Need advice on which stuff to get for my computer: 3d AGP video card, SCSI CDRW, hdd, and mobo/chip setup

[Tib]

Hi there!

I'm building a new system. I have currently got a Duron 600 mobo, soundblaster live! sound card, a pretty good mouse and keyboard that I like, and a great 21" apple monitor (with pc VGA extension/connector, so that I can use it on my PC). I got the monitor for $150, so don't ask why it's an apple please! I also have 2x 128 mb pc133 RAM for it, and a floppy drive and case. Here's the advice I need for the stuff I still need:

1. Video card.
I need to choose between the geforce2 ddr 32 meg (and maybe 64 meg) and the radeon 32 meg (and maybe 64 meg). I'm running it on my system with the 21" monitor, so keep that in mind. I would like to also overclock the video cards. I wanted the Radeon at first, because of video in/out, and dvd hardware playback, and good frame rate at 32 bit high res., but then I saw that the geforce2 can be overclocked bigtime! So now I don't know which one to get!

2. SCSI CDwriter
12x plextor vs. 16x yamaha vs. 12x smart and friendly vs. any others?
Which one is best for the money? I am on a budget here - would like to spend $150-200 for it.

3. Hard drive.
I'm in a current pending deal for an 8.4 gig 7200 rpm drive, but would like to know, how big of an hdd you guys think I need? Will 8.4 gigs for gaming a personal use be enough, or do I need like 20 gigs or so? Also, which brand do you guys recommend for performance? Also need best for the money of course.

4. Motherboard and Chip
I'll be using some kind of motherboard that i don't know the brand for - I should find out, but I don't knwo right now. It's a duron 600 chip, and the chip can be oc'd to 900 or so. Because the motherboard is prolly a piece of crap, I can't OC it to more than 625 mhz. Do you think, that because of this reason, it would be worth selling this mobo / chip and buying a faster one? What kind? P3 vs. Duron vs. celeron2? What do you guys think?

Thanks for all the help. This is going to help me a lot in deciding what to get....right now, here's what I think.

1. I'm leading more towards the radeon because it's just better for what I need, and I've never overclocked anything before.

2. I'm leaning towards the plextor 12x cuz I heard plextor is the best, and it's also about $50 or so cheaper than the 16x yamaha, plus, I don't have any 16x disks, and I already have like 130 12x cdr disks to go through

3. I don't really care about the hdd....like I said, currently in a pending deal for an 8.4 gig one.

4. I would like to sell my mobo and chip because it can't be overclocked, but which kind should I get next? Any takers for my duron / mobo setup for sale or, more preferably, in trade? Lemme know. What kind should I get new, though?

Thanks for all your advice guys!

Tib

 

[evanichka]

For vid card, I know ATI is supposed to have one of the best DVD playback capabilities for consumer video cards. But I mean for soft DVD playback, I can't tell much difference so i don't know what to recommend for vid cards.

For CDRW I would definitely say Plextor. Other companies are good. S&F is went out of business though. Yamaha is another good CDRW but you have to check for compatibilities for the Yamaha drive with the CDR proggies out there. Plextor almost always is supported by just about any cdr software. Depending what you want out of your CDRW Yamaha and Plextor should do you fine, just look at the price and make your decisions too. SCSI drives are on the higher side compared to IDE. Why not go with IDE?

For HD, buy nothing other than IBM and Quantum. There are the two best IMO unless we are talking about SCSI. IBM makes good SCSI too, but there are better SCSI manufacturers.

Since you seem to be in a budget i would say keep the duron, get a new mobo. Abit KT7 and MSI K7T Pro2A or whatever they are called are both great mobos.

Hope this helps.

 

[madthumbs]

Nvidia cards may have better driver support (possibly future HSR tech) and seem more overclockable. ATI cards seem more feature rich and until the Ultra were leading the speed competition. I would have a tough choice myself if I was deciding right now.

Plextor is undoubtedly the best, but Ricoh I think makes good drives also. I think Cendyne drives are made by Ricoh. My sister just got a Cendyne 8x8x32 very cheap and it came with Nero 5! Nero is one of the best burner softwares there is! Plextor usually comes with $hitty software. For more up to date info; CDR info

IBM makes very good drives. I think they make some of the Western Digital Caviar Drives also. I have used Maxtor since the beginning (for price) and haven't had any problems. Still have a 2 gig running flawless. I've only had a PC for a year now, but have built a few. I think all three brands are good. You may see people dissing Maxtor but maybe because they are cheaper and tend to sell better so there are more "potential" problems out there... not sure.

 

[Tib]

For the video card: I don't care much for the DVD playback. I need this video card strictly for gaming, but like I said, the other extra stuff is nice too . But I was wondering, should I get the radeon and not overclock it (cuz it's better at 32 bit / high resolution than the geforce2 is), or get the geforce2 and overclock it? How hard is it to overclock that thing? Will I be able to do it? I've never overclocked anything before, and will attempt to do it to my dual celeron 466 board this weekend!

CDRW: I think I'm going to go w/ the plextor, although still not 100% sure.

HDD...I have been doing fine w/ maxtor's, but wanted to know if the other brands are any good. I hear bad stuff about western digital all the time...i always hear that ibm drives are the best. But I guess I'll just take the best deal I can find

And about the mobo....if it's cheap, then yes, I will likely get a new one.

Thanks for all your help guys!

Tibor

 

[Cerb]

For HDD, get an IBM or WD. Nothing else compares, esp. considering you only pay like $10 more than a maxtor for one.
For video card...both would be good, but way the options and features of each chipset and card for what you want.
For the CDR, get a Plextor or HP. You just can't go wrong with either of them.