New computer components... your opinions wanted...

n00tch

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2003
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Ok, here are the components I was looking at in assembling my new comp.

Soyo SY-KT400 Dragon Ultra (Platinum Edition) Motherboard

AMD ATHLON XP 2600 /333 FSB

1024MB PC-2700 DDR333 Memory SAMSUNG

Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80.0GB Internal Hard Drive

GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4 Ti 4800SE

Allied TRUE 450W Power Supply AL-B450EATX

Green Aluminum Chieftec case

Now, I'm not looking for much in the way of oc'ing (it would be nice, but I would be happy with these base specs regardless), but I wanted to ask three things. First, are there any problems with the above components that I should be aware of? Second, what power supply would you use to power this? I have the Allied listed, but I have no idea besides what I've read if it's any good or not. All positive reviews so far. Third, what would you use to cool this? I was looking at the Volcano 9, the Swiftech MCX462+, and the Vantec VA4-C7040. Are these ok for an XP2600? Also, which do you think is the best out of the three? thanks in advance for your time.
 

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
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sure you want a kt-400??? or are you just gettting it because soyo boards look neat? nforce 2 is a better option
 

n00tch

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2003
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Well, I've heard really good things about the Soyo board's performance, and I do like their audio solution. Add in the fact that it looks cool, and it's definetly a board I want to use in my lan gaming machine. I'm gonna have a black light in there. ;)
 
Dec 4, 2002
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frys has a deal right now on that exact xp chip and that mobo. you can get your western digital for $40 after rebates at cc this week, and your 450 "truepower" is overdone. wait a couple weeks on your pc2700, it is my understanding that they will drop in price quit a bit soon. for cooling i would go with the volcano, and 4-5 nmb case fans, you will be fine with that. you have some nice components there though.
 

n00tch

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2003
8
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Too bad there are no Fry's where I live... *sighs*. I was planning on buying from newegg.
 
Dec 4, 2002
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im too lazy to look up neweggs price, but frys has the xp and soyo combo for $349. if its not much off, dont worry about it. also check to see if you can get it online at outpost.com.
 

n00tch

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2003
8
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Well, newegg.com is giving me the two of them for 430 before shipping. outpost.com is listing them as being 459.99, so I'm not feeling too bad about it I guess.
 
Dec 4, 2002
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go to the fs/ft forum, request that someone with a frys near them get the combo for you and you can get it for $350 + what ever they charge for shipping. im sure you can find someone that is willing to sell it to you without trying to make a profit. though, i dont know how much money is a factor to you. lol, just look at my name, im cheap, so thats what i would do, just a suggestion to get $100 off. :)
 

CaptnKirk

Lifer
Jul 25, 2002
10,053
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Either of these motherboards would be a better performer:

1) Abit KD7
2) Asus A7N8X
A powerful motherboard can get more performance out af a CPU than a weak sister can get out of the top CPU's.

Cooling Heatsink Options:

1) Alpha PAL8045
2) ThermalRight SK-7
3) ThermalRight SLK-800
Never a doubt with any of these choices.


Fans:

Y.S. Tech Take command of your cooling requirements'

Power Supply:

1) Antec 430W True
2) Enermax 430W
3) RaidMax 400W
The Allied is a little suspect as to signal quality & actual voltages delivered

Might want to think a bit more about the Video Card. Consider the ATI RADEON 9700,
it's a bit more but a real heavy hitter. The Gainward/Cardexpert is pretty nice though.

Gaming rig ? You might think about getting the WD 120GB HDD only $ 25 more,
and storage prices are really down right now.

Good source is NewEgg
Cooling from S V C

Have fun & welcome to the Forum.
(Thats like telling the Christians "Welcome to the Lions")
 

newbiepcuser

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2001
4,474
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Isn't Gainward having QC issues with their cards and why not the ATI 9700 pro or ATI 9500 pro for direct x 9.0 support later on.
I would go with Antec True Power Supply also.


I know you want to look "cool" at the LAN parties, but i would go with the nForce 2 board, slap in two DDR 3200 for dual DDR support.


edited
Well, I've heard really good things about the Soyo board's performance, and I do like their audio solution. Add in the fact that it looks cool, and it's definetly a board I want to use in my lan gaming machine. I'm gonna have a black light in there.
 
Dec 4, 2002
18,211
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Originally posted by: newbiepcuser
Isn't Gainward having QC issues with their cards and why not the ATI 9700 pro or ATI 9500 pro for direct x 9.0 support later on.
I would go with Antec True Power Supply also.


I know you want to look "cool" at the LAN parties, but i would go with the nForce 2 board, slap in two DDR 3200 for dual DDR support.

lol, i dunno if thats his intent, or he would have gone with the 9700 in the first place...
also, word of warning, ati drivers are a gamble, ymmv on getting it to work, go a couple pages down here in general hardware, you will see a thread on ati drivers gone bad :(
 

Ilmater

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2002
7,516
1
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I just wrote a big explanation of what you should get, but another website wouldn't load and was locking everything else up, so I got tired of waiting and ended the task, which ended this window as well. So, I'm not going to justify these statements:

Get the Swiftech, they're the best at what they do (I don't care to hear agruments from others, because you're wrong).

Don't get a KT400 board. That's ridiculous. If you want something that looks good, get the Chaintech Zenith nForce 2 board. Otherwise, get either the Epox 8RDA+ or the Asus A7N8X.

1GB is too much RAM unless you do video editing or CAD work. Don't believe me? USE THE SEARCH BUTTON FERCHRISTSAKES!!! Wanna waste your money just to be able to say, "I have more RAM than you do!"? Fine, go ahead. You'll get the same PERFORMANCE from 512.

You should be able to find a 200GB WD SE from BB for $200 after MIR (acronyms rule).

Allied sucks. Get Enermax, Antec, Sparkle, or PC Power & Cooling. 450W is overkill. 330+ is fine.

Edit: Also, Gainward rules. I've heard of two problems they've had with their cards for as long as I can remember, and both times (including this current one) they were small problems, but Gainward offered to replace the cards for free anyway. Do you think that's cheap? No. Did they have to? No. But they did. Buy their stuff.
 

n00tch

Junior Member
Jan 24, 2003
8
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Thanks for all the advice. I had been eyeing the nForce 2 chipset, and I loved my Epox mobo with my Athlon 750. The only reason I'm getting a gig of ram is I do alot of Photoshop work, as well as a little dabbling in 3DS max. Again, thanks for your time. ;)