Any problems with this system? Check it out!@@

[MAME]

Got it, thanks!

 

[MDE]

I'd get a better PSU. My Dad's XP 2200+ system ( 2 hard drives, Radeon 8500LE, one optical, Asus A7N8X Deluxe) had random reboots with a 300W Allied PSU, swapped it with a 350W Fortron and the problems disappeared.

 

[Futher]

If you plan on gaming and such, and you want an LCD, I suggest you put out some extra money for a little better one. I have the Samsung 191t and I love it. My friend has a Dell lcd and it's really good as well. No sense in having a great computer if everything looks weird =)

 

[Futher]

Also, if you'd like you can get a nicer looking case with a better PSU

Raidmax makes really nice cases. It comes with a 420 watt PSU, looks a lot nicer, and is only 10 bucks more. It also comes in many different colors, but I assumed you like black.

 

[dudeman007]

Originally posted by: MDE
I'd get a better PSU. My Dad's XP 2200+ system ( 2 hard drives, Radeon 8500LE, one optical, Asus A7N8X Deluxe) had random reboots with a 300W Allied PSU, swapped it with a 350W Fortron and the problems disappeared.

Agreed. As for some of your split decisions. I highly recommend Samsung. I have a samsung 120 gb sata hdd and its awesome. Both hdds are about the same in price so go with whatever. Seagates are awesome too. Both drives are very quiet. As for your monitors, I'm not sure. I'm not much into them so I haven't heard of BenQ, but its cheaper than the Samsung one and has gotten a lot of nice reviews. The rest of this set up I like.

 

[imported_raybay]

Built in NIC is possibly OK, but I woiuld not get any motherboard with built in sound. It is seldom good, and often trouble within a year or two.

 

[Corporate Thug]

get the seagate
the ram is cheaper directly from kingston
NEC 2500A for the dvd burner
save some more for a 9800 pro if you are a gamer

 

[SickBeast]

Swap the vanilla Barton w/ a Mobile Barton 2500+.

Oops, and I've heard bad things about the AN7...what's wrong with the NF7-S?

Oh yeah and I would go with BenQ over the Samsung for the $60 savings. :beer:

 

[MAME]

Thanks guys, a few things:
The computer is for my roommate's parents so gaming is not a problem. I don't need a better video card nor a mobile barton. The on board sound suchks but it's ok, they don't care

The case(and ps); I agree that it should be better but they only liked that style so I'm not sure what to do.

For the dvd burner, Anandtech said Nu was *the* best so I will stick with it!

So the AN7 is bad for some reason? I thought it was solid. The Abit NF7-S looks solid too...argh, what should I do?!


Also, can someone recommend better ram perhaps? Thanks!

 

[Hyperlite]

indeed, go for the NF7-S.
heh i suspect they won't be doing any overclocking, nor reefing on the rig too hard in general. you should be fine with that ram

if they like the style of case...well, they have to look at it, so just roll with what they want i suppose.

 

[MAME]

nf7-s has fan noise issues

an7 seems to be a solid choice

 

[MAME]

$1520 after tax, shipping and rush ordering!

 

[Bovinicus]

The system looks pretty good to me. The only thing I might change is that case and PSU. I know it is tough to spend more money on a case, but the PSU that comes with that case isn't very high quality. The 12v rail is very weak. Antec makes some nice cases that come with their excellent PSUs. I have a good amount of positive personal experience with their power supplies. I would go with the Antec SLK3700AMB. It is quite a bit pricer, but it comes with a quality 350W PSU, and it is a well designed sturdy case that uses 120mm fans for quieter operation. As well, it should leave you a good bit of headroom for upgrades. If that is too much, then go with the Antec SLK1600. It's PSU is also 300W, but of much higher quality than the Allied PSU your choice comes with.

The HDD decision is an easy one. If you want silence, go with the Seagate drive. If you want a little more performance and probably still whisper quiet, then go with the Samsung drive.

My vote for the monitor goes to the Samsung. I have a hard time recommending another manufacturer if you're on a budget, because Samsung's quality is hard to beat for the price. Although the Benq is cheaper, it is better to spend as much as you can on a monitor because it is going to last you a lot longer than any computer you will ever own. You will definitely get your money's worth.

