Building New PC. Need advice

[Tony]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

My abit board has some blown caps and it often doesn't play nice with
my 9600XT vid card and tends to freeze and/or reboot on it's own quite
often (which is so (*&*(#$^#& frustrating!)

Over the next 4-6 months, I'm gonna be putting away a bit out of each
paycheck until I have enough to buy what I need. I'm thinking about
$800-ish

I'm looking to buy everything from Newegg...

When it's working, my amd t-bird 1.2ghz w/768M ram is a pretty alright
machine so I'll prob leave most of it intact in my current case, so
I'm looking to buy a new case with a 450-500W power supply

I like the look of an Antec case like
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129154
But it doesn't comer with a power supply and this is one piece I've
never actually replaced in a machine.. Some PSs look square, some more
rectangular.. How do I know the one I buy online will work in my case?

I'm thinking about

Leadtek Geforce 6800GT PX6800GT TDH Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814122209
and
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103533
and
Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JD 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial
ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144394

I know this puts me at a bit over $800 (@current prices) w/o the 1gig
ram and power supply and Mobo I would still need, but prices over the
next 6 moinths will drop and the $800 isn't a rock solid sum.,,.

Sorry to ramble, but the above was relevent to the question I have...

What power supply and Motherboard would you suggest paired with the
above?

I'm still in an ATX with ATA ribbon cable and pre-sata power cable
world... Dunno alot about these new connectors.

Thinking a PS and Mobo using ATX 2.0 standard?
Both sata and usual power connectors since I'm looking to get a SATA
HD but still use ide dvd writer. PS will need to power hardware plus
thinking at least one 120mm and a couple of 80mm fans..

Need pci express x16 slot for vid card, and IDE connectors for the dvd
writer. GB Network onboard, usb 2.0

Don't need SLI (doubt I'll ever use it), thinking I'll still need
normal pci (32bit?) slots since it seems only vid cards are pci
express (even in the near future)
onboard wifi 811g would be ok, but only if it also has hard wired net.

Don't want Any ABIT or TYAN board due to bad experiences with them in
the past... Thinking ASUS would be nice..

Thanks for suggestions/thoughts.

Tony!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

> I'm looking to buy everything from Newegg...

Although, I'm a fan of Newegg, I also buy from ZipZoomFly, and find their
free shipping to be a definite plus. You might consider looking at them.

> When it's working, my amd t-bird 1.2ghz w/768M ram is a pretty alright
> machine so I'll prob leave most of it intact in my current case, so
> I'm looking to buy a new case with a 450-500W power supply

Why such a need for a high watt power supply? Are you going to run some
lights, SLI graphics, and such? This is probably more than you'll need,
honestly.

> I like the look of an Antec case like
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129154
> But it doesn't comer with a power supply and this is one piece I've
> never actually replaced in a machine.. Some PSs look square, some more
> rectangular.. How do I know the one I buy online will work in my case?

Get an Antec power supply and be done with it. The TruePower series is
great. I've used SmartPower series Antecs in all of my cases, and they've
never given me a problem.

Maybe you might consider something a little more plain with an included 450
watt power supply for less money than you're spending on this case alone?
Take a look at this Antec Sonata II:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

> Leadtek Geforce 6800GT PX6800GT TDH Video Card
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814122209
> and
> AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103533
> and
> Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JD 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial
> ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144394
>
> I know this puts me at a bit over $800 (@current prices) w/o the 1gig
> ram and power supply and Mobo I would still need, but prices over the
> next 6 moinths will drop and the $800 isn't a rock solid sum.,,.
>
> Sorry to ramble, but the above was relevent to the question I have...
>
> What power supply and Motherboard would you suggest paired with the
> above?

Antec TruePower 430

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103908

You probably don't need that much, but for the difference in price, you
might as well get more. Again, I'd seriously look at the Sonata II for just
a couple of more bucks than this power supply alone. It has an Antec
SmartPower 2.0 450W power supply and a great case for just $109. If you want
something more fancy, consider a can of spray paint to jazz it up.

