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plz critique my p4 setup

D

dud2k

Senior member
hi, can you guys please critique my system for me?


PROCESSOR:
INTEL P4 1.8A GHZ/512K(NORTHWOOD) SOCKET 478 RETAIL CPU(3 YEARS WARR.) -- 209.95 (atacom.com)

MOTHERBOARD:
ASUS P4B266-C FOR INTEL P4 SOCKET 478 PIN CPU (BULK) ( EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE WITH P4 NORTHWOOD CPU) -- 114.95 (atacom.com)

MOTHERBOARD #2:
ASUS P4TE 850 CHIP FOR P4 478 PIN CPU SUPPORT RAMBUS MEMORY W/O AUDIO -- 153.95 (atacom.com)

RAM: (FOR MOTHERBOARD OPTION #1)
2x- DDR PC2100 ? CL=2.5 ? Unbuffered ? ECC ? 2.5V ? 32Meg x 72 -- 2x 86.39 (crucial.com)
2x- DDR PC2100 ? CL=2.5 ? Unbuffered ? Non-parity ? 2.5V ? 32Meg x 64 -- 2x 75.59 (crucial.com)

RAM #2: (FOR MOTHERBOARD OPTION #2)
2x- KINGSTON KVR800X16-16/256 RAMBUS 256MB 800MHZ NON-ECC - OEM -- 88.00 (newegg.com)

CASE:
CHIEFTECH Server Chasis (Workstation Tower) Model DX-01BD-300W -- 69.00 (newegg.com)
ENERMAX EG365P-VE (FMA). 350W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4. -- 63.00 (newegg.com)

CASE #2:
ANTEC Server Chasis (Workstation Tower) Model SX1040B Black; Antec Original P4 400 watt Power Supply -- 127.00 (newegg.com)

VIDEO CARD:
Gainward/Cardexpet GeForce 3 Ti200 64MB (NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 200 GPU) -- 156.00 (newegg.com)

VIDEO CARD #2:
ATI RADEON 8500 64MB 3.6ns DDR AGP4X,(OEM) -- 189.95 (atacom.com)

SOUND CARD:
VOYETRA TURTLE BEACH SANTA CRUZ - OEM -- 61.00 (newegg.com)

HARD DRIVE:
Seagate Barracuda IV 60GB 7200RPM ST360021A Hard Drive -- 114.00 (newegg.com)

CD-RW:
LITE-ON LTR-24102B-02 24x10x40 CDRW - OEM -- 84.00 (newegg.com)
LITE-ON LTR-24102B-02 24x10x40 CDRW BLACK - OEM -- 80.00 (newegg.com)

DVD ROM:
Lite-On 16x DVD Model LTD-16301 Black -- 67.00 (newegg.com)

FLOPPY DRIVE:
Teac 1.44MB Black Floppy Drive, Model #FD235HFA429, OEM -- 17.00 (newegg.com)

1. which Ram should I use for a RDRAM system (ie: samsung, or corsair, non-ecc or ECC, etc), and for ddr ram (ecc or non-ecc, price differs 10 dollars). i tried to look for samsung, but couldnt find an online vendor that carries it.
2. should i get the antec 400w PSU or the 350W enermax? im planning on having 2-3 hard drives, and 2 cd-roms. (has to be quiet though, i know the antec can be modified, but i dunno whether the enermax is quiet or not)
3. i probably won't be using a dvd very much, but would a regular CD-ROM read regular cd's faster than a DVD-ROM?

thx!! =)
 
im planning to use this computer for college, and would be used to watch movies, play video games (counter-strike, and warcraft 3 when it comes out,hehe), and internet, word processing.
and i don't plan on overclocking unless it would make a big noticeable difference. i''m mainly looking for stability and having no problems with it, and for it to be quiet so i can sleep with it on, but i plan on getting a few panaflo's as a solution for that.
 

Only thing I would change is the Lite-on.
I'd get the Plextor instead. I've had very
good luck with it.

You can tell you did your homework. Nice choices.
I think that RAMBUS might/could die, so the only reason
I prefer DDR is that I think that down the road you have
a chance to keep that memory in play.