 

[MAME]

thanks, here's the updated specs:
VGA PWRCLR|RADEON9600PRO 128M 8X A (Qty=1,Price=123.99)
SPKRS CINTRE|RW-250 2-PIECE RETAIL (Qty=1,Price=16.50)
DVD-R RIDATA DRD-474-RDCB50 50PK% (Qty=1,Price=34.99)
DVD-/+RW INT NUTECH DDW-082 BLK% (Qty=1,Price=70.50)
FD 1.44MB|SONY MPF920 Black % (Qty=1,Price=10.99)
KB&MS MS|MM WHL OPTCL VALUE BLACK% (Qty=1,Price=36.00)
MB nForce2 ULTRA AN7 ABIT RET (Qty=1,Price=99.00)
HD 160GB|SEAGAT ST3160023A 8mb % (Qty=1,Price=111.00)
CPU AMD|2500/333 ATHLON XP BARTON R (Qty=1,Price=80.00)
CDRW/DVD COMBO52X32X52X16|LITEON B% (Qty=1,Price=48.99)
DDRAM 256MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 COR% (Qty=2,Price=150.00)
CASE A+GPB CA-3688KLB 400W SL RT (Qty=1,Price=31.50)
MNTR BENQ|19"LCD FP951 (Qty=1,Price=549.00)

 

[SickBeast]

You're really stubborn on the AN7. The NF7-S is so popular for a reason: it's the best Socket-A motherboard that ABIT makes. Period.

I highly suggest you read some reviews on the AN7 before you purchase one. It has a huge host of issues that AFAIK remain unresolved. If the fan bothers you that much on the NF7-S, I would suggest manually installing a passive heatsink, or else go with the ASUS A7N8X-DELUXE; it's FAR better than the AN7.

 

[Bovinicus]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
You're really stubborn on the AN7. The NF7-S is so popular for a reason: it's the best Socket-A motherboard that ABIT makes. Period.

I highly suggest you read some reviews on the AN7 before you purchase one. It has a huge host of issues that AFAIK remain unresolved. If the fan bothers you that much on the NF7-S, I would suggest manually installing a passive heatsink, or else go with the ASUS A7N8X-DELUXE; it's FAR better than the AN7.

I'm not doubting you, but I have never heard anything negative about the AN7. Care to post a link or two showing these problems you speak of?

As well, I still suggest going with a system with a quality PSU. The wattage of a PSU means nothing. A cheap PSU is still going to be louder, less efficient, and most imporantly provide less stable voltages. Voltage fluxuation can easily lead to an unstable system. Everyone wants to go cheap on the case and PSU. If you want to go cheap on the case, fine. Just don't get one that comes with a PSU. The PSU is the last place anyone should skimp. I say get a slower CPU or a smaller HDD before you get a cheapo PSU.

There is a Linkworld case available for $15 that comes with no PSU. Then get yourself a 350W Sparkle PSU for $28.75. Sparkle makes about the cheapest decent PSUs that you can get. Enlight's 360W PSU for $32 is also a good buy. They are right in there with Sparkle in terms of decent quality at a low price.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: Kyle Bennett
Overclocking

The AN7?s overclocking performance was dismal to say the least. With a chip capable of multiplier adjust, Kyle was barely able to get the board to boot at a 220 MHz FSB and that?s with the help of his Koolance EXOS water cooling system. I could not get the board to stabilize at a 200 MHz FSB, let alone 210 or 220. My feelings on this were that the BIOS related multiplier and Northbridge voltage issues worked against me on this. At a 200 MHz FSB with my 2500+ CPU, I was pushing 2.2 GHz (11 x 200 MHz) which is by no means unattainable from that chip, but it comes close to its upper limit. If 2.2 GHz was out of the question, then 2.42 GHz (11 x 220 MHz) is a definite no go. And in my testing, I was using an Asetek WaterChill water cooling rig and Kingston PC4000 HyperX memory.

(Editor's note: I would like to emphasize here that we are using tried and true components on this board that have be validated far beyond spec on other platforms.)

