Newbie PC Builder :o [Archive]

GlassWalker

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

So how many of these questions do ya'll get eh? Sorry to add another. Lets see if I can keep this short and concise. I'm looking at building a new PC whos main functions will be Gaming, DVD Burning / playback, Music Burning / Playback and general Internet surfing. I've had it up to here with my HP 8535. I'm not even going to mention the clock speed. I'm ashamed. Anyway, I've decided I want an AMD system, and I was pretty locked into a XP2100, mainly because it's about $90.00 off of pricewatch and seems to offer good performance for the money. I was tenativly considering a Asus A7V333 Mobo to go with it. I like the USB 2.0 and firewire ports, the RAID avaliability (Which probably isn't neccessary) and the fact that it can handle PC2700 RAM. But, (There's always a but isn't there?) I saw on one site or another that the Barton (?) processor was scheduled for release right about the begining of next month. So, here's the couple questions I have. 1) What's the opinion on the current mobo/processor picks? I think it's relativly up to date, but then, I'm not exactly on the bleeding edge. Any reccomendations of things to switch out? 2) Is there enough cool stuff comming out in Barton or Clawhammer that it's worth my time to wait? 3) If I do wait, what's the best mobo that will support the new processor? For compadibility's sake, here's my plan for the rest of the system. RAM - PC2700 DDR - 256MB to start, upgrade later to 512MB Storage - 1 80 gig HD. No particular preferance on the Brand. I'll probably stick a second in later. Soundcard - Audigy 2. Video Card - I'd love the All In Wonder Radeon 9700, but I'll probably tone it down a bit. Speakers - Klipsch Pro Media 5.1's Drives - DVDRW / CDRW SDR5002 (Or so I think my chicken scratch says.) Thanks, in advance, for the Advice. -- The Glass Walker

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< So how many of these questions do ya'll get eh? Sorry to add another. >> Don't worry about it GlassWalker! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> Welcome to PCStats btw. GlassWalker, all current KT333 based boards should be compatible with the Barton which is going to be released soon (you may need to flash the BIOS). If you did get a XP 2100+ and A7V333 all you'd need to chage is the processor. You may want to get an nForce2 board though so it will be compatible with 400 MHz based Athlon's which will be released shortly. Clawhammer is not compatible with current generation Athlon motherboards. If you wait, how long are you willing to wait? The Hammer should start showing up en masse in the second half of this year. As for the system spec's you have posted (including the XP 2100+ and Asus A7V333), it looks like a pretty solid system there! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

GlassWalker

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< Don't worry about it GlassWalker! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> Welcome to PCStats btw. >> Thanks. << GlassWalker, all current KT333 based boards should be compatible with the Barton which is going to be released soon (you may need to flash the BIOS). If you did get a XP 2100+ and A7V333 all you'd need to change is the processor. >> Awesome. My leaning is that it's better to get the 2100, since it's cheap now, and upgrade to a Barton later when the initial price drops a bit. Any thoughts on what it's supposed to retail for off the bat, and how significant of a performance increase there will be? << You may want to get an nForce2 board though so it will be compatible with 400 MHz based Athlon's which will be released shortly. >> Any suggestions in particular? I've read a few reviews, and the FIC AU11 that you reviewed does look awfully nice. Anything smoother in the works that's worth waiting for? << If you wait, how long are you willing to wait? >> I've put this off for a year now, and had an empty case sitting in my room. I'd like to actually start buying the components and piecing it together inside of two weeks or so. If there's going to be something huge coming out and it won't break me financially, then I'll consider it. Any gotta have stuff coming out in the next, oh, month? << As for the system spec's you have posted (including the XP 2100+ and Asus A7V333), it looks like a pretty solid system there! >> Awesome, thanks. It's pretty cool when the Head Honcho replies to newbies posts. I think the only other place I've seen that is WilWheaton.Net. I'll be around. -- Glass Walker

