Building New Computer

[herbage11]

Hey All

First things first....This is my 1st time to use this forum.

I am in the process of looking for parts to build a new computer. I have been asking around concerning components and possible conflicts before I start ordering. I know there are a lot of good, smart computer people on here and any and all help is appriciated. I have a list of what I am looking at ordering below. Any advice/suggestion would be appricited.

Looking to possibly get:

Asus P4B266-C 845D--- Mobo
P4 1.8A S478 --- Processor
512 MB Crucial DDR --- RAM
Antec SX1040B --- Case
Gainward Ti-200 64mb Geforce3 --- Video Card
Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz --- Sound Card
Maxtor 80 GB 7200 RPM --- Hard Drive
Antec Lansing 4100 --- Speakers
Plextor 241040A --- CDRW
MS XP --- OS

I am not sure on monitor. This is just what I have came to like so far from reviews etc. I am trying to keep it under $2000 total. Really just looking for advice. Thanks

 

[Novgrod]

Welcome, first off.

Second, everybody will suggest you get an AMD because their price/performance ratio is much better than that of Intel. Having built a total of four computers, 3 AMD (duron 850, tbird 850@1000, xp 1500) and 1 intel (p3 450) I can say that there isn't much of a difference in difficulty or stability.

Otherwise, it looks like a fine setup. My one suggestion is to stay away from XP

 

[herbage11]

Thanks for the advice and welcome Novgrod....That is the kind of stuff I am after

 

[Athlon4all]

Yea, but at this tme, the Northwood P4 1.6A and 1.8A's if overclocked are actually, faster than AMD. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the P4. Your system looks soild. A few suggestions. First, I would either wait for a GF4 Ti4200 or get a Radeon 8500. Second, I'd get a SB Audigy rather than a Santa Cruz. Third, Don't hesitate to go Windows XP. It is Microsoft's best OS to date. Once you use it (or 2000) you will never want to use 9x again. If you decide not to go with Win Xp, then at least go with Windows 2000. Just my take. Good luck, have any more questions?

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Welcome herbage11.

Asus P4B266-C 845D--- Mobo ASUS makes some of the finest boards in the biz. No arguments with your choice.
P4 1.8A S478 --- Processor That'll be a fast processor.
512 MB Crucial DDR --- RAM Good RAM.
Antec SX104B --- Case You mean 1040B right? If so it's a good case with expandability.
Gainward Ti-200 64mb Geforce3 --- Video Card That Gainward Ti200 is an excellent overclocker, and even after reading the reviews on the GF4, it should be competitive for a while.
Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz --- Sound Card Good soundcard.
Maxtor 80 GB 7200 RPM --- Hard Drive Maxtor makes the most dependable drives IMO right now...excellent choice.
Antec Lansing 4100 --- Speakers Don't own them personall so I can't comment.
Plextor 241040A --- CDRW Plextor is one of the most overlooked companies out there...their drives are excellent!
MS XP --- OS I still prefer W2K over XP...seems much more stable to me. Some third party drivers have been having issues with XP. Your choice though mate.

You've made some good choices there. I still recommend DDR over RDRAM...at least until the PC1200 stuff is more common and there are boards out supporting it. I believe DDR will start to hit its limit after PC2700.

edit: Formatting.

 

[herbage11]

Awesome....thanks Athlon4all and ST4RCUTTER for the info.....Athlon4all why do you like the SB Audigy better then Santa Cruz? Just curious......thanks again you 2

 

[Ionizer86]

I believe the P4 1.6A ghz is much cheaper, and by running @ 133fsb, it clocks @ 2133 stably. Not sure if P4 1.8 can clock at 2.4ghz stably with this tweak.

On the OS: although Win2k is good, I have not been able to achieve nearly as much compatibility as I can with WinXP. After much tweaking and stuff, half my games didn't work on Win2k (and no, they weren't dos games either...this one dos game did work on Win2k and XP though...)

 

[human2k]

Asus P4B266-C 845D--- Mobo <<<<<<<<<<<<Good choice, the Sis 645 version is as good (runs alil faster wit 2700DDR)
P4 1.8A S478 --- Processor <<<<<<< save $50 and get a 1.6A, I heard both overclock about the same
512 MB Crucial DDR --- RAM <<<<<<<good stuff, cant go wrong, most sticks do 150FSB
Antec SX1040B --- Case <<<<<< get the clone at newegg.com, its $69 with a 300W PSU
Gainward Ti-200 64mb Geforce3 --- Video Card <<<< get a Geforce 4 4200 instead, its like 10% faster
Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz --- Sound Card<<<<<<<<<awwwwsoem sound card, ditch those creative bugs
Maxtor 80 GB 7200 RPM --- Hard Drive<<<<how bout a quieter seagate barracuda IV?
Antec Lansing 4100 --- Speakers<<<<ditch this sorry A$$ set, GET THE LOGITECH Z560!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plextor 241040A --- CDRW<<<<I like the TDK better, about the same, but it has a faster rip speed
MS XP --- OS<<<<<<<<so who's burning this copy for you? (cmon no one buys OS or even apps anymore )

 

[Sniper82]

IMO:

Asus P4B266-C 845D--- Mobo(get it as I have owned 3-4 Asus and have never had one fail on me)
P4 1.8A S478 --- Processor(since it is suppost to have good thermal protection I would choose it over AMD even though I have a Athlon now because of price)
512 MB Crucial DDR --- RAM(fine)
Antec SX1040B --- Case(fine)
Gainward Ti-200 64mb Geforce3 --- Video Card(if your looking to build now skip GF4 4200 because it is still a month and a half or longer away get the Ti200 or Radeon 8500)
Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz --- Sound Card(Get this one but if you decide to go with something else get a Phillips Acoutic which I think rocks but stay away from Creative)
Maxtor 80 GB 7200 RPM --- Hard Drive(Asus P4B266-C 845D--- Mobo(I agree with human2k on this one get the Seagate Barracuda IV)
Antec Lansing 4100 --- Speakers(once again have to agree with human2k get the LOGITECH Z560)
Plextor 241040A --- CDRW(well I would agree with human2k on this one but both TDK and Plextor rock so you can't go wrong with either)
MS XP --- OS(I am using XP Pro right now and won't go back as it looks nicer and you can set it so the layout is just like Win2k)

 

[herbage11]

WOW....thanks Human2k and Sniper....I just looked at those Logitech Z560 and they look nice....also the 1.6A will save me some $$ also..like the seagate HD also.....thanks again....herb

 

[KenAF]

Everything looks good to me except for the speakers and that hard drive...

As others have said, the Logitech Z560 is the way to go for speakers; these run as low as $135 online.

As for the hard drive, the Maxtor is neither fast nor quiet...The fastest drive available in the 120Gb Western Digital WD1200JB for $255 from Googlegear, but that may be more than you want to spend. The only choice for a fast drive in the 60-80Gb range is the overpriced IBM 120GXP, which runs $114 from Googlegear. As you can see right here, both of these drives outperform the Maxtor and Seagate.

If you want quiet, then the Seagate Barracuda IV is definitely the way to go. It isn't anywhere near as fast as the WD or IBM, but nothing else is even close when it comes to noise.

 

[herbage11]

Cool....thanks Ken...those WD drives are very nice but a little pricey....Good info...thanks man