shadow1100mfp

i recently bought a new laptop (hp dv7 1245dx). it has a 320 gb hard drive installed. i'd like to buy 2 things: an express card ssd and a larger regular hard drive. on these, i'd like to mirror the windows partition on the regular one, and the recovery drive from hp onto the ssd. is this feasible/a good idea?

i play games once in a while, but that's a secondary concern for me (i just want to build a good, quality very fast computer). the most demanding program i use is photoshop (it's the top edition adobe sells). i know that'd be best on quad core, but if i went with the dual, would i be overall more satisfied?

i'm trying to decide between these 2 cpu's http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...p?EdpNo=2643933 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...p?EdpNo=3574211 i'm leaning towards the quad just because it's a quad core and its so cheap, but im also leaning towards the dual because it's a little faster and it doesn't seem to have that "too good to be true" feel to it. i don't plan on overclocking my computer at all, but i may dabble in that later (the quad, according to the video on that sight, can be overclocked to about 3.2ghz, i don't know about the other one though). can anyone offer advice or pros/cons to either of these?

part of the reason i chose that specific amd bundle; good/great performance at low cost with spare memory and pcu included. even if i don't use the memory right away with this thing; it'll make a good replacement set should the ones i buy go bad; or i could build a spare computer for my dorm that was of decent performance and keep the higher performance one at home, however; i don't have a preference (i'm not so into games that i have an opinion on every part); between intel or amd; the only difference to me is the basic performance, and as long as i get something that has decent speed etc. than im happy.

well i know it's more personal preference, but i was mainly loking for something like "while the part you had in mind was good/ok, this one is better/cheaper/will work better with the other parts/etc".

because i can use them elsewhere in a different computer.

i don't plan on using the ones in the bundle; i should have mentioned that in the first post. sorry about that

i plan on getting a 1000 watt psu when i find a good one; but the psu is in cluded so i figured it'd suffice for now so are you saying rather than 2 8800gts to go with one gtx280? or 2 of them in sli; if so that solves the problem with the sound card. the only reason i chose the one i have here is because thats hte only one i found that i liked that would fit the pcix1 slot i had; if im only going to use one more expensive video card than i can get a better one with more features the harddrives; i'd like to use sata to connect them and the case only allows for 3; so i chose a good looking 500gb drive; though i'll probably look harder and find one i like as a main drive (250-500gb); one for files (500+gb) and one for games (250 or less gb, high speed) as for the video card you reccomended; i plan on attaching this to my 42inch screen, would it work well with this size screen?

i only plan on keeping the psu until i get a chance to find a good 1000watt one how am i mixing them? i looked at the specs and i thought i found a set that matched pretty well; but i may be wrong it isn't necessary, but i'd rather have way too many usb ports than not enough the fan's i wasn't really set on; as a fan is a fan in my opinion (aside from how much they move; i don't care about lights or anything else) i added the fan controller because i wanted a temp reading on the case and teh ability to control how fast they go manually

i've chosen to build a new pc rather than buy one; i'm going to buy the parts next week but i thought id put my plans on here first and see what you guys thought of it and any improvements you would recommend Case/power supply: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...AIN#detailspecs motherboard/cpu: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=2430 memory: (4gb) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=2261 video card (x2 for sli): http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=1839 sound card: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=2771 Hard drives (x3) sata: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=2459 dvd burner/disk drive: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=1624 floppy/memory card reader: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...4&CatId=630 usb card: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...7&CatId=511 wireless: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=2688 fansx3: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...2&CatId=802 fan controller: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...2&CatId=501 speakers: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...mp;Sku=L23-6335 monitor: a flat panel tv 20-42inch any suggestions i'd be glad to take into consideration and i'll answer any questions if there are any. this pc is a bit overkill for what i'll usually be using it for (music, browsing the web, photoshop, etc.) but it's got enough power that i'll be able to play games when i feel like it

i used some iso burning software idont remember the name though i only downloaded it to burn the iso then i deleted it.

i downloaded ubuntu and dsl, and neither i could get to boot. idk if i did it right (when asked i booted from cd drive, and it just stopped there)

i'll try ubuntu first; then dsl then if those don't work ill try spinrite or that other program on the list. im trying to do this as cheap/free as possible because i just bought a mustang a few days ago, and i still owe about $1500. otherwise i'd just buy it as i know i'll probably be needing it soon enough anyway (3 harddrives in my car for the stereo, 3 computers and 2 laptops, random harddrives from friends that they didnt want anymore, etc.)

256mb is what it has; which one has a learning curve, ubuntu or damnsmalllinux? which is easier to get in, do the dirty work, and get done as fast as possible? sadly, this laptop is what i have my college application papers saved on; i have them backed up but the newest versions of them are on here so id like to get this laptop up and running asap since i need to start applying to colleges

it's a few years old, but not old enough to be doing this i don't believe. no signs of damage either as far as i can tell. how do i get a live disk? recommended linux os?