Need expert advice on buying/building a computer
Jul 5, 2005 at 2:23 AM Post #91 of 109
It's not that it's a bad combination, but with an SLI mobo, wouldn't you like to take advantage of the SLI feature at some point? As for cheap surge protectors I use two of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812120239

I think one GT would be fine for the time being, then upgrade to two later (just be sure to get the same brand and model). The rest of the list looks good.
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 2:52 AM Post #92 of 109
Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject
It's not that it's a bad combination, but with an SLI mobo, wouldn't you like to take advantage of the SLI feature at some point? As for cheap surge protectors I use two of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812120239

I think one GT would be fine for the time being, then upgrade to two later (just be sure to get the same brand and model). The rest of the list looks good.


Great! Thanks Aurora! I'll go for the GT, I'll probably get another down the line, cash permitting. Guess I'll try to order all this within the new few days (I have a small daily limit on my card).
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 7:17 AM Post #94 of 109
downgrade the processor, put the $ difference towards an LCD monitor

the extra space-saving and clarity is sooo much more palpable than 300mhz or so on the processor
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 8:20 AM Post #95 of 109
You could always get the Antec LAN case for about $50 after rebates at CompUSA (they run the special every few weeks). Of course for that price you don't get a psu, so the price will be about the same after you factor in a $70 psu and you'd have to worry about ever receiving the rebate. I say get another case.

The Hitachi drives may run hot and noisey if they are rebadged IBM drives (as they previously were). I would stick with Seagate drives with their 5 year warranty.

I'd definitely get another 1G of memory.

As for the board, since I don't like Asus because they do not support Linux, I'd get a LanParty board. But that's just me.

I'd stay with the 3500+ as a minimum proc.

When are the SATA 300 mobos coming out?

The next gen ATI boards (single) are supposed to beat out the nVidia SLIs. But as always, they'll be priced at a premium. My days of paying $400 - $600 for video cards are over. If I am buying a $250 cpu then I expect to pay that for a video card and that for memory. I expect to pay half that for a mobo. So that would be $250 for the cpu, $250 for two gig of memory, $250 for a video card, $125 for the mobo, $125 for case & psu, $62.50 for a dvd burner and $125 for a HD. At $0.50 / gig that would work out to a 250GB HD. What would I pay for a monitor? Twice what I paid for the cpu, or $500. Total: ~$1500. To save money I'd go down to Arizona State University Surplus and pick up a 21" CRT for $125, an RGB cable would be about $10 - $20 through the internet, $40 locally. I'd then put the extra 'savings' towards a 3800+ Venice chip.
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 8:47 AM Post #96 of 109
Quote:

Originally Posted by ls20
the extra space-saving and clarity is sooo much more palpable than 300mhz or so on the processor


I have yet to see an LCD or plasma which rivals the clarity of a CRT (look at a word document and you'll notice the ghosting. ClearType (WXP) still smudges the images, at least when compared with W2K and Linux). I did however fall in love with the HP 23" monitor. But at $1500 it is more than I can afford. Even the fastest LCDs (<9ms) still have delays when gaming.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824116355 hmm, about 5ms. but only 270 candlemas (candelas) with a 550:1 contrast ratio.
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 8:57 AM Post #97 of 109
Quote:

Originally Posted by wallijonn
I have yet to see an LCD or plasma which rivals the clarity of a CRT (look at a word document and you'll notice the ghosting. ClearType (WXP) still smudges the images, at least when compared with W2K and Linux). I did however fall in love with the HP 23" monitor. But at $1500 it is more than I can afford. Even the fastest LCDs (<9ms) still have delays when gaming.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824116355 hmm, about 5ms. but only 270 candlemas (candelas) with a 550:1 contrast ratio.


Actually, I've found that text is sharper and crisper on my 20.1" LCD than on my old 19" Sony E400 Trinitron CRT. The Sony has a great picture, but text just isn't quite as sharp as on the LCD. Combine that with the fact that the LCD takes up less space, runs much cooler and uses less power, and it's a no-brainer for me. CRTs still have their place, though. I wouldn't mind having a giant 24" CRT if I had the desk space (and a nuclear reactor to power it).

And what's this about Asus boards not supporting Linux? That's the first I've heard about that. Enlighten me, O Wise One!
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 9:52 AM Post #98 of 109
Asus hasn't been very forthcoming with Linux drivers for their mobos. But chances are that most of the newest boards will have problems with Linux. One of the complaints with Asus was their use of Promise HD controllers, and their choice of LAN and sound chips. Asus just seems to be anti-Open Source. see: http://www.mozillaquest.com/Linux04/..._Story-01.html

Linux is one reason why I went with an all Intel chipset mobo (Intel D875). I got burned with Promise controllers and W2K SP3 so I make sure that any new mobo I buy doesn't have Promise (or non Intel or nVidia) controllers on it. When Fedora stopped supporting the 3Com905 it was "goodbye Fedora". Some Linux distros still have problems with nVidia and Creative Audigy II drivers.

You'd think that drivers would be a small thing... until you buy the Logitec MX518 and find out that they only support WXP (written right on the box)... They have since updated their downloadable driver to include W2K. Of course W2K is no longer supported by MS, but if you have more than 1 PC in your home do you really want to pay $150 for each license? (I have two PCs and a Mac Bondi 233MHz. I will be selling off the Mac as OSX updater blows up the OS).