Conclusion

Well, even champions will occasionally trip and stumble, and that is exactly what the AN7 appears to be doing to ABIT. After having first hand great experiences with both the NF7-S v 1.1 and v 1.2, I was expecting an incredible board out of the AN7. With its uGuru processor, diagnostic LED, super high CPU and DDR voltage, and great layout, the board was a no brainer winner at first glance. Boy, was I disappointed.

The problems encountered seem to be mostly BIOS related issues that should easily be addressable through BIOS updates to be released in the near future, hopefully. Case in point - with BIOS 12, I ran in to major memory timing issues when attempting to manual set memory timings. The board would ignore my manual settings and use internally derived settings based on the CPU FSB selected. This especially wreaked havoc with my PC4000 RAM. However, the issue magically disappeared when I upgraded to BIOS 13. But all the other issues listed in the BIOS page still occurred with BIOS 13 loaded including: CPU voltage set statically to 2v with voltage set to manual, regardless of the selected voltage; Northbridge chipset voltage set statically to 1.65 with voltage set to manual, regardless of the selected voltage; and the BIOS reverting to fail safe and/or default settings when the board was power cycled (power down and power up, not soft reboot).

Don?t get me wrong, the board has a great deal of potential. However, at this point, I have serious reservations about recommending the board to anyone. I?d personally wait for either a major BIOS overhaul and/or a newer board revision before jumping on to the AN7 bandwagon?

Here is a link so you can read the entire thing for yourself. It wasn't pretty. It is possible that a newer BIOS fixed most of the issues, but I doubt they could do anything about the poor overclocking performance.

 

[Bovinicus]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: Kyle Bennett
Overclocking

The AN7?s overclocking performance was dismal to say the least. With a chip capable of multiplier adjust, Kyle was barely able to get the board to boot at a 220 MHz FSB and that?s with the help of his Koolance EXOS water cooling system. I could not get the board to stabilize at a 200 MHz FSB, let alone 210 or 220. My feelings on this were that the BIOS related multiplier and Northbridge voltage issues worked against me on this. At a 200 MHz FSB with my 2500+ CPU, I was pushing 2.2 GHz (11 x 200 MHz) which is by no means unattainable from that chip, but it comes close to its upper limit. If 2.2 GHz was out of the question, then 2.42 GHz (11 x 220 MHz) is a definite no go. And in my testing, I was using an Asetek WaterChill water cooling rig and Kingston PC4000 HyperX memory.

(Editor's note: I would like to emphasize here that we are using tried and true components on this board that have be validated far beyond spec on other platforms.)

Conclusion

Well, even champions will occasionally trip and stumble, and that is exactly what the AN7 appears to be doing to ABIT. After having first hand great experiences with both the NF7-S v 1.1 and v 1.2, I was expecting an incredible board out of the AN7. With its uGuru processor, diagnostic LED, super high CPU and DDR voltage, and great layout, the board was a no brainer winner at first glance. Boy, was I disappointed.

The problems encountered seem to be mostly BIOS related issues that should easily be addressable through BIOS updates to be released in the near future, hopefully. Case in point - with BIOS 12, I ran in to major memory timing issues when attempting to manual set memory timings. The board would ignore my manual settings and use internally derived settings based on the CPU FSB selected. This especially wreaked havoc with my PC4000 RAM. However, the issue magically disappeared when I upgraded to BIOS 13. But all the other issues listed in the BIOS page still occurred with BIOS 13 loaded including: CPU voltage set statically to 2v with voltage set to manual, regardless of the selected voltage; Northbridge chipset voltage set statically to 1.65 with voltage set to manual, regardless of the selected voltage; and the BIOS reverting to fail safe and/or default settings when the board was power cycled (power down and power up, not soft reboot).

Don?t get me wrong, the board has a great deal of potential. However, at this point, I have serious reservations about recommending the board to anyone. I?d personally wait for either a major BIOS overhaul and/or a newer board revision before jumping on to the AN7 bandwagon?

Here is a link so you can read the entire thing for yourself. It wasn't pretty. It is possible that a newer BIOS fixed most of the issues, but I doubt they could do anything about the poor overclocking performance.

Fair enough, but is this guy even overclocking? He hasn't made mention of it at all. Either way, I suppose it is better to go with the more tried and true solution: the NF7-S. I put one in my father's system and it is a rock solid board.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
You're really stubborn on the AN7. The NF7-S is so popular for a reason: it's the best Socket-A motherboard that ABIT makes. Period.

