need some desperate help with PARTS

[HoiDaKalen]

Hey guys, I am looking to buy myself a new system and unfortunately I have not really been keeping up with technology recently. Everything seems to have progressed so much since I last took a look at this site that trying to absorb it now seems extremely overwhelming. I was wondering whether or not one of you guys could help me out with picking out a system. This is what I gathered up so far. By the way, I am looking for maximum performance at a reasonable price. What I mean is that I wouldnt spend an extra $200 dollars for an Intel 2.5 over an Intel 2.4 -- just seems ridiculous. Anyway, here it is:

p4 2.4Ghz 533 FSB
p4s533 <---- Not sure if this is the best choice?
Crucial 1GB DDR (2 512)
Ge Force 4 4600 <--- What company should I go with
Western Digital 120 GB 7200 Special Edition
Plextor CDRW 40x/12x/40x
LG Electronics DVD 16x/48x
Sound Blaster Live 5.1

 

[FlamingEagle]

Cut one 512 stick and get a Turtle Beach sound card.

 

[wfbberzerker]

skip the plextor cd-rw, and get a liteon 40x12x48x.

 

[HoiDaKalen]

is liteon the company with that patented reading technology where it splits up a laser into like 7 beams...?

 

[HoiDaKalen]

Also, what kind of motherboard would be the best for that setup? I am not too sure if the p4S533 is the best choice after reading some of the posts on this forum

 

[CrazySaint]

I'm guessing that board should probably be fine if aren't going to overclock, but if you are, I would go with a different board (and different CPU, too). If you plan on overclocking it you should either get a EPoX 4G4A(I|+), Abit BG7, or Asus P4B533-V, I would also get a 2.26B instead of the 2.4B, since it has a lower multiplier. You would probably also need higher quality RAM. But if you aren't going OC, then what you've got now is fine. As for video card brand, go with Gainward, Visiontek or Leadtek.

 

[HoiDaKalen]

Thanks for the help...but what is some high quality ram?

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: HoiDaKalen
is liteon the company with that patented reading technology where it splits up a laser into like 7 beams...?

isn't that kenwood?

 

[CrazySaint]

High quality RAM would be like Corsair XMS PC2700 CAS2 or higher. Unfortunately, its also rather expensive ($175 for 512MB at googlegear.com).

 

[Viper96720]

Wait a while the Radeon 9700 should be available soon. Otherwise I would go with an MSI, Abit, or Asus card.
Abit SR7-8X if your going with a sis chipset. That's the 648 chipset the P4S533 has the 645DX chipset. Either is ok just the Abit SR7-8X is newer with integrated usb 2.0, agp 8x though i don't think that'll make a difference. You can read about the board here . SR7-8X

 

[FishTankX]

If you really want fast as hell performance, here's what you should do.

Wait a few weeks... (4 should be enough to get all of this stuff)

Get this setup!

2.53(B)GHZ PIV(250$)
Abit's SiS648 mobo
512MB of PC3200 CAS 2.0 (It's out there, I found it on pricewatch). Run that thing at DDR400 CAS2.0
Radeon9700(400$)
Adaptec Ultra160 card (200$ with cabling)
1X Seagate cheetah X15 200$
A harddrive cooler for the cheetah 50$
CD-RW F1 (yamaha's 44X24X44 burner) SCSI variant 150$. It can burn pictures on the left over space on the disc!
a single data mine, probably a 1000JB (100GB 8MB cache)
SCSI variant DVD (10X) which would be the DVD-UO4S 10x SCSI (90$)
And a good full tower case 200$

I guarantee this thing will scream like there is no tommorrow!!

I don't care what anyone here says on the price of this thing, this thing, espically with SCSI, it'll be smoother than a P4 2.8B on PC1066 in most stuff!! Now, if you dare tell me you won't pay the money for SCSI, may I remind you that you will get just about as much benefit in responsiveness from an X15 as you will upgrading from a 1.8A to a 2.2A. Yes, it makes a difference. Big difference. Espically with the SCSI CD burner and the SCSI DVDROM. You can play DiVX, burn a CD, and copy a DVD video to your X15 all at the same time with no decrease in responsivness.

 

[CrazySaint]

Originally posted by: FishTankX

I guarantee this thing will scream like there is no tommorrow!!

LOL With all those SCSIs it really WILL scream!

 

[FishTankX]

Lock it in a freezer and that should solve everything. And cool your beer while your at it!