Rebuilding a computer.

rogue-entity

My currant PC specs are: (no laughing please)
Pentium III 733 (Slot1)
384MB SDRAM
30GB HDD
DVD Rewriter
Rage 128 32MB Graphics Card with Comp. TV Out
Analogue TV Tuner
10/100 NIC (PCI)
56k v92 Modem (PCI)
16bit SoundBlaster Card (ISA)

---

I want to buy a new mainboard, processor and ram (I will only buy a sound card if it is not integrated onto the mainboard). Later on I will upgrade the graphics card and HDD. I will keep all the good componants like the old HDD, DVD RW, TV Tuner, NIC and modem.

I would like to build a 64bit SATA/SAS compatable system using a 64bit AMD chip. I was also hoping to add on one of those lovely VFD's with the integrated IrDA receiver. There is beauty that can also switch on your computer by remote!

Any ideas/advice? All suggestions and suggested specs welcome.

DonkeyStyle \o/

You might want a more powerfull PSU aswell... I'm not sure what you're running on at the moment, but AFAIK they reccomend 350W minimum for AMD64.
Having said that, I'm typing this on an AMD64 with a 300W psu :rolleyes:

jor el

If you're replacing the motherboard then you'll most likely want to get PCI-Express. This means you'll need to get a new graphics card too. If you stick with AGP on the new board then you're going to limit yourself with upgrade choices when you do change the graphics card.

You'll most likely need to replace the powersupply too as DonkeyStyle \o/ says, and possibly the case.

And finally, with a whole new system like that, why would you leave in a 30G hard disk, surely you'd replace that too? Basically you're looking at a whole new PC.

For spec, I'd look towards an Athlon64, socket 939 and suitable motherboard. Get 1Gig RAM, PC3200 or higher, but make sure it's compatable with the motherboard. For graphics I'd get at least a Geforce 6600GT or Radeon X800GT, PCI Express. I'd also get a 250G SATA hard disk. You could re-use your existing DVD writer which will save you €50.

rogue-entity

jor el wrote:

If you're replacing the motherboard then you'll most likely want to get PCI-Express. This means you'll need to get a new graphics card too. If you stick with AGP on the new board then you're going to limit yourself with upgrade choices when you do change the graphics card.

I will be getting PCI-Express, but if the board also supports AGP then I will reuse my old Graphics card as it has a Componant analogue TV output, most newer cards seem to only have SVideo which my TV doesnt support.

jor el wrote:

You'll most likely need to replace the powersupply too as DonkeyStyle \o/ says, and possibly the case.

I have a 350W PSU and will only upgrade it if necessary as it is a rather good one. The case is a full size tower that will take the latest boards, I will check beforehand though.

jor el wrote:

And finally, with a whole new system like that, why would you leave in a 30G hard disk, surely you'd replace that too? Basically you're looking at a whole new PC.

The answer to your question is money. I will buy the processor, ram and mainboard in one go, then I will get the graphics card if needed. I will get the rest later.

rogue-entity

Since the mainboard is most important I will be looking for one that supports:
SATA
PCI (at least one slot)
PCI express
Integrated NIC or PCI slot

---

Then I will get an AMD Athlon64

---

At least 512MB RAM (I will get more later on)

---

A PCIe Graphics card, I will be looking at a Geforce 6600GT or Radeon X800GT.

---

If there is no integrated sound then I will be looking at a decent Creative card.

---

I will keep the 30G drive as a boot disc then I will get a 250G drive later.

Keep the suggestions coming. Also any ways of keeping my new system cool and quiet.

Stephen

I haven't seen any motherboards that support both PCI-E and AGP. I heard of an MSI one before, but I don't think it ever got outside of Taiwan.

rogue-entity

Actualy I have seen one, Foxconn 915PL7AE. It uses an Intel 915 chipset so I wont be getting it. I will be checking around the various stores and websites during the weekend for an AMD board with PCI, PCI express, IDE, SATA, USB2 and integrated Sound and/or NIC. So far all your suggestions have been helpful.

Q, Is dual core worth getting? If it is I was thinking of the AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+ or the 4800+ both of them have 1M cache per core which adds to great performance. Keep the suggestions coming.

rogue-entity

This is the older of the two threads. At the time I started the second thread, I could not find this one as the search feature was disabled.

Please close this thread (or merge it with the other one found here:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054864954&

Thankyou