A Person of Yore needs yours help...

[magomago]

Hello,

I'm new here and I'm looking into building a pc. However, here ithe problem. I want to replace my 500k6-2 with a brand new pc.

I was very knowledgable of computers at the time, but after sticking toghter my k6-2 and Mvp3 I just kind of left the computer scene.

So i came back within the last week to search out for a good mobo within a devent price (70-80 and no higher than 90 shipped) when i realized one thing: I haven't really looked at pcs for soo long that I'm not sure WHAT is good out there.

I noticed a few things, such as the age of jumpers are gone (it seems the bios automatically detects the chip and there is no need to set jumpers) save for a 100/133mhhz jumper on some mobos.


Could someone perhaps educate me within the fields of mobos? What is good, what isn't

Also, I'm looking for the "bang for the buck" type of mobo (like my geforce2GTS which i got for 47 shipped from newegg )

I'll be running a 1800XP and i'd prefer most of the crap (excuse my language) onboard...Sound, LAN, USB (2.0 not a necessity, I've never been into USB as much) would be nice. OC isn't a necessity, but i prefer it.

RAID wouldn't be necessity for me (however i'm still kind of confused on what it is back in "my day" raid was more of a unecessary luxery so i never bothered to look into it much...all i know is that one can mirror HDS with it)

Noramly, I'd just look for the best price w/ the most pci slots and good extra feautres...But today it seems to be something different.


If someone could help me out on a mobo I'd forever be in your debt...and this time i'll stay and learn about which mobos are the best even if i won't be buying them (I remember shelling out 200 USD for my k6-233 and 150 for my Soyo Mobo....hahaha)


And if you are wondering my age (my vocab seems a bit unorthodox as i look at these boards) i'm 17, so

-Ammar

 

[Boonesmi]

you will get differing opinions

but i would go with a board based on the kt333 or possibly the brand new kt400 chipset

my personal choice would be the epox 8k5a2 (mwave.com has them for around $83) this is one of the best board you can buy today (if not the very best) great stabiliy, great overclocker


if you want something a little cheaper you can get the ECS K7VTA3 for around $70

 

[magomago]

Hrmm...80 is a bit high


And that 70 looks nice...Is that ECS mobo a good quality mobo?


In all reality The AthlonXP i'll buy costs 70 dollars w/ shipping....I'm trying to taper off the mobo+cpu at 150 total which leaves me 80+ship for the mobo...

In effect, I'm trying to create a entry level pc that can hold its own. I'm not expecting to play BF1942 at 1024*768 with all details turned up...

But i'd prefer the ability to play counterstrike with all 31 bots at the same time without lag (someting my friends 1hz athlon compaq laptop with prolly some kind of ati mobile in there and 256megs of ram can do)

I want to be able to play games, but that is some i want to be ABLE to...I'll play but i won't go gungho...ya know?


Also, i'm getting quite interested in the K7VTA3

however as i'm currently looking at pricewatch it seems there are different revsions of this board

ex:


This seems to be what i'm looking for--
====================
K7VTA3/3.1; SKT A; VIA KT333 chipset ; Onboard RAID/ LAN/ audio; 266Mhz FSB; ATA133 --- 3 DDR DIMM slots (PC2700 ready); AGP4x slot; Five 32 bit PCI; CNR slot; ATX form factor; Retail; 2 yr ECS warranty
========================
Price= 65$ with shipping



However this makes no mention as to the LAN and RAID (raid isn't that important to me, but lan would be more important) and is ATA100 while the former is ATA133
=====================
Ecs K7VTA3 (RETAIL 2 YEAR WARR.) Socket-A,Audio, UDMA-100, DDR ATX. 5P 14xAGP 1CNR ACR 3DDR ATA100 Sound Available.
(Part - K7VTA3)
=================================
Price=64.99 with shipping


This seems to "promise RAID" whatever that means
===================
K7VTA33 - K7VTA3 V3.1 (RETAIL BOX)VIA® KT333&VT8233A,3 DDR ,5PCI 1AGP,ATX Socket A, VIA KT333, support AMD Athlon, Duron, MP, XP, 1 AGP, 1 CNR, 5 PCI, w/ audio, LAN, promise RAID.
(Part - 101-K7VTA3V3)
==========================
Price= 71.95 with shipping


This completely baffles me- 4 pci slots? and no metnion of lan/raid
===============
K7VTA3 Ver. 2.0 DDR VIA KT266A chipset, Socket A with Audio onboard (combo deals also available) Support AMD Athlon XP, 3xDDR, 4xPCI, 1xAGP (4X), 1xCNR, AC97, ATX
(Part - 207MOTHERBOARD
===================


I thought if a Company creates a Model # that type of motherboard should stay the same hardware wise (saev for bios updates to make it more stable)...but how in the world do some not even mention lan/raid while others aren't kt-333 and there aer a few that are ATA-100 isn't of 133...

Or Am i just stupid?

And now that i think of it, a USB would be useful as I own a graph link for my ti89 and i love playing games during class (i'm a senior) when the teacher is just talking about nothing

Or should i skip to a different MOBO? and btw, these emoticons suck. :|

 

[Vette73]

The Athlon XP 1600+ is only $54 shipped, might be a better bang for your buck.

