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1st in 2yrs. Price no object, which system would you build?

T

TeddyKGB

Junior Member

I haven't built a system in over two years, so all is very confusing (had barely heard of over-clocking then). I believe in getting most for money, even if the initial cost is high. If money were no object for you, which system (mobo, RAM, HDD, etc.) would you build? The only qualifier to this question is that I fully support the little guy--AMD. To clarify, I'm looking for the BEST SYSTEM you would build.

Thanks very much for any help I can get,
TeddyKGB
 
Well it REALLY depends. If you're looking for a top of the line system, and you're going to be doing some extreme overclocking, you'd want to get this system:

1)

- Intel Pentium 4 1.6GHz Northwood Processor (overclocked to 2.4-2.5GHz with retail HSF).
- ASUS P4B266-C (i845 DDR chipset) or ASUS P4T-E (i850 RDRAM chipset) Motherboard.
- ATi Radeon 8500 or nVidia GeForce4 Ti4600 Video Card (Radeon better value).
- Turtle Bearch Santa Cruz or Creative Labs Audigy Sound Card.
- Seagate Barracuda IV or Western Digital WD1200JB Hard Drive (Seagate better value).

If you're looking for a top of the line system and you're NOT going to be doing extreme overclocking, you'd want this system:

2)

- AMD Athlon XP 1800+ (1.53GHz) Palomino or AMD Athlon XP 2100+ (1.73GHz) Palomino Processor (1800+ better value).
- MSI K7T266 PRO2-RU (KT266A DDR chipset) or Abit NV7-133R (nForce 415-D DDR chipset) Motherboard.
- ATi Radeon 8500 or nVidia GeForce4 Ti4600 Video Card (Radeon better value).
- Turtle Bearch Santa Cruz or Creative Labs Audigy Sound Card.
- Seagate Barracuda IV or Western Digital WD1200JB Hard Drive (Seagate better value).

After you decide on one of the above choices, all you really need to get is your PSU (Antec 300W is fine), monitor (your preference), DVD/CD-R (I suggest Yamaha or Lite-ON), speakers (I suggest the Logitech Z540), case, mouse, keyboard, and cables.

Good luck! 🙂

P.S. Of course, there's always something better around the corner. For example, in early April, Intel will be releasing their 2.4GHz Pentium 4 Northwood processor. Of course, there's no point in buying this processor for the price it will be selling at (assuming you're overclocking, which is the only reason to be considering a Northwood). However, prices of Intel's lower-end Pentium 4's will be dropping and that means you will be able to purchase a cheaper 1.6GHz Pentium 4 Northwood processor instead of paying more for it now. But it all depends on exactly when you're buying and if you can wait.

Same thing goes with AMD's upcoming processors. When Intel launches their 2.4GHz Pentium 4 Northwood in early April, AMD will likely counter with the Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8GHz) Thoroughbred processor. Assuming you're not overclocking, you could buy this processor or, if it's just too much, a 1900+ processor, which should be very cheap.
 
I agree with Agodspeed on all but one thing, which is the motherboard. MSI is not a good performer, or overclocker. So if you want AMD (KT266A chipset), then go for an Asus or an Abit.
 
Thanks very much, AGodspeed.

Those are great suggestions, but I'm still reading/learning about over-clocking. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to it if you can get real gains, keep stability and not have to take great measures to cool the system. Also, I'm an AMD supporter. Every system I've built for myself/ relatives/friends has been an AMD, and so far so good on all.

Thanks again,
TeddyKGB
😀
 
The KT333 chipset boards are starting to appear. If i waited two years i think i would wait just a tad longer as they are suppose to have a better south bridge. I may stand corrected but i think that the way it is........
 
Even though I agree that ASUS or Abit are very good choices for Socket A boards, I still think MSI is very good too (both my rigs have MSI boards, no problems to report).

And since it looks like you're going to go with AMD, then I suggest that you wait (if you can) for Thoroughbred.
 
AGodspeed,

What's Thoroughbred? I assume that's the next generation of AMD processors. If so, any idea when they're expected to hit the consumer market? How much better is this generation supposed to be?

TeddyKGB
 
that's what i'm waiting for is the T-bred and for the kt333 to be in more boards and get some early reviews/roundups
i like the asusa7v333 and it's COP stuff to help keep your cpu from overheating
also i would like to see better yeilds/standards for the ddr333 cause i would like it to run at cas2 not cas2.5 or something and have some oc'n ability
i might be upgrading in a month or two
 
the thouroughbred is just a die shrink from .18 to .13 it should run a little cooler and oc a little higher there were some rumors of adding more cache but i don't
think that is gonna happen till the Barton core in the fall
i read somewhere that AMD might release the thouroughbred at the end of this month next month would be the latest
 
The 133 fsb Northy comes out soon also since you said price doesnt matter. I believ thats going to start at 2.5 gig right kids?
 
