***Update*** Mwave -- BAIT and SWITCH??? on an Enlight 7237 PS?

[azeker1]

I'm upgrading a system for a buddy on a tight budget ($200-$250)
Old components will suffice for HDD, CD-Rom, memory, video, sound & modem.

This means we need just a new mobo, case, processor & fan.
Any ideas? I'm thinking maybe the following... Can anyone do better?

$82 -- (Axiontech) 700 Mhz Duron (retail - getting hard 2 find!)
$89 -- (Axiontech) GIGABYTE GA-7IXE mobo (he needs one ISA slot 4 legacy sound)
$49 -- (Directron) Inwin A500 midtower ATX case (w/Powerman 250W AMD Approved PS)--
$25 -- Total Shipping
====
$245


Final Purchase:
$174 = (Mwave) Epox 8KTA+ bundle with 750Mhz OEM Duron w/HSF
$ 47 = (Mwave) Enlight 7237 + 250W PS (AMD Approved PS)
$ 24 = Total Shipping
====
$245

Anyone know if this will be an Enlight PS or not?

 

[Zeeliv]

Came up with $222 with shipping over at MWave and they have a better reputation. Though I'm sure there's better deals out there...

 

[Adul]

why bother with legacy sound? Why not use the onboard audio? just a thought.

 

[azeker1]

Zeeliv: Mwave is great, but I can only find OEM processors, do they sell retail Durons?

Adul: I suppose on board sound might work OK, any suggestions of a good Socket A mobo with it?

 

[AmdEmAll]

MSI K7T-pro2a for only $108 retail HERE
Or HERE

2nd link , monarchcomputer.com isnt working for some reason.

 

[NeonFlak]

One thing I would really look to get is a better motherboard. But if your stuck on that one make sure it's the GA-7IXE4, otherwise you'll be getting a slot a and not a socket a. You might as well just get a cheap case with a 250w power supply too. Save some cash there as well. You can get one for like 20 bucks. Would it be possible for your friend to hold off and save up some cash?

 

[azeker1]

NeonFlak: Good thought, the only problem with a cheap case and PS is that the Athlons are wasy unstable w/o AMD-approved Power Supplies. I made that mistake once. Otherwise that would be great.

AmdEmAll: Awesome price! Never heard of these vendors. Are they reputable? Have you used them before?

Thanks, all!

 

[Zeeliv]

The motherboard & CPU combos at MWave come with an approved HSF, why do you need the retail?

 

[PG]

Directron also has an Enlight 7231 case with a 300W PS for just $39 + shipping. One slight down side is that it might not be an AMD approved PS, but a Duron does not suck anywhere near as much power as the old Slot A Athlons so you will be just fine.
http://www.directron.com/open7231.html
These are open box, but I have one and it's fine.

 

[azeker1]

Zeeliv: Well I was just thinking the longer warranty would be worth the extra ($20) bucks or so. My friend isn't like most of us and doesn't upgrade his rig every 6-12 months. He is still using an old Cyrix 150Mhz dawg! Yikes! So I was thinking the longer warranty might be a good idea for him. Of course, given the low price of processors these days, maybe it's not that big of a deal. Hmmm, I'll have to think on that. Thanks.

PG: Didn't realize the Socket As were less power-sensitive than the Slot As. Thanks for the tip. Maybe I will go with the Enlight. I have a 7237 and it is great. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal on those 7231s. Gracias.

 

[Mule]

DON'T get the In Win A500 case, there is no exhaust in the back, try looking into the newer model which goes under the S500 name and it has a slot for an exhaust fan in the back. I currently have one that's housing a 1.1 Ghz Tbird, but for K7 based systems, exhaust fans are very crusial.

 

[micron]

Monarch Computer includes a 3 year warranty with their OEM AMD CPUs. I ordered my T-Bird from them and was very happy with the prices and shipping time.

 

[Zeeliv]

Ahh I see. Hrmm...they (the OEM ones from MWave) come with a 1 year warranty apparently.

 

[azeker1]

Mule: Thanks, I was just checking the S500 out, but didn't know about the lack of exhaust on the A500. I will steer clear.

Anyone know if the 300 watt PS in the Enlight 7231 that PG mentioned is one of the approved AMD Power supplies? Or does anyone have it running with a Socket A who can confirm that it is stable?

Micron: Thanks! That is good news indeed. I had no idea. They even have some Duron-Abit/MSI combos pretty cheap. I may go that route instead, I have to check the mobo specs.

Thanks to all. Anandtechers rock!

