Here it is...

[speedracer]

Ok, here it is. I've been "out of the loop" for a while now since I haven't put together a system in over a year. I started looking around about a week or so ago to decide what I wanted for my new system. All I can say is wow! I can't believe the amount of new motherboards, chipsets, all the new types of RAM, deciding to go with DDR or SDR, trying to get a hold on compatibility issues, and of course the Athlon or Pentium dilemma.

Well I've soaked up as much info as I could, read the reviews, checked out the boards, and so on. The following is the configuration and components I decided on. Two questions, does anybody see any major compatibility problems that I might have missed, and what do you recommended to cool this freakin' furnace down? I'm open to any suggestions, but PLEASE no Athlon vs. Pentium war here. I've decided to go with the Athlon 1.2 Ghz processor with the 266FSB for various reasons. Suggestions on any other component is welcome. Ok, here we go...

note* I will NOT be doing any overclocking

*MSI K7T-TURBO RAID(for possible upgrade later) 266FSB Athlon ATX w/Audo,ATA100
*AMD Athlon 1200Mhz CPU 256K A-Cache 266FSB
*System Blower (Quiet Power Cooling)
*Cooler Fan for Thunder Bird Socket A
*2X 256MB SDRAM DIMM 32x64 PC-133 (Total 512)
*Explora Silver Mid-Tower 7-Bay/300W P/S (is 300W enough?)
*IBM 45GB Ultra ATA/100 7200rpm IDE Hard Drive
*Standard1.44MB Floppy Drive
*Toshiba 12X DVD ROM EIDE Drive(any better suggestions)
*Sound Blaster Live! PCI Sound Card
*ATI Radeon DDR 64MB AGP Graphic Card, or NVIDIA GEFORCE2 GTS 64MB-DDR SGRAM??? (I'm worried about the compatibility problems of the VIA chipset and the ATI Radeon boards I keep hearing about. Any truth to it, because I would definitely prefer the Radeon)
*Diamond 56K V90 PCI Fax/Modem/Voice (I have a USB DSL modem already, so I just need a
basic modem to fax with)

No monitor or other peripherals since I already have...
Scanner-USB Hp scanjet 5200cxi
CD/RW- HP CD-writer plus external 8200e drive
Monitor- Eizo FlexScan F520

What do ya think...

 

[Guest]

Hmmm!... new computer..... ~~
I drool over it already

I am building a new computer fora friend too so here are the minor adjustment i'd do for your components (you don't seem to want to pay a fortune for it...)

1. The CPU doesn't have 256k but 384k of on-die cache (just as info...)

2. You might wanna have a mobo with USB 2.0 and PCI 2.2 secifications... i can't seem to find any so i am telling my friend to wait a bit.

3. GET DDR! It is cheap right now and ROCKS! you'll get a quite big boost of performance with CAS 2.5... (well... if you have the money for it)

4. Get an Enermax power supply... they are one of the best PSUs. they sell a 331W one which is enough for you.

5. The IBM Deskstar 75GXP that you want is the right hdd

6. If you can, put another 60 bucks more on your floppy drive and get a LS-120 instead, they read floppies WAY faster and you can read 120MB diskettes on top of that.

7. Try to get a Toshiba SD-M1502 for your DVDROM (16x dvd / 48x cd)

8. Get a Sound Blaster Live! DE 5.1 as your sound card.

9. I would recommend the GeForce2 GTS over the ATI but it's just a matter of taste for me, i don't know about those compatibility problems...

10. If you got an ISA slot ABSOLUTELY get an AOpen FM56-ITU/2 ISA. It's what i got and i my friends couldn't get 70% of the speed i had on the net, but if this isn't your ticket for the net, then don't bother and just buy what you have there...

11. You ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO get a Plextor PlexWriter 12x or 16x with that computer... don't keep that HP crap.

12. Get yourself a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer, it's the optical one... i got that and i gotta say, the 5 buttons it has are VERY useful.

13. There is no 13. 13 is for bad luck

"Bit, Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terrabyte, Petabyte, Exabyte, Zettabyte, Yottabyte..."

 

[speedracer]

"You might wanna have a mobo with USB 2.0 and PCI 2.2 secifications..."

Haven't seen those specs on any boards yet. What's the advantage?

