Can someone recommend me a good Motherboard/CPU/Fan combo?

[KNA88GT]

Hi,

I am new to these forums and was told I could get some good advice here.Right now I have a pentium II 400 with a 16 meg voodoo banshee card and 128 meg ram.I want to upgrade this computer for gaming a need a good reasonably priced motherboard/CPU/fan combo like you see on pricewatch.com .I already know of the video card I want,it is the gainward geforce 3 ti 200.I want to get a motherboard/CPU/fan combo for under 200 dollars.I would like to upgrade to a AMD somewhere in the XP 1500-1700 range.Can someone recommend me a decent,reliable combo on pricewatch or somewhere else for under 200,like show me the exact combo?

If I get a new motherboard combo can I use my memory(I think its pc100) that I have now temporarily,if not what should I get?

Will this new AMD motherboard combo just 'bolt' right into or fit in my gateway G6-400 case?


Will the new motherboard be compatible with my existing hard drive,cd-rom drive,etc.?


I have about 450 dollars to spend,the card is already going to use about 170-180 of that.

I dont need a motherboard that is the absolute fastest or has unecesarry options,just one that is good and reliable.




Thanks for any info.

 

[Shooters]

I don't think you'll be able to get an XP setup for under $200 because you're most likely going to need new RAM, and unfortunately RAM prices have increased significantly lately. For $200 I would go with a 1.0 - 1.2GHz Thunderbird, a quality motherboard (probably a KT266A chipset board), and 256MB of PC2100 DDR RAM. You might be able to manage that for around $200. Watch out for Pricewatch vendors. A lot of the ones that have extremely low prices either rape you on the shipping charges or are just flat out shady dealers that you don't want to do business with. Personally, I always get my hardware from newegg. They have very good prices and are a good company to deal with. I would recommend the following:

1GHz Thunderbird
Shuttle AK31A
256MB PC2100 DDR RAM

That will run you about $230 before shipping at Newegg. You'll also need a heatsink to go with it. The price on that will vary depending on whether you'll the extra cooling necessary for an overclocked processor. If you're really tight on cash you can drop down to a Duron or maybe even back off on the video card a little and go with a Geforce2 Ti instead.

As for you other questions:

Whether or not the motherboard will fit in your Gateway case depends on the form factor of the case. Some OEMs use proprietary form factors that won't work with anyting but their motherboards. If your case is an ATX case then you're money. Of course you'll have to check to see if the power supply is ATX also. Also, many power supplies used in OEM machines are mediocre at best. I doubt that one will be able to handle a Thunderbird.

You shouldn't have any compatability problems with any of your drives, but you're going to want to do a clean install of the OS if you upgrade all this stuff, so make sure you have a full version of some OS.

Good luck

Edit:

Okay, I just looked at some of the combos you were referring to, and most of them use pretty low end motherboards.....definitely a no no if you value stability. Also, a lot of those vendors have pretty horrendous reseller ratings. I would stay away from them.

 

[Jeff H]

KNA88GT, Shooters is right in that you're going to have difficulty finding an AthlonXP combo for <$200. You might want to consider a Duron 1G, along w/ a Shuttle AK31A and a Swiftech MCX370 HSF - $190 @ MWave. Shipping is extra.

Also, be sure you check on the p.s. in that Gateway case. Gateway sold a lot of systems w/ 145w p.s.', and you won't go far w/ a Duron/Athlon and a <300w p.s.

 

[nortexoid]

u can find an athlon combo no problem for less than 200

ECS K7S5A (obviously)...$57
Athlon XP 1600+...$118
Thermaltake Volcano 6cu...$13

Total = $188

all from newegg...

also, on the K7S5A board, u can use PC100/133 until you pick up some DDR which u can then toss in later (and toss out the old PC100/133)

 

[John]

nortexoid is right!

 

[KNA88GT]

Thanks for all the help.Nortexoid,that is exactly what I am looking for.In fact before I rechecked this post again today, I came across that ECS board and found it to be perfect for what I am looking for.The only problem is that it says that board is not in stock at newegg.Does anybody know anywhere else to get it? It seems to be a real popular and good board in that it got 4 out of 5 stars with 245 reviews(which seems like a lot of reviews as most products there dont have near that many).


Also,I looked inside my case and it has a 200 watt switching power supply.On the red switch one side of the switch says I belive 115(which I beleive its set on now)and when you slide the switch over it reads like 230.Does that mean its on 115 watts now and you can switch it for a max of 230 watts or something? Would a 200 watt power supply be enough or should I just go ahead and get a new one?



Thanks for anymore answers you can give me.I am going to be ordering some or all of this stuff in the next couple of days and need some good opinions.I know a lot about cars but when it comes to a lot of technical issues on computers I am not up to date on much of it.These forums are awesome.

 

[Shooters]

It sounds like what you're looking at is the input voltage of the power supply and not the wattage. The 115 volts that it's set on now is for the U.S. standard. I believe Asia and Europe use the 230 volt standard. You don't want to flip that switch. The wattage should be printed somewhere on a label on the power supply. You're probably going to have to open the case to find it. I would really recommend going with a new power supply. Like I said, the power supplies that ship with OEM machines are usually pretty low quality. Get at least a 300watt; maybe even a 350w or 400w if you want to allow room for expansion later. The power supply is often the most overlooked component in a computer, so you really don't want to skimp here. Antec, Enermax, and Sparkle are pretty reputable power supply manufacturers.

 

[Jhhnn]

Pushin' you right out of your price range, huh? Buying a new PSU and DDR does it, just about every time.

Might want to consider something less cutting edge, like a 1gig celeron and a MSI 694T Board. Combined with the vidcard you mentioned, your psu and memory, you'll get very playable framerates at a price you can afford. The board also accepts tualatins, so there will be some upgrade possibilities down the road.

Might even have enough cash left over to actually buy some games....

 

[idcandy]

Just installed the ECS board for a friend of mine. We actually got it from Mwave (cheaper than New Egg for that particular product even with shipping). Here's their website www.mwave.com

It is a GREAT buy (my girlfriend's little brother built his family three computers with it), and if I didn't have an inclination towards Asus, I would get one myself. The Heatsink nortexoid recommended is good too, but get the Volcano 6Cu+ if you are getting an XP, just to be on the safe side (better fan).

As far as a PSU, I would say anything below 300 is too little. I personally run a 1.4 Athlon T-bird on an Enermax 350W Whisper, and am fine.

If you are willing to splurge, get the enermax 431W Whisper. These power supplies will bring down the noise in your computer significantly (a loud PSU fan is no joke, especially because it is facing the outside of the case). Also, these PSUs have an internal fan blowing into the power supply and an external fan blowing out the back of the case, improving airflow and reducing temperature. They're great!

Good Luck,
- idcandy

 

[nortexoid]

actually XP processors run cooler than thunderbirds, so I'd stick with just the 6cu (rather than the 6cu+)..another reason is that while the 7k fan does cool slightly better, the payoffs are NOT worth it given the amoutn of noise that beast lets off...if you don't mind going deaf everytime your computer is on, go for the 6cu+, otherwise, save some money and noise pollution and just grab the 6cu

shooters is right about the switch on the psu labelled 115 and 230...leave it at what it was otherwise it simply won't operate...as for the wattage, he's msot likely incorrect...i know of many peopel running xps off of generic 250 watt psus without a problem, so your 200 might be ok and most likely will be...there's nothing to lose by trying it out first...if yoru system is unstable and you can't confirm that it's anythign else, upgrade the psu

mwave is a good place to get the board.