Help with computer purchasing?

[jblondi]

Hey guys, time to ask the age old question of what computer parts to buy. Im setting up a computer for my buddy. He basically wants a machine to work in office, play mp3's, and play some DVD's. He's not a hardcore gamer. Im thinking about buying him an AMD system, mobo, chip, etc. I would like to know what you guys recommend for a multimedia system. I want to try and avoid all the VIA soundcard issue problems that im having with my MSI kt7 board. Any of you guys have any good recommendations on a good combination setup to play dvd's/multimedia. I think I want to leave some room for upgrading as well, so im thinking a DDR platform with win2k/win98 dual boot. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks :>

 

[MrBond]

Well, I'd get a Santa Cruz for the sound card, as it's the right price/preformance ratio for what you want. The phillips acoustic edge uses more system resources, and the GTXP is more expensive. It should give you good mp3/DVD preformance, I'm quite happy with mine. A 1 ghz AMD chip will give you good dvd playback, and leave a little room for upgrading (more so then an intel system, b/c they're changing the socket again).

 

[mchammer187]

if he wants cheap there is awesome deal on some older PIII chipsets BX6 and BH6 boards in hot deals you can start with on of those boards for (35 dollars for rock solid chipset)

 

[jblondi]

I definatly want AMD, I just want to know what is the most stable chipset out there for that and what mobo people recommend. I would also like a recommended video card for dvd play back? Ive been looking at the radeon LE card. Any more suggestions?

 

[majewski9]

If you got a socket 370 board get a Via C3 also! That will drive costs down also. Forget about performance! -Joke

Stick to AMD! If you are concerned about price there are cheap Athlon boards. A Duron or a Lower clocked Athlon will work fine also! You can get a 1GHZ ATHlon with 266fsb for 78$!

 

[mchammer187]

i thought this was gonna be a value/ DVD system otherwise i would say

Epox 8k7a/ ASUS A7V266 (i would wait for ASUS) or Nforce

1.0 Tbird

Radeon LE

Santa Cruz (none if you go Nforce)

Liteon 16x DVD or 16x Pioneer slot loader

40 GB HD from newegg

512 mb RAM from crucial


make sure you get win 2k

also what is the need for 98?
40 GB might not cut it for dual boot

 

[jblondi]

are there problems with the epox and the via southbridge when for DVD playback/audio playback? Or is that just a problem with the sblive and via southbridge combo? I was thinking dual boot because I know that some of ATI's drivers arent quite up to snuff in win2k for the time being. What is "Nforce" and could you explain why an asus over an epox, just preference? Thanks

 

[flight23]

Look for my thread in the hot deals section titled 'build a computer blah blah for $650'