But yeah, 850 + RAMBUS is the cream right now.
If Intel didn't charge so much for their 2.2GHz, ... 🙁
 


<< im planning to use this computer for college, and would be used to watch movies, play video games (counter-strike, and warcraft 3 when it comes out,hehe), and internet, word processing.
and i don't plan on overclocking unless it would make a big noticeable difference. i''m mainly looking for stability and having no problems with it, and for it to be quiet so i can sleep with it on, but i plan on getting a few panaflo's as a solution for that. >>




Great System. Stick with the DDR ram setup. It will give you a higher overclock.

Go with the 400PS

Go with the Radeon

 
even though DDR overclocks better, people have said that even with a higher clock, RDRAM would perform better.
 
Well the P4 isn't too bad a choice, and I love that antec case. I would avoid the ATi card just because I don't like ATi (I know it's a sad reason, but still). Also I don't see a network card....just an oversight?
 


<< even though DDR overclocks better, people have said that even with a higher clock, RDRAM would perform better. >>



I know what they have said. However, he has picked a i845 motherboard that can overclock the DDR ram. Thats changes the game considerably.
 
yeah i already have a netgear network card that i can use.

but anyways, yeah i think i'll go with DDR then. it's a few dollars cheaper, but would the asus p4b266 be a good choice?
also which of the DDR ram sticks should i use? non-ecc or ecc,heh, 10 dollar difference.
 


<< yeah i already have a netgear network card that i can use.

but anyways, yeah i think i'll go with DDR then. it's a few dollars cheaper, but would the asus p4b266 be a good choice?
also which of the DDR ram sticks should i use? non-ecc or ecc,heh, 10 dollar difference. >>



ECC will give you a little more stability....and it's just a little bit, it's up to you if it's worth $10.
 
Among your choices, I would choose:

INTEL P4 1.8A
ASUS P4TE 850
2x- Samsung 256MB (ECC is your choice) Samsung is the best, IMHO
ANTEC Server Chasis (Workstation Tower) Model SX1040B Black
Gainward/Cardexpet GeForce 3 Ti200
SANTA CRUZ
LITE-ON LTR-24102B-02 24x10x40 CDRW BLACK
Seagate Barracuda IV 60GB
Lite-On 16x DVD Model LTD-16301 Black
Teac 1.44MB Black Floppy Drive
 
CPU: Good choice, the 1.8A's are great overclockers (maybe 2.2GHz-2.3GHz max). For Intel CPU's, the 1.8A for $200 is the best deal out there.
Motherboard: Perfect.
RAM: Perfect.
Case: Perfect.
Video Card: Perfect.
Sound Card: Perfect.
Hard Drive: Perfect.
CD-RW: Perfect.
DVD-ROM: Perfect.

Great first choices.

As you can see, I agree 100% with your picks. 🙂
 
People buy AMD processors for the sake of value. If you really would like to stick to the P4, I think they have P4 1.6A chips that are around $130 or so....much cheaper. They can also easily clock to 2.2Aghz.
 
They can also easily clock to 2.2Aghz.

Well, some of them can, certainly not all of them. Also, if you're going to overclock dud2k, make sure you don't go past 1.7V. If you do, you can damage your CPU. According to experts, it's not advised to push these .13u processors above a certain voltage. The default voltage on Northwood's are 1.5V, and going past 1.7V is a risk.

EDIT: NW core voltage = 1.5
 


<< They can also easily clock to 2.2Aghz.

Well, some of them can, certainly not all of them. Also, if you're going to overclock dud2k, make sure you don't go past 1.7V. If you do, you can damage your CPU. According to experts, it's not advised to push these .13u processors above a certain voltage. The default voltage on Northwood's are 1.6V, and going past 1.7V is a risk. >>



Funny, my 2.0A has a default voltage of 1.5. 😕
 


<<

<< They can also easily clock to 2.2Aghz.

Well, some of them can, certainly not all of them. Also, if you're going to overclock dud2k, make sure you don't go past 1.7V. If you do, you can damage your CPU. According to experts, it's not advised to push these .13u processors above a certain voltage. The default voltage on Northwood's are 1.6V, and going past 1.7V is a risk. >>



Funny, my 2.0A has a default voltage of 1.5. 😕 >>



You're right, it's 1.5V. Don't know what I've been smoking. 😱
 
BTW, I've had my 2.0A to 1.65v. But not for a long period of time. Only when I clocked it to 2.4 and 2.5 and did some benchmarks.
 
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