 

[Wolfman35]

If you're looking at MWave you can save some bucks by buying the Combo rather than the individual parts. MWave Combo's come with Heatsinks/Fans and are usually $15-20 cheaper than individual components. Also pick up some PC133 for $48 along with it.

 

[azeker1]

Thanks for the tip Wolfman35, that might be the best way to go. I've never used on-board audio before. Does anyone have any thoughts on it? My buddy plays a few games, but nothing really hardcore, and has a killer stereo right next to his computer desk, so I'm thinking his sound requirements are pretty basic. Do you think the built in sound on an MSI K7TPro2A would suffice? TIA.

 

[Daniel]

I just built a system with a pro2a and used the onboard sound for now, it's actually pretty decent I was suprised, haven't hooked up surround sound speakers and only tried a few games and mp3s but for the price it seemed to hold its own pretty well.

 

[azeker1]

Thanks, Daniel, that's good to know.

 

[Wolfman35]

The onboard Audio is great for normal sound applications. It does leave a little to be desired in games like UT and Q3 where positional audio can keep you from getting Fragged. Bottom line ... AC97 audio is as good as most computer speakers. It does have some CPU overhead but again ... thats a trade-off. I Like it overall.

If the guy has any intentions of using the machine as an MP3 head end for his stereo tho ... I'd go with something that provides a cleaner signal.

 

[azeker1]

Thanks for the input Wolfman35. Well, he definitely doesn't play Quake or UT, so I don't think the lack of positional audio is a big deal. I'm thinking he doesn't do much in the way of Mp3s yet either. I guess he could always add a SB Live value in the future, since it can be disabled in the BIOS, right? Bottom line is that if it is as good as a cheesy, no name ISA sound card, then it will work fine for him, as long as it doesn't suck the processor power too much (he'll also have a winmodem).

However, I'm still finding the MSI for $10-$20 more than the Gigabyte GA-7IXE*4* (thanks NeonFlak!), so I'll probably stay with that.

 

[wyvrn]

I picked up a system pull Duron 650 (35), Fic AZ11 (95), and Enlight 7237 w/300W PS (58) for about 205 shipped at axiontech two weeks ago.

You can disable the on board sound on the FIC. I use a Soundblaster Live. The Enlight is a nice case, but the rails for the 5" bay are a bit annoying. You can find the Fong Kai 600 series for around 61 at a lot of places.

 

[azeker1]

Wyvrn: Two questions. Is the Duron stable with that PS? and Is that FIC motherboard any good? I don't know much about FIC. Do they make good boards?

 

[wyvrn]

This is the first time I have tried FIC. I have used Soyo, ASUS, and abit mostly.

• I have noticed any stability problems running Win2k, lots of games, internet, adobe, or office. This is not an overclocker's board.

• I am not sure if the 300W PS is AMD approved, but like someone else said it doesn't need to be. The Duron takes less juice.

• I also have a superorb (two fans) for the cpu cooler and two 80 MM fans for the case, one for in and out (does not require any modding). The Enlight comes with the front case fan already. I also run a HD cooler that has 3 small fans.

• I also have a Memorex CDR and Acer CDrom drive installed.

Nice cool setup, I am adding an ATI 64MB DDR Radeon in a few days and will update you on that. I don't anticipate any problems.

This mobo does not support ISA by the way, all PCI and 1 AGP slot. But with onboard sound same thing.

 

[Wolfman35]

The onboard audio can be disabled on any KT133 board. On an MSI board you have to disable 4 things tho. In BIOS under "Advanced Chipset" disable the AC97 Audio (default is Auto) and also disable the AMR/CNR Modem. Then in "Integrated Peripherals" disable the Legacy Audio and the Gameport and MIDI. I'm pretty sure the FIC and GigaByte are the same on this.

I've also found that the VIA AC97 Codec V1.08 is the best as far as stability and CPU overhead.

You might also want to check out the Epox EP8KTA2 board. MWave has it for $110 and bundled with the Duron 700 for $176. It's a Great OC'ing board (using DIP switches) and I have had many Duron 600's at 900+ on this board that are rock stable.

Edit: The FIC AZ11 does not have any board based overclocking capabilities so you may want to consider that along with the price.

 

[wyvrn]

Edit: The FIC AZ11 does not have any board based overclocking capabilities so you may want to consider that along with the price.

I already said that. But it looks like he is looking for price and not overclockability. Then again, he did not specify.

I am not overclocking which is why I bought this board, it meets my needs for a few bucks less. I hear the EPOX is a nice board, what about the MSI and Abit types?