Proposed System

[stncttr908]

A7N8X Deluxe
Athlon XP 2100+ (B)
2x256 Corsair XMS PC3200
2x WD800JB 80GB 8MB cache
Lite-on CDRW (48x or 52x)
Lite-on 16x DVD
VANTEC AeroFlow VA4-C7040
Logitech Z-640 Speakers
Viewsonic G90F 19" CRT Monitor
Chieftec Case w/450W PSU
Radeon 9800 Pro
Black floppy drive
Possible LED fans, cold cathode, etc.

What are your thoughts? Any suggestions? This setup should run me under $1500 easily. I was thinking about a Canterwood setup once they're available but that would be much more cost prohibitive.

 

[ROJAS]

Looks good. Maxtor also makes hard drives with 8 meg cache, ultra133, 7200rpm if you can't locate a WD drive. Check the prices right before you order on ATI radeon 9700 versus 9800pro. You migt be able to save alot of money using 9700 versus 9800pro. And in performance you might not be able to tell. Only a handful of games that can really use 9800Pro.

You should have fun with this system. I'm using a Viewsonic PF790 professional series 19 inch aperature grille .25 and love it. I paid around $320 at a computer show almost a year ago.

Good Luck with the system. GREAT choices.

ROJAS

 

[stncttr908]

Yes, I could get a Sapphire black PCB 9700 Pro for under $300 now, but my parents are chipping in some so I might go for the 9800 anyway.

 

[newbiepcuser]

What powersupply?

 

[stncttr908]

I'm not quite sure of the brand, but my friend has a similar case with a Deer brand 400W PSU and it runs just fine. I'm not too concerned about it.

One more thing that I'm looking at are a pair of IDE to SATA convertors for the drives, so that I could run a SATA RAID 0 setup. Would this be worth it and could anyone recommend some brands?

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: stncttr908
I'm not quite sure of the brand, but my friend has a similar case with a Deer brand 400W PSU and it runs just fine. I'm not too concerned about it.

One more thing that I'm looking at are a pair of IDE to SATA convertors for the drives, so that I could run a SATA RAID 0 setup. Would this be worth it and could anyone recommend some brands?

Antec. Enuff Said.

 

[Markfw]

I would go with the new Maxtor 8 meg cache drive, its quieter and faster. I would also go with an Antec case with the PSU built in, the AWG1080 comes to mind.

 

[Sid59]

single stick of 512 RAM .. upgrade to another 512 later.

 

[stncttr908]

How about this?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=43&manufactory=1644&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

I hope that these will work in a RAID config...

 

[slackerinabox]

Don't take sid's advice if this is a dual channel board.. Also, get the 9700 pro and put the extra money that you saved into a GOOD psu (antec).. By the time games are made that take advantage of the few extra frames that the 9800 pro will push out, guess what, the card will already be last years technology..

 

[stncttr908]

I planned on getting 2x256 regardless, as I never use too much RAM with XP's great mem management. I'm looking at the Sapphire 9700 Pro, it's $298 w/shipping. That black PCB looks great. I might consider adding an ATI TV capture PCI card later on, but not at the moment.

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
Don't take sid's advice if this is a dual channel board.. Also, get the 9700 pro and put the extra money that you saved into a GOOD psu (antec).. By the time games are made that take advantage of the few extra frames that the 9800 pro will push out, guess what, the card will already be last years technology..

how mucn increase is he gonna see if goes dual channel as opposed to 1 stick of memory? A little decrease in some benchmarks? In my opinion, whether he uses that much ram or not, it's a good way to stay ahead and not have to spend money to upgrade later.


Link

 

[slackerinabox]

I didn't mean to offend you sid- I just figured that if you're going to pay the premium for a DC board you should use a DC memory config...

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
I didn't mean to offend you sid- I just figured that if you're going to pay the premium for a DC board you should use a DC memory config...

im all for optimizing, but with ram prices on the low, why not the 512 and then later get another 512 ...