Finalizing Rig, Few Questions

[Prince of Persia]

Thanks for all your guys input, but I have a few general questions regarding my upcoming college rig. I'll post what I'm going to get and the criticize it to death, ok?

**Hopefully this will all run on Windows2000*** Let me know of driver issues

MSI K7 Master
AMD 1.4ghz
512 pc2100 crucial ram
MSI Gforce3 64mb
Turtle Beach SC
Boston Acoustics 4800
16x Pioner Slot Dvd
Plextor 16/10/40 CDRW
IBM 40gb 60gxp
Linksys Ethernet Card
Enlight 7237 300watt/FonkKai603 250watt both amd approved
Viewsonic E771 17"

Questions
1. What's a good HS/F for my CPU, I want it to be efficient and quiet, I will not be overclocking.

2. I heard the IBM GXP have a bad rep because of failure rates, is this rumor true or am I safe to go with the 60GXP. If it is true what hard drive would you guys/gals recommend?

3. What case should I get? I need one thats nice/conveniant and will support my system. Any comments on why I should get one over the other?

4. My monitor is a 17" due to space concernes in the dorms, and I was wondering if the GF3 is overkill, because it can play games at higher rez's. I want to know if its possible to play games above 1024 on a 17" without it looking "awkward."

5. NEW Question: Would ATA 100 cables work on the DVD/CDRW or should I get ATA66 cables?


Here are some things to keep in mind. This system will be in a college dorm, so noise is somewhat of a concern. Also please let me know if this system will be completely stable! I don't want to troubleshoot while in college. Thank you. Any comment/criticism is highly appreciated.
I won't be upgrading for the next 4 years, so this has got to last me.

 

[Geekbabe]

I've got a 40 gig 60GXP Deskstar and it is the nutz !! Quiet,quiet and fast 🙂

 

[gunf1ghter]

1> I would personally recommend the all copper Gladiator, it's very very good for $30. ... go to www.crazypc.com

2> IBM drives are fine... you only hear about the failures (of course)... its the number 1 selling drive so there are going to be more people with them hence more failures.

3> I like the Antec SX-830.

4> The GF3 is probably overkill IMHO... I run most games 1280X1024 on my GF3 hooked up to a 19" Sony monitor. I would start out with a Radeon LE for $75 and get the GF3 Ultra when it drops to under $300 towards the end of the year.

5> How the hell can a guy just going to college afford such a nice rig?! 😛

 

[Prince of Persia]

LoL. I'm spending the summer working in an office as a PC help guy. I'm making around 2k this summer and thats where the money is coming from. All together the whole sys is going to cost about 1700k.

 

[Nack]

NICE RIG!

One strong suggestion... You are spending over $200 on that 17" monitor anyway, just get a 19" for that price (or less, if you frequent the hot deals board). Yes, I did read about your space limitation, but you should get a 19", and work around the limitation. I have found that a hacksaw can solve any number of space concerns. You will be glad you did. 4 years is just way too long to use a 17" monitor.😉 There are even "short neck" versions of 19" monitors that do not consume as much space from front to back. Do some more homework on the monitor. Everything else looks good.

The Linksys network card should work just fine, but if you are a gamer, you might want to throw an Intel card in there. They tend to consistenetly use less system resources than other cards.

Nack

 

[Athlon4all]

Looks great, there shouldn't be any driver issues. Good choice on the mobo, K7 Master is my fav until nForce. Looks good.

 

[NelsonMuntz]

Everything you picked out looks good. I would go with the Enlight case because of the beefier power supply. A lot of guys around here think that 300W might not be enough, but in my experience it has been plenty. I don't have 15 case fans and I'm not overclocking much, so I don't need any more. A 19" monitor s/b a consideration, but if you really don't feel like you'll have the space you can deal with the 17" for a while. The GeForce 3 is a little bit of overkill, IMO, I think you could do okay with a GeForce 2 GTS or Pro and save the cash.

 

[Prince of Persia]

I've heard about this Taisol hs/f at compu-wiz. How good is this in comparison to the Gladiator?

Is it hard to install a hsf?

 

[Prince of Persia]

woops sorry

 

[Anfield]

If you can afford a rig that good, why even go to college...😀