Need help with computer components

[timberwolf1]

Hello

I'm thinking of building the following system:

AMD Athlon XP 2800+ CPU Retail
EPOX 8RDA+ nForce 2 Motherboard
2x 256MB PC-400 CL2 DDR Ram
Seagate 80GB 8MB Hard Drive
Sony 3½" 1.44MB Floppy, Black
Sony 16X DVD-Rom, Black
Lite-On 52x24x52 CD-RW Drive, Black
LeadTek GeForce MX440
Samsung 955DF 19" .20(h) 1600 Dyna Flat, Black
ThermalTake Xaser II 5000A+ w/o PSU
Enermax 465Watt Whisper PSU
Altec Lansing XA3001 w/Sub, Speakers
MS Windows XP Pro w/CD & Manuals

What do you all think of my configuration? Comments are welcome! Thanks!

Best Regards,
Gary Hendricks
http://www.desktop-video-guide.com
Learn how to create and edit your own desktop videos!

 

[jaythaman]

Thats a great setup choice except for the graphics card. Will u not be playing much games on your computer?? I'm a casual gamer and own the 440MX but wouldnt recommend it to anyone who's a big gaming fan.
And if you dont believe me on this issue just try asking the other veterans and they'll be breathing down your throat for even asking LOL Everybody hates the MX. BUT SADLY NOBODY ADVISED ME THAT WHEN I CAME HERE TO ASK ADVICE FOR MY SETUP [SAD]

<b><font color=blue>'When I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you</b></font color=blue>

 

[mrwhipper]

I agree with Jay. I would purchase a different video card. A GeForce4 Ti or an Equavelent ATI card. Stay away from the MX card.. It is nothing more than a pushed GeForce2 card. Good luck with your new system. Please post your results. Take care all.

They are our, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors. They are OUR TROOPS! Please support them.

 

[Rubberbband]

System looks good man, BUT get rid of that MX garbage. Otherwise get a 1600XP, a 5400 rpm 20Gb HD and lose anything else that could give you performance in your system because that video card will drag your performance down to the gutter. There's no sense in spending that kind of money only to get mediocre performance.

It is YOUR system though.

The aim of military training is not just to prepare men for battle, but to make them long for it. <A HREF="http://forums.btvillarin.com/index.php?act=ST&f=41&t=327&s" target="_new"><b>MY SYSTEM</b></A>

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Buy Western Digital Special Edition HDD instead of Seagate. It's much better than the Seagate HDD.

Buy LiteOn 16x DVD-ROM

STAY AWAY from GeForce4 MX. If you want a good graphics card for cheap, then buy 64 MB Radeon 8500LE or Radeon 9100

Submit your opinion <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=28537#28537" target="_new"> Should Tom Fire Omid? </A>

 

[smitbret]

Never owned a Seagate, have you?

 

[shifty_jim101]

As everyone has said, scratch the MX card
PSU, thats quite a PSU for the system you are putting together, might be overkill... you could get a smaller Antec PSU (trupower 380/430 etc, save a few bucks get a better video card)
Also Athlon XP is kind of expensive if you got the money, then great! otherwise, newegg.com sells Tbred B XP2100's, they are definitely overclockable to 2400+ (for low end silicon) and upwards of 2700+ for the high end ones. for only 83$ (add 5$ for a 1 yr warranty on the OEM part)
Just took a second look at your proposed rig, dude, you got some mad cash don't you?
I just put together a system for my buddy, cost about 1700$
-Athlon XP 2100+ (tbred b, clocking it to 2400+ with vcore at 1.65, had it up to xp2700+ with no effort at all, course he got a high end cut on the silicon) cooled by:
-Tt Volcano 7+
-Corsair Twinxx memory 512MB
-ASUS A7N8X MB (Deluxe)
-ATI Radeon PRO 9700 by sapphire
-80GB Special edition hard drive by WD (8mb cache, 7200 RPM), I got a SATA converter from high point.
-40x burner from Yamaha (the kickass one)
-16x DvD drive from Sony
-LAN boy case from Antec (comes with a Smart blue PSU 350 watt) Its aluminum and comes with a carrying strap, freakin handy if you ask me, Lan Partay anyone?
-two red LED fans from Antec (double ball bearing etc etc)
-rounded cables for drives (UV reactive)
-set of 5.1 speakers from Creative the 5200's
-Cannon Bubble jet printer 550i
-19" Viewsonic monitor

His bench marks are really good, I think If I had more money for him we would have gotten a faster processor(maybe), a Flatscreen monitor, and better speakers. Thats it.

