New computer for me

DriveEuro · Nov 14, 2002, 04:14 AM

So anyone think that this sounds good?

Abit KD7 VIA KT400/VT8235
, DDR 400
, AGP 8X
, ATA 133
, USB 2.0
, 1AGP
, 6PCI
, ATX.mobo

- $97 (I know that I don't need KT400 chipset for 333 ram...I'm just buying KT400 for future 400mhz ram, once it gets cheap)

Kingston 512MB DDR 333mhz CL2.5

- $145 (400mhz is too expensive for me right now)

Athlon XP 2100 Palomino 1.73GHz 3D NOW!
(Socket-A) 266FSB Processor

- $88 (maybe I will buy something faster when I buy it, depending on price (after christmas seems like a good time))

Silver Blue Color casew/ ATX 500W Power supply.
Front USB, Audio, and 1394.
Screwless for slot card.
11bayds. 4 5.25, 2 3.5, 5x3.5 hidden.

- $60

Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 w/EAX Bulk Package WITH CD DRIVER
support(Digital and analog output of Dolby Digital 5.1 BLASTER

- $31

Total of $421, about $450 after taxes and whatever else.

Sound good? Anyone got other suggestions? I'm piecing things like hard drives and CD ROM drives from things that I have laying around....I'm giving my old comp to my sister with a spare vid card that I have laying around. What I have listed above is what I need to buy....

Sound good?
Any comments?

JavaFox · Nov 14, 2002, 04:26 AM

Those look like pretty decent parts, Drive'. Now, if it were me personally, I'd probably wait for nForce2. Everything seems to indicate that we're going to see pretty remarkable performance out of that chipset. As far as the CPU goes, I'd definitely try to get a TBred (Revision B). And, although this stems from a personal dislike more than anything else, I wouldn't buy that Creative card. Go Philips or Hercules. But other than that, your lists looks to be the start of a very fine machine.

digitalwanderer · Nov 14, 2002, 04:33 AM

Yeah, steer clear of the SB-live like the plague and get yourself a nice TurtleBeach or something...then it'd be perfect.

DriveEuro · Nov 14, 2002, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
Yeah, steer clear of the SB-live like the plague and get yourself a nice TurtleBeach or something...then it'd be perfect.

Man, I have a SB card....I'm satisfied, and I have killer speakers....What's the downside to the SB card?

reno · Nov 14, 2002, 05:19 AM

Then I say...well, you already know what I'm going to say.

-I'm not the one?

Sorry kid, you got the gift...but it looks like you're waiting for something.

-What?

I dunno, your next life maybe...OR A BETTER POWER SUPPLY. Be wary of any "blue" case for 60 dollars with a 500watt PSU. That screams "gonna make you cry."

DriveEuro · Nov 14, 2002, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reno
I dunno, your next life maybe...OR A BETTER POWER SUPPLY. Be wary of any "blue" case for 60 dollars with a 500watt PSU. That screams "gonna make you cry."

Well Reno, let's look at it this way...I don't care what my case looks like...I know that the PSU will not put out 500w constant, I know that it will at least do what I need for my setup...I have been using generic PSUs for 4 years now...Never had a problem...The +12, +5, and +3.3 have always been within tolerance (no alarms)...I've never had hardware fail on me from the PSU or at all...I've never had a PSU crap out on me either...I've only had to replace PSUs because I needed more power for my Ti4200, 250w wasn't enough for the card, so I replaced it with this generic 350w...No problems with it and it runs fine. Also, the case and PSU was just a throw in, that is the one thing that I was willing to change...I just threw that one is cuz I don't need a cool colored case...I just picked out some random case.

reno · Nov 15, 2002, 05:36 AM

I see my whimsical prose goes not well o'er thou.

500watt generics gestate trepidation, how now?

One, at tomshardware.com, looks

500watt generics can sometimes only at 250watts cook!

skastel · Nov 15, 2002, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DriveEuro
Athlon XP 2100 Palomino 1.73GHz 3D NOW!
(Socket-A) 266FSB Processor

- $88 (maybe I will buy something faster when I buy it, depending on price (after christmas seems like a good time))

Where the hell are you buying an Athlon MP 2100+ for $88, if you don't mind me asking.

digitalwanderer · Nov 15, 2002, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DriveEuro
Man, I have a SB card....I'm satisfied, and I have killer speakers....What's the downside to the SB card?

Hey, I have a SB-live 5.1 me own self and it works great for me too. (And my 2.1 Altec Lansing speakers may not be killer, but they're the best I've ever heard by far! I'm totally hooked on the AL brand now, KILLER bass!

) But a WHOLE lot of people have had trouble getting them to work with their particular set-ups thru no fault of their own. Creative really is crappy about support/drivers/compatability, I've read a TON of horror stories about it.

Every TB owner I've known has absolutely RAVED about that lil soundcard, which is a real good indicator to me that it don't suck.

I went with the Fortissimo II when I needed a second card for gaming, and I've really like it a whole bunch more than my SB-live. Much less compatibility issues, no monkeying around (Oh yeah, when I first set-up my box with the SB-live I had a friend give me step-by-step instructions as to which slot to put it in and how to set-up my bios/configuration so it didn't have any problems with my particular mobo...I really love my friends!

)

I think ANY brand but Creative is a really good idea. If for no other reason than the company has a sh&tty attitude towards customer support, they don't deserve the business.

