I want to build a new system ... what components do you recommend?

[old.Stuart_Granger]

Just want some ideas from other users if I am buying the right components for my new PC. Please post your ideas, etc. here asap as I want to start building by the middle of the month.

AMD K7 Athlon Slot A 800Mhz Processor
AMD Approved Cooling Fan
Microstar MSI 6167 UDMA66 Athlon Motherboard
1x256Mb 3.3v 168 Pin 100Mhz PC100 Memory
2x128Mb 3.3v 168 Pin 100Mhz PC100 Memory
ATI Rage Fury Maxx 64Mb AGP 2x onboard GPU's Graphics Card
Midi Tower Case 230Watt PSU
19" Princeton AGX900 Sony Trinitron .25mm 95Khz Monitor
Keyboard/Mouse PS/2
10x Pioneer DVD-ROM
HP 9110I CD-Writer Internal IDE 8x4x32
2x IBM Deskstar GXP 22Gb IDE UDMA66 7200rpm HDDs
Creative SoundBlaster Live! Platinum Sound Card
Nicone 480W Black Wood Case Subwoofer/Speakers

Any help/ideas would be appreciated

With thanks

Stuart_Granger

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[old.TUG]

me says fuck the rage fury max off, use a DDR geforce, get a K7 Pro MSI mobo (just a newer board based on the 6167 but its got a few more features), buy 2 sticks of 256meg SDRAM (cuz whats the point in getting a 256 and 2*128's???????????????????) and buy yer chip and cooler from me - 800MHz CPU for 240? - sounds good dunnit

www.clockspeed.co.uk

 

[old.TUG]

Oh yea, dont use a 230w PSU on an athlon unless u want stability probs

300w at least is recommended in my books and experience.

 

[old.Exo]

Why not just get a single stick of 512mb then by that logic Tug... Although currently the pricing has gone a bit wobbly, but it's worth looking out for some...

Exo

 

[old.Necro]

I'd get the GeForce as a 3D card (and perhaps a USB mouse), but otherwise i'm too out of touch with the system-building scene to comment on the other parts (the SBlive would be my choice of soundcard too though)..

 

[old.Stuart_Granger]

Can anyone recommend the best GeForce DDR Graphics Card?

What about the Guillemot Prophet 32Mb DDR? Any others?

With thanks

Stuart_Granger



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[old.Pickl3d]

Get the latest coppermine Chips they kick Athlons arse in benchmark tests :]

FCPGA 550"e" @ 825mhz / with a Converter (Iwill2slotkey) (Overclock real easy)
Standard Fan aswell!
Abit be6-rev2 with ATA66 controller
Ge force 256 DDR any brand (make sure its DDR not SDR)!
USB Mouse!

Everything else looks great!

Dont get the Fury Maxx their crap compared to a Geforce DDR.

2x 128meg (133mhz) ram works out cheaper than 1 stick of 256meg (133mhz) ram if you dont think you'll need any more than that then go for 2 x 128.

Athlons are real unstable with AGP atm i'd wait if you are gonna buy any athlons they still havent perfected the technology, plus the coppermine is cheaper and deals with operations better than Athlons IMO

 

[old.TUG]

A few comments on yer post pickl3d...

'Get the latest coppermine Chips they kick Athlons arse in benchmark tests :]'

Only just...

'FCPGA 550"e" @ 825mhz / with a Converter (Iwill2slotkey) (Overclock real easy)
Standard Fan aswell!

Hmm bit hit and miss that one... standard fan IMO is only good for 750... ever used a coppermine?

'Abit be6-rev2 with ATA66 controller'

Yea its a nice board but u r knackered if u want huge FSB's cuz u have to bear in mind the BX chipset only supports a 2/3rds agp bus speed divider... like a 150MHz FSB equates to a 100MHz AGP bus speed.. No card will do this apart from possibly a geforce - but its NOT GUARANTEED that yer geforce will run reliably @ 100MHz agp bus speed... if he were to take the coppermine route its worth looking into a decent Via apollo pro 133A based mobo.

