Hello everyone, hope you like to help people, and long posts,
I'm soon to start building my first system... why? Because about 8 months ago I picked up the disgusting habit of reading MaximumPC magazine. I am filled with the likely false impression that I can pull it off... but there is quite a bit of drama in wannabee land.
Looking for outside reviews of the same components Max recommends, I find hundreds thrashing the very same items. It makes one dizzy, indecisive, and afraid of making any sort of movement at all, much the same impression I receive from watching primetime news. How can one not just curl into a ball and just barf and explode?!?
Here is what my original thoughts were after having read MaximumPC, added with a few ideas of my own from the time.
Athlon 64 3000+ 939
Asus a8v-deluxe
1gb ram
gpu -I knew exactly squat about this, not much different now
Natural style keyboard
intellimouse explorer 4
Maxtor diamondmax 10 16mb buff 250-ish gb
audigy 2 zs
SonyDRU-710 burner
random floppy
random modem
Quaint I thought... build it, use it. But then I fell into the internet review underground, where harsh criticism of every product in existence is never ending, much like a stream of raw sewage in a sewer.
I plan on using this comp for many things... though I primarily want to get into Linux and use its capabilities... most likely using fedora core 3. My win98se will be my only alternate commercial os, mainly because I have it already. I would like to be able to use this comp for almost anything, though gaming is not really my concern since I don't care for it much these days. However I would like strong video options for editing digital video. I would like my pc to have the ability to play games, but it isn't the priority. I am not looking primarily to OC, and if I can't, I can't, but would like some ability to if possible, even though I might not ever try it.
Ok, back to the dumpster of random criticism. What I have now set in stone in my mind.
Keeping
-athlon 64 3000+ 939 affordable and I want it... period
-MS natural keyboard (I know, sounds hypocritical since I dislike the bastards, but they are the only ones who make a natural that I know of.) Not really negotiable
-antec Neopower 480 (Read the review in the latest maximum pc, feel free to make me barf and explode again) I want this to be the base for any future system I build.
Everything else is now questionable... So after a short review here, I beg for your help!
-The mobo I don't know
What can I say here? I would really like PCI express, but I am so conflicted with the lack of athlon boards supporting it that I get a migraine every time I try to even think about thinking about it.
Surely AGP would be folly now, right? I mean this is a new system I'm considering, not an upgrade. I know my mobo won't last forever, but is a year and a half too much to ask? Also, apparently the nforce 3 chip runs linux well, so would I look to nforce4 with the same thought. Also, buying agp now would mean that if I upgrade both the mobo and gpu would have to be changed. yarf!
SLI I don't really care about... just pci express. Is this nonsense? Is agp really a dead end situation... because it feels like it.
I like the sould of a8n-sli or the gigabyte pci-express, though I would be interested in the asus a8v deluxe-E if they would just release the dang thing in the US.
I have no idea where to stand on this issue.
-GPU- I would like to be able to capture video with my gpu and originally when I was thinking agp I was thinking all-in-wonder 9600xt.
Nvidea however has better support for linux and opengl, and the 6600 gt falls into the same price range. Apparently the msi 6600gt has video input capability, though same review I read said that the 6600 gt fans aren't really mounted so they can barf and explode at any given moment. Were they just being dramatic?
Also, a couple of forum members here said that their msi 6600gts are stinking their a8n-sli's straight to heaven.
Nvidea has peaked my interest with their reported linux support and the price is right bob, but is the product right forum dwellers, and married with what board?
The agp issue here is very glaring, as it is eating the fluid that keeps my brain afloat. Why would a person, like me, pay for my system to have a defined ceiling... it would be sort of like buying my coffin the day after I graduated from high school.
-Ram- stinky pete says I could best use 2x512 mbs of cheapo unbuffered value blue light special rambo, and I believe him. Is he telling the truth, because he's been sitting in the corner of my living room drinking bourbon and telling lies for the past 3 years. I can't make out whether he's a madman or a genius... though I am leaning more one way than the other.