Quote:

Originally posted by DriveEuro
Well Reno, let's look at it this way...I don't care what my case looks like...I know that the PSU will not put out 500w constant, I know that it will at least do what I need for my setup...I have been using generic PSUs for 4 years now...Never had a problem...The +12, +5, and +3.3 have always been within tolerance (no alarms)...I've never had hardware fail on me from the PSU or at all...I've never had a PSU crap out on me either...I've only had to replace PSUs because I needed more power for my Ti4200, 250w wasn't enough for the card, so I replaced it with this generic 350w...No problems with it and it runs fine. Also, the case and PSU was just a throw in, that is the one thing that I was willing to change...I just threw that one is cuz I don't need a cool colored case...I just picked out some random case.

I'm going to have to side with Reno on this one, you do NOT want to save a few bucks on your power supply! Personally I pick up <$20us ATX cases anymore and just pull whatever PS they come with and pick me up a Ennermax of sufficient rating for my system. Once you go Ennermax, you ain't going back! ( It's SO nice to be able to pull your power supply out and put it on your desk without disconnecting anything! Or if you're weird and like to mount your power supply on the outside of your box like me.

) I had the same philosophy about PSs, up until one fried Blue's original mobo in a quick popping flash with a REALLY bad smell.

You've been lucky, don't count on your luck to continue. You're putting a LOT of money and effort into this rig, make sure it's built on a firm foundation. Get a good power supply and you'll never have to wonder if your PS is the source of your problems. (I've also found I've had a lot better "luck" with OCing.

)

Oh, the same advice goes for memory. Do NOT get the cheapest memory, make very sure you get GOOD memory. You'll thank yourself down the road, trust me.

DriveEuro · Nov 15, 2002, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by skastel
Where the hell are you buying an Athlon MP 2100+ for $88, if you don't mind me asking.

www.pricewatch.com

DriveEuro · Nov 15, 2002, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
Oh, the same advice goes for memory. Do NOT get the cheapest memory, make very sure you get GOOD memory. You'll thank yourself down the road, trust me.

Well this memory will be temporary for just a handful of months. I will sell it and buy PC400. Well, I'm also big ballin $$$ from working at Abbott Labs. I have so much money laying around that I don't know what to do...So as far as putting a lot of money into this computer, not really this isn't too much money for me

. But yes I am cheap and I like to sell things on eBay...I like to buy cheap and resell for the same price...I almost always get some sucker to buy something for almost no loss to myself...Although I used to get PC parts from this guy who knew the owner of a computer store...I used to get parts at cost...No profit to the owner. But those days are gone...

Nov 14, 2002, 04:14 AM	#1
DriveEuro HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gurnee Illinois Posts: 4,677 Rep Power: 0	New computer for me So anyone think that this sounds good? Abit KD7 VIA KT400/VT8235 , DDR 400 , AGP 8X , ATA 133 , USB 2.0 , 1AGP , 6PCI , ATX.mobo - $97 (I know that I don't need KT400 chipset for 333 ram...I'm just buying KT400 for future 400mhz ram, once it gets cheap) Kingston 512MB DDR 333mhz CL2.5 - $145 (400mhz is too expensive for me right now) Athlon XP 2100 Palomino 1.73GHz 3D NOW! (Socket-A) 266FSB Processor - $88 (maybe I will buy something faster when I buy it, depending on price (after christmas seems like a good time)) Silver Blue Color casew/ ATX 500W Power supply. Front USB, Audio, and 1394. Screwless for slot card. 11bayds. 4 5.25, 2 3.5, 5x3.5 hidden. - $60 Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 w/EAX Bulk Package WITH CD DRIVER support(Digital and analog output of Dolby Digital 5.1 BLASTER - $31 Total of $421, about $450 after taxes and whatever else. Sound good? Anyone got other suggestions? I'm piecing things like hard drives and CD ROM drives from things that I have laying around....I'm giving my old comp to my sister with a spare vid card that I have laying around. What I have listed above is what I need to buy.... Sound good? Any comments? __________________ [color=orange]ASUS P4P800 Deluxe [color=black]-[/color] 2.4C --> 3300mhz [color=black]-[/color] Mushkin PC3200 at 220 5-2-2-2 (cpu limited) [color=black]-[/color] BBAti 9800Pro at 430/375 [/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]01[/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]03[/color] 16001200 12801024

Nov 14, 2002, 04:33 AM	#3
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,619 Rep Power: 0	Yeah, steer clear of the SB-live like the plague and get yourself a nice TurtleBeach or something...then it'd be perfect. __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Nov 14, 2002, 05:19 AM	#5
reno Painlord of Ichor Join Date: May 2002 Location: bloinkin! Posts: 1,610 Rep Power: 0	dgfs Then I say...well, you already know what I'm going to say. -I'm not the one? Sorry kid, you got the gift...but it looks like you're waiting for something. -What? I dunno, your next life maybe...OR A BETTER POWER SUPPLY. Be wary of any "blue" case for 60 dollars with a 500watt PSU. That screams "gonna make you cry."

Nov 15, 2002, 05:36 AM	#7
reno Painlord of Ichor Join Date: May 2002 Location: bloinkin! Posts: 1,610 Rep Power: 0	tr I see my whimsical prose goes not well o'er thou. 500watt generics gestate trepidation, how now? One, at tomshardware.com, looks 500watt generics can sometimes only at 250watts cook!

Nov 14, 2002, 04:26 AM	#2
JavaFox E Pluribus Unum Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 3,203 Rep Power: 0	Those look like pretty decent parts, Drive'. Now, if it were me personally, I'd probably wait for nForce2. Everything seems to indicate that we're going to see pretty remarkable performance out of that chipset. As far as the CPU goes, I'd definitely try to get a TBred (Revision B). And, although this stems from a personal dislike more than anything else, I wouldn't buy that Creative card. Go Philips or Hercules. But other than that, your lists looks to be the start of a very fine machine.