Building my first socket 939 computer - suggestions welcome

[CARBON]

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

So far I have the following parts list:

Antec SLK2650-BQE case: $ 65.50
FOXCONN NF4UK8AA-8EKRS NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra: $104.00
GIGABYTE ATI RADEON X300 PCI Express Model GV-RX30128D: $ 76.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail CPU: $146.00
Mushkin Dual Pack 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200: $ 85.67
NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive: $ 8.00
Seagate 120GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA Model ST3120827AS: $ 93.00
US Robotics 56K V.90 Data/Fax/Voice Modem, Model 2976 $ 38.00

I'm building it for a buddy of mine, but this'll be my first socket
939 pci express computer. I'm after stability, quietness, and speed in
that order. Questions:

I really like the Spire Whisperrock fan for socket A CPUs. Is the
stock fan is too loud, and will this fan fit on a socket 939 motherboard?

My friend already has an XP upgrade CD and a win98 CD. Will the XP CD
be able to see the SATA controller and pci express bus, or am I going
to have to jump through hoops to get it installed?

Is the X300 a good videocard, or should I look elsewhere? This isn't a
gaming rig, but there will probably be some video editing down the
road. I don't want to spend more than $80 for the card. What's the
best deal right now?

Thanks much for any suggestions.

 

[CARBON]

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

Carbon wrote:
> So far I have the following parts list:
>
> Antec SLK2650-BQE case: $ 65.50
> FOXCONN NF4UK8AA-8EKRS NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra: $104.00
> GIGABYTE ATI RADEON X300 PCI Express Model GV-RX30128D: $ 76.00
> AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail CPU: $146.00
> Mushkin Dual Pack 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200: $ 85.67
> NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive: $ 8.00
> Seagate 120GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA Model ST3120827AS: $ 93.00
> US Robotics 56K V.90 Data/Fax/Voice Modem, Model 2976 $ 38.00


Forgot about the burner. Is this a good one?

Samsung 16X DVD±RW, 5X Dual Layer, Model TS-H552U/BEBN Black $55


>
> I'm building it for a buddy of mine, but this'll be my first socket
> 939 pci express computer. I'm after stability, quietness, and speed in
> that order. Questions:
>
> I really like the Spire Whisperrock fan for socket A CPUs. Is the
> stock fan is too loud, and will this fan fit on a socket 939 motherboard?
>
> My friend already has an XP upgrade CD and a win98 CD. Will the XP CD
> be able to see the SATA controller and pci express bus, or am I going
> to have to jump through hoops to get it installed?
>
> Is the X300 a good videocard, or should I look elsewhere? This isn't a
> gaming rig, but there will probably be some video editing down the
> road. I don't want to spend more than $80 for the card. What's the
> best deal right now?
>
> Thanks much for any suggestions.

 

[Guest]

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

> AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail CPU: $146.00

I'd be overclocking it a bit for use in video editing. Otherwise, it is
cheap and he can upgrade the CPU later for that purpose.

> US Robotics 56K V.90 Data/Fax/Voice Modem, Model 2976 $ 38.00

Tell him he needs to upgrade to a broadband connection, so that his new,
fast machine won't be forced to crawl at agonizingly slow speeds.

> I'm building it for a buddy of mine, but this'll be my first socket
> 939 pci express computer. I'm after stability, quietness, and speed in
> that order. Questions:
>
> I really like the Spire Whisperrock fan for socket A CPUs. Is the
> stock fan is too loud, and will this fan fit on a socket 939 motherboard?

I use a Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heatsink/Fan. I highly recommend it.
It quietly cools my 939 Winchester and even handles a 35-40% overclock.

> My friend already has an XP upgrade CD and a win98 CD. Will the XP CD
> be able to see the SATA controller and pci express bus, or am I going
> to have to jump through hoops to get it installed?

No problem. With the SATA controller, it is ussualy detected. At the
worst, you'll have to pop in the floppy that comes with your MOBO and load
the drivers by pressing F6 at the beginning.

> Is the X300 a good videocard, or should I look elsewhere? This isn't a
> gaming rig, but there will probably be some video editing down the
> road.

If it is not a gaming rig, then, yes, it's fine.

The NEC 3520A is a great burner.

Cheers,

Dave