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Need help choosing main components for PC

S

salvorhardin

Senior member
In the next month i'm planning on building my first computer and I need help in choosing the main components. So far I think I will use:

Epox 8RDA+ - $84
Athlon XP 2500+ - $92
Antec LanBoy - $95
Crucial PC2700 - $53
Radeon 9100 128MB - $76

the other components I already have and was wondering if this is a good setup. I will be using onboard sound. I was considering the Abit NF7-S but i don't think I will be using soundstorm or SATA anytime soon. I will be using a NEC lcd that has a DVI interface but did not come with a cable, is the difference between dvi and vga enough for me to buy a dvi cable? Any recommendations are welcome and I'm trying to keep it under $400. Thank You.
 
I am not sure since I am hearing all kinds of things and may be mixing up my chipsets, but aren't there problems with crucial memory with NForce2? Some nice Kingston PC400 RAM would be my choice. How much Mem is it anyway? I would take 2 x 256MB since that is a dual channel board you have there. What HSF are you thinking about for the CPU? I can't give any recommendations since I have not been following the HSF market closely, but it would be nice to know in wich direction you are leaning.

Everything else though looks OK... Carry on Junior Member!
 
Looks good, I've built a couple systems similar to that...very fast. Two suggestions...

1. Ditch the Crucial. Its 50/50 whether it will work out of the box on your nForce2. HyperX plays well with the 8RDA+ though.

2. Ditch the LanBoy. Its Antecs way of ripping off pimp wannabes with that stupid window. Go with the 2600, or preferrebly the 3700, and thank me later.

3. Ditch the stock HSF. Grab a Thermalright AX7 and NMB 80mm 18cfm/18dba fan. It will be silent, and perfectly adaquete for cooling. If you're going to overclock, then a Panaflo would be a better choice...slightly more air than the NMB.

EDIT: yes, folks, I know the SK7 has replaced the AX7. But to be honest...my AX7 just flat out cools better with a low CFM fan.
 
I thought about doing dual channel but decided it's only a small percentage difference. As for the case going with the lanboy since it has a good power supply, it's aluminum and has a door. I looked at both the 2600 and the 3700 but didn't like the color and saw that they were not aluminum. I thought that the incompatibilities between crucial memory and nforce 2 boards was to a bad batch of memory sticks and everything had been resolved. I don't plan on overclocking so i'm using pc2700 ram and the stock hsf. Thank You.
 
I have the 8rda+ and the barton 2500 too. Going with the 9100 instead of the 9500 makes sense to me, but if I were you I go ahead and get the Kingston HyperX pc3200 (or another CL2 PC3200). Even if you don't plan on overclocking, how can you not when with pc3200 you can bump up the FSB to 195 and run perfectly stable with low temps on the stock hsf and effectively have a 3100 processor. You won't be able to do this with pc2700. That's a big performance increase for a relatively small cost.
 
Whats the point of upgrading to outdated stuff already. Why dont you save a few more dollars then and get at least top stuff as of now.
 
Sounds like a good budget setup with what you've chosen so far. Make sure to get 2 sticks of 256MB memory though (Kingston, Corsair, Samsung) to run in dual-channel mode, preferably PC3200 if you're going to overclock the 2500+ (which will be tempting given its typical ability to hit at least 3000+ to 3200+ speeds and 400MHz FSB). I know what you're thinking, that you wanted to save money by going with 256MB PC2700, but as I've learned the hard way, you always end up deciding 2 months later that you've bottlenecked your system with a cheap component (in this case the memory) and you'll probably end up forking over the dough for PC3200 after all, having wasted money on the inital 2700. That's just my experience, though (with PC hardware in general). In any case, I would strongly recommend two sticks of RAM to take advantage of dual-channel.

As for the video card, the 9100 may suit your needs, but I'd personally go for the Ti 4200 with noticably better performance. I have one myself and it can easily be overclocked to near-4600 speeds, which is really good enough for almost all games right now.

