$700 what to buy for a new system?

[Breaker78]

OK, its for my little brother so here are the details.

He's not a BIGTIME game player, so he doesn't need a $300 dollar video card, but I want something that isn't going to hinder the overall performance of his system.

Also, he is going to buy a monitor himself, so this is not included in the price.

Also, all parts should be new, and carry a warrantee, to save me head-ache if something craps out.

And I don't want to have to jump thru all kinds of hoops and wait for rebates.

This is what I was thinking.

Duron 700 (He is opposed to celerons, plus with the 750 out, price should be good, right?)

KT chipset mobo (this is the good one right?? suggestions)

4X CDR/CDRW (just this one drive is good for now)

128mb ram (again, good for now. do I need pc133, what about cas2, 2-2-2, worth the
price?)

case/floppy/ps (are there still issues with amd and some power supply's?, again, this is
what he'll see the most, so I think is should be a "nice looking" case, no colors though)

20 gb HD (IDE, this HAS to be quality with 3 yr warranty. do duron boards support ATA66, i definatey want a 7200 rpm, right)

Video card (whatever the budget allows. Maybe a voodoo3 or a geforce MX)

is it best to buy things all in one place and maybe save shipping, or shop around


Hows it look so far?

 

[Noriaki]

Duron whatever speed you can afford
Asus A7V or ABit KT7 (both KT133)
128MB PC133 2-2-2 Latencies.

GeForce 2 MX, just about any brand, I'd do Asus or Herc myself though. Actually on only $700 you may want to make this a Voodoo3 if you really want a CDRW...
SBLive! Value

I'll say Ricoh 7060 CDRW if you can find one, that's a 6x4x24, it's been very reliable for me and my roommate and it only cost $300 canadian (200 US) in february. It's no plextor but it's pretty good and very cheap.

Try and get a 7200rpm, my preference would be IBM 75GXP, but you might not be able to afford it.

The power supply isn't a huge issue with the Durons but try and get a 300 watt if you can afford it.

 

[toph99]

i'd go for the voodoo3, saves you alot of money as opposed to an MX(in canada at least) and i think it's quite a good card. i got my v3 2000 from 143 to 175mhz

 

[Thanatopsis]

You can get a new Yamaha 8x4x24 or Plextor 8/4/32a for less than $200 USD now. Those, IMHO would be better than many other drives.

Try to go for an AMD recommended PS still. Athlons still draw a lot of wattage per chip, although stability is a lot better than it was on the first batch of mobos.

I think it would be a good idea to buy from the same place. This way, you credit card will only need 1 charge on it, all your stuff should be shipped the same way, and it will make returns (if necessary) a lot easier. However, if you do see a great deal at another place, don't hesistate to jump on it.

 

[Animefreak]

my suggestions

antec ks282+300 watt PS
ibm 15 gig hd 130(maybe overestimating)
Duron 600
A7V or KT7(overclock the duron if you need more speed)
vantec cpu cooler
some quality ram(kingston value comes to mind) 128 PC133 cas3(don't think cas2 is neccessary on a budget)
cdrw...find a cheap one, prefer yamaha and plextor myself
voodoo3 or even tnt2

700 is a little tight.

 

[LXi]

Thanatopsis: Heck, you can get Yamaha 8x8x24 for $175 now.

 

[Breaker78]

I'm finding 700 is kinda tight.

The Abit and Asus boards are expensive.

Anyone know much about FIC AZ-11
as an intergrated solution its appealing

I've never overclocked a duron before. They have locked multipliers, right, so do you just up the FSB like on a celeron? Thanks

 

[HellRaven]

no breaker. The via/amd bus limits overclocking to about 110mhz fsb (but that is ddr so its effectively 220). You overclock durons by closing the L1 bridges on the chip itself. This is done with a pencil usually - check THIS PAGE for details on how to unlock a duron. Basically after unlocking the duron you can manipulate the multiplier. Durons have a high success rate of getting 900+ if you have good a really good heatsink/fan setup.