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Any advice appreciated...


mrX

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Wife got a bonus at work and has been kind enough to fund part of a new build for me :)

 

I have the following that I'm keeping:

 

keyboard/mouse/monitor

ATI Radeon 9800 pro

Audigy 2 Gamer

CD-R and floppy drive

external DVD writer

Antec True 430 PS

 

What I need:

 

A case (not absolutely necessary, but would be nice)

Motherboard

Processor

1 GB memory

Round cables

Windows XP

 

So far the only thing I'm semi-sure of is the case, which, again, I don't "have" to have. I just like this one:

 

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc....-129-122&depa=0

 

Budget is $600, which basically leaves $510 after buying XP.

 

Any help would be appreciated :wavey:

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mrX
GC Alumni

I'm looking at this so far as the best for me:

 

motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc....-180-061&depa=0

 

SOLTEK "SL-K8AN2E-GR" NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL

Specifications:

Supported CPU: AMD Athlon 64 Processor

Chipset: NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb

FSB: 800MHz Hyper Transport

RAM: 2x DIMM Supports DDR266/333/400 Max 2GB

Slots: 1x AGP 8X/4X, 5x PCI

Ports: 2x PS/2, 2x COM, 1x LPT, 8x USB2.0(Rear 4), 1xRJ45, Audio Ports

IDE: 2x ATA 133 up to 4 Devices, 1x ATA 133 up to 2 Devices by Promise PDC20579

SATA/RAID: 2x SATA RAID with 0,1,0+1 by nFORCE 3 250Gb, 2x SATA RAID with 0,1,1+0 by by Promise PDC20579

Onboard Audio: 6-Channel AC'97 Audio

Onboard LAN: 1000 BASE-T Ethernet

 

processor: http://www.newegg.com/app/SearchProductRes...9-103-486&DEPA=

 

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail

Specifications:

Model: AMD Athlon 64 3000+

Core: Newcastle

Operating Frequency: 2GHz

FSB: Integrated into Chip

Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K

Voltage: 1.5V

Process: 0.13 Micron

Socket: Socket 754

Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+

Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included)

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mrX
GC Alumni

Think I'm gonna scrap buying a new case, but have added the following:

 

Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - OEM

Specifications:

Manufacturer: Corsair

Speed: DDR400(PC3200)

Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM

Error Checking: Non-ECC

Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered

Cas Latency: 2.5

Support Voltage: 2.5V

Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s

Organization: two 64M x 64 -Bit

Warranty: Lifetime

 

So that with some round cables and XP gets me to $528.00 so far. Not sure I even need any more.

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mrX
GC Alumni

Last thought from me tonight.

 

Thinking about adding a 80 gb SATA drive, which will put me right at $600. I already have a 120gb and an 80 gb IDE drive. Can you run an IDE with SATA at the same time? My intention would be to run the SATA with the OS and games and have the IDE as backup/storage. Is it even worth it?

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Not sure, I've never had a sata drive even though my MB supports it.

 

Don't be afraid of Neweggs refurbbs, it's one of the few companies that is good about giving you an exchange without too many questions if the item is defective.

 

Good Luck :)

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SATA is pretty awesome from what I've heard & read but I'd put it last on the priority list. With a gig of ram the only thing your drive is for is storing files...once you load into a game the disk is not going to be touched. Hard for me to spend the money just to save 5 seconds loading 1942 :)

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a gig of ram will take the stuttering out of games also, not just load them faster. And you pc won't feel sluggish after a short uptime.

 

looking mrX, i think the 2 IDE drives you have are plenty. i wouldn't go SATA atm, i can't notice any difference in anything with SATA.

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Guest zerodamage
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Guests

You can run both IDE and SATA at the same time. Set up several systems like that.

 

You want to use any SATA drive as your main drive for your Operating System. Any other drives for data storage, etc.

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You can run both IDE and SATA at the same time. Set up several systems like that.

 

You want to use any SATA drive as your main drive for your Operating System. Any other drives for data storage, etc.

Yup, that's what I've been thinking about doing as a matter of fact.

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I like me some of the aluminum cases by Lian Li or Cooler Master (nice one here http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....-119-049&depa=0 ) and if you don't have a decent case, these should last you for awhile (at least until BTX comes out).

 

If you have a decent case, just stick with that and put the money in other parts. If you already decided that...sorry. I just skimmed the other posts.

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Guest zerodamage
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Aspire makes some great cases. Easy to put together. The Mobo tray comes out so you can install it outside of the case without fighting the cramped spae. Looks awesome. Comes with colored fans already. I think Bean got one.

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mrX
GC Alumni

Being as patient as I am, I've ordered the following:

 

Athlon 64 3000+ (above)

1 GB memory (above)

Soltek Mobo (above)

WD 80gb SATA drive

A round floppy cable

XP Home

Some vibration dampers

 

Total: $598.24

 

Decided to go with the SATA over the IDE drive. Guess I wasn't clear before that I was getting another drive anyway, might as well make it a SATA it seems.

 

Nice case suggestions btw. Thanks for the help all. :)

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MrX: If you are still thinking about the case. I would go with the SLK3700-BQE over the SLK3700AMB. THE BQE is the Black Quiet Edition. That is our TV Capture and TV out computer here at the house and it is absolutely quiet provided you have quiet heatsink/fan combo.

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mrX
GC Alumni

Got the parts the other day and got it set up in the meantime. Tonite's my first real night of messing with it.

 

My impressions so far are great. Have 3 fans (2x80mm and 1x90mm) connected to the Antec PS (this PS monitors temp and adjusts fan speed automatically) and this thing is silent. It's showing as 46c on the chip thru the supplied monitor with the retail HSF.

 

Gotta say I'm very happy, UT2k4, CS:S, and SWG all run very smooth.

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