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I'm still planning my future computer. (Calling all geeks)

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  • #1

    I'm still planning my future computer. (Calling all geeks)

    Well, I asked for suggestions a couple months ago, but it's taken alot longer to get the money needed then I expected. (and I still might not have enough )


    Generally I know next to nothing about computer hardware, but I have started to learn a bit through neccesity... I will be attempting to build the computer myself, and I have not done anything on that scale before, so any advice is welcome.

    All the components I know that I'm using for certain are:

    Sound Blaster Audigy
    Plextor CD-RW drive
    Geforce2 MX (which I will upgrade later... although I was contemplating a radeon 9600 if I have enough money left over).

    I'll need to get a new case and power supply, motherboard, and hard drive (although I would like to use the one I currently have as a secondary if posible). Also an ethernet card to hook my cable modem up to (atleast, I think that's what it requires) but I think most motherboards can come with built-in support for that?


    I'm still debating whether I want a pentium or AMD. I've always used pentiums and they've served me well, and the price difference does not seem to be that different... although I recall reading that the numbers used for the AMDs are not measured the same way as pentiums, so maybe I am not comparing them correctly. Right now, I'm leaning towards a Pentium 4 2.53GHz - that seems to be the cut off before it starts geting really expensive. (although I have not investigated the prices very much yet)


    As for the motherboards, well... I want to get an ASUS, and have been looking over some of their motherboards, but most of it goes completely over my head. Is hyper-threading something I should go out of my way for? It sounds to me like one of those things they like to hype but don't actually do much. (hyper, super, mega, ect.) What about all the other (sometimes) optional gimicks like firewire, RAID, serial ATA, ect... I have no idea what any of that is, but since I've never heard of it before I assume I don't need it.

    What about RAM ? I have read that DDR400 is not much better, and sometimes even worse then, DDR333. Looking at some of the motherboards, they seem to require RDRAM, I haven't heard of that before - good or bad? Is Dual-channel support something I should go out of my way for? (After living with a measily 128 SDRAM for so long, memory is something I'm willing to splurge on this time around. )

    I seems that the biggest thing in motherboards are the chipsets and processors/memory they support. What are the good ones that would last me for a few years, and maybe save me from buying another motherboard for quite some time?


    As for the hardrive... I haven't even begun to look into that yet, but I assume it should be pretty straight forward - what are some good brands, and are there any special feature I should look for?


    Oh, and I plan on upgrading to windows XP along with all of this.
    Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

    Do It Ourselves
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  • #2
    a good bit of advice is have a computer with an internet connection avaliable to you when youre building your new system, so you can ask advice/check for new drivers etc

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    • #3
      A good reference website for prices is Pricewatch.

      $189 Pentium 4 2.53GHz
      $158 Pentium 4 2.4GHz 533MHz
      The 2.4GHz is a better deal. For a 1/20 increase you pay about a 1/5 in price differential. Bad deal.

      $135 Athlon XP 2400
      This is even a better deal. What's more, you can get one of those nFoce2 mobos, such as the Asus A7N8X, which makes life simple.

      You definitely want dual-channel support, and go with PC3200 DDR.

      $72 - PC3200 DDR 512MB
      $76 PC2400 DDR 512MB
      RDRAM is Rambus RAM. Once a poster child for Intel, its star has since long faded.
      (\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
      (='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
      (")_(") "Starting the fire from within."

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      • #4
        BTW, it's a good idea to get a mobo that supports Serial ATA, and get a HDD with a Serial ATA interface. It's basically IDE, but with a much thinner cable.
        (\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
        (='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
        (")_(") "Starting the fire from within."

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        • #5
          Thanks, UR. That pretty much confirms what I was looking at for an AMD system. Now I'll wait for Asher to come around for the pentium suggestion.

          (I ought to of paid more attention when comparing prices... the AMD is alot more appealing now.)
          Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

          Do It Ourselves

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          • #6
            UR, does PC3200 work with dual ddr ram mobos?
            "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
            'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

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            • #7
              I agree with UR. Serial ATA is a good idea. Dual channel DDR is also a must. The pc3200 is overkill as the timing won't be right for the systems bus anyway (not to mention that the 400mhz modules aren't as stable yet).

              Hyperthreading is a great thing, but doesn't mean anything on the motherboard if you don't have a hyperthreaded processor (ie p4 3.06 or Xeon). You may still want to get one that supports hyperthreading so you can upgrade later.

              All in all, the best advice i can give is to wait a couple months. The 800 MHz systems bus boards are due out next quarter. This, with the dual channel pc3200 memory (which by then should be very stable), will make for an incredibly fast system, especially if you have a hyperthreaded processor.


              tech note: hyperthreading, oversimplified, means that one processor acts like two. This, paired with a dual DDR system, and a 800 MHz system bus is going to be incredible....
              "Mal nommer les choses, c'est accroître le malheur du monde" - Camus (thanks Davout)

              "I thought you must be dead ..." he said simply. "So did I for a while," said Ford, "and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. A kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic."

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              • #8
                and the great thing is, when all this new crap comes out, the old crap will cost less, and there wont be that bad a trade off for price vs performance.
                "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
                'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

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                • #9
                  And then there'll be even more new crap around the corner to wait for.

                  I've waited too long as it is, and I'm going to do this as soon as I can.
                  Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

                  Do It Ourselves

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                  • #10
                    Oh! and as for which system to use...if you are going to build it now, go with Athlon (but note that the xp 2400+ is much slower clock rate than a 2.4 p4) mainly because they have better motherboards. You may want to look at the MSI and gigabyte motherboards too. they have been getting a bit better reviews than the asus boards. If you are going to wait on the 800MHz boards, you will have to go p4...

                    and you should...the intel boards that are coming out are incredible.

                    If you don't wait, make sure you get a board with ON BOARD serial ati.
                    "Mal nommer les choses, c'est accroître le malheur du monde" - Camus (thanks Davout)

                    "I thought you must be dead ..." he said simply. "So did I for a while," said Ford, "and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. A kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic."

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      kaak, that gigabyte board 8inxp has reported some posting problems like 1/10 times, but sadly i cant find a retailer for the msi 6565 board..
                      "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
                      'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        check pricewatch MRT. newegg and mwave carry just about everything...

                        edit:
                        Click here for the 6565. look for the GNB Max. it is $237 i believe....
                        Last edited by Kaak; February 26, 2003, 14:44.
                        "Mal nommer les choses, c'est accroître le malheur du monde" - Camus (thanks Davout)

                        "I thought you must be dead ..." he said simply. "So did I for a while," said Ford, "and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. A kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic."

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          and i hadn't heard that about that board. Tom's hardware gave it the highest rating overall for mobos...
                          "Mal nommer les choses, c'est accroître le malheur du monde" - Camus (thanks Davout)

                          "I thought you must be dead ..." he said simply. "So did I for a while," said Ford, "and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. A kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic."

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            here is a graph of processor performance:
                            http://www17.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030217/cpu_charts-32.html

                            and if you are going for a p4, check these boards:
                            http://www17.tomshardware.com/mainboard/20030203/e7205-05.html


                            you want the granitebay chipset (E7205)
                            "Mal nommer les choses, c'est accroître le malheur du monde" - Camus (thanks Davout)

                            "I thought you must be dead ..." he said simply. "So did I for a while," said Ford, "and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. A kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic."

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              oh, this was just user reviews on newegg. it seems that a few people had this problem but not all. might be a production run problem? but i think im gonna get in anyway.
                              "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
                              'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

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