"GET DDR! It is cheap right now and ROCKS!"

I don't know about cheap, and it seems every article I read there is only about a 10 percent increase in performance. Maybe with future chipsets and higher clocked processors to take advantage of the higher bandwidth they'll be a higher margin of performance.

"Get an Enermax power supply..."

Looks good, I'll add it in...

"If you can, put another 60 bucks more on your floppy drive and get a LS-120 instead, they read floppies WAY faster and you can read 120MB diskettes on top of that."

Thanks for the suggestion, but I can count the times I used my floppy in the past year on 1 hand

"Try to get a Toshiba SD-M1502 for your DVDROM..."

Looks good, and I found one for a good price. Its in!

"You ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO get a Plextor PlexWriter 12x or 16x with that computer... don't keep that HP crap."

I would if I didn't have the HP already, for the amount of burning I do it'll have to do for now. Besides, what's your beef with HP, I've never had a problem with anything I bought from them.

I'm still worried about cooling this furnace down, how many and where do you guys recommended putting fans in? I would like to keep the sound down, and again, I will not be doing any overclocking. Suggestions?? Anyone??

Thanks again JrPuter for the help...

 

[speedracer]

"You might wanna have a mobo with USB 2.0 and PCI 2.2 secifications... i can't seem to find any so i am telling my friend to wait a bit."

I was just an MSI's site and noticed the board I'm using (K7T Turbo-R) is PCI 2.2 complaint. Doesn't mention anything about USB 2.0 though.

I still don't know what it means

---
Speedracer

 

[Guest]

Looks like a great system!

 

[viper2211]

its ok but i would recommend the GeForce over the ATI

"1 Kb is all you will ever need"

says my grandpa

 

[jerry557]

I agree; I had a conflict problem in the past with a ATI card and then it somehow destroyed my motherboard! And I've always had compatibility problems with them. I havn't had any problems at all with GeForce cards (yet anyway).

 

[mwgorecki]

I too am building a new system: for cooling, I have picked up the ANTEC SX-830 case (300 Watts and two rear exhaust fans), and for the chip fan a Cooler Master DP5-6H11 (Tom's review was good).

sz

 

[speedracer]

I've had an ATI based card in pretty much every system I have owned. Mostly because I'm more of a multimedia user than 3D games, and never had any problems at all, there All-In-Wonder cards have worked flawlessly for me. Especially when it comes to DVD playback. Now that I'm finally digging in the pocket for a new system, I really wanted to check out the new All-In-Wonder 64, based on the Radeon. The card has had very positive reviews across the net (again, although adequate, it doesn't belong in a 3D gaming system). But since I'm going with an AMD 1.2 GHz CPU and VIA chipset based motherboard, I would be just asking for headaches with that combo. So, I guess I'll venture into new territory with the NVIDA GeForce GTS.
How's the DVD playback with that board, does it come with a software DVD player?

 

[dandan]

Couple of points:

1. All Athlons have 256k on-die cache. Maybe the Palamino has more, but all current socketed Athlons (i.e., all TBirds) have 256K.

2. USB 2.0, whilst coming out, probably isn't worth the wait compared to other developments (cheaper CPUS, mem, new AGP cards, etc). Consider how long it's taken for USB 1.0 products to really kick off. Unless you intend to get something that uses USB 2.0 <i> now </i>, I wouldn't bother waiting. Plus, if you do get the MS Intellimouse Explorer (I have one also), can you be sure that it'll work in a USB 2.0 slot (please don't flame me for this, I don't pretend to know that answer).

6. Unless you read a hell of a lot of floppies, or your mates use LS-120s already, don't bother. I have one in my works machine, and never use it. Whilst it does read floppies faster, it's still slow compared to other storage (CD's, HDs). Plus, that $60 difference could be in your pocket, or used to upgrade a different component.

7. The toshiba is good. So is the Pioneer DVD-105. A bit much of a muchness, though I've here that the Pioneer is the 1st UDMA66 DVD drive, so doesn't slow a HD as much if on the same IDE cable (A UDMA33 DVD drive forces the HD to run at UDMA33. Not a big diff, as HDS don't run that fast, but its a couple of % drop in performance. Would be a shame, especially if you bought the IBM HD, as I hear they are very nice and fast).

