Component advice

[Grouch]

Howdy all. Post #1 getting ready to soar up to 1000+ Been lurking around awhile reading and learning as I am getting ready to retire my first computer (4 year old P166MMX on Win 95, ack!) and build its sucessor.

I have read through many of the post in the past month (whew!) and this is pretty much what it has come down to. Any advice, possible hard/software conflicts or recommendations for different components welcome.

-Colorcase.com Neo Classic Icase w/ 300w Fortron PSU (AMD ok'd, not to many expansion slots, but it is a *really NICE* looking case!)
-AMD Tbird 1.0 CPU w/ FOP32-I HS & Fan
-Abit KT7A (when it comes out, don't plan on ever needing or wanting RAID in the near future)
-Crucial PC133 256Mb SDRAM (single stick, will add another later)
-IBM DeskStar Ultra 75GXP ATA100 45Gb HD
-LeadTek WinFast GeForce2 GTS w/ TV out
-Philips Acoustic Edge
-Diamond 56k Multimedia Voice Modem (uses ISA Slot or would a PCI be better, DSL or Cable not avail where I am at :| I have had bad exprience's with USR/3Com, no problems from my current Zoom)
-Pioneer 16x DVD_ROM (tray load, black to match case)
-Plextor PlexWriter 12x10x32a CDRW (any ideas on how to paint the face black?)

Primary uses will be for work, games, surfing, games, burning cd's, games, watching DVD's, did I mention playing games? Not too big into overclocking (certain that will disappoint many of you). Will upgrade to a 19" monitor in future (or 21 if I can get a deal). I already have the cpu & fan, the case and dvd drive are on order. I will probably wait to get anything else until I get the KT7A in my hands.

I am pretty confident on getting all this put together as there are very few original components left in my old 'puter. My biggest concern is getting the thing to start up getting through BIOS and getting WinMe installed. From what I have read in reviews and post this isn't too bad with the Abit boards. I am certain I will have a few more questions when I reach that point. But until then thanks and you will be seeing more of me around.

 

[Maverick]

sounds a lot like my system...except for I have an MSI K7TPro2A motherboard.
Its more stable than the Abit board and still has ATA100 support without RAID.
Its not the greatest OCing board but since you said you're not interested in that, it should work out for you.
You may even be able to find it cheaper..and its available now.
If you're not waiting for DDR, my advice would be to get the K7TPro2A.

Your choice of HSF is questionable..the FOP32 is really really loud and has a reputation for crushing T-birds when not properly installed. My recommendation is the Alpha PA6035. It cools really well (mine runs at 38C) and its not very loud.

HD is good, make sure you get the IDE HD shutdown patch for WinME from windowsupdate as soon as you install the OS. You can damage the HD otherwise.

Oh and if you want to paint the case...check out
Speedy 3DI think he had a whole tutorial on case painting...including CDROM drives. A very good resource.

Hope this helps.

 

[Castellan]

Shiva112 is on the money with the mobo choice. Pro2A boards seem to be extremely stable, and not too expensive either. I love that friggin case man. I gotta get one. Your components seem to be good. I have a 30GB 75gxp that is slowly dying, but it takes a heck of a drive to run while sounding like a coffee grinder

There is also a TaiSol heatsink that I had good luck with. It's part number is CEK733092. Good luck!

 

[Grouch]

hmmm...I'll look into the MSI a little more.

I read comparison of fans somewhere (here or Sharky). They were all even in the temps, noise wise I think the FOP and Alpha were similar and the TaiSol was a little quiter. I was originally going for the TaiSol but couldn't find one. The one site I checked was out (in????fans.com). Didn't consider the Alpha. Oh well, already have the fan, I'll just be really careful installing it. I am not too concerned with fan noise as the computer is inside an enclosed portion of my desk with vent holes on the back facing a wall.

Castellan:
Yeah, it is when I saw that case I knew I was going to build my computer. From reviews the Colorcase's in general they are pretty well built. The Neo Classic I goes for $119 (w/ 300w Fortron PSU) and $139 with a 400w Fortron PSU. Unfortunately this one is on backorder argh!!!

Shiva:
Thanks for the tip on the HD Patch and the link to Speedy. More reading ahead for me!

 

[Castellan]

Ouch! Hmm... I was gonna pay 80 for my Antex SX830 anyway...

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

I just had to say that that case is damn sweet. Almost makes me want to order it. My wife would absolutely kill me though...

Good Luck on the system.

 

[Grouch]

Okay I have read most of what I could find on the MSI Pro2A and it seems to be a pretty good board and it is available now. So scrape the Abit for the Pro2A. Now I gotta find a good PCI modem.

 

[Impact55]

I got the 1ghz Tbird/MSI K7T Pro2-A/Taisol CEK 733902 from monarchcomputer.com for 327 and the heatsink came installed, you could take it off though and apply thermal compound if you want, but I decided to stick with the tape and have rather good temp's around 38 C.

 

[Maverick]

Good PCI modems are hard to come by
especially if you want to play games. Luckily I have DSL at my house so I haven't had to track one down.
Its too bad the MSI K7T doesn't have ISA slots...I have a decent CL hardware 56k modem lying around because its ISA. Good luck.

 

[CrazyBob]

DUDE! That case is SWEET!

 

[Grouch]

I saw somewhere that you can get the Pro2A with an ISA slot in place of one of the PCI slots. It has to be special ordered, so probably cost more and just tacked onto the board. Na, thanks anyway, I'll stick the regular mobo over a basterdized one. I will start looking into external modems now also.



<< I got the 1ghz Tbird/MSI K7T Pro2-A/Taisol CEK 733902 from monarchcomputer.com for 327 >>



Dang that's a good deal. Unfortunately, I already have the CPU and Fop 32 fan, which came with a tube of Artic Silver both for $25 (fan and AS). haven't been by Monarch's site so I'll check it out.

 

[Liquidity]

Any idea how much that case costs? Those lamers don't list the prices on their website.

Click and mortar, hah.

 

[Grouch]

ColorCase's cost....(actually misquoted above)

For the case you see in this thread and most of Colorcase's other cases it cost:
$89 w/ generic 300w PSU
$109 w/ Fortron Silent Series 250w PSU
$119 w/ Fortron Silent Series 300w PSU
$139 w/ Fortron Silent Series 350w PSU

Thier most inexpensive cases run from $69-129.
Thier most expensive cases run from $139-179.

For the case you see here I paid $119 + $20 S/H, the s/h also include s/h for DVD Drive (black $124), a 1.44 floppy (black $25), and two fans.

You can email them for a price list and they will email you one with thier prices for everything they offer. There is no need to sign up for their &quot;membership&quot; to get the price sheet with the &quot;member discounts&quot; on it.