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The Official PC building thread!
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4W4K3
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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3. August 2004 @ 07:34 |
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Quote:
BestBuy.com has the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB Video Card for $230 - $50 rebate [Exp 7/24] = $180 with free shipping. [BizRate]
that deal expired last month...its back up to $250 at bestbuy now. but like this guy said;
Quote:
Just make sure it's a 256 bit, 8 pipline card. Sapphire cards are good, but they sold some 128 bit cards labled as 9800 Pro, so avoid those.
they are probably trying to get rid of the 128bit cards (i know there not sapphire brand but ATi released them as well...actually alot of brands released them b4 they realized they were 128version. sapphire are the only brand that OFFICIALLY apoligized for it) all over the web u can get a 9800PRO 128bit for $180 or less...until they sell out cuz they dont make them anymore. that probly why bestbuy doesnt advertise them...there all out! lol. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,10542286~mode=flat <sapphire apology
[COLOR=Green]AMD[/COLOR] Athlon XP-M 2600+ (2535MHz) 1.74V IQYHA
ABIT NF7-S Rev 2.0 (241*10.5) 1.8V - Pencil Mod
[COLOR=DimGray]OCZ[/COLOR]-EL 512MB PC-3200 DC-Platinum (483MHz) 2.85V 2.5-2-2-11
[B][COLOR=Red]RADEON[/CO
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alyssaC
Junior Member
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3. August 2004 @ 17:36 |
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Quote:
OMFG
My head's spinnin' from that post.
Slow down Nellie!
Sorry about that superflex :(
I guess it was a....tad too long.
I'm surprised other members haven't posted any more comments regrading my post.
Maybe I posted in the wrong thread. Well hopefully I didn't scare them off :(
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superflex
Junior Member
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3. August 2004 @ 20:06 |
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No problem AlyssaC.
That's one hell of a first time post. You have definately put some thought into your choices.
I'm sure you didn't scare anyone off. People here eat that shit up.
A thought on your case.
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The situation is I plan to keep this PC in the office room but when it's time for me to record or transfer VHS tapes I'm going to have to move this PC into my room. I see this happening maybe twice a week.
The casters dont swivel and it costs too much, but it sure is sweet.
Welcome to the forum :)>
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 3. August 2004 @ 20:13
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Moderator
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3. August 2004 @ 22:40 |
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Allysa,
I'm in awe for finally having seen someone do such an extensive amount of research then come here with such informed questions.
Q_A_1:
As for the three qualities you seek in a case, my favorite and the one that I own is a Lian Li PC-60 that was modded with a case window by www.frozencpu.com. I really like the understated but pleasing look of the brushed aluminum. The entire case is very sturdy and well made from aluminum which is very good at dissipating heat from within the case.
It has good ventilation with placement for four 80mm fans, two up front pulling in air and passing it over the hard drives, one in the back pulling hot air from the HSF and blowing it out and a blowhole in the top to expel the hot air that tends to build up in the top of the case. I also put a 120mm fan in the window to pull air in and over my video card. All of this makes for great airflow and as I look at my temps right now the case temperature is 26ºC. This case has room for five hard drives as well. Here's a link to my exact case:
http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/cas-03.html
Q_B_1&2:
In my opinion Asus and Abit make the best boards to be had and the Intel i865PE chipset should suit your needs quite well so any board by either of those companies with the i865PE chipset would get my recommendation. A little more homework on your part should turn up something you like.
Q_B_3:
I think the built in sound on motherboards is decent enough for what you want to do but for the video part I'd recommend an inexpensive video card such an ATI Radeon 7000 (under $30) to keep the maximum amount of system memory available for your applications. Not many boards come with onboard video anymore and the ones that do aren't that great.
Q_C_1:
Unless you're going to OC the factory HSF will be fine.
Q_C_2:
Arctic Silver is an outstanding thermal paste and a single small tube will give you enough for several uses.
Q_D_1:
You're absolutely correct. An 800MHz FSB will use PC3200 (400MHz) RAM and because the RAM is DDR (double data rate) this equates to an effective 800MHz.