Why Linux? No spam, no virusues, no trojans, more secure, faster speed, open software.
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 10:03 AM Post #99 of 109
Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject
I think one GT would be fine for the time being, then upgrade to two later (just be sure to get the same brand and model).


That's part of the problem, just like buying 2x512MB of memory and expecting to find the same chips a year from now. It may not happen, as I found out with my Crucial memory: my Double Sided mem sticks went to Single Sided and the DS production was dropped. The Crucial rep tried telling me that SS was just as fast as DS. I steered him to the Intel website and anandtech which showed that DS was 25% - 40% faster than SS. I was able to procure some of the same sticks from newegg for $75 less than my buying them directly from Crucial.

So if you are going SLI then buy both cards at the same time, just as you should populate all slots with the same memory (if the mobo doesn't throttle down to 333MHz when using 4 sticks). You'll have 100% compatibility.

What memory is certified for that mobo? Kingston? Crucial? Corsair? Patriot?

I see that the Asus site is again having problems (I don't use Flash) so I can't look at the manual to see if it can do 4xDS@400MHz (PC3200).

Here's some A8N-SLI probelms: http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/cont.../38623/?o=2860
http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showth...hlight=a8n-sli
http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8

I wonder if that mobo burns up North Bridge fans like the MSI (I believe. I definitely could be wrong on it being MSI. But there is one mobo that is notorious for blowing up the NB fan.)
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 2:34 PM Post #100 of 109
Quote:

Originally Posted by wallijonn
I wonder if that mobo burns up North Bridge fans like the MSI (I believe. I definitely could be wrong on it being MSI. But there is one mobo that is notorious for blowing up the NB fan.)



The Asus A8N-Premium that Kirosia linked to doesn't have a chipset fan, it uses a new heatpipe fanless design.
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 5:49 PM Post #101 of 109
I don't really like LCDs, since I use the monitor for viewing music videos and stuff alot. I realized that a little while ago. (the psps screen horrified me for movies, my cousing bought like a 30" widescreen dell that cost like1700, I hated it cause of the color) Space is not a problem on my cruddy comuter desk. I can't stand LCDs anymore, other than for games and non-media related stuff.

I don't plan on using linux, I don't know how. Maybe I'll look into it later, it was never an option before cause I'm not too computer savvy. (But I could learn)

I read that the seagates weren't too good in the performance area compared to the hitachi, even though it is quieter. True? (or will the perf. difference be neglible in most cases?)

I don't think I need two gigs of ram atm, maybe if I get into hardcore gaming or high-end software.

As for sli, I can't really budget to GTs at the moment, but I do hope to get a second one within the next year. (If I need it) Maybe I'll reconsider the x800 . . . dunno.

The mobos . . I don't really know. The dfi lan party does look good, but I don't plan on overclocking, yet. (still not sure)

The case thing I can change. Can someone recommend case + psu combo at around $120-130 total?

I have to ask this again, would I be okay with WXP Pro 32-bit over the 64-bit?

I'll order some of the parts right now (the crt, surge protector, burner, 3500+), and I'll try to decide on the rest soon, hopefully. Thanks guys. You got anymore suggestions, lemme know.
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 8:06 PM Post #102 of 109
Quote:

Originally Posted by wallijonn
I have yet to see an LCD or plasma which rivals the clarity of a CRT (look at a word document and you'll notice the ghosting. ClearType (WXP) still smudges the images, at least when compared with W2K and Linux). I did however fall in love with the HP 23" monitor. But at $1500 it is more than I can afford. Even the fastest LCDs (<9ms) still have delays when gaming.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824116355 hmm, about 5ms. but only 270 candlemas (candelas) with a 550:1 contrast ratio.


are you sure you have that correct? clarity is exactly why LCD is superior to CRT. Ghosting or smearing is descriptive of the way CRTs display dots and lines whereas LCD will be PERFECTLY crisp. I don't notice delays on my 20ms LCD... but then again I don't play many video games either...
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 11:36 PM Post #104 of 109
I'm a fan of Seagate drives, I have 2 120gig drives in my main computer now, both have been running nearly 24/7 for 3 years now. They are also very quiet, much more so than my dual Raptors. They aren't the fastest hard drives out though, so keep that in mind if the utmost speed is important to you.
 
Jul 6, 2005 at 12:06 AM Post #105 of 109
Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject
I'm a fan of Seagate drives, I have 2 120gig drives in my main computer now, both have been running nearly 24/7 for 3 years now. They are also very quiet, much more so than my dual Raptors. They aren't the fastest hard drives out though, so keep that in mind if the utmost speed is important to you.


I don't think speed with be that important, but I'll continue to do my research. (will it really matter much other than for hardcore gaming?).
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The silence would be very helpful though, the PC will be in my room, and I plan on leaving it on at night.

I've already ordered the crt and surge protector, since there's no difference in opionions there, and I can use em while I wait for the other components. (I'm using a 12-13" super-old unclear crt atm . . .)

I'm still trying to decide on a case, maybe I should just stick with the sonata II I linked earlier.
 
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