need your opinion, please ...

[Nerun]

hi all, i'm new in here so i don't know if i'm in the right place. if not, please tell me don't flame me

i'm thinking of bying a new computer and i assembled this few parts:

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2100+, 1733MHz, 133MHz FSB
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-7VRXP, KT333, Audio (CT5880), USB2.0, LAN, RAID UDMA 133 (PC2700 DDR)
Memory: Corsair DIMM 256MB PC333 DDR, CL2 (PC2700) (CM64SD256-2700CX2H)
HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax D740X 60GB, UDMA 133, Retail (L14J060G)
Graphics-Card: Creative 3D Blaster 4 Titanium 4400, GeForce4 Ti4400, 128MB DDR, DVI, TV-out, AGP
DVD: LiteOn LTD-163 16x/48x, Bulk
CD-RW: Plextor PlexWriter PX-W2410TA, 24x/10x/40x, Retail

would be nice to get some inputs. thx.

GzG

Nerun

 

[svol]

Are you planning to overclock?
The system looks fine. But be sure that you buy atleast a 350W powersupply.

<b>THGC:</b> before: :frown: , after: .

 

[buddry]

Looks good, make sure you get atleast 2 hard drives if you are gonna use the raid

If you can find it on the internet, it HAS to be true!

 

[shmeggegie]

looks pretty good to me. I agree that your power supply should be at least 350W, 431 if you overclock. the other thing I would suggest would be that you DON'T use the RAID feature. To understand why, read the following article thoroughly <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.html?i=1491" target="_new">here</A> and instead of the hard drive you were getting, might I suggest the Western Digital WD1200JB with the 8 mb cache. Those hard drives will outperform your RAID, I think, if the article I linked is to be trusted.

<b>Studies have shown that most people prefer the taste of AMD to the taste of Intel</b>

 

[Black_Cat]

Looks good. However, I have reservations about Creative products. Look to get a Leadtek or Asus video card. Just make sure you have a quality power supply too. Good luck.

I can't think of a good signature so I'll use this one.

 

[upec]

I agree. Leadtek and Asus produce better board then Creative. I have a Creative GeForce card before. The TV out does not work after 6 month.

 

[Nerun]

thx to all first.

ad shmeggegie: i read that article before. what attracted me at the hdd i chose is the udma/133.

in fact i'm not planning to use the raid feature. the motherboard just has it on board.

interresting that most suggested overclocking ... i will read through the forum a little. if anyone has usefull links, that would be appreciable.

GzG

Nerun

 

[jihiggs]

dma 133 is a joke, just a number game, there is no performance gain.

you shot who in the what now?

 

[svol]

If you aren't planning to OC you don't really need the PC2700 DDR RAM, because the memory standard runs at PC2100.

<b>THGC:</b> before: :frown: , after: .

 

[Nerun]

i know about that PC2700 runs currently only with CL 2.5 which is equal to PC2100 with CL 2.0. i also know that the crosair chip i listed doesn't run with CL 2.0 but only with CL 2.5. nonetheless i hope that there will be some chips available when i finally buy the computer.

ad jihiggs: where have you got your information from? i'd like to read about it. i think i read somewhere that the higher tactrate brings performance.

GzG

Nerun

 

[svol]

So you plan to overclock?

<b>THGC:</b> before: :frown: , after: .

 

[jammydodger]

I buying a very similar system myslef, I've decided to use a Soltek SL-75DRV5. I had a few prooblems with my current gigabyte GA7-ZXR mboard (Via KT133 chipset) and my Creative Ge-Force2 GTS(something to do with not enough voltage getting to the AGP slot, I dont know the details), so I wanted to stay away from gigabyte. Do you know when PC2700 ram will become avaliable in CL2.0?

Why use windows when you can use doors?

 

[Nerun]

ad svol: no i don't.

ad jammydodger: i see we have the same sources ... i thought of the Soltek first, too. in this article (http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/02q1/020220/) of the new Via KT333(A) and its features, so i changed my plan with that.

That lead to new ram (PC2700) and a new hdd (UDMA 133). i think i'll wait till good CL 2.0 memory is out (hopfully in may/2002). in this forum i was tought that udma 133 is only fully utilizable under the certain cicrcumstances (http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/02q1/020220/kt333-05.html). maybe i'll go with a cheap ibm hdd and wait till good udm 133 drives are out ...

question again: in this thread was said that leaktek and asus have a good reputation in graphics cards. what about the others like abit or msi ?

thx to all

GzG

Nerun

 

[svol]

So why do you want PC2700 RAM if you don't want to OC? The normal Athlon FSB 133 MHz so you only need PC2100 RAM, PC2700 RAM is made to run at 166 MHz FSB. There are mobo's where you can run the FSB and mem at diffirent speeds, but you won't get better results with this because the CPU doesn't have the higher bandwith, ie: 133/166 FSB/mem gives not better performance and possible even worster because they run async.