Q_D_2:
Low timings and so forth are important if you overclock but in your case the generic RAM from Kingston, Corsair, Mushkin, or Crucial would be fine.
Q_E_1:
There are two types of hard drive connections, PATA and SATA. Paralell ATA has been around for a while and uses the big 80 pin cables whereas Serial ATA is the new interface and uses a slim 7 wire cable and is much easier to set up since every device, or drive, has it's own cable - no sharing cables like PATA and no messing about with Master/Slave settings or jumpers. I'm a big fan of SATA.
RAID (Redundant Array of Independant Drives) is a method of using to separate drive to accomplish two different tasks. RAID 0 tricks your operating system into seeing both drives as one for faster performance and RAID 1 mirrors the information of one drive to the other for security. RAID 0+1 is a combination of the two.
Capture Cards:
I don't know crap about 'em :)
My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33 |
Moderator
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3. August 2004 @ 22:42 |
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My fingers hurt now :(
My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33
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alyssaC
Junior Member
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4. August 2004 @ 21:51 |
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Thanks superflex for the kind welcome...glad to know you have recovered from my initial post :)
The pics you posted of that case looks really cute especially the wheels.
Nephilim I wasn't expecting to leave you in awe and giving moi a gentleman's complement *blushes*.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I can really tell you like your case btw you described it...it's special I'm sure :)
Okay was it coincidence that both of you just so happen to list Lian Li brand cases ;)
Lian Li seems to build quality cases from what I gathered when viewing there web site. Unfortunately the price is out my overall range limit and both cases didn't come with power supplies :(
Okay I spent another two hours looking for a mid-tower case on newegg and turned up empty again. The raidmax I listed is still the top choice so far that's within my budget.
Maybe I can just plop that big hunky case on a cart...hehehe that's a great idea now that I think about it. *pats superflex on the head for those pics/idea* ;)
Well searching for the mid-tower case has tired me out...off to get my beauty rest.
*blows Nephilim's sore fingers a cool relief of air...see I didn't forget about your fingers* ;)
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Moderator
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4. August 2004 @ 22:22 |
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Hee hee, I do love my Lian Li :)
If the Raidmax suits your tastes and your budget then roll with it. You may need the cart (or a man-slave) for it but to get the weight down a signinficant amount you'd have to give up the extra fan slots and hard drive space that you wanted by going to a much smaller case.
Quote:
...off to get my beauty rest.
I've been trying that for 32 years and you still can't slap the ugly off of me :)
My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33
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Dkarn
Newbie
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5. August 2004 @ 04:07 |
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HELP ME!
Sorry, need a bit of help, fast.
I have been looking round and i have decided on an Athlon 64 3200+ (because it steps up to 1mb) i have also been looking at mobo's and i have found some different opinions. So far i sort of have a toss up between the asus K8V -and- abit KV8. However i found that Praetor suggested a asus A8V (not 754?) and an asus A7N8X-E. I also, just this second found the asus K8N-E Deluxe. Help me please with which might be best. I am not going to be OC'ing (yet! Once i learn how, maybe) I would like built in sound with Glan as a must. Wifi not so important. I have been looking at all of them, and if anyone has any idea off the top of their head, i would appreciate the advice! Thanks!
It's not where your running to that matters... It's what your running from that counts!!
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superflex
Junior Member
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5. August 2004 @ 06:30 |
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Dkarn,
Maybe I can help clarify the situation. The Athlon 64 3200+ is a socket 754 chip. Both the Asus and Abit K8V's are also socket 754 using a VIA chipset.
The Asus K8N-E Deluxe is also a socket 754 board using a nVidia nForce3 250 chipset.
You really can't go wrong with any of those boards. The difference in chipsets for Athlon 64 (754 pin) is minor and usually the boards just offers different feautures (i.e. wifi, dual lan, better audio codecs).
You are right in the fact that the Asus boards beginning with an A or S (i.e. A8V or SK8V) are for socket 939 or socket 940.
The A7N8X-E is a socket A board for Athlon XP.
