Comment on a low/mid cost partial system.

[ugh]

Hi folks,

Since my parent's PC has been forcefully retired, I'm trying to assemble a low to medium cost partial system. I'm only missing the following items. Here's what I have in mind:

- AMD Thorough-Bred XP AX2400+
- Asus A7N8X-X
- Kingston 512MB PC3200 DDR-400

I'm still thinking of whether or not to take the Barton AXP2500 which costs ~USD10 more. As for the RAM, I'm sticking to DDR400 as both DDR333 and DDR266 are only USD2-4 less; unless there's a typo in their pricelist.

Since I'm using an AXP1600 myself, I'm still concerned on the cooling. Is the stock cooling that comes with the newer TBs and Bartons sufficient?

Any comments is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[high]

grab a mobile barton and enjoy the free speed

 

[ugh]

Would love to, but they aren't for sale where I'm from.

 

[ugh]

Bump?

 

[mbackof]

I'm building something similar for my mother-in-law as a replacement machine.
Here is what I'm building:
Asus A7N8X-X $35 NewEgg Refurb
AMD TBred XP 2000+ Retail $58 NewEgg
Kingston 256MB DDR PC2700 DIMM $37 ShopKingston
WD 160GB 7200 ATA/100 HD $68 CompUSA
Optorite CW5201 CDRW $33 NewEgg
Apollo GeForce FX 5200 AGP $47 NewEgg Refurb
Kingcase 300W ATX Case $25 EBuyer

I'm going to load Windows 2000 Pro on it. I'll let you know how the performance is. For $303 it is a cheap PC and should perform fairly well. She will not be gaming on it, just MP3s, WWW, CD Audio, reports.

Mike

 

[ugh]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll be using the new parts to assemble my new machine. I'll let my parents use the current machine I'm using i.e. AXP1600, 256 RAM.

Pertaining to your setup, isn't the 300W PSU a bit on the low side?

 

[Mik3y]

the stock cooling is not bad at all. in fact, it works pretty well, except taht its a bit on the noisy end, buts it shouldnt be a problem.

 

[ugh]

Mik3y: Is the stock HSF made up of copper or something?

 

[Mik3y]

not copper, its steel or aluminum, but the stock fan they use for the 2500+ is also the same one they use for the 3200+

 

[RaNDoMMAI]

Originally posted by: ugh
Thanks for the feedback. I'll be using the new parts to assemble my new machine. I'll let my parents use the current machine I'm using i.e. AXP1600, 256 RAM.

Pertaining to your setup, isn't the 300W PSU a bit on the low side?

300W is penty for ur set up

plz read this thread Here

There are ppl with way more power on 300W

~RaNDoM

 

[ugh]

Originally posted by: Mik3y
not copper, its steel or aluminum, but the stock fan they use for the 2500+ is also the same one they use for the 3200+

Has to be fine then. As long as it can sufficiently cool the CPU at an ambient temp of 28-30C, it's fine with me.

 

[ugh]

Randommai: Thanks for the informative link. Awesome stuff.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: ugh

Originally posted by: Mik3y
not copper, its steel or aluminum, but the stock fan they use for the 2500+ is also the same one they use for the 3200+

Has to be fine then. As long as it can sufficiently cool the CPU at an ambient temp of 28-30C, it's fine with me.

If you click the link in my signature and go to the motherboard/CPU/memory-prep page, that's a stock AthlonXP 2400+ heatsink/fan unit in the photos. Works great, and not loud either.

 

[ugh]

mechBgon: Thanks for the hint. Had actually read the photo guide just now from another thread. Fantastic guide dude!

 

[RaNDoMMAI]

yeah i wish mechBgon had his guide when i was building comps.

But great thing he pm me alot and got me through it. mechBgon is awesome.

btw, ugh

If u like 120mm bottom feeding PSU

U can get a CoolMax tarus CX series PSU at newegg for cheap.

they have 300-450W version and they r cheap and i have one and it is still kicking and it is silent to me from a meter away.

I really dont like 120mm PSUs anymore, but hey they r very nice for eye candy.

~RaNDoM

 

[ugh]

RaNDoMMAI: R u referring to the 120mm PSU fans? If so, then I think I'll pass 🙂 I'm more than happy with a normal one 😛