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< Awesome. My leaning is that it's better to get the 2100, since it's cheap now, and upgrade to a Barton later when the initial price drops a bit. Any thoughts on what it's supposed to retail for off the bat, and how significant of a performance increase there will be? >> I would expect the Barton based Athlon's to replace the current top end T-Bred's in terms of price... They won't be cheap but they should be fast. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> As for performance difference, AMD will probably be a bit conservative with the speed with the first generation Barton's. Clock for clock the Barton will be faster then the T-Bred, but the initial Barton's may not run as high. Our resident AMD guru Shiznit may have a different opinion but that's what I think. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> << Any suggestions in particular? I've read a few reviews, and the FIC AU11 that you reviewed does look awfully nice. Anything smoother in the works that's worth waiting for? >> The FIC AU11 is a good middle of the road motherboard, if you're looking for a no frills nForce2 board I would probably suggest the MSI K7N2. The Asus A7N8X is probably the most well equipped mobo, but you have to ask yourself, do you need all the "extra's... << I've put this off for a year now, and had an empty case sitting in my room. I'd like to actually start buying the components and piecing it together inside of two weeks or so. If there's going to be something huge coming out and it won't break me financially, then I'll consider it. >> Haha... I can undestand that, I know how hard it is to excercise self control. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> Hammer will be out later this year, I would expect it to be available to the public in the 2nd half of this year but it will probably be expensive relatively... << It's pretty cool when the Head Honcho replies to newbies posts. >> <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> Well I like chatting myself and I am trying to build the forum! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">

GlassWalker

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< The Asus A7N8X is probably the most well equipped mobo, but you have to ask yourself, do you need all the "extra's... >> Having looked at some reviews for both boards you mentioned, I think I have to say yes, I do. It's not all that much more expensive, and I don't mind spending a bit more on something as important as a motherboard. I do rather like the MSI's red PCB, as I plan on cutting a window, but since I'm putting a green light in there anyway, it's not that big of a deal. Thanks for the advice. I'm almost sure that I'm going with the Asus. I have some longer PCI cards that might pose a problem with the MSI, and if all the extras are there for another 20 bucks or so, why the hell not? You'd also mentioned problems with the brown P4 power connector and that you have small hands. I, well, don't, and since this is my first PC building experiment I don't want to mess around with cramped components. Heck, that's half the reason I bought the SOHO Case. A couple questions on the puter as a whole - I saw that there were two slots for dual DDR something or another. Does that mean I need two sticks, and if so should they be two sticks of the same capacity? IE: Should I just get the two 256MB sticks right off the bat and pair em up, or will it run fine with one 256 and then jump a ton in performance just because the second slot is filled (In addition to the added RAM of course?) Also, is there a good ATA 133 Hard Drive that you'd recommend, or are they all created pretty much equally? Anything else in specific I should know about this board, in terms of component compatibility, or am I good to go? Thanks again. -- The Glass Walker

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

Your looking to build a pretty solid AMD system there (Another AMD sytem Colin....your falling behind FAST) My only suggestion would be that since the Barton will be released shortly, you should wait until it is. I'm suggesting this because when it is relased, lower speed AMD processors will fall in price. Maybe you'll be able to start off w/ a slightly faster processor that the 2100. Also memory prices are on a slow decline, so if you wait another couple weeks, prices may come down on that too. ALSO, with the nForce2 quickly growing in popularity, and such a huge performace gain for just a chipset over the KT333 (not that there is anything wrong w/ this chipset) mobos using it should also come down in price quite a bit. If you wait an additional 2-3 weeks I wouldn't be surpriced if you saved $80.

GlassWalker

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< If you wait an additional 2-3 weeks I wouldn't be surpriced if you saved $80. >> Hell, I've waited a year. If the Barton release dates on your sig line are accurate, I'll wait the few weeks like you say and put the cash back into the system. Maybe I'll be able to get that Radeon 9700 <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> Thanks Shiznit. -- The Glass Walker

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

No problem. Sorry for ripping apart your rig specs. I'm very opinionated <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> but i'm just trying to help. I tried not to mention the hundreds of dollars I feel your wasting on sound/speakers, but some people are just sound freaks and I understand that <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

Once you do get this nice new rig of yours up, make sure to join the PCStats Folding@Home team!

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< A couple questions on the puter as a whole - I saw that there were two slots for dual DDR something or another. Does that mean I need two sticks, and if so should they be two sticks of the same capacity? IE: Should I just get the two 256MB sticks right off the bat and pair em up, or will it run fine with one 256 and then jump a ton in performance just because the second slot is filled (In addition to the added RAM of course?) Also, is there a good ATA 133 Hard Drive that you'd recommend, or are they all created pretty much equally? Anything else in specific I should know about this board, in terms of component compatibility, or am I good to go? >> GlassWalker to use the dual channel DDR options on nForce2 motherboard yes you need to install two DIMM's. In terms of performance, because the Athlon processor does not need the extra bandwidth you won't notice much performance difference between Single Channel DDR and DC DDR. As for HDD, I'm using 3x 80GB Maxtor D740X's and they have served me quite well. They're very fast, but my biggest pet peeve is their noise. They're the loudest things in my computer. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> The WD Special Edition drives (the ones with 8MB Cache) are very good as well. They're pretyt much all equal you can't go wrong with any of them. Haha... Shiznit is our resident AMD "guru" and yes he is very opinionative...