I don't think you could go wrong with either brand or either chipset (VIA or nVidia). If you go the route of the nVidia chipset, make sure its nForce3 250 and not an older nForce3 150.
Cheers!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 5. August 2004 @ 06:31
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Dkarn
Newbie
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5. August 2004 @ 08:50 |
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That helps alot, many thanks! Just one more little thing (isnt there always one?) What would be the best type of RAM for that, I know 3200 DDR. It is the waffle about things like buffered and non and ECC ect. The mobo's website's offer a list of recommended manufacturers but not what type of ram to get... i hate getting confused over all this. I might just wait till PCI-Express and BTX come out. (well i know i wont coz i dont know when that is, or how good it will be. OR THE COST... ARRG!) Sorry... minor rant over confusing computer blarg.
It's not where your running to that matters... It's what your running from that counts!!
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superflex
Junior Member
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5. August 2004 @ 09:26 |
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For an Athlon 64 3200, you don't need registered or ECC RAM. Those are needed in servers and for the FX53.
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dawai
Junior Member
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10. August 2004 @ 05:46 |
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alright i got everything picked out but the Mobo...
lemme know what you think: i don't know what kind of chipset to lookfor in a mobo
Processor:
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.2E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail
Heat sinks:
Cooler Master JET 4 CPU FAN for Intel P4 478, Model "ICB-V83" -RETAIL
or
Cooler Master Aero 4 Lite CPU Cooler for Intel P4 478, Model "DI4-7J74F" -RETAIL
Ram:
CORSAIR XMS Xtreme Memory Speed Series, Xtra-Low Latency 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Platinum Heat Spreader, Model TWINX1024-3200XLPT - Retail
Motherboard:
SOLTEK "SL-865Pro2-FGR" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU -RETAIL
Soundcard: (already bought)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350" -RETAIL
Videocard: (Already bought)
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -RETAIL
I have 4 case fans and a 300w power box... i was thinking about upgrading to 500w any suggestions??
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Praetor
Moderator
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11. August 2004 @ 03:04 |
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Quote:
I have been looking round and I have decided on an Athlon 64 3200+ (because it steps up to 1mb)
Between the Newcastle (512K) and the 'Hammer (1MB) cores, you're actually probably better off with the Newcastle as it's a much more efficient chip :)
Quote:
So far I sort of have a toss up between the asus K8V -and- abit KV8
Cant really go wrong either way (for Socket754) -- go with the cheaper one! :)
Quote:
I found that Praetor suggested a asus A8V (not 754?) and an asus A7N8X-E.
Well the A8V is a Socket939 board which will have a longer lifespan than the already-discontinued Socket754s. The A7N is an AthlonXP board -- for the older AMD chips. The only reason I reccomended that was because it's probably the best last-generation board available :)
Quote:
Help me please with which might be best
Well it all depends on YOU. If you want the Socket754 then the K8V is probably the route to go, if you want to get a Socket940 board, the SK8V is the one to get (stay away from the crippled nForce3 board) and if you want a Socket939 board, the A8V is the route to go :)
Quote:
For an Athlon 64 3200, you don't need registered or ECC RAM. Those are needed in servers and for the FX53.
Essentially anything Socket940 based :)
dawai
- Might you consider a NorthwoodC? Much more cost effective than the P4E you've got there.
- A jump to a reliable 500W PSU (or even 400W) would be nice
- Good call on the i865
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chris2199
Inactive
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12. August 2004 @ 10:53 |
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ok to make a long story short. my apartment was broken into, computer was stolen, insurance wasnt payed.
now you know why i have to build a new pc. here is what i am looking at.
