SPecs for a new Rig.. with Granite Bay Mobo.. Please Comment...

[neoro]

Hi there...
I plan to get the Gigabyte 8INXP Granite Bay motherboard...

what do you think...

Should I go for DDR 266 or DDR 333... I do not plan to do any overclocking will DDR 266 be sufficient....
Since I am not doing any Overclocking is the Stock HSF sufficient for all the computing needs..

here are the following specs...

Samsung 172T
Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz
2x 512 MB Kingston DDR 266 CL2.5
Gigabyte 8INXP
MSI GeForce 4 Ti4600
Western Digital 40GB SE
Enermax 430 Watts PSU... +12V-22A i think..
I Cute Case with 6 Fans...

I'm from Malaysia so I can't really get premium CL2 Rams...
Same Goes for the Case...

--> Do you guys think 80GB for a Hard Disk is an overkill... I know there are hard discs now with 180-200 GB but Whats the point of having so much. I spent most of my Time playing Games.. . and with 40 GB of storage that almost like having 12 full installation of Unreal Tournament... Are there anyone of you who has over 20GB worth of Games intalled on your Hard drive... Most of the mp3's and Vids I download from the NeT are all on the other pc..
so.... what do you really do with Hard Discs with Capacity of 80GB and Above...
This question might sound silly but I am still in my 20GB era.... and still find it hard to store pass the 10GB mark...
DOes defragmenting a 80GB hard disc take a long time??
Western DIgital Hard Discs.. One year warranty..... => you guys have any problems with it so far....?/

-->Enermax is the only 3rd pary PSU that I can find here.. Dont seem to find and other brands ...like Antec for example... Most of the Generic PSU and Case combos have +12- 10 to 11A.... Well there are a Few Models actually
350-300-and 430.... Suggestions??

-->Arr... If I would to populate all my RAM slots with 4 sticks of RAM will I still be running in Dual Channel MOde??

lastly... How much will the MObo cost...
USD$ 200- USD$ 250??/ or Less??\\

2.53...now.... 2.8 or 3.06 when its cheaper... or when 2.8 with HT is available...

Replies are appreciated

 

[FishTankX]

defragging any 7200RPM disc is the same as any other 7200RPM disc. And if you have broadband, you will know the value of space.

The most intresting use I could think of for 80 gigs is archiving my game CD's with virtual drive. It's a technology that allows you to store an image of your game on your HD and then play them straight from the image instead of having to put the CD in every time. With all of your games virtual drived, you could play games all day long without ever putting in a CD. It's an awesome technology.

Theoretically if you wanted performance, you could just buy PC2700 RAMs and run them at 2100 CAS2 and that would probably work fine. But most 2100RAM produced within the last year is capable of running at 2.0 no matter what. They just mark it as 2.5 because there isn't terribly high demand for premium RAM's and they can sell at the lower prices. They just sell as much CAS 2.0 RAM as they can then label the rest as 2.5... don't take me word for word on that, but that's my experience.

You can check Intel and all of the other websites, see how much energy your devices draw on their respective rails (3.3+, 5+, 12+ etc) and see if your powersupply will cut it.

If you have an even number of slots populated, you will run in dual channel mode. I think it will run in single channel mode at 1, and 3 sticks.

I'd say between 200$ and 250$ for the mobo, but if it's anything like China (Where I live) avaliability will be an issue for high end Mobo's and when you do find it when it's new you'll have to sell your kidney's to buy it.

Hope my response has helped.

 

[neoro]

hmmm......

Get PC2700 can run it at 2100 CL2...
I did thought of that....
But will that be stable...??

 

[RSMemphis]

Actually, my one year old Crucial 2100DDR ram can run fine at 2CAS, although it says 2.5CAS.
If I go anything above 133 MHz memory tact, though, it needs to go to 2.5CAS.

 

[neoro]

RSMemphis
... Crucial is one thing...
The RAM I am getting is Kingston...
you have experiance with this rams before??

 

[FishTankX]

As I said, most 2100RAM right now is just rebranded CAS2 sold for cheaper because they want to differentiate it from their premium RAM. Normal people don't know that they can run it at CAS2 and they might think that the premium brand runs faster and get that. It's taking advantage of the average joe.

I'm 95% sure that your kingston RAM will run at CAS2 and 100% sure any PC2700 will run at 2100 CAS2 all day in a 40 degree C oven. (Maybe not. But in malaysia i've heard it's pretty hot)

 

[neoro]

Yo.. man...
Sure its pretty hot in here...
But like all PCs they have the Cooling Fan...
We people in Malaysia have all soft of "cooling fan" from Wall mounted to Stand Fans... Of course there is always the AC unit...


All right then...
Its all On PC2700