Best Budget MicroATX AMD System!

[Qwerty2]

I'll be building a budget microATX system for my girlfriend, but haven't been keeping up with the latest in system building, so I need your help!

This is what she'll basically be using the computer for(in order of importance):
1. Video-conferencing
2. Surfing the net/Email
3. Light gaming(mostly non-3D)
4. Digital photos
5. Word processing

This is the setup that I'm considering:
CPU: AMD XP2000/XP2500 (boxed)
RAM: 256MB Corsair/Kingston PC2700/PC3200
Motherboard: MSI KM4M-L/ABIT VA-10
Video: Integrated
Sound: Integrated
Harddisk: 40GB Western Digital/Maxtor
CDRW Drive: Sony/TDK 52x32x52
Floppy Drive: Sony/Mitsumi 1.44
Case: MicroATX case with 200W power supply that she fancies.

I wanted to go the NForce2 route, but those boards cost about 50% more than their KM400 counterparts where I live.
I also have a question about "front side bus". Do I need to choose my cpu and ram based on the "front side bus" of my board? How do I fully utilise it?
In the proposed system above, which components should I use? How can I make it even better, without spending significantly more? Is the 200W power supply really enough??

 

[mechBgon]

I suggest a good-quality 300W+ power supply. Approximately five people will be along shortly to tell you that I'm the resident power-supply nazi and that they have successfully run dual-processor systems off of a watch battery.

Also, you should see significantly better performance if you upgrade to 512MB of RAM. If you have to start with 256MB, try to leave a vacant slot for more. Speed-wise, I would recommend matching the RAM's speed to the CPU's bus speed, so PC2100 for processors that have a DDR266 bus speed (AthlonXP 2000+), and PC2700 for processors that have a DDR333 bus speed (AthlonXP 2500+).

The performance of nForce2 is significantly better than KM400 and its onboard 3D acceleration will absolutely tear the doors off of KM400. It's not even close. That could be a point to ponder.

Whatever else you do, look for a memory-card reader accessory (sold separately from the motherboard, I mean) that accepts the memory cards from your digital camera. This is so nice, you can pull the card out and stick it right into the computer like a floppy diskette, and the computers says

:Q ~ oh look! a little hard drive!

and you can read/write to your heart's content.

Welcome to the Forums, by the way

 

[MDE]

Ditto to everything mechBgon said.

You can still get PC3200 RAM and it'll run at the lower speeds without a problem, usually with lower latencies (meaning slightly better performance). The prices of the different flavors of DDR (PC2100, PC2700, PC3200) are so similar that the extra $5-10 spent on the PC3200 could be worth it just for the sake of later upgrades or greater ease of selling it off to fund a future upgrade.

 

[Qwerty2]

Thanks for the welcomes-I feel all warm and fuzzy inside already...hehheh

Actually, this is the setup that I'm leaning towards(read:cheaper):
CPU: AMD XP2000
RAM: 256MB Corsair PC3200
Motherboard: MSI KM4M-L
Video: Integrated
Sound: Integrated
Harddisk: 40GB Western Digital
CDRW Drive: Sony 52x32x52
Floppy Drive: Sony 1.44
Case: MicroATX case with 200W power supply that she fancies.

I've never built a system with less than a 300W power supply, so I'm not too comfortable with the 200W power supply that comes with the case, but is it possible to get by with just that, taking into account my pretty basic configuration?

The nForce2 is really nice, but then I would be tempted to get 512MB PC3200 ram to make full use of the dual channels instead of 256MB, and use an XP2500 instead of the XP2000 to make full use of the bus speed, which will add up to significant $$$$$ However, the reason why I posted this topic is also because [confession]I really like the nForce2 boards, and would like to be swayed in that direction![/confession] The onboard video+sound are supposed to be better than the KM400 boards. Hmm......hmm......

The memory-card reader is a great idea...I'll definitely look into it.

I agree with MDE about the PC3200 RAM. There isn't much of a price difference for the different flavors of DDR RAM at all. However,are there really no adverse effects of using higher rated RAM than I need?

 

[mechBgon]

You could even consider the Asus A7N266-VM/AA, which is nForce "classic." Its onboard 3D is a GeForce2MX and is still far better than the onboard video of KM400, and it has the full-blown nVidia SoundStorm 6-channel hardware-accelerated audio as well. They have a large fanless heatsink on the northbridge and are extremely stable & reliable in my experience (our work fleet has about 36 of them and I've owned two of my own). And its price might appeal to you more. nForce "classic" doesn't feature Firewire or USB 2.0, however.