I second ditching the LanBoy. I have the Antec Sonata case which comes with a very good 380W PSU and is in the same price range (around $100). The 3700 would also be a good option if you want to cut costs.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm building this computer for my sister so she can have one in her dorm room. This setup won't be overclocked and i'm not going for pc3200 since she won't be using anything that will cause her to limited by the cpu. For the video card i'm going with the 9100 since it will be more important for her to have 2d quality than speed in 3d games. I looked at the sonata, but what concerned me was its weight since she wants it to be light so it can be easily moved.
 
Originally posted by: salvorhardin
Thanks for the replies. I'm building this computer for my sister so she can have one in her dorm room. This setup won't be overclocked and i'm not going for pc3200 since she won't be using anything that will cause her to limited by the cpu. For the video card i'm going with the 9100 since it will be more important for her to have 2d quality than speed in 3d games. I looked at the sonata, but what concerned me was its weight since she wants it to be light so it can be easily moved.
Click to expand...


Amazing...I am going for the EXACT same setup as this, cept a cheaper case. I am also building for a girl that needs a PC for a dorm...Looks good to me!
 
So it looks like i'm going to go with this setup. Does anybody know if the front usb port on the lanboy can do usb 2.0 when it is hooked up to the onboard usb2 ports on the motherboard?
 
Originally posted by: chocoruacal
Looks good, I've built a couple systems similar to that...very fast. Two suggestions...

1. Ditch the Crucial. Its 50/50 whether it will work out of the box on your nForce2. HyperX plays well with the 8RDA+ though.

2. Ditch the LanBoy. Its Antecs way of ripping off pimp wannabes with that stupid window. Go with the 2600, or preferrebly the 3700, and thank me later.

3. Ditch the stock HSF. Grab a Thermalright AX7 and NMB 80mm 18cfm/18dba fan. It will be silent, and perfectly adaquete for cooling. If you're going to overclock, then a Panaflo would be a better choice...slightly more air than the NMB.

EDIT: yes, folks, I know the SK7 has replaced the AX7. But to be honest...my AX7 just flat out cools better with a low CFM fan.
Click to expand...


I agree with 1 and 2. However, 3 is just a silly recommendation for 99% of users and, specifically, your sister. Why would you overclock a computer with a 9100? Seems like a silly idea to me.

You should aim for the computer to be around $350-400 + monitor. If your final calculation is over that price by a lot, post your specific parts. If not, you're doing fine.
 
Originally posted by: gf4200isdabest
Originally posted by: chocoruacal
Looks good, I've built a couple systems similar to that...very fast. Two suggestions...

1. Ditch the Crucial. Its 50/50 whether it will work out of the box on your nForce2. HyperX plays well with the 8RDA+ though.

2. Ditch the LanBoy. Its Antecs way of ripping off pimp wannabes with that stupid window. Go with the 2600, or preferrebly the 3700, and thank me later.

3. Ditch the stock HSF. Grab a Thermalright AX7 and NMB 80mm 18cfm/18dba fan. It will be silent, and perfectly adaquete for cooling. If you're going to overclock, then a Panaflo would be a better choice...slightly more air than the NMB.

EDIT: yes, folks, I know the SK7 has replaced the AX7. But to be honest...my AX7 just flat out cools better with a low CFM fan.
Click to expand...


I agree with 1 and 2. However, 3 is just a silly recommendation for 99% of users and, specifically, your sister. Why would you overclock a computer with a 9100? Seems like a silly idea to me.

You should aim for the computer to be around $350-400 + monitor. If your final calculation is over that price by a lot, post your specific parts. If not, you're doing fine.
Click to expand...

because if you don't overclock, whats the point of building a computer? 😀
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong w/ Crucial memory. I have 512Mb of Crucial DDR333 memory I bought in January slated for use in an NF7-S (most likely Rev 2 also) with a 2500+ Athlon XP (using a ThermalTake Smart Fan II and SLK-800A) and I know it won't cause troubles. How? People on here told me it DOESN'T have issues and I put it in my friend's nForce2 system and it worked like a charm. Also, the model #'s are listed on the page to order memory specifically for the NF7-S and I also confirmed I have had no troubles in that motherboard with the memory and in someone's A7N8X Deluxe motherboard.