GlassWalker

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< Sorry for ripping apart your rig specs. I'm very opinionated but I'm just trying to help. I tried not to mention the hundreds of dollars I feel your wasting on sound/speakers, but some people are just sound freaks and I understand that >> ::Laughs:: By all means, rip it apart. Last I heard (And this was about a year ago or so) Klipsch was where it was at. About the only reason I wanted some awesome speakers is that I have, now, an older All in Wonder card, and I'm thinking about getting a new one. They have Coax jacks in the back for Cable TV. Hence, I figure, if I get a good sized monitor I'm not apt to need a TV, and probably not a stereo. But, Like I said, Tear it up. Tell me what you'd change and I'll take a look at it. << Once you do get this nice new rig of yours up, make sure to join the PCStats Folding@Home team! >> I'll do that! Thanks again Shiznit. << because the Athlon processor does not need the extra bandwidth you won't notice much performance difference between Single Channel DDR and DC DDR >> Awesome Colin, Thanks. << They're the loudest things in my computer. >> Had any luck with some hard drive noise dampening devices, or with quieting your case as a whole? << They're pretty much all equal you can't go wrong with any of them. >> Hardcore. Thanks again Colin, I appreciate it. -- The Glass Walker

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< Had any luck with some hard drive noise dampening devices, or with quieting your case as a whole? >> I was semi successful... They're not loud by any means but there is a hum coming from my computers and I know it's from the HDD's because if I load up my comp with the HDD's powered off, everything is dead silent. I hear the Seagate Barracuda IV's are the quietest IDE drives around. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Canadian-Guy

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

If you don't have enough cash for that shiny new radeon 9700 you should try that 9500 mod and save yourself even more money<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< If you don't have enough cash for that shiny new radeon 9700 you should try that 9500 mod and save yourself even more money<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> >> That may not work... Apparently the success rate of a 9500 to 9700 mod is only around 30%! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">

eddybrown

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< I hear the Seagate Barracuda IV's are the quietest IDE drives around >> I can second this, i've had one for 6 months and its quiet. My old OEM drive sounds like a jet engine when compared to it (slight exageration but you get the idea)...

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< << I hear the Seagate Barracuda IV's are the quietest IDE drives around >> I can second this, i've had one for 6 months and its quiet. My old OEM drive sounds like a jet engine when compared to it (slight exageration but you get the idea)... >> eddybrown welcome to PCStats! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> Yay, another AMD user but at least ya got good taste with teh Lian Li PC7 case! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">

eddybrown

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

cheers, i like the case a lot <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

Np eddybrown. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> Lian Li makes some awesome cases, I got a PC 70 myself! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

Almost, but not quite as good as those Coolermasters <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> If you own an Athlon, you should give it the respect it deserves by puttin it in a Coolermaster. It's okay if you put a crappy P4 in a Lian Li. Nobody really cares about those processors anyways <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">

BAM!

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

speaking from experience. i personally have a Asus A7N8X. and it's a great board i have to tell you. i just love the dual channel memory. lots of performance increase. just make sure you get two dims so you get the dual channel memory. also besides all the goods of this board -don't know if you read some of the threads i posted on the motherboard section- there is a bug with the bios. most likely you'll get a bios version of 1.001G just make sure you upgrade/flash it to 1.002 the newest beta version which fixes lots of bugs <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

zaltec

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

WHOA!!! white wolf's Werewolf the apocalypse??? HUH...ages since i've seen that around. newb gamer or old timer?

JLAudioFan

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< I tried not to mention the hundreds of dollars I feel your wasting on sound/speakers, but some people are just sound freaks and I understand that <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> >> ehhehhe... Shiznit, if you saw my sound setup... I'll just tell you about it... I have a sony surround sound reciever with built in DTS decoding (pricey unit, but it's the bomb) with 2 good size bookshelf sony speakers, sony rear speakers, a center channel sony speaker, and a 150 watt 12" sony subwoofer Yes, I am a sound freak..... But, you'll never beat the feeling of landing on omaha beach in medal of honor.... The mortar shells hitting everywhere, the repercussions of gunfire that you actually feel... None of those little 6.5" 15 watt subs can put out that much POWER!! MUAHAHAHAA!!! Oh, sorry, got kinda carried away <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> Since i dont really watch TV that much, i hooked up my surround shiz to the comp. I suprized someone when I played the Matrix on DVD... i think his words were "I've never thought of a PC as a home entertainment system, but you've changed my mind".

