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  • #1

    Building a computer: Have a few questions.

    My almost 5 year old Pentium II 450 mhz with 128 MB of ram has served me well, but it is time for a new PC.

    Here is what I am getting:

    Athlon XP 2200
    Asus A7S333-E SIS745 Chipset 266/200MHz FSB Motherboard with CMI 6 Channel Sound RETAIL
    512 MB PC2700 DDR Ram
    Gforce4 Ti4200 128 MB DDR
    CHIEFTEC Beige Chasis (Mini-Mid Tower) Model DH-01W 450W (second from the top)
    Total cost: $386+ shipping

    I already have a hard drive, DVD rom, CD-R drive, monitor, sound card, and speakers. I might get a new hard drive but I don't really need help picking it out.

    I'm buying this computer to play games. I want it to last about 2 years without worrying about upgrading (except maybe for same more ram, bigger hard drive, and possibly a video card). After that point I'll either (A) Not be playing computer games anymore or (B) Have the money to not skimp and buy a better system with more upgradability (is that a word?).

    Questions: Is the motherboard good enough? Is a good brand. I don't really know much about motherboards. I thought I remember ASUS being okay, but if it's crap, let me know so I can avoid it.

    What is the difference between the brands of RAM? What is a decent brand to get?

    How much powersupply do I need? The case I picked comes with 450W. That should be enough, right? Also, what kind of fans should I purchase to keep this thing cool?

    Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Is the motherboard good enough? Is a good brand.

    Yes, Asus is a good brand. I don't know whether the chipset is good. Somebody else will have to discuss that.

    One thing that concerns me is that you have two sound devices. A sound card and the on-motherboard sound. This sometimes causes conflicts. If you can get a motherboard without the built-in sound, do so.
    I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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    • #3
      The 450W should be plenty for the forseeable future.
      I'm building a wagon! On some other part of the internets, obviously (but not that other site).

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      • #4
        If you put the sound card in go into the BIOS and disable the onboard sound chip and you will have no problems ( I hav an ASUS A7V8X MoBo with the same chip and I use my Soundblaster Live card and have no problems).

        Cossiar make the best memory cards. PNY makes the worst. Micron and Samsung are both good. You can go to the ASUS web site for a list of memory cards that work with your MoBo.

        Put in as many exhaust fans as you have possitions for and put a "Slot Cooler Fan" in the PCI slot next to the video card. Intake fans are less efective than exhaust fans and you don't have a big load so you can skip them if you like. Also for a few $'s more per fan you can get them with thermo controls that vary the speed of the fan according to the heat load in the case. This is nice because the fans run quiter when there is not a big heat load in the case.

        Power Supply rating are a crock! But one rated at 450 Watts should run your system fine, your configuration will need aprox. 250 watts of power to run with stability.
        The ways of Man are passing strange, he buys his freedom and he counts his change.
        Then he lets the wind his days arrange and he calls the tide his master.

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        • #5
          Never buy SiS (motherboard chipset).
          "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
          Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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          • #6
            What's wrong with SiS? I think I found a motherboard I like even more anyway. It's a little more money, but looks like a better value.

            ASUS A7V8X-X AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Socket A, Processor Mother Board

            Same link as above, it's the one that cost $78.99

            Another RAM question: Do you need to have two 256 RAM chips, or just one 512 MB ram chip..or does it matter?

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            • #7
              SiS' chipsets are notorious for bugs and incompatibilities.

              The A7V8X-X is better, since Via did it.

              And you don't need to have two 256 RAM chips unless it's a dual-channel motherboard (A7V8X-X is not). So a single 512MB would be better, since it frees up slots for future expansion.
              "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
              Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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              • #8
                Depends on the speed of the DDR RAM chips, if you go with PC3200 or PC 3500 RAM on this MoBo you can only use one RAM slot so get one stick of 512MB. Allways go for the bigist stick of RAM (i.e. one 512MB not 2 256MB) you can get until you get to the point where it cost a lot more per MB. In the case of this MoBo I did not buy a 1GB stick because it was way to expensive.

                EDIT: Typo's
                The ways of Man are passing strange, he buys his freedom and he counts his change.
                Then he lets the wind his days arrange and he calls the tide his master.

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                • #9
                  How about that case I saw? I liked it because it's cheap, but I want to know if it's going to have ventillation problems. I don't really know how to check for that.

                  EDIT: The link on the first post isn't working, so http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

                  It is towards the bottom. The $50 one that includes the power supply.

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                  • #10
                    Did a Google search and could not find this case. But in general Chieftec makes good stuff. I have a Chieftek MX-01WD w/side intake fan and it has space for 2 front intake fans + 2 exhaust fans. Works great - looks a lot nices than the Beige Box you are looking at. Costs $48USD without power supply.
                    The ways of Man are passing strange, he buys his freedom and he counts his change.
                    Then he lets the wind his days arrange and he calls the tide his master.

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                    • #11
                      Gforce4 Ti4200 128 MB DDR
                      Can you get radeon 9500 pro for the same price?

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                      • #12
                        Followed your link to Newegg - this case is not in stock and may be discontinued. Also checkout Directron.com, they have a great selection of cases and power supplies. Get a case wit 2 exhaust fan spaces (power supply fan does not count).
                        The ways of Man are passing strange, he buys his freedom and he counts his change.
                        Then he lets the wind his days arrange and he calls the tide his master.

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                        • #13
                          No idea on the case. You need to be careful about the power supply ratings though because a lot of them aren't up to standards. If you want heavy duty power supplies check out Enermax and Antec. They also make cases.

                          As for the mobo doesn't the XP2200 uses 333MHz FSB?
                          (\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
                          (='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
                          (")_(") "Starting the fire from within."

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                          • #14
                            UR

                            The ASUS A7V8X can run at 333Mhz.
                            The ways of Man are passing strange, he buys his freedom and he counts his change.
                            Then he lets the wind his days arrange and he calls the tide his master.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              But not the A7S333-E...
                              (\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
                              (='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
                              (")_(") "Starting the fire from within."

                              Comment

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