What do you think .......

fornicatarachnid · Dec 27, 2002, 02:24 AM

...of my plans for a new system ?

Im planning to build a new system this month based on the

following specs...

Asus A7N8X-L - nForce-2 - x8 AGP+Lan+6Ch Sound+USB2
AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (2.00 GHz) "Thoroughbred" Core
80Gb Western Digital (WD800JB) ATA-100 (7200rpm, 8MB Cache)
256 mb Corsair xms pc3200 memory
128Mb Gainward GF4 Ultra750 XPGS Golden Sample Ti4600
Videologic Sonic Fury soundcard

What do you guys think ? Is there anything you think I should

change ? ( apart from the CPU, I really don't want to get into the

AMD v's Intel argument again

)

BTW. I've always used IBM HD's in the past but after reading the

Hard drive of choice thread ive decided

to go with WD for a change

Any advice/recommendations will be much appreciated

WyreTheWolf · Dec 27, 2002, 02:29 AM

512MB of ram... that is about the only thing that screams to be changed... I personally would suggest that you sav a little money by getting the CAS2 PC2700 memory. and spend that money on an extra 256MB of memory

fornicatarachnid · Dec 27, 2002, 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by WyreTheWolf
512MB of ram... that is about the only thing that screams to be changed... I personally would suggest that you sav a little money by getting the CAS2 PC2700 memory. and spend that money on an extra 256MB of memory

Thanks for the suggestion WyreThe Wolf, I was wondering about

the memory myself, I know 256mb is a bit short, especially

running XP, but as I'm on a fairly strict budget I thought I could

get away with it for now

ToshiroOC · Dec 27, 2002, 03:18 AM

Might I suggest a Hercules GTXP instead of the Videofury card you have there? Its pretty cheap nowadays (a friend of mine got one for $60 as a special deal, I'll ask where if you want me to), though I must admit that I have never heard of a Videologic Sound Card......

JavaFox · Dec 27, 2002, 05:10 AM

Hmm, that looks very sweet, and I have to say that I'm jealous.

At any rate, perhaps you would be interested in getting an ATi Radeon 9500 ($163) instead and save $60? Tthen, of course, be sure to drop in another stick of 256MB. Also, consider a different sound card. I can't say that I'm familiar with that brand, so if you know something I don't, please let me know. Otherwise, consider one of Hercules' new 7.1 cards (Fortissimo III, Gaming Theater XP 7.1). Alternatively, my pal Necrosis has reccommended M-AUDIO's Revolution 7.1 (link). It has really impressive technical specs but costs ~$130.

mbeeston · Dec 27, 2002, 07:47 AM

change the ti4600 for a 9500 pro or 9700/pro

kinetic · Dec 27, 2002, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ToshiroOC
Might I suggest a Hercules GTXP instead of the Videofury card you have there? Its pretty cheap nowadays (a friend of mine got one for $60 as a special deal, I'll ask where if you want me to), though I must admit that I have never heard of a Videologic Sound Card......

The card in question is also known as the 'Turtle Beach Santa Cruz'

Nice system Forni! A bit of brotherly competition never did anyone any harm!

fornicatarachnid · Dec 27, 2002, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kinetic

Nice system Forni! A bit of brotherly competition never did anyone any harm!

I think it's my turn to have the upper hand for a while

DarkFoss · Dec 27, 2002, 03:16 PM

Here's a couple links that might be of interest to you about problems with the nforce2 chipset and corsair 3200 and 3500 xms memory.

http://www.houseofhelp.com/v2/showth...&threadid=9056

There's more than one thread pertaining to problems might help you out a bit when it comes to choosing ram & setting the timings.

Here's a different link covers some of that and which bios is the least problematic.

http://www.amdforums.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=8

Very sweet rig no matter how you finally configure it

Necrosis · Dec 28, 2002, 01:16 AM

System sounds great.

However, since you are getting the nforce2 board you might want to think about the kind of ram you are picking up for it. The nforce2 seems to love PC2100 and running it at 400MHz really will not make that much difference with this chipset. Do you plan to always run at 64 bit or later on plan to do the dual 128 bit memory setup? Just remember both sticks of ram have to match exactly to run in 128 bit mode. I would advise you to pickup a stick of 512 PC2700. Gainward recently has also had some quality problems so if you want to still go with Nvidia for video I would recommend MSI.

fornicatarachnid · Dec 28, 2002, 01:34 AM

Thanks for the replies guys

I placed my order for the bits I need with komplett this afternoon.

I decided to bite the bullet over the memory and ordered a 512mb

stick of Corsair xms3200, expensive, but I hope well worth the

extra £'s

I'm still a bit undecided on the video card, see this thread

Normally I would have gone for an Asus video card but I had

read such good reviews about Gainward but now u've got

me thinking even more Necrosis

ToshiroOC · Dec 28, 2002, 01:46 AM

I've had very good experiences with Gainward and Leadtek cards - great service and overclocking on both of them. Installed about 2 from each company in different friend's computers (all gf4's or 3's)... One gainward was DOA, RMAed in under a week and a half, and one leadtek was buggy - they airmailed my friend a new driver cd since he didn't have internet (left behind when his provider collapsed), got the card working perfectly...

