building a computer

Genesis

i am think of building a computer a i am just wondering will all this work together:



AMD Athlon XP2000+ 1.66 GHz 266 MHz bus Socket A Processor (OEM)
Cooler Master CPU Fan Socket A/7/FCPGA DP5-7H53F-0C,
DDR-DIMM PC2100 256MB DDR CL2.5 Generic Memory 184-Pins
MSI K7N420 PRO Mainboard. Socket A, DDR nForce420, ATA/100, ATX, DDR (MS-6373)

IBM Deskstar 40GB IDE 7200RPM
ATA/100 Hard Driv 120GXP

in a:

Chieftec Matrix Midi Tower w/Door, Black
Case w/360W power

Mutz

AMD Athlon XP2000+ 1.66 GHz 266 MHz bus Socket A Processor (OEM)
Cooler Master CPU Fan Socket A/7/FCPGA DP5-7H53F-0C,
DDR-DIMM PC2100 256MB DDR CL2.5 Generic Memory 184-Pins
MSI K7N420 PRO Mainboard. Socket A, DDR nForce420, ATA/100, ATX, DDR (MS-6373)

IBM Deskstar 40GB IDE 7200RPM
ATA/100 Hard Driv 120GXP

I'm about to buy something similar to that Myself.

Nice set up, but Try to get pc 2700 333mhz DDR RAM. It will make it that little bit faster. Also think about getting 512mb ram instead. You'll probably be píssed off that you bought something that won't compare that well to New Computers Coming out shortly

Heres a Similar Bundle to yours. But Without the Onboard Stuff.

Heres the Spec I Have Finalized:

- CPU
- Motherboard
- Ram
- Case
- Graphics Card
- Fan

Grand Total: EUR 1,071.84 + EUR 40- ish for Delivery. Worked my ass off for this Setup

If anyone sees anything Wrong with this Config please say so Cause I Dont want to Spend my hard earned Yoyos on stuff that dont work

Squall

Everything looks grand there just make sure the motherboard can take that speed processer.

Im also building me own PC

2.4 gighz P4
60 Gig IBM Harddrive
256 PC2100 DDR RAM
GF4 Ti4600
Soundblaster Audigy Platinum
LEX BN845R Motherboard,P4 478pin Intel845, 2 DDR, 1 AGP, 5 PCI
LG 16 speed DVD ROM
Proview 19" Didgital monitor
Logitech Keyboard
Microsoft Explorer Infra-red mouse
ALPS 3.5" Floppy drive
Silver 950LU Midi Tower Case

Grand Total of €1482, Extremely sweet setup, especially when i get my dolby digital 5.1 surround sound set up. Worked all summer for that money but itll be worth it.

Genesis

All the stuff in the first bundle are coming in a bundle(so the mobo. should be able to take the processor) so i can't really change the type of RAM

do u really think that it will get outdated quickly??,i was buying a uber(enough)processor so it wouldn't get outdated for a while , and get another 256RAM later cause it is easier to get (locally),and install (less hassle) plus cheaper,... kinda:)

Do you think that this is a bad idea?,i was think of getting maybe a 1.8 processor and use that money left over on an extra 256RAM

Mutz do u think that upgrade kit deal would be a better deal???

Are yee both positive that this will work cause like Mutz i don't want to waste my yoyos on something that won't work:)


To Squall i hate u

Winters

I wouldnt worry about it becoming "out dated". It will handle any of the new games and do what ever you want it to really

Wouldnt advise getting onboard sound though.....i bought a SoundBlaster Audigy card and it is GREAT . If ya can try and get a dedicated sound card. you will really notice the differance.

256Mb is grand. but atm Komplett have a good price on the 512Mb DDR Ram in the weekley offer....take a look at that.

40GB is too small too....try and get a minimum of 60GB is ya can too. 80GB is recommended by me (Partition it too!)

Only upgrade to sound Card and 512 Ram if you have the money. But i must really advise going for a minimum of 60GB HDD

Squall

I know i hate me too sometimes

A 40 gig would b grand for the moment if you ask me, depending on what your using it for. You can always get another one l8r on at almost a Euro per gig theyre not that expensive.

flamegrill

Originally posted by Genesis
i am think of building a computer a i am just wondering will all this work together:



AMD Athlon XP2000+ 1.66 GHz 266 MHz bus Socket A Processor (OEM)
Cooler Master CPU Fan Socket A/7/FCPGA DP5-7H53F-0C,
DDR-DIMM PC2100 256MB DDR CL2.5 Generic Memory 184-Pins
MSI K7N420 PRO Mainboard. Socket A, DDR nForce420, ATA/100, ATX, DDR (MS-6373)

IBM Deskstar 40GB IDE 7200RPM
ATA/100 Hard Driv 120GXP

in a:

Chieftec Matrix Midi Tower w/Door, Black
Case w/360W power

Sold a machine with similar stats a while back. €1000 with a DVD rom and a 17" CTX monitor.
The sound card onborad isnt bad at all, but the GF2 onboard is a heap of dirt tbh. i reckon its an MX. but with a fast CPU it should manage most games.

Good luck with it

well worth the few bucks.

