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Ordered.

J

JSSheridan

Golden Member
EDIT

I just ordered the parts. Thanks for all your advise. Peace.

/EDIT

All suggestions welcome!

As a reward for passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, I get to build a new computer. I don't plan to overclock this system. This system will be used for engineering simulations like Matlab, Simulink, and PSpice. Not a big gamer, but I play a few. I've been playing Warcraft3 and GTA3 recently. The next game I was thinking of getting was Jedi Knight2, and then Doom3 later this year. I will upgrade the video card, if necessary, when I'm ready to buy Doom3. I already have the following to use in my new rig:

Retail ATI 8500LE - 128MB
Western Digital 80GB Special Edition HDD
512 MB Corsair XMS PC2700

I plan to use the above in the new system. Here are the parts I plan on purchasing:

Processor - Retail AMD Athlon XP 2400+;
Motherboard - Asus A7N8X Deluxe;
Case - Black Steel Chinming 601 (see it here);
Power Supply - Antec Truepower 380W;
Also getting Lite On 16x DVD and 52x24x52 CD-RW drives, and a floppy drive;
OS - Windows XP Pro;

I'll be ordering the parts around noon today.

Does anyone know if there are any foreseeable problems with this setup? I know that the MB has an 1.5v AGP slot and it should work with the 8500. I also heard about problems with some Corsair memory and this board, but I never heard what the cause of the problem was or how it was resolved. What light can you shed on this? Also, I used to hear how AMD CPU's could be damaged when the heatsink was installed, and shims were used to help prevent this. Are the CPU shims still necessary? That's all the questions I have for now. I've checked on the reputations of the resellers and decided to get the case from Frozencpu.com and the rest from Googlegear.com, and I will likely be ordering on Thursday.

Thanks for your feedback. Happy holidays. Peace.
 
I would avoid googlegear and go with newegg for as much of the parts as possible. Googlegear has left some sticky feelings with me and I don't particulary like them. Shims are a thing of the past, I don't use them and you shouldn't either. Not sure on the ram.
 
Originally posted by: JSSheridan
All suggestions welcome!

As a reward for passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, I get to build a new computer. I don't plan to overclock this system. I already have the following to use in my new rig:

Retail ATI 8500LE - 128MB
Western Digital 80GB Special Edition HDD
512 MB Corsair XMS PC2700

I plan to use the above in the new system. Here are the parts I plan on purchasing:

Processor - Retail AMD Athlon XP 2400+;
Motherboard - Asus A7N8X Deluxe;
Case - Black Steel Chinming 601 (see it here);
Power Supply - Antec Truepower 330W;
Also getting Lite On 16x DVD and 52x24x52 CD-RW drives, and a floppy drive;
OS - Windows XP Pro or 2000 Pro;

Does anyone know if there are any foreseeable problems with this setup? I know that the MB has an 1.5v AGP slot and it should work with the 8500. I also heard about problems with some Corsair memory and this board, but I never heard what the cause of the problem was or how it was resolved. What light can you shed on this? Also, I used to hear how AMD CPU's could be damaged when the heatsink was installed, and shims were used to help prevent this. Are the CPU shims still necessary? That's all the questions I have for now. I've checked on the reputations of the resellers and decided to get the case from Frozencpu.com and the rest from Googlegear.com, and I will likely be ordering on Thursday.

Thanks for your feedback. Happy holidays. Peace.
Click to expand...

there are still stories of people with cracked cores when installing it.
but IMO, you must be really clumsy to crack the core.
look at me, i have reinstalled my heatsink over 20 times and i'm only 15.



 
Originally posted by: JSSheridan
All suggestions welcome!

As a reward for passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, I get to build a new computer. I don't plan to overclock this system.

Thanks for your feedback. Happy holidays. Peace.
Click to expand...
so...if a person has built a comp can they get a credit for the course..? 😛
your choices on your build are well chosen 🙂
 
I would get an Aluminum over Steel case. I have an Antec case, the same size as yours but without the bay door and it's biege, and it weighs a ton! Aluminum cases have also dropped down in price. Also, if you are a heavy gamer, I would recommend a more powerful video card.
 
My original "new" PSU earlier this year was an Antec True330. Bought it from NewEgg. This "whisper quiet" unit sounded like a 727 with flaps down, so I RMA'd it...and NewEgg suddenly ran out of all the trues. Bad pallet? All were windtunnels? Who knows. They tried to refund me, but I insisted on a PSU (can't power up without one), so those wonderful people refunded ALL of my shipping charges, and applied my money toward an Enermax 350...quietest dual-fan I've ever heard. Not trying to knock Antec, I simply got a bad one, couldn't get it replaced.

Otherwise, go with XP. 2K is nice, used it for a couple of years, but XP really surprised me.
 
My Antec True Power 330Watt IS whisper quiet AND it has dual fans. Great PSU, I bet you must have gotten a bad one.
 
I just installed 3 AMD CPUs about an hour ago and it's very simple. You lift the bar up on the socket, line up the diagonal pins with the ones on the socket and drop the chip down. The CPU should mate with the socket without any pressure whatsoever. Lower the lever and your good to go. About the only thing that gives me a heart attack is some of the clips for the heatsink/fan require what seems like a lot of force to get them to catch on the notches of the socket 🙂

I am running Corsair DDR400 atm on an Asus nForce2 deluxe board and haven't run into any problems yet myself.

Is this going to be a gaming rig? About the only thing I would change if you could swing it is changing that Vid card to an ATI9500Pro...or maybe your waiting for an FX? 🙂
 
Looks like a pretty awesome rig, I can't find anything wrong with it, except maybe a different stick of RAM. The PC2700 XMS series wasn't that warmly received...
 
I appriciate your advice, tbates757, I would get faster memory if I had to buy some. As it is, I have some already, so I'll stick with the 2700. I'll be placing the order later today, around noon. I'll get back to you people to tell you how this turns out. Peace.
 
Looks great, only thing I would consider swapping out is the PSU. If price is a concern and the variable speed fans aren't, you may consider getting the SL-400W Antec Smart Power for $40 after 10 MIR from CompUSA. Give that monster some headroom! 😀

Chiz
 
Grats on passing the FOE and becoming an EI (engineer intern). I passed it in spring of 2000 and did the general exam both in the morning and afternoon. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: JSSheridan
All suggestions welcome!
I also heard about problems with some Corsair memory and this board, but I never heard what the cause of the problem was or how it was resolved. What light can you shed on this?
Click to expand...

See this ASUS FAQ post on nForcersHq about the Corsair memory problem:

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3199

The problem seems limited to newer 3200 and 3500 series RAM, not your 2700.

330W seems a little bare-minimum for the PC your building. It if were me, I'd get a 400w unit. 350w minimum.

Good luck.
 
That was a great link, DanDeighan, worthy of a bookmark.

chizow, I think I'll go with a Truepower 380W supply now, thanks.

BlueWeasel, thanks. I took the general exam in the morning and the discipline specific (electrical), in the afternoon.

I'll be ordering now. Thanks everyone.
 
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