Hey guys, I'm considering doing an upgrade (after being slapped in the
face that the G400Max just cannot cut it anymore when trying to run
UT2003). I don't normally follow hardware too closely after I get a
stable system going, so I've been trying to cram it all in over the last
couple days, and I wanted to get some feedback on my choices thus far.
AMD Athlon XP 2000+
Seems to have the most bang for the buck right now.
ASUS A7V8X - This is the one with onboard RAID, etc
KT400 chipset which I realize seems to bench slower than KT333 solutions,
but I like the AGP8x support and am hoping it will get faster over time.
Any comments on this board? Should I wait for the Soyo? The MSI &
Gigabyte didn't seem to have the same features or were not readily
available. Being so early in the dev cycle with KT400, I don't want to
end up with a buggy "FIC" board if possible. I'm open to sticking with
KT333.
Corsair 512MB PC3200 400MHz CAS2
Don't think you can go wrong with this RAM. I'm not a big overclocker
currently, but would like the option of becoming one.
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Seems to be the best vid card out there. Supports AGP8x which in turn is
supported by the ASUS moboard. I like dual-head, but in reality, I
haven't used it too often on my G400Max...
Western Digital WD80JB
Consensus is that this is the fastest drive currently available. I have
DeskStars 75GXP's now, which have both needed to be replaced in the past.
Any reliability problems with these WD drives?
Sound Blaster Audigy OEM
Only for the reason that I've heard it's "better" for games than the
Turtle Beach.
Lian-Li PC-601
Looks cool, no other reason. Too many choices. I really have no idea
here.
Enermax EG365P-VE (FCA)
Solid power supply. Quiet. I don't think I'll really need more than 350
watts, and I don't want to spend more on the PS than on the processor.
I currently have an AX-7 heatsink on my T-Bird 900 and I think I'll stick
with that as my cooling solution. Just need to find a quieter fan.
Anyways, I'd appreciate some feedback on the above--especially the
motherboard and the case. My desire is basically to have a fast, stable
system that runs cool and fairly quiet. I've found that paying a little
more for quality components saves in the long run.
BTW, so far the total of the above comes to a little more than $1000 US
with shipping.
face that the G400Max just cannot cut it anymore when trying to run
UT2003). I don't normally follow hardware too closely after I get a
stable system going, so I've been trying to cram it all in over the last
couple days, and I wanted to get some feedback on my choices thus far.
AMD Athlon XP 2000+
Seems to have the most bang for the buck right now.
ASUS A7V8X - This is the one with onboard RAID, etc
KT400 chipset which I realize seems to bench slower than KT333 solutions,
but I like the AGP8x support and am hoping it will get faster over time.
Any comments on this board? Should I wait for the Soyo? The MSI &
Gigabyte didn't seem to have the same features or were not readily
available. Being so early in the dev cycle with KT400, I don't want to
end up with a buggy "FIC" board if possible. I'm open to sticking with
KT333.
Corsair 512MB PC3200 400MHz CAS2
Don't think you can go wrong with this RAM. I'm not a big overclocker
currently, but would like the option of becoming one.
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Seems to be the best vid card out there. Supports AGP8x which in turn is
supported by the ASUS moboard. I like dual-head, but in reality, I
haven't used it too often on my G400Max...
Western Digital WD80JB
Consensus is that this is the fastest drive currently available. I have
DeskStars 75GXP's now, which have both needed to be replaced in the past.
Any reliability problems with these WD drives?
Sound Blaster Audigy OEM
Only for the reason that I've heard it's "better" for games than the
Turtle Beach.
Lian-Li PC-601
Looks cool, no other reason. Too many choices. I really have no idea
here.
Enermax EG365P-VE (FCA)
Solid power supply. Quiet. I don't think I'll really need more than 350
watts, and I don't want to spend more on the PS than on the processor.
I currently have an AX-7 heatsink on my T-Bird 900 and I think I'll stick
with that as my cooling solution. Just need to find a quieter fan.
Anyways, I'd appreciate some feedback on the above--especially the
motherboard and the case. My desire is basically to have a fast, stable
system that runs cool and fairly quiet. I've found that paying a little
more for quality components saves in the long run.
BTW, so far the total of the above comes to a little more than $1000 US
with shipping.
Facebook
Twitter