Suggestions for my new computer

[Deeko]

Ok....I'm buildin my new computer before the end of the summer for college. I'm not sure which motherboard to get...I want something that supports DDR333, and I will be using RAID....I would get the Asus but I hear the Promise RAID controller is terrible...how about the Abit? Any good? Other than the motherboard...anything else you would change about this system?

AMD Athlon XP 2200+
512MB DDR333
ATI Radeon 9700
80GB Western Digital 7200RPM HD(RAID 0)
80GB Western Digital 7200RPM HD(RAID 0)
SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum
TDK 40x CDRW
any ol' DVD drive
NEC 1545V 15" LCD monitor

 

[CubicZirconia]

I'd go with the Epox 8k3a+.

 

[pitupepito2000]

Well, what I would do is get the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU motherboard, and then get separate a PCI card with the kind of RAID that you want

 

[HelzBelz]

Originally posted by: pitupepito2000
Well, what I would do is get the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU motherboard, and then get separate a PCI card with the kind of RAID that you want

Got to agree here : the integrated RAID on just about any motherboard just doesn't handle a RAID 0 setup with as much performance as a separate PCI RAID controller card. You'll also get more leeway in selecting the strip size (stuck with 64k on most onboard solutions, like the Promise... when 256k or 512k is best with today's fast hard drives, with large caches...)

The MSI KT3 Ultra (no ARU) could be even better for you (and cheaper).
The Epox 8K3A is also recommended (without the "+").

Current prices:

MSI KT3 Ultra or Epox 8K3A : 66-70$
MSI KT3 Ultra ARU or Epox 8K3A+ : 100-110$

 

[xpr8]

I'd get a bigger monitor, if money permits.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: xpr8
I'd get a bigger monitor, if money permits.

Did you not notice the "LCD" next to the monitor stuff? A 15" LCD has the viewable of a 17" CRT. Although money permitting, you may want to invest a few more dollars in a 19" CRT, which will let the Radeon 9700 shine a bit more in graphic-intensive games and reducing ghosting, since NEC isn't one of the highly recommended LCD brands.

Don't waste your time on an Audigy. The hardware is pretty much the same on all SB cards, go for a cheaper one and invest in a better mobo and maybe a better monitor.

I recommend Pioneer for DVD players, I have one, no problems at all.

 

[powerMarkymark]

You asked about the Abit Mobos, I've had my Abit KR7A 133 Raid board going 24/7 since I built this rig in March 2002 and it has been no less than stellar in both performance and stability. The raid controller is a Highpoint raid controller that can be used either for a raid array or for up to 4 IDE HDDs in non-raid array (that's what I have).

Don't know if it supports supports DDR333 though.

HTH

Mark

 

[HelzBelz]

I've got to agree with the previous post : I would get a nice 19" CRT, since you can't get much resolution yet on LCDs (unless you've got 1500$ or more for it...)

And yes, the Audigy is overated... for that much cash, I prefer either the Hercules Fortissimo II, the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, or a Philips Acoustic Edge ! (shop around...)

It used to be that "non-Creative" products lacked compatibility, but it certainly isn't the case anymore; plus, you seem to prefer "quality" components.