Is my dream system a nightmare?

[Kev3x]

Hello Everyone:

I?ve been away for quite awhile because of some problems I have been having in my personal life. I was going to build a new box in November/December of 2000 but because of these unforeseen problems I am only now getting back to building what I started. What I have so far is the following:

Enlight EN-8902 Case (ATX, Full AT) w/ 4 80mm case fans
Antec 300w (AMD Approved) Power Supply
HedgeHog w/ YS-Tech 27CFM fan and Artic Silver compound
Radeon 32MB DDR Retail
IBM 75GXP 30 GB
SB-Live MP3+5.1
Toshiba 12x DVD/40x CDROM
Plextor 8/4/32
Teac Floppy

The problem I am having is simply this: I need someone to tell me what I should do as if I was their little bro. I know you hear this a lot, but because I have been away so long, and because things have changed so much in the past few months, and because I have no time to research everything all over again, and because this is the first pc I?m building, and because I?m switching from a mac to a pc which makes everything seem even more foreign to me, (boy I have a lot of excuses) I hope you don?t mind me asking. The most perplexing thing is that everything is changing so fast I don?t have a clue anymore as to what I should do.

First of all, I think I did something really stupid buy purchasing a 256MB Crucial PC133 CL=2 module right before the minute price hike a few weeks ago. I still however have ten days left on my 30 days to return it if I don?t want it. Not much time, but I?m sure you guys will give me some advice by then.

What I was planning on doing, which I feel almost ashamed of saying, is buying the ASUS CUSL2-C Black Pearl mobo and PIII 1GHZ chip to go with the above parts that I already bought last year. But the more I listen and try to learn from you guys I think I am making a big booboo. A colossal one. I mean it?s not a bad system config, but would you recommend this set up at this point in time to a brother?

Simply I feel that I am about to throw away a ton of money on a sub par system, a system that I?ll probably regret in a few months, or even weeks. Yikes! Obviously, I really need your guys help! Please. Any way AMD or Intel doesn?t matter to me, I can go either way providing what I already bought is compatible. And I hate to say this, but stability is important to me, not however because I need a stable system, which I do, but more so because I don?t think I know enough to tweak a system for stability. (Not too bright upstairs...)

Any way thanks for all of your help as always. Have a cool day!

 

[clockhar]

yea, its a shame how much PC news, you can miss a few months away. But here is what I would do:
Everything sounds cool except: 1) video card 2) Processor/Motherboard.
The Radeon 32 mb is no longer top dawg (I don't know if it ever was). If you want a Radeon card (which I would get if I wasn't runnig win 2000), then go for the Radeon 64 MB DDR (VIVO) as long as you are not running it under windows 2000 (since it is slow under that OS). Another option is to fork down a whole lot of money on the top of the line card (not necessarily best buy) for a Geforce 2 Ultra card (different versoins of Geforce). However, if you get a Geforce card, you will need a Hardware DVD decoder card (like Hollywood decoder) for your DVD playback. But, in a few weeks, a mid ranged card (kyro II) will be out that might be worth looking into ($150 at www.hercules.com)
Ok, now for the proccessor. Do NOT go for a PIII. First of all, it is slower than an equivalent AMD athlon. Second, it is more expensive and third, if you buy a system for a PIII, there is no upgrade possibility in the future (since the 1.1 or whatever is next will be the last PIII made). For maximum price/performance/upgrade, get an Athlon CPU (make sure it has 266 FSB). Motherboard: Its your choice, just make sure it has a via KT133A chipset (for your 256 mb PC133 RAM). Good luck with this system.

BTW keep the RAM. 256 MB will last you a few years before you need to upgrade

 

[Bignate603]

i wouldn't go with the pentium, you'll save money with intel. However, if you prefer intel, you could go with it and be happy, you'll just pay a bit more.