 

[Auburn9698]

Right on.

Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war, too.

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Not telling about quality, WD or Maxtor's drives with similar spec. are faster than your selected Seagate drive.

I never owned a Seagate like you

Submit your opinion <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=28537#28537" target="_new"> Should Tom Fire Omid? </A>

 

[HardWareBoss]

You said it. Thank a Vet for your Freedom.

 

[VelocityPimp]

buy a maxtor 7200rpm ata/133 8mb cache drive over the seagate. Seagate's only advantage is their somewhat quieter, but the lack in performance.

 

[stable]

Not really true. First the Maxtor drive only has a 1 year warranty which is why we won't sell it. Very short MTBF and even shorter duty cycle (versus the rest of the industry). You'd probably be best off with either the Seagate or Western Digital drives with 8MB Cache. Both have 3 year warranties and very similar specifications.

As for the PSU, I would stick with the Enermax. Not only is it better in overall quality and quieter, but it will really help cool that case over other models suggested. ATX cable sheilding, extra power leads and the many other advantages are what make the Enermax the best PSU in the industry.

Steph Benoit

Stable Technologies
'The way IT should be!'

 

[VelocityPimp]

I'm not sure where you purchase your maxtor 8mb cache drives from, but the company i work for purchases them with the 3 year warranty. My own personal preference from my own experience leads me to trust maxtor over wd and seagate.

But my own longest running hard drive (in my parents system) is a samsung that's been up for 5 years now i believe

 

[khha4113]

You might be mistaken or your company bought extended warranties, but Maxtor drives now only have <b><font color=red>1</b></font color=red> year warranty on all their IDE HDs as well as other manufacturers with the exception of Western Digital Special Edition drives (8MB cache).

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

 

[bonesdad1]

Great setup! Agree with others, get a better video card. That MX will be a bottleneck for an otherwise outstanding system. The Seagate is a good drive, also MUCH quieter than WD or Maxtor.

my sig left me for an Honorary Guru...

 

[LumberJack]

Well looks like everyone else has taken care of this one... jsut remember to balance your system in all areas... that way you can maximise your performance and savings...



To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

Right now I have 3 hard drives......

1 40GB Seagate Baracudda IV 7200RPM IDE ATA-100
1 40GB WD Special Edition 8MB 7200RPM IDE ATA-100
1 40GB Maxtor Unknown Model 7200RPM IDE ATA-133

anyways...the WD is the fastest drive of the 3.....but the Seagate BY FAR outputs the least amount of heat and by far is the quietest and is BY FAR better than the Maxtor.....

Now, ive had my Seagate drive for 2 years now and i STILL TO THIS DAY can not here the drive being accessed, read OR write......no sounds from it......with the exception to the spinning of the drive....nothing more...

The Maxtor makes wierd Clunking/clicking sounds and gets VERY hot unless its got a HDD Cooler.......just like every other Maxtor drive ive' ever owned....so this would be the 5th Maxtor ive owner.......3 of my old ones Died.....1 still is running but on the emerge of death.....i get HDD S.M.A.R.T. errors everytime the comp. woudl boot wiht it in, sayign to backup and replace the drive as failure is iminant(sp?).....

Also.....ive built many systems with the 8MB Maxtor, 8MB WD, and a coupel with the SATA 8MB Seagate Baracudda V drives....and lemme tell u, quality....Seagate is miles ahead of the competition, its BY FAR the most durable HDD Manufacturer.........ne 1 notice how LIGHT WD drives r in comparison to the competition?? Anyways............Also the Baracuda V SATA Seagate seemed a bit faster than the WD 8MB series.......

U guys check it out yourself...DL the program called HD Tach.........it will tell it all......

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>

 

[TKH]

May be you are right but in some region Maxtor do offer 3-years warranty on all their hdd without any extra cash unlike Western Digital, you can never get a 3-years warranty unless you purchase the Special Edition.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>