Planning on placing my 1st online order for barebones XP 1800 tonite, but have ?s on memory and vid card

[Arkitech]

Well after doing research for a couple of weeks I'm think I'm all set to order my system. I'm going after a Athlon XP1800 cpu, ECS 830LR mobo and a ATX Midtower case w/300 PS for 213. (or 247.95 w/ shipping)

I have a few questions tho

1. Do most barebones systems come with fans/heatsinks/etc.? And if they do should I add more?

2. I've decided to go with DDR PC2100 memory (512mb) but I'm not sure if I need ECC or Non ECC, how do I determine what I need? Is generic memory ok to use or should I stay clear of it?

3. I'm trying to decide on a video card, its pretty much a toss up between a GeForce3 Ti200 or some form of GeForce 2. I plan on playing a variety of different games, so I need good performance but I still need to keep an eye on my budget. Any suggestions in that area.

4. Finally before I make any purchases online is there anything I should be aware to avoid getting ripped off/stiffed/etc.?



Thanks for any info you might have

 

[Ryan]

I would go with a little better motherboard. Where are you buying from?

 

[Arkitech]

I'm buying from accubyte.com


I thought those ecs boards were pretty good, I've heard rave reviews about them on this site

 

[Adul]

<< I would go with a little better motherboard. Where are you buying from? >>

 

[Adul]

<< I'm buying from accubyte.com


I thought those ecs boards were pretty good, I've heard rave reviews about them on this site >>




try mwave or newegg.com has well.

I know mwave has Mb bundles that do come with heatsinks/fans and they pret4est the stuff so that will save you potential headaches.

 

[soulm4tter]

What is the ECS 830LR?

1. yes it should come with a cpu cooler, but i don't know about case fans.

2. You don't need ECC. Stay away from generic memory. Get Crucial/Micron, Kingston, Kingmax, Muskin....etc

3. get a GF3 Ti 200 or Radeon 8500, both will much faster than a GF2.

4. Avoid accubyte and check out resellerratings.com

 

[Ausm]

No Offense but Accubytes customer service really sux...I live in Wisconsin and since they are located in Illinois I tried ordering from them. I personally would get a Kt266a mobo made by Abit,Asus,gigabyte,Epox, and I am using the Shuttle ak31 which has been working great for me


Ausm

 

[Ausm]

http://www.resellerratings.com/cgi-bin/reseller/vendone.cgi?Accubyte


Here checkout this proof....out of 168 reviews they get a 2.9 rating...take my advice stay away from them

Ausm

 

[Arkitech]

Thanks for the advice, I guess I'll steer clear of accubyte and try someone else

 

[Ryan]

My reccomendation is to build it yourself. I was intimidated at first, but it wasn't really as hard as I though. If you want cheap but good - here's hat I would build:

ENLIGHT EN-72370X3C4 MEDIUM ATX TOWER CASE with 1 Internal CaseFan - OEM Recommended by AMD and INTEL Pentium 4 Ready with 300Watts Power Supply, 4 5.25" Bays, 2 3.5" Bays & 1 Hidden 3.5" Bay (Click here for Cooling Devices) N82E16811116119 $46.00 $46.00
SHUTTLE AK31A AMD K7 VIA APOLLO KT266A SOCKET A ATX MOTHERBOARD - RETAIL $78.00
Gainward/Cardexpert GeForce 2 TITANIUM Ti/500XP, 4ns 64MB DDR, VIVO, Golden Sample Plus. Retail ($122.00
AMD 1700+/266 FSB Athlon XP PROCESSOR CPU - RETAIL 1700+/ 1.47GHz, AX1700BOX. $132.00
2 x Crucial Micron 128MB 16x64 PC2100 DDR RAM, 184-Pin, CL=2.5-Unbuffered 2.5V CT1554Z265.16T. Requires DDR supported Motherboard - Lifetime Warranty. OEM/ NOT RETAIL BOX. N82E16820145003 $46.00 $92.00


Subtotal » $470.00

 

[Arkitech]

In a nutshell can someone break down the difference between a normal Geforce 3 card and the Geforce Ti's?

Also if you were buying a Geforce 3 which one would you buy if you were on a budget but you still wanted good performance?

 

[Ryan]

I would take a look @ Anandtech's recent Geforce 2/3 Card Review.

 

[LucJoe]

well, here's a performance breakdown:

GF3 TI500 > "normal" GF3 > GF3 TI200 > GF2 TI200

If i wanted performance but was on a budget i would get the gf3 ti200 because they are great cards and can be had for a little over $100.

Personally, I'm waiting for the GF4 to come out (Feb. 5 IIRC) and drop in price before I build my next system.

 

[Arkitech]

RB - Where did you find those prices from?

Here's what I calculated at newegg.com minus the shipping


Enlight 7237 - Medium ATX Tower case w/300 watt PS - 46.00
ECS - K7S5A - 58.00
VGA Leadtek GeForce 3 Ti200 - 157.00
AMD XP 1700/266 FSB - 132.00
Kingston DDR PC2100 OEM - 512mb - 137.00

Total 530.00



Anyone think its possible to beat this price at another reputable online company