Genesis

i am going to get this one that mutz recommended instead:D :

AMD Athlon XP2000+ 1.66 GHz 266 MHz bus Socket A (Palomino) processor

Cooler Master CPU-Fan Socket A/7/FCPGA DP5-7H53F, Up to 1,4GHz and AMD XP2200+

DDR-DIMM PC2700 256MB DDR CL2.5 Generic Memory 184-P (for DDR-PC333MHz)

MSI KT3 ULTRA2-R Mainboard with sound VIAKT333, ATA/133,Raid, ATX, USB2.0


do yee think that this is a good idea???,cause i personally think that the gfx card thing will be crappy and a waste of money,and this has a better mobo.

flamegrill i am going to use my old dvd drive with a 17" monitor:)

Mutz

Originally posted by Genesis
i am going to get this one that mutz recommended instead:D :

AMD Athlon XP2000+ 1.66 GHz 266 MHz bus Socket A (Palomino) processor

Cooler Master CPU-Fan Socket A/7/FCPGA DP5-7H53F, Up to 1,4GHz and AMD XP2200+

DDR-DIMM PC2700 256MB DDR CL2.5 Generic Memory 184-P (for DDR-PC333MHz)

MSI KT3 ULTRA2-R Mainboard with sound VIAKT333, ATA/133,Raid, ATX, USB2.0


do yee think that this is a good idea???,cause i personally think that the gfx card thing will be crappy and a waste of money,and this has a better mobo.

flamegrill i am going to use my old dvd drive with a 17" monitor:)

Yes it is a Good Idea because You Have faster Ram and a Faster CPU so It will possibly Pay off in the End so it's worth it + its only another €50.

I Have to wait until wednesday to order mine when I Get my Monthly Pay Check. Heres hoping Nothing Financialy bad happens to me in the MEantime :rolleyes:

netman

if you're going with the msi420 make sure you get two sticks of ram, not one. especially if you plan to use the onboard graphics. (geforce2mx) and pay attention to how you install them, the nforce 420 motherboards have dual memory controllers, and usually three dimm slots. effectively with two memory sticks each on it's own memory controller you can double the memory bandwidth. and it's the memory that's shared between the graphics card and the processor, so the difference will really show.

if on the other hand you plan to use another graphics card, you don't need to pay as much attention to memory, as current amd processors can't really make use of the extra bandwidth. the differences in performance are minimal.

as far as the via kt333 alternative is concerned, keep in mind that you'll get a really crappy onboard sound, and the onboard sound of nforce 420 is much, much, much better - on par with the latest sound cards. after all, it's the same sound chip that's used in microsoft xbox gaming console.

another thing you might want to consider is the amount of problems people have with via motherboards, and the number of bugs that come up every month. nforce might be a bit slower than via, and is probably a little more expensive, but at least it's pretty reliable and has decent drivers.

and don't overlook the power supply. it's the most common source of problems these days, and most people just ignore it in their computer-building decisions.

Genesis

so which package should i get ?? the first one with the mini gfx card or the second one with good RAM??, i can't spend any more money on extra ram etc. at the moment thats all the money i have .Or does anyone have another suggestion on a package deal from komplett or another site


P.S i amn't really bothered aboot sound cause i'll prob. get a sound card later.i just looking for preformance.is the via mother board unreliable??

netman

i would *strongly* suggest checking the newsgroups and forums on other hardware sites and doing a search on google for the chipset you plan on buying, and then the motherboard. there's plenty of issues with via, if you're patient enough and don't mind tweaking everything and downloading patches every few days, via will definitely give you a better performance than nforce. checking out if there's any compatibility issues, what settings you need to make, and what the minimum power supply you need will save you a lot of hassle later on. this is a generally good idea no matter what motherboard you're getting. 360W chieftec sounds like a good idea.

you'll only benefit from the more expensive ram if you make use of it's extra bandwidth. if you're running a 266mhz DDR memory bus you won't get anything out of the PC2700 RAM (DDR333)

second package (via kt333) will give you better performance, but have you got a graphics card to go with it?

for heatsinks, you can get the most detailed comparison, including noise levels here:
http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/

good place for AMD motherboards discussions (just do a search for your model or chipset):
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=5

KT333 motherboard roundup:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1636

And another one, this time with 18 motherboards:
http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/02q2/020509/

And lastly, here's the link to Google's archive of alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.msi-microstar (MSI motherboards, the one you plan to buy)
http://groups.google.ie/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.msi-microstar

Gerry

Also note that 333mhz ddr ram will only give a small boost if you are still running the athlon at 266mhz fsb. The fsb is not able to make full use of the extra bandwidth, so you only get a few % improvement. To get the full benefit, you will need to run your athlon at 166mhz fsb ( 333ddr). You can do this even without overclocking the chip by just lowering the multiplier.

ie 10x133 = 1333mhz

8x166 = 1333mhz

netman

true, even though you'd need to unlock the processor to change the multiplier. it's not as easy as the durons (pencil trick), here's a link:
http://www.vr-zone.com/guides/AMD/AthlonXPUnlock/

and it seems that AMD's processor can't make use of the greater memory bandwidth, so benefits from DDR333 and DDR400 are pretty small, just a few % improvement.

TacT

Don't forget that when using the nforce chipset after you realise the mx is a pos and you want to upgrade you lose some performance capabilities if you are not using the built in mx due to the architecture of said chipset. Go with something that will allow you to upgrade without losing performance when doing so

have a read at www.sudhian.com if you're going with a via based chipset and read other users experiences with different gfx card/ram etc combinations, gl with the build hf

netman

not sure what you mean by performance loss when upgrading. you can certainly plug in any agp graphics card and expect the same performance as in kt333.

here's a nice review of kt333 motherboards, and a nforce 415 put in for good measure:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/roundupmobo/

the differences are almost non-existent. and the good thing is, there's the MSI KT333 motherboard compared to MSI nForce 415 motherboard. at worst, nforce performs 3-5% worse than KT333 offerings. not bad if it saves you the problems with random crashes, compatibility issues etc.

Genesis

right........