Dec 27, 2002, 02:24 AM	#1
fornicatarachnid Clanless Join Date: May 2002 Location: On the web, England UK Posts: 714 Rep Power: 0	What do you think ....... ...of my plans for a new system ? Im planning to build a new system this month based on the following specs... Asus A7N8X-L - nForce-2 - x8 AGP+Lan+6Ch Sound+USB2 AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (2.00 GHz) "Thoroughbred" Core 80Gb Western Digital (WD800JB) ATA-100 (7200rpm, 8MB Cache) 256 mb Corsair xms pc3200 memory 128Mb Gainward GF4 Ultra750 XPGS Golden Sample Ti4600 Videologic Sonic Fury soundcard What do you guys think ? Is there anything you think I should change ? ( apart from the CPU, I really don't want to get into the AMD v's Intel argument again ) BTW. I've always used IBM HD's in the past but after reading the Hard drive of choice thread ive decided to go with WD for a change Any advice/recommendations will be much appreciated

Dec 27, 2002, 03:18 AM	#4
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	Might I suggest a Hercules GTXP instead of the Videofury card you have there? Its pretty cheap nowadays (a friend of mine got one for $60 as a special deal, I'll ask where if you want me to), though I must admit that I have never heard of a Videologic Sound Card...... __________________ [img][/img] [color=White]Peace be with you, Joe.[/color] Driverheaven Staff Member (Supermoderator)

Dec 27, 2002, 07:47 AM	#6
mbeeston HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: alberta, canada (thats north of the usa people) Posts: 1,037 Rep Power: 68 System Specs	change the ti4600 for a 9500 pro or 9700/pro __________________ R.I.P Roadee - you will be missed T_T peace,love, and war... 3 things people look for... "if your going off the deep end, show off, do a cannon ball!" - me

Dec 28, 2002, 01:46 AM	#12
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	I've had very good experiences with Gainward and Leadtek cards - great service and overclocking on both of them. Installed about 2 from each company in different friend's computers (all gf4's or 3's)... One gainward was DOA, RMAed in under a week and a half, and one leadtek was buggy - they airmailed my friend a new driver cd since he didn't have internet (left behind when his provider collapsed), got the card working perfectly... __________________ [img][/img] [color=White]Peace be with you, Joe.[/color] Driverheaven Staff Member (Supermoderator)

Dec 27, 2002, 02:29 AM	#2
WyreTheWolf Wolfish Bastard Join Date: May 2002 Location: Cave; Ozark Mountains Posts: 2,110 Rep Power: 0	512MB of ram... that is about the only thing that screams to be changed... I personally would suggest that you sav a little money by getting the CAS2 PC2700 memory. and spend that money on an extra 256MB of memory

Dec 27, 2002, 05:10 AM	#5
JavaFox E Pluribus Unum Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 3,203 Rep Power: 0	Hmm, that looks very sweet, and I have to say that I'm jealous. At any rate, perhaps you would be interested in getting an ATi Radeon 9500 ($163) instead and save $60? Tthen, of course, be sure to drop in another stick of 256MB. Also, consider a different sound card. I can't say that I'm familiar with that brand, so if you know something I don't, please let me know. Otherwise, consider one of Hercules' new 7.1 cards (Fortissimo III, Gaming Theater XP 7.1). Alternatively, my pal Necrosis has reccommended M-AUDIO's Revolution 7.1 (link). It has really impressive technical specs but costs ~$130.

Dec 27, 2002, 03:16 PM	#9
DarkFoss HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Downers Grove IL Posts: 688 Rep Power: 0	Here's a couple links that might be of interest to you about problems with the nforce2 chipset and corsair 3200 and 3500 xms memory. http://www.houseofhelp.com/v2/showth...&threadid=9056 There's more than one thread pertaining to problems might help you out a bit when it comes to choosing ram & setting the timings. Here's a different link covers some of that and which bios is the least problematic. http://www.amdforums.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=8 Very sweet rig no matter how you finally configure it

Dec 28, 2002, 01:16 AM	#10
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	System sounds great. However, since you are getting the nforce2 board you might want to think about the kind of ram you are picking up for it. The nforce2 seems to love PC2100 and running it at 400MHz really will not make that much difference with this chipset. Do you plan to always run at 64 bit or later on plan to do the dual 128 bit memory setup? Just remember both sticks of ram have to match exactly to run in 128 bit mode. I would advise you to pickup a stick of 512 PC2700. Gainward recently has also had some quality problems so if you want to still go with Nvidia for video I would recommend MSI.

Dec 28, 2002, 01:34 AM	Thread Starter #11
fornicatarachnid Clanless Join Date: May 2002 Location: On the web, England UK Posts: 714 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for the replies guys I placed my order for the bits I need with komplett this afternoon. I decided to bite the bullet over the memory and ordered a 512mb stick of Corsair xms3200, expensive, but I hope well worth the extra £'s I'm still a bit undecided on the video card, see this thread Normally I would have gone for an Asus video card but I had read such good reviews about Gainward but now u've got me thinking even more Necrosis