TranceJunkieXL

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< I've had it up to here with my HP 8535 >> ROFLMAO!! I know exactly what you mean. HP got me into the "build yer own" market after my XL768 wouldn't run stable with the "fully supported" 512Mb of RAM. Their tech support is clueless and kept trying to tell me the RAM that tested fine on initial boot was defective. Works just fine in my best friends board now..... Good luck with the new system!

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

"I have a sony surround sound reciever with built in DTS decoding (pricey unit, but it's the bomb) with 2 good size bookshelf sony speakers, sony rear speakers, a center channel sony speaker, and a 150 watt 12" sony subwoofer " ~JLAudioFan My new Logitech sub is more powerfull than that so I can hear the mortors landing now <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> Edit: Or should I say I can FEEL the mortors landing <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">

filip69692000

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

[q Our resident AMD guru Shiznit may have a different opinion but that's what I think. q] hey im a pretty big fan of AMD as well, i should be like co-guru or something with shiznit!!!

filip69692000

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< Almost, but not quite as good as those Coolermasters <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> If you own an Athlon, you should give it the respect it deserves by puttin it in a Coolermaster. It's okay if you put a crappy P4 in a Lian Li. Nobody really cares about those processors anyways <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> >> did anyone notice when shiznit said nobody cares about those processors, haha this guy cracks me up

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< hey im a pretty big fan of AMD as well, i should be like co-guru or something with shiznit!!! >> Haha... Well there are a lot of AMD users in teh forum, you may have to battle it out with them! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> If you want, you can be an Intel guru with me... <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> Haha!

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

Have no fear Colin....I may convert sometime in the next year or two. So far the Prescott is looking pretty damn good. They are doubling both the L1 Cache (to 16kb) and the L2 Cache (up to 1MB). That should give the P4 a massive boost in performance. Along with that some improved HT and more instructions. The 3.2Ghz Prescot is going to be a hell of a lot faster than the 3.06Ghz Northwood. The Prescot will ramp to between 4.0Ghz and 5.5Ghz. That's a pretty big range before the Tejas core takes over. The Tejas is expected to be the Pentium 5. It is also going to be an extremely cool running chip. Cooler than anything out today (according to Intel). It will run on a 1.2Ghz FSB <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> AMD on the other hand is giving me nothing but wrong release dates and PR numbers that aren't adding up like the used to. They really need to get their ************************ together. The fact that Intel is finally dumping RDRAM is another good sign. They are starting to see the light.

bluegreenshxt

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

<< Have no fear Colin....I may convert sometime in the next year or two. So far the Prescott is looking pretty damn good. They are doubling both the L1 Cache (to 16kb) and the L2 Cache (up to 1MB). That should give the P4 a massive boost in performance. Along with that some improved HT and more instructions. The 3.2Ghz Prescot is going to be a hell of a lot faster than the 3.06Ghz Northwood. The Prescot will ramp to between 4.0Ghz and 5.5Ghz. That's a pretty big range before the Tejas core takes over. The Tejas is expected to be the Pentium 5. It is also going to be an extremely cool running chip. Cooler than anything out today (according to Intel). It will run on a 1.2Ghz FSB <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> AMD on the other hand is giving me nothing but wrong release dates and PR numbers that aren't adding up like the used to. They really need to get their ************************ together. The fact that Intel is finally dumping RDRAM is another good sign. They are starting to see the light. >> o gosh am i reading what i think im reading?? must be a nightmare...

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

?!? What have you done with Shiznit? Haha, I can't believe what I'm reading either!!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> LOL, sucks for me Intel is dumping RDRAM, I got 4 sticks of it right now lol! Haha, well I'm happy with my "old" rig still.

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

AMD is losing its appeal to me....They cost damn near as much as the P4 and aren't performing as well. There is no way they will even compete with the Prescott. For competitions sake I hope they do just to keep prices down. I'll have to wait for the Hammer and all the 64bit software to come out before I make my decision on the next processor I will own. I can tell you right now it's about 50.01/49.99 in AMD's favor.

Colin

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

Well that's good. I'm glad you're keeping an "open mind". <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> I hope AMD's hammer will do well for their sake as well as prices but I must say I'm very happy wiht my current P4 setup. Sure it's not teh "fastest" but it has served me very well! I think you'd be quite happy too if you do eventually go Intel.

Avid6eek

06-15-04, 02:25 PM

I'd be happy with whatever I got. I wouldn't get it if it wouldn't make me happy. Only time will tell. Right now I am paying bills. For once I really have no urge to buy any new hardware. If I did it would be a new video card and I really don't need one all that bad. It would help for UT though. I may try and get a Radeon 9700 PRO once the R350 comes out. There should be a lot of gamers trying to get rid of theirs on ebay once a new cards come out so maybe I could get one there nice and cheap.