amd barton 3200+
abit nf7-s nf2.0 OR asus a7n8x-e deluxe
512mb pc3200 kingston
ati radeon 9600xt OR ati radeon 9800 pro
liteon cd r/rw 52x32x52
liteon OR lg cd rom 52x
floppy drive
maxtor ata-133 8m 120gb OR maxtor s-ata 8m 120gb
sound card is out of budget but i am lookign at the audigy 2
case will be the nzxt the gaurdian w/420 psu
http://www.nzxt.com/default_content.html
link so you know what it looks like 8-)
also i was looking at
atholon xp 64bit 3000+
msi k8t-neo fsr
with every thing else the same
the system will be used for gaming and work useing programs like autocad, inventor, soild works
let me know what you all recommend cause you cant always trust the person selling you a pc to tell you every thing unless you know what to ask lol
thanks
to each there own, enjoy life while you can
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4W4K3
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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12. August 2004 @ 13:28 |
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If you get the Abit board i wouldnt suggest the NF7-S2. I would get the plain NF7-S V2.0 board as it overclocks amazingly. I read a few places the "2" version of the board is quite low quality compared to the other one.
[COLOR=Green]AMD[/COLOR] Athlon XP-M 2600+ (2535MHz) 1.74V IQYHA
ABIT NF7-S Rev 2.0 (241*10.5) 1.8V - Pencil Mod
[COLOR=DimGray]OCZ[/COLOR]-EL 512MB PC-3200 DC-Platinum (483MHz) 2.85V 2.5-2-2-11
[B][COLOR=Red]RADEON[/CO
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JSRife
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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12. August 2004 @ 14:07 |
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Chris2199
Sorry to hear about the apartment break in dude. Back in middle of 1999 the place I was living at was broken into also. They stole around $6000 worth of stuff from me, bassically everything I owned at the time. I had a lap top that was stolen in the mix, it probably had a street value of $200 in 1999. It was a Toshiba Notebook, without a CD rom, just had the ol hard disk, had 16mb of memory, a pentium 1, can't remember the Hard-drive, guessing around 2 gig or so. Computer was made in 1995. The insurance company offered me a brand new notebook up to $2000 if I go pick it out they will pay for it, or option 2 take $1000 cash. I took the $1000 Cash. If your computer was stolen you should be able to get a new computer that is 2 times better than the one you got ripped off. Don't know what you told the insurance company, but I would have told them, you got a computer ripped off and tell them how much you paid for it. No need to tell them it's home built, that makes it complicated on deciding what to pay you back for it. Just tell them you had a computer and it got stolen. You should be able to make out like a bandit. Hell I had a $200 worthless notebook and got $1000 for it.
Jason Rife
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Praetor
Moderator
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12. August 2004 @ 14:26 |
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Quote:
amd barton 3200+
You're prolly better off saving money here and getting an XP2500 or XP2800 and OCing the piss out of it.
Quote:
abit nf7-s nf2.0 OR asus a7n8x-e deluxe
Both excellent boards, cant go wrong either way. You can save some cash by getting the A7N8X-X also :)
Quote:
512mb pc3200 kingston
The money you save on the processor can go to upping this to 1GB
Quote:
liteon cd r/rw 52x32x52
liteon OR lg cd rom 52x
Excellent choice for the Litey (i'd stay away from LG); there isnt really a need to get the CDROM though (if you're thinking of doing OTF burning, i'd suggest you reconsider) :)
Quote:
maxtor ata-133 8m 120gb OR maxtor s-ata 8m 120gb
Not a world of difference between the PATA and SATA drive, you can save some money here too :)
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sound card is out of budget but I am lookign at the audigy 2
If you get the Soundstorm, a soundcard isnt really a requirement anymore :)
Something else you might want to look into: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/93097
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chris2199
Inactive
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13. August 2004 @ 03:58 |
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ok since i dont have a computer i will just post once.