10. Instead of getting an ISA modem (or PCI), try to stretch to an external modem. Agreed, they're not as neat and need another plug in the wall, but are much more manageable. Plus, they are hardware modems which means that if you play games online, they don't put a load on the CPU. ISA or PCI modems both use CPU cycles to run them, which can drop your framerate by a couple of %. Not a big deal, but all those few % can add up. I you can spare the dosh, a modem by Multitech is a very safe bet. They cost a couple of $$$ more, but most IT guys I know who use a modem swear by them. I also have one, and is both fast and never drops a line (I have a fairly dirty connection to my local exchange).

11. Wait until the HP pisses you off, or dies before you replace (I hear that CDR drives don't last as long as read-only drives). A drive that'd $200 now will be going for $100 in 6-9 months.

Hope this is of use,

Dan

 

[Nevynn]

The GlobalWin FOP-38 ($20) seems to be the best Socket A cooling fan around. I'm waiting patiently for the dual Socket A boards to be released (info on dates, anyone?), and my only concern is that I can fit two on the board. Also, just to increase the amount of air moved through the case, there are fans made that fit into the external drive bays, and some that fit into the card slots (not sure of manufacturer names or prices).

Nev

Though the monkey dresses in silk, it remains a monkey.

 

[Guest]

PCI 2.2 enables you to use 1 Gigabit/s NICs
USB 2.0 goes at 480Mbit/s while USB 1.1 went 12Mbit/s... did i mention the performance boost you can get with future usb peripherals you will use?

"Bit, Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terrabyte, Petabyte, Exabyte, Zettabyte, Yottabyte..."

 

[Guest]

ISA (almost) doesn't pull any load from the cpu, they are hardware modems. PCI, on the other hand, takes a lil part of your cpu cycles... but as for USB external modems they take more cpu cycles than the PCI ones... and depend on the software as PCI (I would stay connected to the internet even if my computer hung with my ISA modem, can't say the same thing with PCI and USB...)

"Bit, Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terrabyte, Petabyte, Exabyte, Zettabyte, Yottabyte..."

 

[speedracer]

Hey Puter,

"USB 2.0 goes at 480Mbit/s while USB 1.1 went 12Mbit/s..."

Wow that's pretty damn impressive! I need to look into that a little more. I don't think I'll wait for it though. I feel the need for speed!! And I can wait no more

Anybody know the maximum bandwidth of "firewire" now? Obviously not as useful as a high speed USB connection but I'm just curious.

---
Speedracer

 

[speedracer]

Thanks for the info Nevynn, my system is now complete, I'll probably order it today!! The only thing left I'm still undecided about is how many case fans, I want the rig to stay cool but I don't want to drain too much from the power supply (300W) and need ear plugs . (again, no overclocking going on here)

---
Speedracer

 

[Guest]

Actually the current version of firewire (or IEEE1394) goes 400Mbits/s so it actually kicked the pants off of USB 1.1's 12Mbits/s.

USB 2.0 makes a huge leap frog jump to 480Mbits/s which is comparable to current firewire but the new version of IEEE1394 is going to make a similar big jump to 1600Mbits/s so USB will remain the slower (but cheaper) option.

The thing to realize is that all your current USB devices won't get a speed increase if your MB supports USB 2.0. If you've already got USB scanners, printers, and other devices, you'd have to ditch them and buy new ones so I don't think it's worth waiting for.

 

[camieabz]

Why not up the power supply a little bit more and throw on a more suitable cooling system.

A case with a front intake might be an idea.

<b>
Heatsinks, fans & whisky...Everythings Cool!
</b>

 

[phsstpok]

Yes, a bigger power supply. Also, a full tower case keeps things cooler.

Enermax makes great power supplies. The EG351P-VE, 330 watt PSU doubles the amount of current on the 3.3 volt over typical 300 watt power supplies (at 30 amps vs 14 amps). Other lines are beefed up a little. The EG451P-VE goes for about $50. If you need more power on the 5 and 12 volt lines go with the EG451P-VE. Definitely in the overkill territory is the EG651P-VE at 650 watts.

Note: The EG351P-VE may have been replaced by the EG365P-VE, 350 watts, but the older model is still available.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 03/26/01 08:34 PM.</EM></FONT></P>