<b>THGC:</b> before: :frown: , after: .

 

[Nerun]

hmmm... you got a good point there... i probably didn't think it through correctly.

but what is the Via KT333 chipset good for if you can't use the PC2700 feature in normal operation and for udma/133 there aren't any drives available ... usb 2.0 is the feature you can use. crap. i hate computers. *ew"§$2eo3§irh*

sorry. ;-)

GzG

Nerun

 

[svol]

Well you can run the memory async, but that doesn't help much. Maybe there will be 166MHz FSB Athlon in the future, but their next version is planned to be 133MHz.
But if you want the 166MHz FSB and not an OC'ed CPU there is a solution: you can unlock your CPU so you can change your multiplier. If you have an 1,8GHz CPU for example your CPU speed is 13.5*133=1800 MHz (Multiplier*FSB=CPU speed), in you unlock your CPU and raise the FSB you can set it to: 11*166=1833, which is just a 33 MHz OC; you wont need extra cooling for this, and you will get very fast memory performance.

<b>THGC:</b> before: :frown: , after: .

 

[Nerun]

first of all, big thx to svol ! (got it ?)

sounds good, but what do you mean with unlocking? an explanation of the "multiplier" would be very appreciated, too.

thx

GzG

Nerun

 

[Nerun]

ad sval: i looked around a bit and read something about cpu multipliers and their setting. it frightend me a lot more than OC. i think i'll let everything be as it is, im not the risky guy ... at least not with a new cpu.

according to this article [http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2002q1/via-kt333/>], the via K333 in combination with DDR333 brings no houge but at least some performance increase. i think i'll wait till PC2700 with CL 2.0 (others than the corsar) come out and the Toroughbred is available. prices for the xp 2100 will surely be lower then.

anyway, thx to all for your attention and comments! special thanks to sval.

GzG

Nerun

 

[svol]

It is svol... but no problem, glad I could help.

<b>THGC:</b> before: :frown: , after: .

 

[jammydodger]

When do AMD plan to release the thoroughbred? Would it be worth waiting for it to come out? Or will it be a long time? Will the FSB of the thoroughbred be increased for 133 to 166mhz?

I read an article that said that although the transfer of data between the CPU and the northbridge are slower in terms of Mhz to those between RAM northbridge it uses differnt protocals and has a lower latency so it is actually more efficient which makes up for the 33Mhr difference between the RAM and CPU transfer rates. Therefore even though the clock speeds are asynchronous you can still get better performance than if both the RAM and FSB were running at 133Mhz (rather than 166/133). I have no idea how true that is but if I can remember where I saw it I will post the link.

Why use windows when you can use doors?

 

[svol]

I don't know when they want to release it, it should already have been, but they are waiting till the next Intel Pentium 4 comes out. But you have to look in the CPU section for a good answer, I don't come there often.
But if I'm right they will be 133 MHz :frown: .

You can find a similair conclusion to the 133/166 MHz FSB/RAM thing in this article: <A HREF="http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2002q1/via-kt333" target="_new">http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2002q1/via-kt333</A>.

<b>THGC:</b> before: :frown: , after: .

 

[Nerun]

it should come out in 2002/q2 and it will be with 133 according to the article at tomshardware.

ad svol: i posted the same link ... :-D

GzG

Nerun

 

[Nerun]

i've got a real problem with getting my smileys pictured ... thos brats just stay in letters. hmmmm ... minor problem, but sad ...

GzG

Nerun

 

[jammydodger]

Ok cheers, I think I will wait for the thoroughbred then. I also want to get a Ge-Force4 Ti4600, I was thinking of the creative card as it is the cheapest (£305, here in the UK), but quite a lot of ppl have said bad things bout the creative cards. Would it be worth the extra £50 or so for an Asus card?

Why use windows when you can use doors?

 

[Nerun]

although i'd rather take the 4400, i fist picked the creative card, too. as you already said, ppl don't seem to think the best of creative graphic cards.

i think leadtek lies somewhere in the middle. that'l probably be my pick ...

GzG

Nerun