'Athlons are real unstable with AGP atm i'd wait if you are gonna buy any athlons they still havent perfected the technology'

Yea maybe... but ive used many athlon systems and if u know what u r doing u can get em running with agp2x and sidebanding enabled nicely. Namely, use the correct drivers for both mobo and vid card - some drivers cause many probz.

'plus the coppermine is cheaper'

Bollox

'and deals with operations better than Athlons IMO'

? explain...



[This message has been edited by TUG (edited 06 March 2000).]

 

[old.Exo]

Well, since they all run on the same tech, they're all much of a muchness...

But for goodies, the Guillemot one is worth looking into (they are also sometimes cheaper than others) or the Creative, not really seen much else on the market at the moment.

We should be getting some DDR Guillemot cards in shortly so I can test one out

Exo

 

[old.FingerMagnet]

I'd look stupid if i asked what a "coppermine" was. So I'm glad i didn't

 

[old.Stuart_Granger]

Okay TUG. I'll buy the Athlon 800 and Cooler from you ... however I don't want some shite overclocked PC as I want to resell this bastard after a year so I don't want it falling over.

Oh yeah. Why are you charging £100 to overclock the 550? £147 for an Athlon 550 from Novatech! Amend your prices and we'll do business. Remember money is not a worry. Get in touch with me as soon as possible Email: james@cimsol.com

Appreciate your help and assistance. Look forward to further info in due course.

With thanks

Stuart_Granger

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[This message has been edited by Stuart_Granger (edited 06 March 2000).]

 

[xane]

The newer VIA KX133 chipsets for the Athlons are coming out, these have AGP4X and can run PC133 RAM at 133Mhz (independent of FSB/PCI/AGP speed).

In any case, there are better motherboards than the MSI 6167, try their newer K7Pro or the Asus K7M. The only VIA KX133 I've seen available is the Epox EP-7KXA, which I have sitting at home waiting for an Athlon 750 to join it .

Just to add to TUG's comments, its worth noting that Athlons are actually highly overclockable too (see K7 Core for proof), they are cheaper, and more importantly they are available now.

Remember that in benchmarks the Pentium is nearly always on a 133Mhz FSB motherboard and running RAMBUS, if you can afford these things then get them and you'll have an Athlon-kicker, but if you want to re-use that SDRAM ...

Oh, and TUG, can you give a good recommendation for an Athlon cooler, please, I'll be looking for one real soon now - thanks

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[UKSG]camazotz

 

[old.TUG]

Thats a nice price on the 550's - however, do those 550's have 650 cores? And more importantly, will they do 800MHz?

The recent price cut on athlons has caused a few probs in that the remaining chips I have need to be sold at the prices listed at the mo, as they were brought before the price cut took place... however, a real 800 would still be 400 quid so 240 is quite cheap. I may be able to go a bit lower tho - email me @ storm@clara.co.uk

As for KX133 mobo's, novatech are sposed to be the distributor for the new Epox KX133 mobo, however, lots of new mobo's are due soon... the epox board is being well recieved so far tho

Camatoz - a good cooler would be the FKK50 from globalwin, or if u wanna go mad, the VOS32+ is a beast

Like 3" tall with a rear duct and 80mm exhaust fan - reviewed @ www.overclockers.com.au

Best geforce would prob be the asus 6800 but it aint cheap... theres not a lot wrong with the creative DDR tho for about 195 nowadays... It's what I use - fast card!

The guillemot cards are nice too, but are a bit dearer but you do get TV out and S-Video stuff...

 

[xane]

I'd recommend the Epox, its a nice motherboard, but I haven't got it running yet (Athlon only came yesterday).

Suppliers are limited here, but I got this list from a post on the AMD Zone BBS:

VGI Computers @ £135+shipping
Novatech @ £99+VAT+shipping
CFL Systems £99+VAT+shipping

I got mine from VGI, you have to preorder as they go straight out the door as soon as they come in, but they don't take your money until its arrived and been sent.

TUG: ta mate, I was thinking of the FKK50, I wanted to go for the Alpha as I was going to get a K7M, but now I am spoilt for choice with the Epox.

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[UKSG]camazotz



[This message has been edited by camazotz (edited 07 March 2000).]