Building new computer next week, need suggestions

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ebin

Member
Jun 5, 2000
91
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I am buying a computer next week, I'm not sure which day I'll order it though. This is what I have so far:

Athlon 1.2Ghz 266mhz bus
Epox 8K7A
Crucial 256mb PC2100
Enlight EN-72370X3
Hercules 3D Prophet 4500
Maxtor DiamondMax+ 40GB
AOpen 12x DVDROM
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
Lite-On 16x10x40
SVC Golden Gate 27CFM
Boston Acoustics BA4800

I'm going to be building it myself, for the first time. I don't really know a lot about HSFs, so tell me if that will work or not. Everything except that, I am getting from Newegg. I don't need to worry about a monitor for now, but I'm thinking about a 19". It comes out to about $850, but I'm willing to spend a little more. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
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drewski

Golden Member
Mar 29, 2001
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i'd recommend the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz for a soundcard.

there have been issues with the SB Live and the Via chipset southbridge which is used on the kk266 (90% sure it's the 686b southbridge).

there are some workarounds, but why put yourself in that position to begin with?
 
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ebin

Member
Jun 5, 2000
91
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Should i get a different motherboard? I don't know a lot about the differences in the ones that I can use. Anyone suggest a motherboard that would work better? I'll probably be overclocking a little. Thanks.
 
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Hanpan

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2000
4,812
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Couple of suggestions.
Get 256 megs of ram cas 2 from crucial. THis will only raise your cost by about $20.00
Make sure to order beofer monday though as free shipping ends on tuesday.
I would grab a 1.2 ghz chips as this is only a couple of bucks more than a 1 ghz and seem to be the sweet spot for price verus mhz. On teh other hand amd will reportidly drop prices on tuesday so you can check back then. I would ditch the sb live and instead go for a tb santa cruz. I noticed you don't have speakers so i would go for a pair of ba4800's. Great speakers at a decent price.

gl with your system :)
 
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z0rglub

Junior Member
May 19, 2001
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I'm not so sure that having a 19" monitor would be a good idea with such a video card.
Explanation : if you use GeForce 2 in high resolution such as 1280, you will see a blur effect. This is due to the electonic of the GeForce 2, this issue is also known with GeForce 2 MX cards.
This effect is not visible when you play games, but under windows you will see it particularly.
 
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junthin

Diamond Member
Jul 21, 2000
4,132
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Go Epox 8K7A for the motherboard. And for the RAM go Crucial PC2100 DDR Cas2.5. ;) It'll speed up your system somewhat and you won't have too many incompatibility issues.

The Iwill KK266 motherboard has some issues with Creative Sound cards. ;)

And as drewski said, go with the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Sound Card since it's easier of an install, and I personally think it sounds better than my Creative card. ;) :D

If you ever plan on watching DVD's on your computer, just get a DVD drive. The Toshiba drives are really cheap nowadays. ;) IMHO, worth the extra dollars for an upgrade from CD-ROM to DVD-ROM. ;)

Watch yourself on buying everything from Newegg.com since their shipping gets kinda steep once you start buying lots of items since for me, they never reduce the price, and at the end (with a 5 item or more purchase) they are definitely making money off shipping. Check out other vendors that have adjusted shipping not flat rate. Mwave.com is a start... (Sorry...tired *from trying to fix a stupid KK266 system*..can't think of others...people will let you know though. ;) )

Enjoy your new system! :D
 
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ebin

Member
Jun 5, 2000
91
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Does the PC2100 DDR memory work with the motherboard I have? I'm considering getting a Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 instead of the GeForce 2. I will be using the computer for a lot of 2D and I'd rather it not be blurry. The Kyro II seems to perform just as well and is a little cheaper. Where is a good place to get the Santa Cruz? And how much faster is the PC2100 memory? Thanks.
 
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TripperJoe

Senior member
Mar 15, 2001
350
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DO NOT build a new system with an SDR configuration. Go DDR. The epox is a good suggestion, that seems to be one of the fav AMD760 models. Also, ram is so cheap, don't go less than 256. If you're doing a lot of 2D work, look at what matrox has to offer for vid cards. The radeon delivers good 2D as well as decent 3D, so if you're looking for a compromise, I'd suggest ati's radeon. Perhaps you could give us some idea of what you will be using this system for? That will better enable us to tailor it to your needs :)
 
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ebin

Member
Jun 5, 2000
91
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I'll probably be using it for half games and half 2d stuff. I'll be doing a lot of mp3 downloading and burning. Not so much that I would need more than a 40GB hard drive though. I want a fast video card so I can play games. Is the KK266 not a DDR motherboard?
 
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ebin

Member
Jun 5, 2000
91
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No, not professional. Just web-surfing, email, word processing, spreadsheets. Nothing that needs any special consideration. I think I'll get the epox motherboard and the pc2100 ram. Will the Soundblaster work with that or should I get the Santa Cruz?

edit: I haven't decided between the GeForce 2 Pro and the Kyro II. I'm leaning towards the Kyro II because I don't want fuzzy 2d.
 
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snidy

Senior member
Jan 30, 2001
822
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I vote no on sound blaster, I had nothing but trouble with it, and I would also go with an asus or msi board
 
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TripperJoe

Senior member
Mar 15, 2001
350
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epox is the best ddr board for o/c, and it's cheap to boot (no pun intended). If you're not overclocking, look into the msi board, which is more stable. Also, check out the radeon. I think you will be more satisfied than with the kryo or matrox.
 
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ebin

Member
Jun 5, 2000
91
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I want to get the Santa Cruz, but it is a little expensive. I'm seeing it at around $80. Is there another Turtle Beach sound card that's good? Thanks.
 
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Wah

Golden Member
Oct 16, 1999
1,799
1
71


<< I'm not so sure that having a 19&quot; monitor would be a good idea with such a video card.
Explanation : if you use GeForce 2 in high resolution such as 1280, you will see a blur effect. This is due to the electonic of the GeForce 2, this issue is also known with GeForce 2 MX cards.
This effect is not visible when you play games, but under windows you will see it particularly. >>




I ran a Geforce2 on a 21&quot; at 1280x960 and I saw no problems with 2d.

also, I would stay away from the sblive. I would get the santa cruz, but i heard good things about the acoustic edge...dunno how much it is tho.
 
bunker

bunker

Lifer
Apr 23, 2001
10,572
0
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Had to chime in with my opinion on the Kyro II. I can't compare it with the Radeon for you since I haven't seen one of those, but I recently put a Kyro in my system (replaced a TNT2) and I could immediately notice a monster improvement in the 2d. Games run much faster now too, but like I said, I don't have any experience with a Radeon so your mileage may vary
 
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ebin

Member
Jun 5, 2000
91
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0
Thanks for all the replies. The lowest I can find the Santa Cruz is for $69 shipped at Dell. I'll think I'll get that and the Hercules 3D Prophet 4500.
 
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MrHelpful

Banned
Apr 16, 2001
2,712
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What TripperJoe actually meant is:

Places again system with a configuration sZR do not disappear GDR that epox are a good incentive, those seem one of the models fav AMD760 being. Moreover, the animated memory is so cheap, less than 256 do not disappear. If you implement much Arbeits2d, realistic see, which must offer matrox for cards vid. That radeon delivers that exactly good 2D the same thing as discrete 3D thus, if compromised to him to seek, me to propose that radeon ATI. Perhaps could you a certain idea give us which you will use this system? That will allow us better, in a function to project your needs
 
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