Windows XP Home SP2 Post Installation

Hey

I'm Building a new gaming rig and have a few questions about what’s the best method to install XP Home SP2 and what are some recommended tweaks for my config.

The main parts are: Mobo: Asus SLI Premium Processor: AMD 4800X2 GFX: EVGA 7800gtx HDD: WD Raptor 74gb Mem:2Gb OCZ Plat 2-2-3-5

First, I install windows xp home, once the install finalizes and the system restarts I get to the login screen, what’s the best process to install things??? Should i download windows updates first, or should I install the drivers for all the parts first, or something else like Norton???

Also what’s the best order to install drivers? Mobo 1st, then GFX??? With the drivers should I install the drivers on the CDs or download the latest versions from the net??? (Most drivers like the display drivers require you to uninstall the old version first so is there any real point in using the CD drivers other than if I have issues performance etc???). If anyone has an article on what to do after you have installed XP (drivers/updates) a link would be much appreciated.

Can Windows XP Home SP2 deal with the AMD 4800x2 dual core??? its hard to find a definite answer... Does XP Home support dual core (i.e. 2 cores on the 1 die not 2 processor dies???

Also are they any tweaks/configurations I should use/change from my setup, aside from the removing things from startup/taskbar???

Finally with the windows swap file, should I place the swap on a different partition (make 2 partitions on the 1 disk)?? I can't see this helping because it is on the same drive so the HDD heads will still need to move as much for the swap file... my swap file usage should be small because of the RAM I have..) Also what should I be setting the SWAP file size at? 2Gb - 4GB is a large amount of HDD space when you have a 74Gb HDD???

Thanks Very Much
NW

you should use window xp 64bit edition to harness that cpu.as i do not think that xp sp2 supports it. only 64bit would (correct me if i'm wrong people).

Windows XP Pro 32-bit is fine for the X2 range of processors, I would not use home :)

Theres no real point of going 64-bit at the moment as driver support for hardware such as printers is bordering on nonexistant really, plus all the rest of the drivers for various soundcards et al are all marked as "beta" :(

Use nlite, http://www.nliteos.com/ it will let you slipstream all the windows updates into your XP install disk, as well as letting you tweak loads of settings, like removing all the crap that gets installed as standard.