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PC Upgrade - A few questions

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nosh:
I'm getting a new system shortly, mainly to experience some dual core goodness.
I've based it mainly on this list at Techspot.

Nothing's finalized yet but here's how it's shaping up:
Core 2 Duo E8400 (@3 GHz) - going under the assumption that lesser cores with more GHz per core is better for the average user, as stated elsewhere. The E8500 (3.16 ? Ghz)and E8600 (3.33 GHz) apparently haven't arrived here and the marginal differences I've seen in the benchmarks don't make the waiting/torture worthwhile.
 
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P (supports FSB speeds of 1600MHz and DDR2 speeds of 1200MHz)

RAM: 2GB DDR2, make undecided - something in the 1100+ MHz range

HDDs - Haven't looked closely at HDDs yet but something fast for the system drive,  probably a Raptor running @10000 RPM
1 TB Seagate or WD for data mirroring along with my older (2x) 300GB Seagates.

GPU - I'm leaning towards the 9600GT after reading this thread but I might spring for something faster, budget permitting.

A couple of clarifications needed from the hardware enthusiasts:
My memory usage rarely touches the 1GB mark as of now, will a core 2 system running the same OS+software utilize more RAM for any reason? The low speed RAM is really cheap but the faster sticks are a bit steeper priced so I don't want to buy any more than I need and use the cash instead to push the other specs up a bit.

Soundcard: I was completely taken in by some Creative X-Fi (XtremeMusic) reviews but just saw the thread reg. poor Creative support. I plan to stick to XP-32 so don't expect to have any driver problems. Any happy X-Fi customers here? Or other cards to consider? Do these things even make a difference to the way music sounds?

Any suggestions beyond what I've asked are obviously very welcome. Thanks.

mouser:
im a little paranoid about memory and would advise avoiding bargain-basement memory.
if you plan on doing any overclocking then you absolutely need good quality memory, but even if not, i would consider spending extra on name brand good memory, just because memory problems are so elusive and hard to diagnose, and it's not something you want to be wondering about.

you need 2gb, dont even think about getting less.  2gb is almost certainly enough.

your plan to get a 10k primary hd (140gb or so) is a very good one, and it's what i recommend.

Lashiec:
About the RAM, if you're not going to overclock, you're just fine with plain DDR2 800, but be sure to follow mouser advice.

Think about wether is worth buying a Raptor or not as it's no longer the panacea it was a couple of years ago. Drives like the Samsung Spinpoint F1 or the Western Digital Caviar SE16 give it quite some challenge in most tasks. Another completely different thing is the VelociRaptor, that drive is a beast and only a good SSD is capable of competing with it. The only caveat is that is quite expensive.

A 9600GT or a 8800GT are both good choices. If you budget can be stretched a bit more, I suggest you to look into a Radeon 4850.

The soundcard question is tricky. The X-Fi is quite a decent card, even more considering all the years Creative was laughing at its customers' faces. Is it the better? Personally, I might opt for a Xonar DX, which is even better quality-wise, and has compatibility with the latest EAX versions using some tricks. Also, do consider what kind of sound equipment do you have. If you're going to use a couple of normal computer speakers, investing into a soundcard is not really recommended.

mouser:
Also, do consider what kind of sound equipment do you have. If you're going to use a couple of normal computer speakers, investing into a soundcard is not really recommended.
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this is a good point -- all modern motherboard's have reasonable built in sound.

cranioscopical:
I'm leaning towards the 9600GT-nosh
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FWIW the BFG 9600GT OCX that I bought runs cool and makes next to no noise (which is why I bought it). Nice to know that it performs as advertised, though. If you're using the computer to listen to music you don't want fan racket.

Personally, if I want music I turn on a hi-fi so I'm happy with the on-chip audio that's on my mobo (ASUS P5E3 Premium). It's a nice mobo, btw, with the bugs already ironed out and good features. Here, if you're interestedhttp://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=2069&l1=3&l2=11&l3=640&l4=0
 
You could always start out with the on-chip audio and see if it meets your needs. If you're happy then you have saved some cash for other upgrades. If not, just put in the card of your choice later.

As others have said, please don't buy bargain basement RAM

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