4w4k3
Quote:
If you get the Abit board i wouldnt suggest the NF7-S2. I would get the plain NF7-S V2.0 board
it is the nf7-s v2.0 i'm considering. not the nf7-s2. but i am pushing toward the asus a7n8x-e deluxe there is only a $10 differ in price from the best offers i have gotten and the asus has real good ocing potential as well and i dont have to worry to much about a sound card.
jsrife
damn dude i wish it was that simple our insurance ended las month and we were in the prosess of lookign for a cheeper place so we didnt have insurance. other wise i would have a computer by now lol. but damn i would have had them buy me one for 2000 insteed of cash unless you dont like laptops.
praetor
thanks for the insight. i like all the potential of the a7n8x-e deluxe over the a7n8x-x and since posting yesturday i have upgraded to 2x512mb. the HDD there is only a $15 difference in price so for speed wise would i see any difference between the ata-133 and the sata drive. the roms are a good deal $40-r/rw $20-rom.
to each there own, enjoy life while you can
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dawai
Junior Member
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13. August 2004 @ 06:29 |
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can ne one take a look and see if my parts are pretty decent? i don't plan on Oc'n anything so..
lemme know thanks
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chris2199
Inactive
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13. August 2004 @ 06:37 |
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praetor did
Quote:
dawai
- Might you consider a NorthwoodC? Much more cost effective than the P4E you've got there.
- A jump to a reliable 500W PSU (or even 400W) would be nice
- Good call on the i865
I my self am a AMD person but it looks like a decent setup. but you should probly upgrade that PSU like praetor said
to each there own, enjoy life while you can
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4W4K3
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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13. August 2004 @ 08:03 |
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Quote:
it is the nf7-s v2.0 i'm considering. not the nf7-s2. but i am pushing toward the asus a7n8x-e deluxe there is only a $10 differ in price from the best offers i have gotten and the asus has real good ocing potential as well and i dont have to worry to much about a sound card.
sry bout the mix up i just read it wrong. the ASUS and ABIT are both great board. i got a 550mhz overclock on my ABIT and waiting for better coooling to get more. i have seen 500-700mhz overclocks with the asus as well...they bot hhave lots of flexibility. i already have a nice sound card so i just went with the ABIT. asus might be better for RMA if its bad though...ABIT really dissapointed me wit hthere $25 restocking fee and i had to pay for shiping. i just fixed the board myself :)
[COLOR=Green]AMD[/COLOR] Athlon XP-M 2600+ (2535MHz) 1.74V IQYHA
ABIT NF7-S Rev 2.0 (241*10.5) 1.8V - Pencil Mod
[COLOR=DimGray]OCZ[/COLOR]-EL 512MB PC-3200 DC-Platinum (483MHz) 2.85V 2.5-2-2-11
[B][COLOR=Red]RADEON[/CO
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chris2199
Inactive
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13. August 2004 @ 08:43 |
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no worrys its all good. i have decided to go with the a7n8x-e deluxe due to the decent on board sound that will save me $100.
but i do have a question about the socket 745's have they been disscountinued???? cause i was also looking at a 64 bit system set up for a few more bucks. cause i figure in the long run it would be better worth going 64 bit. i had asked the comp store and they told me that the socket A was being replaced by the 745's so. but they brought out the 939 sockets with the fairly new 3500+ 64 bit 1mb.
just looking for the truth out there if any one can help
to each there own, enjoy life while you can
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Praetor
Moderator
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13. August 2004 @ 18:37 |
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Quote:
the roms are a good deal $40-r/rw $20-rom.
So are the ASUS/Liteys and they have a world more of functionality (and reliability) behind them,
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can ne one take a look and see if my parts are pretty decent? I don't plan on Oc'n anything so..
I did... read up! :)
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ABIT really dissapointed me wit hthere $25 restocking fee and I had to pay for shiping.
Wow... thats a shocker :P
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but I do have a question about the socket 745's have they been disscountinued????
If you mean Socket754 ... yes they have been dropped.
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but they brought out the 939 sockets with the fairly new 3500+ 64 bit 1mb.
They came out with the 'hammers (1MB) and more recently the Newcastle (512K). The Newcastles are the superior chip.
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dawai
Junior Member
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14. August 2004 @ 06:06 |
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oh my fault i didn't see it... thanks =)
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dawai
Junior Member
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14. August 2004 @ 06:19 |
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Praetor:
Is there a big difference in a 1024k vs a 512k Cache?
And 0.13Micron vs 90nm(.09micron)
if cost wasn't a factor would the 3.2 prescott be better than the 3.2 northwood?
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. August 2004 @ 06:21
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