Choose wisely ?

[stealthy]

Hi,

I'm at the start of building a new system. Two configurations are open.
Comments on what would be the best system to choose ?
Stability, other issues, ... (it needs to run Win2k, use USB - digital camera, ...)

AOPEN CASE HQ08 ATX GRAY 300W
Abit KT7A FSB133
AMD Athlon Socket A 1GHz
GlobalWin FOP38 (frozen silicon)
Mushkin PC133 High Performance CAS 2 Rev. 2 (512Mb)
AOPEN VGA PA256 PRO GTS 32Mb
IBM 7200RPM IDE 45Gb (2x)
Ultra ATA 100 RAID Controller - Promise FastTrak
SB PCI 128
Labtec FlatPanel 30W RMS speakers + Subwoofer
Accton NetwCrd PCI 10/100MbWol
Accord FaxModem 56K PCI
Iiyama Vision Master Pro 19" Diamondtron

OR

AOPEN CASE HQ08 ATX GRAY 300W
Abit VP6 Dual socket
Intel PIII 933 Mhz (1x for the moment)
GlobalWin FOP38 (frozen silicon)
Mushkin PC133 High Performance CAS 2 Rev. 2 (512Mb)
AOPEN VGA PA256 PRO GTS 32Mb
IBM 7200RPM IDE 45Gb (2x)
SB PCI 128
Labtec FlatPanel 30W RMS speakers + Subwoofer
Accton NetwCrd PCI 10/100MbWol
Accord FaxModem 56K PCI
Iiyama Vision Master Pro 19" Diamondtron

 

[Gothmoth]

mhm, i like booth

but i would never buy an PCI modem! NEVER

 

[paulip88]

So the only differences are:

KT7A w/ 1GHz TB

vs.

VP6 w/ 933 PIII

If you plan to stay at the default config, I'd go with the first since its a better value. If you plan on OCing, I would also go with the AMD since it will have more OC potential especially since the board will handle the 133FSB. However, if you are looking to add another CPU in the future, then the Intel system would naturally be your choice since you say it has dual sockets.

 

[stealthy]

THX,

The reason why I included ALL components is that it has to be able to work along with all these components. I have had some bad experiences lately with another system
Additionally, both systems are about 3500$. I have the intention to add a second processor if it's a bit more affordable (PIII 933 sells here for about 500$). The reason why I choose the PIII configuration is that it provides a better upgrade path by means of a second processor.
Besides, any other suggestions to replace the PCI modem ? USB ? The major concern here is stability. It will solely be used to do some file retrieval over a dedicated phone line. ISP access will be done with the ethernet board.

p.s : PlexWriter 12/10/32 ATA will be included too.

 

[dt]

There is nothing wrong with a PCI modem as long as you get a non-win modem. Do your self a favor and buy an US Robotics PCI Non-win modem. I would disable com 2 in the bios and manually map the PCI slot (in the Bios) to the proper IRQ (3 for com2).

I would also get a 3Com 905b NIC card. It is the industry standard. You can get OEM with WOL for under $55.

You can save some money also because you probably will not notice a difference between 866 and 933 in regular apps and will see the difference in multi threaded apps (apps that can use multiprocessors)apps such as photoshop and a lot of higher end graphics programs.

If you install windows 2000 Pro with one processor and then decide to add another one later, you basically will have reinstall the OS. There is a resource kit utlity that can upgrade w2k Pro from one to 2 processors but it is a rooyal headach to get it working.

I would put in 256mb RAM. W2k Pro loves to run with more ram!