall reliability, the fewer connections the better.

I would not set up a RAID array with your drive configuration. You should have multiple drives of the same size to benefit from a RAID configuration.

I did not look at the manual for your motherboard. If the SATA controller is a RAID controller, you may need to configure at least your boot drive as a single drive array prior to formatting the drive and installing your OS.

Drivers; If you install XP, you will need to press F6 during the first phase of the install and load the SATA driver when prompted.

As a side note, your BIOS is "firm-ware" you can adjust specific settings but you cannot "load" anything into the BIOS.

As to your experience, just take your time and triple check EVERYTHING before you connect power.

Chas

Please setup your hardware with the operating system of your choice (i have vista ultimate).
When you have it all up and running the first rule (with any motherboard) is to update your bios. You will need to go to the msi website for the new bios. When done your system will be more stable than the old bios.
Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit is stable, depending what you put on it though.