-Hard drive- Well, those maximumpc guys had me brainwashed with their 3 pages of text on 100 pages of flashy paper to think that the maxtor diamondmax 10 16meg buff was the bee's knees, yet a few people here are getting denial of service with their a8n-sli's. I'm not really looking for raptor like noises and and high priced amusement parks on strange islands. I am looking for one large capacity, reliable storage in the range of 100 to 120 beans. If the maxtors do work... I would rather have them... but I'm sooo shaky right now. Is a western digital or a seagate wiser... show me the light!
-DVD writing- the sony dru 710 is literally being torn to shreds over at cdrinfo. Even plextor is looking for a way out. The water is rising and none of them can swim. One review proclaimed Benq1620 loudly, yet I had never, ever heard of it. The next reviewer thought it crap and used it as toilet paper. Can the madness ever end? Is plextor 712sa really my friend, or should I listen to dual layer models who only come around on election day?
-mouse- I saw a mouse in my garage the other day, I could try to catch it, but his tail lacks a usb extension, and I'm not that good with wires. Anyways, those maxpc weirdos really got hot over the intellimouse 4.0. yet many reviews say this thing sleeps with the fishes after 6 months as the mouse gets lazy and stops clicking. This may have been FUD, but it seemed the sincerest form of FUD by multiple people. The mx510 of the logitech family hath caught my eye, but will it click when I squeeze its expensive body, or is this fool's gold.
-case- I'm leaning boxy aluminum in the 90 dinares range. The lian LI pc60, however, is from 2001, and I don't know if I am ready for such a space oddyssey. The Kingwin 424 is endorsed by the maxpc nerds but who listens to them anyways? I really do not need a side window to show all of my friends how my pc is going to blow up internally, the sound effects will be more than enough. The super lanboy is cheap, yet said to be flimsy. This kind of language freaks me out, explosions of barf. I'm leaning Kingwin, or lian li, or the neighbor's wife... just don't know!
So, I've got the cpu, the power, and the keyboard decided... yet the turd between all of that which makes the whole thing work is such a mystery, I must resort to even more comments for help.
Guide me, bend me, break me, anyway you want me... because very soon I may very well... BARF AND EXPLODE!
Thanks to each and everyone of you who can help me, you just might save my life.
I'm soon to start building my first system... why? Because about 8 months ago I picked up the disgusting habit of reading MaximumPC magazine. I am filled with the likely false impression that I can pull it off... but there is quite a bit of drama in wannabee land.
Looking for outside reviews of the same components Max recommends, I find hundreds thrashing the very same items. It makes one dizzy, indecisive, and afraid of making any sort of movement at all, much the same impression I receive from watching primetime news. How can one not just curl into a ball and just barf and explode?!?
Here is what my original thoughts were after having read MaximumPC, added with a few ideas of my own from the time.
Athlon 64 3000+ 939
Asus a8v-deluxe
1gb ram
gpu -I knew exactly squat about this, not much different now
Natural style keyboard
intellimouse explorer 4
Maxtor diamondmax 10 16mb buff 250-ish gb
audigy 2 zs
SonyDRU-710 burner
random floppy
random modem
Quaint I thought... build it, use it. But then I fell into the internet review underground, where harsh criticism of every product in existence is never ending, much like a stream of raw sewage in a sewer.
I plan on using this comp for many things... though I primarily want to get into Linux and use its capabilities... most likely using fedora core 3. My win98se will be my only alternate commercial os, mainly because I have it already. I would like to be able to use this comp for almost anything, though gaming is not really my concern since I don't care for it much these days. However I would like strong video options for editing digital video. I would like my pc to have the ability to play games, but it isn't the priority. I am not looking primarily to OC, and if I can't, I can't, but would like some ability to if possible, even though I might not ever try it.
Ok, back to the dumpster of random criticism. What I have now set in stone in my mind.
Keeping
-athlon 64 3000+ 939 affordable and I want it... period
-MS natural keyboard (I know, sounds hypocritical since I dislike the bastards, but they are the only ones who make a natural that I know of.) Not really negotiable
-antec Neopower 480 (Read the review in the latest maximum pc, feel free to make me barf and explode again) I want this to be the base for any future system I build.
Everything else is now questionable... So after a short review here, I beg for your help!