I highly suggest you read some reviews on the AN7 before you purchase one. It has a huge host of issues that AFAIK remain unresolved. If the fan bothers you that much on the NF7-S, I would suggest manually installing a passive heatsink, or else go with the ASUS A7N8X-DELUXE; it's FAR better than the AN7.

Not from what I read really. It said it made a lot of fan noise so I can't risk it. If the AN7 isn't ideal, I can return it and try the NF7-S though.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: Kyle Bennett
Overclocking

The AN7?s overclocking performance was dismal to say the least. With a chip capable of multiplier adjust, Kyle was barely able to get the board to boot at a 220 MHz FSB and that?s with the help of his Koolance EXOS water cooling system. I could not get the board to stabilize at a 200 MHz FSB, let alone 210 or 220. My feelings on this were that the BIOS related multiplier and Northbridge voltage issues worked against me on this. At a 200 MHz FSB with my 2500+ CPU, I was pushing 2.2 GHz (11 x 200 MHz) which is by no means unattainable from that chip, but it comes close to its upper limit. If 2.2 GHz was out of the question, then 2.42 GHz (11 x 220 MHz) is a definite no go. And in my testing, I was using an Asetek WaterChill water cooling rig and Kingston PC4000 HyperX memory.

(Editor's note: I would like to emphasize here that we are using tried and true components on this board that have be validated far beyond spec on other platforms.)

Conclusion

Well, even champions will occasionally trip and stumble, and that is exactly what the AN7 appears to be doing to ABIT. After having first hand great experiences with both the NF7-S v 1.1 and v 1.2, I was expecting an incredible board out of the AN7. With its uGuru processor, diagnostic LED, super high CPU and DDR voltage, and great layout, the board was a no brainer winner at first glance. Boy, was I disappointed.

The problems encountered seem to be mostly BIOS related issues that should easily be addressable through BIOS updates to be released in the near future, hopefully. Case in point - with BIOS 12, I ran in to major memory timing issues when attempting to manual set memory timings. The board would ignore my manual settings and use internally derived settings based on the CPU FSB selected. This especially wreaked havoc with my PC4000 RAM. However, the issue magically disappeared when I upgraded to BIOS 13. But all the other issues listed in the BIOS page still occurred with BIOS 13 loaded including: CPU voltage set statically to 2v with voltage set to manual, regardless of the selected voltage; Northbridge chipset voltage set statically to 1.65 with voltage set to manual, regardless of the selected voltage; and the BIOS reverting to fail safe and/or default settings when the board was power cycled (power down and power up, not soft reboot).

Don?t get me wrong, the board has a great deal of potential. However, at this point, I have serious reservations about recommending the board to anyone. I?d personally wait for either a major BIOS overhaul and/or a newer board revision before jumping on to the AN7 bandwagon?

Here is a link so you can read the entire thing for yourself. It wasn't pretty. It is possible that a newer BIOS fixed most of the issues, but I doubt they could do anything about the poor overclocking performance.

They're 60 years old. No overclocking

 

[Luthien]

Hey, I think you can buy a dual layer burner 8x now for like $85 so get that instead of your single. The only dif. is it can do dual layer etc and for $15 why not!

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: MAME
They're 60 years old. No overclocking

Read the article. Overclocking wasn't the only problem. They couldn't even hit 200FSB, which is NOT overclocking in many cases.

Seriously, get an Asus A7N8X-DLX, they are excellent boards, I have one in my machine at work. There is passive cooling on the northbridge so there isn't a single fan on the board. It performs very well. The only things it is lacking are some overclocking options, which you say you won't need anyway.

 

[dirtcheapguy]

for case I will get the ever case 4292 only 55 buck come with sparkle 350w
link http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-127-036&depa=0
the psu the same with this sparle http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-484&depa=0

 

[dirtcheapguy]

for the dvd burner is bad choice this nu burn got so many many problem so go with nec is way way bester and money just a few buck expensive than nu drive

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: dirtcheapguy
for the dvd burner is bad choice this nu burn got so many many problem so go with nec is way way bester and money just a few buck expensive than nu drive

anandtech gave it the highest rating. If there's problems, I can return it