As far as motherboards, consider:

Asus A8N-E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530#DetailSpecs
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socket939/a8n-e/overview.htm

MSI K8N Neo4-F
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130491
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8N_Neo4-F&class=mb

> I'm still in an ATX with ATA ribbon cable and pre-sata power cable
> world... Dunno alot about these new connectors.
>
> Thinking a PS and Mobo using ATX 2.0 standard?
> Both sata and usual power connectors since I'm looking to get a SATA
> HD but still use ide dvd writer. PS will need to power hardware plus
> thinking at least one 120mm and a couple of 80mm fans..
>
> Need pci express x16 slot for vid card, and IDE connectors for the dvd
> writer. GB Network onboard, usb 2.0
>
> Don't need SLI (doubt I'll ever use it), thinking I'll still need
> normal pci (32bit?) slots since it seems only vid cards are pci
> express (even in the near future)
> onboard wifi 811g would be ok, but only if it also has hard wired net.

Any Antec level quality 350 watt power supply can handle your needs. Your
needs aren't extraordinary by any means.

> Don't want Any ABIT or TYAN board due to bad experiences with them in
> the past... Thinking ASUS would be nice..

Can't argue with Asus except that you pay a premium for their reputation.
Other than that, great boards.

 

[jaster]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 01:10:18 +0000, Tony wrote:

> My abit board has some blown caps and it often doesn't play nice with my
> 9600XT vid card and tends to freeze and/or reboot on it's own quite often
> (which is so (*&*(#$^#& frustrating!)
>
> Over the next 4-6 months, I'm gonna be putting away a bit out of each
> paycheck until I have enough to buy what I need. I'm thinking about
> $800-ish
>
> I'm looking to buy everything from Newegg...
>
> When it's working, my amd t-bird 1.2ghz w/768M ram is a pretty alright
> machine so I'll prob leave most of it intact in my current case, so I'm
> looking to buy a new case with a 450-500W power supply
>
> I like the look of an Antec case like
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129154 But it
> doesn't comer with a power supply and this is one piece I've never
> actually replaced in a machine.. Some PSs look square, some more
> rectangular.. How do I know the one I buy online will work in my case?
>
Ouch! Ouch! $150 for a case without a power supply? Check the Antec site
or www.outpost.com for cheaper comparable cases with power supplies.
Yeah, pretty but doesn't do squat really. I prefer the quieter, cooler
with room for fans, air filters, easy access, mid-size case with psu to
pretty.

A good 400+watt will add $100 to the cost.

> I'm thinking about
>
> Leadtek Geforce 6800GT PX6800GT TDH Video Card
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814122209 and


I just ordered a refurbished X800 250DDR from ATI's clearance for $190
plus shipping (and F#$%# tax) that comes with a 3yr warranty.


> AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103533 and
> Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JD 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150
> Hard Drive - OEM
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144394

I don't know what kind of memory you're using with the tbird 1.2ghz but
to get optimal performance I think you'll need at least 2-512 PC3200 DDR
for the AMD64 3500. Performance is better with 2 (512mb) DDR than with
1gb DDR but obviously you could use 1-512mb.

>
> I know this puts me at a bit over $800 (@current prices) w/o the 1gig ram
> and power supply and Mobo I would still need, but prices over the next 6
> moinths will drop and the $800 isn't a rock solid sum.,,.
>
> Sorry to ramble, but the above was relevent to the question I have...
>
> What power supply and Motherboard would you suggest paired with the above?

Tomshardware guide posted an article which compared higher priced m/b to
the cheaper cousin of the same maker and chipset. No performance
differences.

>
> I'm still in an ATX with ATA ribbon cable and pre-sata power cable
> world... Dunno alot about these new connectors.
>
> Thinking a PS and Mobo using ATX 2.0 standard? Both sata and usual power
> connectors since I'm looking to get a SATA HD but still use ide dvd
> writer. PS will need to power hardware plus thinking at least one 120mm
> and a couple of 80mm fans..
>
> Need pci express x16 slot for vid card, and IDE connectors for the dvd
> writer. GB Network onboard, usb 2.0

No significant performance difference between the pci express and agp 8x
but pci-e cards are more expensive.

>
> Don't need SLI (doubt I'll ever use it), thinking I'll still need normal
> pci (32bit?) slots since it seems only vid cards are pci express (even
> in the near future)

True.

> onboard wifi 811g would be ok, but only if it also has hard wired net.

USB adapters are 15-30USD and go into any USB slots on most boards. Why
pay for it on a motherboard?