I would say to just use the existing Crucial PC2700 memory if you want to save some money. Thats what I am doing and I know it is going to be okay because I think more than 30 people told me that Crucial's memory doesn't have problems. Of course, i'm sure there's at least one bad apple for every manufacturer. Believe me, I did a lot of research and I have found that there isn't an issue. I've heard of people haves issues with every manufacturer, actually. Its just that most people seem to not have issues...otherwise Crucial wouldn't be listing the NF7-S and others as compatible with its memory. My friend actually had problems with HyperX, and ASUS' tech support said to buy Crucial memory and it worked fine after that. Just thought I would let you know what I found out, for the benefit of saving money for you 🙂. I wouldn't go with DDR400 if you aren't getting a CPU with a 400Mhz FSB and they aren't overclocking, because its just a waste. Just buy DDR333 so it matches up with the 333Mhz FSB and you save money.
 
Thanks for the replies. Here is a total list for all of the parts for her computer:

Epox 8RDA+ - $84
Athlon XP 2500+ - $92
Antec LanBoy - $95
Crucial PC2700 - $53
Radeon 9100 128MB - $76
Floppy - $11

15" LCD NEC 1560NX-BK & Keyboard - $276
Lite-On 48x12x48 - $25
80GB WD SE - $96
logitech optical mouse - $9

Total with tax (in CA)- $847

The first half I have not bought yet , second half I have already bought and everything except the memory is going to be from newegg. I went with an LCD since the desk where her monitor will go on is narrow enough that half a 17" CRT monitor would actually be on the desk. Decided to go with the crucial since I read on other forum threads on how people have been using crucial 512mb pc2700 and haven't had any compatibility problems with their nforce2 boards and that the problems experienced before were due to a bad batch of memory chips. Thanks again for the replies.
 
I can't get the memory at that price anymore and thinking about buying one of the following 512MB sticks of memory and would like to know if there are any issues with the memory and if the companies warranty is any good.

Kingston PC2700 CAS2.5 - $75
Corsair Value select PC2700 CAS2.5- $78
Crucial PC2700 CAS2.5 - $79.50
Geil PC2700 CAS2.5 - $72

Corsair Value Select PC3200 CAS2.5 - $97
Geil Value PC3200 CAS2.5 - $85
Crucial PC3200 CAS3 - $89

I wasn't planning on going with pc3200 ram but now i'm thinking thatmaybe it would be worth it. Is there a significant performance advantage from going from 166 to 200 fsb. If I go with 200 fsb I will probably clock it at 200 x 9 for 1.8GHz. I was thinking about getting either the geil or crucial memory but don't know if cas would make a large enough difference that it would be better to buy the geil memory. If I stay with 166fsb I will probably go with Crucial or Kingston. I plan on ordering everything I need in next week or two, unless someone knows that there are going to be some price drops in the near future. Thank You
 
I would get the hard drive at a Best Buy or Circuit City or Office Max. I got my WD800JB for $69.99 after rebates and last week I saw the 120GB model for $79.99.

As for the LanBoy I heard fairly mixed reviews. Most reviews said that it was pretty cheaply made and felt like it would fall appart any second.
 
I already have the hard drive. I'm going to buy the parts I need tomorrow and will be using Crucial PC2700 as the memory. Thanks for the replies.
 
If it's for your sister, why not just go with a Fry's combo and save another $100+? It's not as if she'll notice the performance difference by going with NF2 board, nor the ~200mhz or so in processor speed. If she's anything like my sister, if she can type her papers, get email, burn CDs, browse web, play music, and maybe play the Sims fast enough, rest is pretty much a waste of money. In fact, for most users who don't game, I think anything above 1Ghz~1.5Ghz is more machine than they would use.

Just keep them from installing Weather Bug, Bonzai Buddy, and Kazaa, that'll keep the proc free and happy.
 
She wants the "best bang for the buck" and wants it to last for a couple of years. She might not need the processing power right now, but in the future she will already have it and hopefully she will become more computer literate.
 
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