But if you spend more, spend more on the board. The CPU is easy t upgrade IF you get a good board.

But get one that has at least a KT333, and try to find one with a 8235 southbridge

If you want a real good board and don't mind spending another $20 or so look at the Epox KT333 with a 8235 South bridge. Will give you Sound, Lan, usb 2.0, and be stable and overclock well, and has a 1/5 divider and should support the newwer 333Mhz FSB Athlons that are coming out on the Oct 1st

 

[magomago]

Okay. Well heeded. I checkd out pricewatch and just downgraded to a 1600XP since it is quite cheaper (i'm aiming for a sub1000 pc)

Okay, what was the model # on your mobo that you said? I'm gonna look at it, and how much does it run for?

I must agree in that area. I remember getting my Soyo mobo and finding out the highest it would clock was at 233 so thereby getting rid of any OCing i might try [i had a k6233]


thanks!

 

[magomago]

http://www.computerhq.com/store/store-detailspec.asp?goodsid=3596&type=retail

ignore the above it doens't have info try this

http://www.ocsystem.com/epepviaktpc3.html


is that it?


Okay. i'll get the 1600XP for 52.24

that leaves 100 dollars for the mobo

What would be the bet? It seems the name EPOX keeps popping up...

Has Asus been dethroned?

But 100 bucks for that mobo looks quite expensive...how high will it take for Xps?

But now i'm just rying to find the bes tmobo for 100 bucks

 

[mechBgon]

Also, plan on getting a new power supply. The trend is towards more power demands, both by the video cards and the CPUs. I would get a Sparkle Power 350W, for a good mix of low price, adequate power and good regulation. Don't judge by wattage ratings alone, either. When you see 400W PSU's ranging from ~$15 to $100, it's one of those things that makes you go hmmm. Sparkle Power, Antec, Enermax or perhaps Enhance are some known brands worth a look.

I don't think you're being realistic if you think $80 is a lot to spend on a motherboard. The cheapest way to buy is to buy the right thing the first time, so listen to the advice being given. When it's time to drop in a Barton-core AthlonXP 3000+ in a year or so, you'll be glad you did.

 

[magomago]

Actually, I wasn't planning on scrapping anything from my pc


Well, my plan was to go to pricewatch and pick up a 400W for 40 or so dollars...they started at 15 [hehe *sweat*] so i figured 40 outta be good.


Ugh, can i get a 350-400W case for 40 bucks?


Also, 80 bucks has been bumped up to 100 bucks (and NO MORE than 110 with shipping)

but if i spend that kind of cash (i'm paying for this with my own $$$) i better excpect quality, ya know

 

[mechBgon]

If you want to buy a quality power supply and also a case, you might consider one of these: SX630II This case is a treat to work with (I build systems at work with a variant of this chassis), it has front USB ports, comes stock with an 80mm fan (and room for two more), and has a name-brand 300W power supply with 220W available on the combined 3.3V + 5V lines. 3-year warranty too.

If that's a bit more than you want to spend, perhaps get an Evercase and an Enhance 350W PSU would be a good budget combo that's not junk. I haven't tried the Evercase but it's gotten lots of good remarks around here.

 

[magomago]

The first is too expensive for me


but i'll do the second...I'll get that powersupply

i'll prolly shop aroud to see the best case

but thanks for the case info




now only the MOBO is left...anyone care to help me?

 

[tapir]

I don't know if you live near a fry's or not, but if so, you may want to look into this deal. XP2000+ and a decent KT333 for $150, which is what you said you wanted for the combined price.

By the way, are you buying a new monitor-printer-other accessories in your $1000 max price? you can build a really nice Northwood box for $1000, but if you're planning to spend 4-500 on peripherals i can see where you're coming from.

 

[magomago]

Frys is too fary away....

Damn...


HRmm...What about the Epox 8k5A2+? It looks really nice and it seems to have longevity



As for the moniter, tec. Yes. I allocated 150 for the moniter, 70 for a printer...this is assuming the MAX i will spend..

In all actuality i'll prolly spend just a bit more for the moniter and just a bit less

and i'll still close the deal at less than 800

 

[o1die]

If you live near a Fry's electronics store, I just picked up one of their specials, an msi pro-2 kt266a board with amd 1700xp retail boxed for only $99.95. I have a decent p4 rig overclocked, but this deal was just too good to pass up. I think a friend at work wants it, or I will keep it for a spare rig. I see someone's already told you about Fry's; sorry for wasting your time.

 

[magomago]

nah, thats cool. The frys where i live would be in LA area, but i'm approx. 45 minutes south of Riverside.


i wish i could get that tho...must be a great deal

but is the mobo a lower quality one?

 

[RalfHutter]

Originally posted by: magomago
but i'm approx. 45 minutes south of Riverside.

There's a Frys in San Diego if that'd be closer to you.

 

[Buz2b]

Hey, I drive 47.6 miles (one way) to Fry's. That's no big deal. Think of the money you can save, as long as you don't have a gas guzzler. All it would take would be a little bit of extra time and you would save on shipping costs.