building new computer... pleeeeease help

[Guest]

i already posted this in the graphics cards forum, but got no response... so here it is again =/

Hi, I am in dire need of a new computer. I almost made up my mind on what I wanted to get, until I started reading up on the latest hardware news.

Originally, this is what I wanted:

AMD Thunder Bird 1200 Mhz CPU
Asus A7M266
256MB 266 Mhz DDR SDRAM
40GB Maxtor UDMA100
Pioneer 10x DVD
Panasonic CW7586 8x4x32 CD-RW
Asus V7700 GeForce 2 GTS 64MB Deluxe
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 256 Value

Lately, I've been hearing all kinds of bad things about the Asus A7M266. I'm thinking of waiting for the MSI K7T266 Pro, but just how long am I going to have to wait? My current computer is over 5 years old! Any motherboard I should take a look at? USB 2.0, despite being first generation, is very tempting.

Anyway, I'm also looking toward getting the GeForce3, even if it is disturbingly expensive. I realize that games won't really take advantage of it until much later, around the time when the cost comes down, but I need a video card in the system any way you look at it. I have been contemplating just getting a GeForce2 MX, and getting the GeForce3 later, but I'm not so sure. Any suggestions?

Also, what's the current outlook on the P4?

Thanks. =)

 

[stable]

Outlook on the P4 is still terrible! RAMBUS is still the major catch there and definitely not worth the investment.

The A7M266 is a nightmarish board. Stay away, far far away! Too many problems to list here.

The K7Master (or the -S option) are both great boards, they both run like a dream.

Check the Hercules web site for the new (and old) video cards! Prices just dropped WAY down and these cards run very well. (The new Prophet III card is $70 cheaper than what the Prophet II ultra was just last week! The Prophet II ultra is now $100 cheaper than it was just last week!) Actually if you had nimble fingers, you could have picked up the Ultra II card this morning for about 2 hours at $349.00 but they fixed that little mistake!

In any event, the new Prophet III is very nice, especially at the price of $529.00. We think it is reasonable given the capabilities and the Prophet II is still a steal at $499.00. (I know people that paid 3x this when the card first came out)

Finally, you should consider the following.
1) Stick with high quality RAM. The extra money spent on Corsair or Mushkin PC2100 is WELL WORTH IT! IT DOES MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

2) Don't forget about a really good power supply with at least 2 amps on the +5Vsb connection! Very Important! A good brand is Enermax with the Thermal Protection Option.

3) I would go with the IBM 75GXP 7200RPM 45GB ATA-100 drive. Faster, quieter and longer MTBF than the Maxtor. The price is hard to beat as well.

4) I would definitely forget about the Panasonic CD-RW and stick with something that performs better at a better price. Take a good look at the CRW-1232 from AOpen. Great drive, very fast, very reliable and burns at maximum speed even with cheap disks.

5) Completely forget about the Creative Labs card!!! I would look at the Hercules Game Theater XP. Much better design, Zero compatibility issues (unlike any Live cards from creative) and even has an external controller for USB and Joystick connections at the FRONT of your PC (or wherever you decide to stick the controller like on your desk!) Not to mention it is actually CHEAPER than the Creative labs solutions.

As for the CPU, if you are going to get a 266MHz unit, make sure that you buy BOXED! This is critical for performance and reliability.. not to mention getting the heatsink/fan from AMD included as well as a 3 year warranty!

Steve Benoit


Stable Technologies
'The way IT should be!'

 

[Guest]

any comments about the MSI board? the mobo issue is really driving me nuts. a lot of people have said that the current crop of boards don't take advantage of ddr as much as it should, so i really don't know.

the thing that's holding me back from getting the GeForce 3 is the fact that there's going to be an Ultra version. yeah, it's still a while away, but that's why i'm considering just grabbing an GeForce 2 MX in the mean time. technology moves too fast. =(

thanks for the note about the ram... had you not replied i probably would have picked up any ddr ram i could find.

for the hard drive, i actually wanted to get the ibm deskstar but for some reason i can't seem to find it at the local shops.

the cdr i picked out was simply the cheapest one i saw on a list. the cdr and dvd drives are where i'm cutting corners. =) but you say the aopen is also at a better price? i must look into this.

i had no idea about the hercules game theater xp! thanks =)

i may end up just getting a store to put the system together for me. i don't have a lot of spare time these days, and i don't need any stress from assembly/installation screwups

thanks for the help!