MY AMD Sytsem is COMPLETE!!!!! Or is it?

[Village00idiot]

For weeks now I have been using these forums and others as well of reading seemingky thousands of hardware reviews. And now I think it is time to order.

Motherboard: Epox 8K7A
CPU: AMD tbird 1.33 with normal stepping
CPU heatsink: Thermalright SK6
CPU Fan: ThermalTake 31CFM 28dB Fan
Case: Antec SX840 (2 standard exhaust fans)
Power Supply: Enermax 431W Whisper
Additional Case Fans: 2 Panaflow 39.6 CFM @ 32dB
Memory: Crucial PC2100 cas 2.5
Hard Drive: IBM 40gb 7200rpm
Video Card: MSI GeForce 2 Pro 64mb Tv-out
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live X-Gamer 5.1
CD-RW: LiteOn 12x10x32
Floppy: Mitsumi Standard
Zip: Iomega 100mb (by NEC)
Modem: US robotics 56k v.90 sportster PCI

I am going to be running all of this stuff on windows ME.

Anybody see any major flaws? Missing anything?

Couple of questions:

1. How do I go about getting all of these fans hooked up? The epox has 4 fan headers on it. 1 for the CPU fan I got that. 1 for the standard shipset cooler on the mobo. This leaves 2 headers for the case fans. I have four. I'm sure this is a stupid question but how else do you hook the fans up? The two panaflows I am buying are from
here and it says they do not come with molex connecters. do I need these connecters to hook up the fans? Or is there some other way?

2. This is a link to my crucial ram options. I want the 256 stick of PC2100. But there are two of those. One says 32x64 while the other says 32x72 with ECC. What does this mean? and which one is better?

Any info or advice you guys can give me I would appreciate A LOT! So please help an idiot out.

 

[Yzzim]

<< Anybody see any major flaws? Missing anything? >>



You're missing a monitor, keyboard, and mouse

 

[DarkManXY2G]

Any DVD or other type of CD-Rom. You may want one for burning CDs. Also a nice Pioneer DVD doesn't go for very much anymore. Also you may want to go with the 250 Zip drive. I think the price difference between them isn't that much also. Other then that, nice system!

 

[drewski]

if the fans only have 3-pin connectors, there are 3-pin to 4-pin converters you should be able to get.

also, do you need a NIC to connect to other computers at home or a DSL/Cable modem?

 

[pillage2001]

Have you filled all the DDR slots?? If not, there's still a flaw.

 

[Yzzim]

<< 2. This is a link to my crucial ram options. I want the 256 stick of PC2100. But there are two of those. One says 32x64 while the other says 32x72 with ECC. What does this mean? and which one is better? >>


Get the stick without ECC (the 32x64 one). ECC supposedly causes a 5% performance drop.

 

[Village00idiot]

Thanks for the replys guys.

Yzzim: Got a microsoft optical mouse and microsoft keyboard, and I have a dell 21&quot; trinitron.thanks for the ram advice!

DarkManXY2G: I'm planning on getting a pioneer DVD at some point and my pc at work has a 100mb so I need a 100mb zip here to be compatible right?

drewski: Where do I connect the extra two fans though once I have the proper connectors?

pillage2001: Leaving them for future expansion when they have a 1024 stick lol.

 

[Mem]

From Crucial FAQ,

<< Description:

What is the difference between ECC and non-parity memory?

Solution:

ECC is indicated by a 36 or 72 in our part number. Non-parity is designated with a 32 or 64. If you already have a PC and are unsure which type you have, count the number of black chips mounted on one of your existing DIMMs. If the number of chips is evenly divisible by three, then you need ECC. If the number of chips is NOT evenly divisible by three, you have non-parity memory.

If you are building a PC and deciding which type to use, the following guidelines should help. If you plan to use your system as a server or a similar mission critical type machine, it is to your advantage to use ECC. If you plan to use your PC for regular home, office, or gaming applications, you are better off with non-parity.

ECC (error correcting code) memory performs &quot;double bit detection and single bit correction&quot;. This means that if you have a single bit memory error, the chipset and memory will find and repair the error on the fly without you knowing that it happened. If you have a double bit memory error, it will detect and report it. Using ECC decreases your PC's performance by about 2%. Current technology DRAM is very stable and memory errors are rare, so unless you have a need for ECC, you are better served with non-parity SDRAM. >>



So get the cheaper unbuffered it`s slightly faster.

 

[Village00idiot]

<< So get the cheaper unbuffered it`s slightly faster. >>



I will now. Thanks guys.

 

[heffe734]

nice rig...very similar to mine in some ways...update us in the overclockers/cpu forum on how high you OC'd it to...

 

[erub]

The Zip 250 drives are backwards compatible with the Zip 100 disks. Just use those, and you will be compatible

 

[Rainsford]

Windows ME? That's a major flaw right there

 

[swanky]

I'm with Rainsford on this one:

Windows ME is the answer to a question no one ever asked

Either stick to Good Old 98 or go for Win2K. Or how about that XP? Yes please, can I have it in pink?

swanky

 

[CM4]

Use Windows 2000 SP2!

 

[Rainsford]

Yup, that's what I use and I have no problems.

 

[drewski]

if you use the converter to the 4-pin molex you should be able to connect to the power cables that come directly from the power supply.

one thing that you will not have from these fans is any RPM monitoring that you could have from MoBo headers. not really a big deal.

if you can't find cables locally you can try here

 

[pillage2001]

Ah, I've just spotted one now that they tell me. If you plan to overclock. Stay away from WinME. I've got hell with it.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

WinME!!!! ughh, don't waste a beautiful system on so crappy an os. Stick with win2k or win98se. If ur a gamer go with win98se, but if u value stability and all that good stuff go with win2k