An extremely high-quality 200W PSU... yes, it could be done. An average 200W PSU is asking for trouble & instability over the long haul. The systems I built for the office are all running Antec TruePower330 or Antec SmartPower350 power supplies. We expect a five-year lifespan of these systems, and so I got the "towing package," if you will

 

[Zepper]

Whatever you do, make sure your mobo has the P4 12V power connector. For modern mobos to run on a small PSU, that is absolutely necessary.
. I also like KM400 based mobos - the new DFI KM-400 mobo has the P4 and also has SATA from Via's latest southbridge (8237). None of the others has the 8237 yet (though I would also be choosing between the MSI and Abit if the DFI didn't exist). DFI (Diamond Flower) has been making good mobos for about as long as I can remember (and I've been riding herd on PCs since 1979).
. I doubt your GF will notice the video performance diff between these and the nForce units. If it turns out she needs more, there is an 8x AGP slot available...
. You might also consider the Duron 1600 or 1800 - a lot of performance for the money (see the recent "Budget CPU" comparo on the Anandtech site), and they take a bit less power than the XP series.
. Another consideration is the fact that the Via Hyperion (4-in-1) drivers are more stable than the nForce chipset drivers. I have used the MSI KM2M and KT2 Combo for the last year or so and they have been rock solid.
. Several places have the Arrow 300W mATX/SFX PSU for around $20. - may be worth it for some extra headroom. Keep the stock unit for a backup.
. Consider the Thermal Integration V77L HSF- very good cooling in a compact package - might want to pick up a Zalman FanMate to go with as the 0.4A 70mm fan that comes with it is a feisty little sucker...
. The Sony CDRW is actually made by LiteOn. I really like the new MSI line of drives. You will be ahead of the game with the MSI X48 (or any) Combo (CDRW/DVD) drive (the X52 may be out by now). The MSIs have short chassis like some of the LiteOns and fit well in compact cases like the Athenatech A100 series. Lots of reference apps like encyclopedias and apps like Print Shop/Print Master are available on DVD these days - a lot easier than swapping a half-dozen CDs in and out. See the MSI X48 review on cdrlabs.com .
. Good luck.

.bh.

p.s. Looks like newegg is OOS on the DFI 'til the weekend. monarchcomputer.com also stocks them.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: Qwerty2
Thanks for the welcomes-I feel all warm and fuzzy inside already...hehheh

Actually, this is the setup that I'm leaning towards(read:cheaper):
CPU: AMD XP2000
RAM: 256MB Corsair PC3200
Motherboard: MSI KM4M-L
Video: Integrated
Sound: Integrated
Harddisk: 40GB Western Digital
CDRW Drive: Sony 52x32x52
Floppy Drive: Sony 1.44
Case: MicroATX case with 200W power supply that she fancies.

I've never built a system with less than a 300W power supply, so I'm not too comfortable with the 200W power supply that comes with the case, but is it possible to get by with just that, taking into account my pretty basic configuration?

The nForce2 is really nice, but then I would be tempted to get 512MB PC3200 ram to make full use of the dual channels instead of 256MB, and use an XP2500 instead of the XP2000 to make full use of the bus speed, which will add up to significant $$$$$ However, the reason why I posted this topic is also because [confession]I really like the nForce2 boards, and would like to be swayed in that direction![/confession] The onboard video+sound are supposed to be better than the KM400 boards. Hmm......hmm......

The memory-card reader is a great idea...I'll definitely look into it.

I agree with MDE about the PC3200 RAM. There isn't much of a price difference for the different flavors of DDR RAM at all. However,are there really no adverse effects of using higher rated RAM than I need?

Your setup is virtually identical to my second PC.

I use the MSI km4m-L with an XP2100+ and 512 megs of DDR266. The XP2500+ is very inexpensive now.

It works great for your intended application.

But your PS needs to be upgraded big time. I won't use anything less than a high quality 350 watt PS. This board needs the P4 power connector on the PS for the system to run.

You should use better (faster) ram anyway.

I also use the TDK 5200B cdrw on my main system and it is a beautifull drive.

The NF2 boards are good, but the km4m-L has 6 channel audio just like the NF2. They do have better onboard video, but so what? If you really need a better video card then buy a cheap SIS card for $30 or so.

 

[Jhhnn]

Not every computer needs to be a geek box. For the purposes described, processor speed is the least of the issues- even a Xp2000 would do just fine. Board selection is good, although the mentioned Asus a7n266vm-aa is a really nice board, too... getting hard to find, one generation back... No point in buying memory faster than the processor's fsb, meaning pc2100 or pc2700, depending- and if she does much photo work or has a zillion windows open, then she'll appreciate 512 megs. None of the nforce boards will work with operating systems older than win98SE, dunno about the via boards.

Which matx box does she fancy? some have good psu's, which will serve well- others, uhh, not so hot...

 

[ParatoOptimal]

This may be a dumb question but does that mean I can't use DOS with an NF7-S MOBO? I currently have partitions for various OS's.

Thanks

 

[Zepper]

DOS does not require chipset drivers or video drivers... duh
.bh.