Thanks, Soulkeeper.


Gump,

Of course, price eventually becomes a consideration in any matter. However, I'm looking for creative suggestions that aren't limited primarily by cost. I'd spend money on overclocking, for example, if the gains were considerable and the stability was still there. On the other hand, if you have to spend a fortune on cooling in order to get a 3% performance gain, I think that's a case of diminishing returns.

Thanks so much for your help,
TeddyKGB
😀
 
Awwwww come on so what if the new chip will require you to mortgage your house 😎 Fine then ill agree with god then on this tee hee.
 
I have an Abit board and have had no problems with it. But what about the IWill mobos? I've read lots of good stuff about them. Anyone with opinions on them?
 


For most of the mundane office stuff what is out right now would do you well and you still wouldn't need to overclock.

If however you are into video editing or graphic design and very intensive stuff like that then I would say go dual AMD. If you are doing video editing dual systems will still be taxed pretty hard, so there is deffinately some need for faster processors/memory/stuff then there is available today.

You didn't really say what you were going to be doing with your system, so if you could tell us we might be able to give you a better idea of what you'll need.


Will
 


<< I haven't built a system in over two years, so all is very confusing (had barely heard of over-clocking then). I believe in getting most for money, even if the initial cost is high. If money were no object for you, which system (mobo, RAM, HDD, etc.) would you build? The only qualifier to this question is that I fully support the little guy--AMD. To clarify, I'm looking for the BEST SYSTEM you would build.

Thanks very much for any help I can get,
TeddyKGB >>




Tyan Tiger MP dual XP2000+
SCSI RAID controller that utilizes Tiger MP's 64 bit slot.
Seagate X15 SCSI setup in RAID5 mode in an external hard drive tower in hot swappable config for minimal downtime and utmost reliability.
4GB of registered ECC PC2100 DDR. ECC is going to prevent lockups caused by memory errors.
Plextor CD-Writer
Pioneer DVD-RW
3D Labs GVX420 videocard
Sound blaster Live 5.1

TrippLite full time online, sinewave UPS system.


I won't personally build it, because my computer does what I need to do fine.
 
I agree with Jerboy, AMD Duals are going to give you best performance, put as much as you can afford, XP 1900+ or XP 2000+, they'll outperform the xeon duals
 
I have Athlon XP 1700 at 11x150=1650 on Abit KR7A-RAID..but I disagree with AMD as the best performer...I thinkthe overclocked P4 1.6 at 140-150 fsb is an outstanding performer whether with DDR or RDRAM....but this is my opinion
 
Thank again to all!

At this point, I could probably narrow the choices down to a single processor mobo. However, I'm not opposed to spending more to get something that'll carry me through for a good while. It would seem that the consensus is with a SCSI controller, but what about the MOBO itself? Also, what about RAM? What brand of RAM would you use for a system that WON'T be incorporating extraordinary cooling measures? I'd still like to hear more about single processor motherboard choices, too.

*bump*

Thanks for the help. This is great! 😀
TeddyKGB
 


<< ASUS P4B266-C (i845 DDR chipset) or ASUS P4T-E (i850 RDRAM chipset) Motherboard >>



How can you recommend the P4B266-C if money is no object! Get the P4B266 w/ USB 2.0 onboard!!!

I'd recommend:

Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or 2.2 GHz (probably the 2.0 GHz for overclocking purposes)
Asus P4B266 motherboard
256 MB PC2700 DDR memory
Geforce 4 Ti4600 (there is no question there!)
Alpha PAL8942 Heatsink-fan (best P4 HSF) with a good fan

the rest the usual... 16X DVD, 24X or 32X burner etc.

Overclock the CPU to around 133 MHz FSB (which gives 2.67 GHz) @ 1.7volts ... should be pretty easy
 


<< The 133 fsb Northy comes out soon also since you said price doesnt matter. I believ thats going to start at 2.5 gig right kids? >>



No I heard 2.26 or 2.4 GHz is where it starts.
 
Thanks Jiffy,

As I wrote early on though, I try to support AMD (the little guy). Therefore, I'm looking for suggestions relating to single-processor AMD mobos. Also, I'd like to read more about the best RAM brands to use with the recommended motherboard.

*bump*

Thanks again,
TeddyKGB 😉
 
If it has been two years waiting then stash cash and buy parts in june/july.
If you read anand's stories about comdex and more recent the Intel IDF
you will notice a wholesale change of parts coming beginning with serial ATA hard drives and
a huge leap in utilization of USB ports.
and then you have items such as 64bit cards ,the future ?, Firewire,PCI X and how soon will the future occur ?
Intel screwed up on backing Rambus they cannot afford a repeat of backing a poor technology.
Should be very interesting 6-9 months






















 
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