New computer

[nychris86]

Hello,
I've spent about 8 hours today running all over the internet, reading all about assembling your own computer. This splurge of research was spawned by my frusteration at not being able to play Morrowind because of my sound card, which made me realize my computer is once again obsolete. I've decided to build my own computer this time, and keep it under 900 dollars.

I threw together these components on a discount store, and I'm wondering how well it would all match up

-Athlon 1.4GHZ 266MHZ OEM W/O COOLING FAN
-VisionTek XTASY GeForce3 Ti 200 6564 64MB AGP NVIDIA Video Card
-Kingston 512MB PC2100 266MHZ DDR-RAM
-Creative Labs Soundblaster Audigy Gamer Sound Card
-Asus A7M266 AMD 761 CHIPSET ULTRA ATA100 ATX FORM FACTOR 1xAGP(PRO)/5xPCI/1xAMR/2xDDR W/AUDIO
-Western Digital 20.GB 200BB EIDE ULTRA-ATA/66-100 9.5MS 7200RPM 2MB BUFFER harddrive
-Promise ULTRA100 TX2 PCI ULTRA-ATA/100 Hard Drive controller

I'm a bit iffy with some of the details, especially about the Hard drive controller (of which I have practically no idea why its necessary, and what parts of it are important), and if the "W/O cooling fan" detail on the processor should have me worried. I dont expect to overclock it.
All of that came out to about 600 dollars at the discount store I went to (Mwave.com), but I've seen lower prices for the components I want mentioned elsewhere.

If anyone has any recommendations or help, that'd be great.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[N11]

Hi,

You're going to need some sort of heatsink/fan solution for that processor. I would highly suggest you spend the 15-20 dollars and get one.

On the controller card... I would just use the IDE on the motherboard and skip the controller card purchase.

 

[nychris86]

Great, saves me 15 bucks even with the adding of a fan. Wasn't sure if a controller was needed, other people listing their specs never seemed to list one.

 

[N11]

Will you also be needing a case?

 

[nychris86]

Yah, there are a number of components aside from those I listed. I only wanted to know if what I've picked so far is decent.

 

[N11]

Everything else looks good. I can't really comment on that Asus board because I have no experience with it, I'm currently partial to MSI.

Good luck with the system build, and have fun.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

It looks good, and that 1.4ghz processor'll run everything ya need just fine. I'd suggest maybe going for a newer motherboard though, maybe something based on the KT266A chipset. You can find some great values on fast motherboards using this.. take, for instance, the Epox 8KHA+, or if ya need integrated stuff, the Soyo Dragon +.

I would also recommend not getting the controller card, as it'd be useless unless you had a ton of devices like hard drives, cd-roms.. etc. Everything else looks good to me. Try going to www.newegg.com and take a look at what they have there. Oh, and you can most likely grab a good 40gb hard drive for like, 10 bucks more than that 20 gigger too. As for a cooling fan on the Athlon, oh yea, you'll need one. That 1.4 Athlon is toasty. If you're not overclocking though, I'd recommend getting the retail version of the processor and using the included heatsink/fan combo, which'll keep it well within spec and give ya a warranty on top of that.

You might be able to save some cash getting an OEM Audigy as opposed to the Gamer. All the Gamer version adds are "free" games.. so, if you need em, go for it.. but otherwise the OEM will save you some cash and perform just as well.

As for other components like case.. I suggest NOT going cheap on this one. Nothing in your PC is gonna last longer than your case, and the last thing you'll want is a cheap, flimsy case that ends up buzzing every time your CD-ROM spins up. Airflow is also a must with your processor, and an intake and exhaust is a pretty important thing so ya don't get pockets of heat trapped in your case. If ya want something small, you could go for an Antec SX635, or if ya want something larger, their SX1000 series is nice. These come with Antec power supplies too, which are known to be some of the best around.

As for fans in the case, go to www.bgmicro.com and take a look at their 80mm Panaflos. For 2-3 bucks a pop, they're a great deal and provide OK airflow, but stay very, very quiet.

 

[microAmp]

Since you aren't planing to overclock why not instead get a CPU that is a retail instead of the OEM version. Retail will cost @$10-15 more than the OEM but it will come with a heatsink, fan, and a 3 year warranty. OEM will come with a limited warranty, usually 30 days, and no heatsink/fan.

Edit: Get an AthlonXP.

 

[nychris86]

Thanks for the great advice.

The only Antec SX635 or SX630 cases I saw listed on newegg had "For Pentium 4" specified. Does that actually mean an athlon wont fit in it or something?

 

[microAmp]

<< Thanks for the great advice.

The only Antec SX635 or SX630 cases I saw listed on newegg had "For Pentium 4" specified. Does that actually mean an athlon wont fit in it or something? >>



It just has an extra connector for the P4 motherboards that need it. It can be used on any platform.