-The mobo I don't know
What can I say here? I would really like PCI express, but I am so conflicted with the lack of athlon boards supporting it that I get a migraine every time I try to even think about thinking about it.
Surely AGP would be folly now, right? I mean this is a new system I'm considering, not an upgrade. I know my mobo won't last forever, but is a year and a half too much to ask? Also, apparently the nforce 3 chip runs linux well, so would I look to nforce4 with the same thought. Also, buying agp now would mean that if I upgrade both the mobo and gpu would have to be changed. yarf!
SLI I don't really care about... just pci express. Is this nonsense? Is agp really a dead end situation... because it feels like it.
I like the sould of a8n-sli or the gigabyte pci-express, though I would be interested in the asus a8v deluxe-E if they would just release the dang thing in the US.
I have no idea where to stand on this issue.
-GPU- I would like to be able to capture video with my gpu and originally when I was thinking agp I was thinking all-in-wonder 9600xt.
Nvidea however has better support for linux and opengl, and the 6600 gt falls into the same price range. Apparently the msi 6600gt has video input capability, though same review I read said that the 6600 gt fans aren't really mounted so they can barf and explode at any given moment. Were they just being dramatic?
Also, a couple of forum members here said that their msi 6600gts are stinking their a8n-sli's straight to heaven.
Nvidea has peaked my interest with their reported linux support and the price is right bob, but is the product right forum dwellers, and married with what board?
The agp issue here is very glaring, as it is eating the fluid that keeps my brain afloat. Why would a person, like me, pay for my system to have a defined ceiling... it would be sort of like buying my coffin the day after I graduated from high school.
-Ram- stinky pete says I could best use 2x512 mbs of cheapo unbuffered value blue light special rambo, and I believe him. Is he telling the truth, because he's been sitting in the corner of my living room drinking bourbon and telling lies for the past 3 years. I can't make out whether he's a madman or a genius... though I am leaning more one way than the other.
-Hard drive- Well, those maximumpc guys had me brainwashed with their 3 pages of text on 100 pages of flashy paper to think that the maxtor diamondmax 10 16meg buff was the bee's knees, yet a few people here are getting denial of service with their a8n-sli's. I'm not really looking for raptor like noises and and high priced amusement parks on strange islands. I am looking for one large capacity, reliable storage in the range of 100 to 120 beans. If the maxtors do work... I would rather have them... but I'm sooo shaky right now. Is a western digital or a seagate wiser... show me the light!
-DVD writing- the sony dru 710 is literally being torn to shreds over at cdrinfo. Even plextor is looking for a way out. The water is rising and none of them can swim. One review proclaimed Benq1620 loudly, yet I had never, ever heard of it. The next reviewer thought it crap and used it as toilet paper. Can the madness ever end? Is plextor 712sa really my friend, or should I listen to dual layer models who only come around on election day?
-mouse- I saw a mouse in my garage the other day, I could try to catch it, but his tail lacks a usb extension, and I'm not that good with wires. Anyways, those maxpc weirdos really got hot over the intellimouse 4.0. yet many reviews say this thing sleeps with the fishes after 6 months as the mouse gets lazy and stops clicking. This may have been FUD, but it seemed the sincerest form of FUD by multiple people. The mx510 of the logitech family hath caught my eye, but will it click when I squeeze its expensive body, or is this fool's gold.
-case- I'm leaning boxy aluminum in the 90 dinares range. The lian LI pc60, however, is from 2001, and I don't know if I am ready for such a space oddyssey. The Kingwin 424 is endorsed by the maxpc nerds but who listens to them anyways? I really do not need a side window to show all of my friends how my pc is going to blow up internally, the sound effects will be more than enough. The super lanboy is cheap, yet said to be flimsy. This kind of language freaks me out, explosions of barf. I'm leaning Kingwin, or lian li, or the neighbor's wife... just don't know!
So, I've got the cpu, the power, and the keyboard decided... yet the turd between all of that which makes the whole thing work is such a mystery, I must resort to even more comments for help.
Guide me, bend me, break me, anyway you want me... because very soon I may very well... BARF AND EXPLODE!
Thanks to each and everyone of you who can help me, you just might save my life.
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