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Upgrading soon, need help on some components

K

KyleMac

Member
I?m upgrading soon and I still have a few problems. So here they are in a simple and not very well explained form.

Processor
I?m almost certainly going to get an Athlon XP 1700+.

RAM
I want to get 256mb PC2100 DDR, but the question is ECC or non-parity. Non-parity is cheaper by £15-£20. I?ve asked around and most people have said to go for the non-parity because ECC isn?t used much anymore and it can actually slow the RAM down.

Motherboard
I?ve got my eyes set on the Abit KR7A, but which one? There?s the KR7A, KR7A-133 and KR7A-RAID. If the KR7A is just the same as the KR7A-RAID (which is the one always reviewed) except without RAID then it?s the one I want as I don?t want or need RAID (as I understand it anyway). Anyone know more about the different models because as I said before only the KR7A-RAID is ever mentioned?

PSU
I?m going to be running an Athlon XP, GeForce 2 GTS and whatever else matters (the monitor has its own cable) so I?m guessing 300w minimum. All I need is something reliable and not terribly noisy to do the job, as well as reasonably priced.

Fan + Heatsink
As well as PSUs I have no experience in this area at all. Again I just need something reliable, quiet and a good price. I like the look of the Zalman Flower CNPS6000-Cu.


I?m on a budget of up to £400, but I would like to stay more around £370. Some basic pricing:
Processor - ~£120
RAM - ~£60
Motherboard - ~£130
PSU ? ~£30
Fan + Heatsink - ~£30


Thanks for any help.
 
The XP 1700+ is an excellent choice.

Don't get ECC memory. That is only necessary for stability on server platforms. You don't need parity to get an extremely stable home use system. Even servers could probably live without it. But when downtime means thousands of dollars in revenue loss ask anyone and they will take the insurance. Not all boards intended for the home user even support ECC. Also, don't buy Generic memory. Crucial seems to offer the best combination of quality and price around.

The KR7A is a good board. If you want ATA-133 support and the extra cost doesn't bother you get the KR7A-133. That seems to be the only difference between the two. Don't get the KR7A-RAID if you don't need the RAID controller.

Get a good PSU. 300W minimum is about right. 350W would be good. If it's not in your budget, don't worry about it. Just make sure you don't go generic. Some good PSU companies are Antec, Enermax, HEC, and Sparkle.

It doesn't sound like you plan on overclocking. I will assume this is true. I would suggest anything that is listed on the AMD website as being suitable for an AthlonXP 1700+. Coolermaster makes plenty of heatsinks that are quiet, effective, and very cheap. The Zalman cooler may also do the job. Just make sure it can handle the 1700+.

Good luck with your system. =)
 
One advantage of the RAID board is you have an extra IDE controller on the board. Very handy if you fill up your case with stuff, I run 3 hdd's, a cd-rom, and a cd-rw. The non-RAID Abit has 6 pci slots so you will probably have an empty slot for a IDE card, but it is nice to have it on board.
 
What do you guys think of the heatsink and fan that come with the retail 1700? I've just had some people say to me that they're fine and get the job done and save about £20. The only problem I can see is working out whether I'm buying an OEM or retail version online.

As I understand it the motherboards go something like this:
KR7A - standard
KR7A-133 - standard + udma133
KR7A-RAID - standard + udma133 + RAID
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

All I know of RAID is that it basically makes two hdds into one so that if one crashes there's a backup on the other. If there's anything else benficial of it then please tell me.
 
Hey, here's some more info:

I've found the Taisol 760 and the Taisol 742 to both come with quiet fans. The 742 is approved by AMD to XP2000+. If you're not overclocking, retail is worthwhile because of the 3 year warranty and the free paperholder (uh, I mean heatsink). The bundled heatsink gets the job done, but there will be no room for overclocking. It's quiet as well; around 32dB.

About RAID: Raid 1 is the kind you're talking about. It mirrors two identical hard drives so if one fails, the other has the same data. There is also RAID 0, in which the two HDDs are combined, and speed is (roughly) doubled. Data goes to both, so if one goes down, the other won't have the data to make out the files. Capacity is totaled though. IE, two 40gb HDDs in RAID 0 give you 80gb total.

About PSUs, other than 300W or however much you need, look out for lots of combined 3.3v and 5v wattage. 175-180 is average, and 220 is a lot of combined wattage. You'll need a lot since AMD comps draw lots of power from 3.3v and 5v lines.
 
Trying to work out what's OEM and what's retail online is giving me a headache. Do OEM mobos still come with all the cables, jumpers, etc?
 
Dont skimp on the PSU, buy a quality one with 350w+ , or you'll regret it.

No OEM mobos usually come with only the mobo, maybe not even a manual, and no drivers.
 


<< I?m upgrading soon and I still have a few problems. So here they are in a simple and not very well explained form.
Processor
I?m almost certainly going to get an Athlon XP 1700+. >>



SMART! 😉 🙂



<< RAM
I want to get 256mb PC2100 DDR, but the question is ECC or non-parity. Non-parity is cheaper by £15-£20. I?ve asked around and most people have said to go for the non-parity because ECC isn?t used much anymore and it can actually slow the RAM down. >>



ECC not needed, go with quality RAM, Crucial is my favorite, never had problems with them and the old K7 Athons with those KX133 chipsets, well whatever VIA came out with first.



<< Motherboard
I?ve got my eyes set on the Abit KR7A, but which one? There?s the KR7A, KR7A-133 and KR7A-RAID. If the KR7A is just the same as the KR7A-RAID (which is the one always reviewed) except without RAID then it?s the one I want as I don?t want or need RAID (as I understand it anyway). Anyone know more about the different models because as I said before only the KR7A-RAID is ever mentioned?

PSU
I?m going to be running an Athlon XP, GeForce 2 GTS and whatever else matters (the monitor has its own cable) so I?m guessing 300w minimum. All I need is something reliable and not terribly noisy to do the job, as well as reasonably priced. >>



Go to AMD's web site and look for the AMD approved PS, wattage isn't everything but can be when running more than one HDD, etc... so if you go with RAID then look for good wattage and on AMD's recommend list for your CPU too....



<< Fan + Heatsink
As well as PSUs I have no experience in this area at all. Again I just need something reliable, quiet and a good price. I like the look of the Zalman Flower CNPS6000-Cu.
I?m on a budget of up to £400, but I would like to stay more around £370. Some basic pricing: >>



If you don't o/c why not go for retail CPU, 3 yr. warranty but then again fan may be too noisy for you.



<< Processor - ~£120
RAM - ~£60
Motherboard - ~£130
PSU ? ~£30
Fan + Heatsink - ~£30
Thanks for any help. >>


 


<< Processor
I?m almost certainly going to get an Athlon XP 1700+. >>

Good choice. It's the "sweet" spot for XP's right now.

<< RAM
I want to get 256mb PC2100 DDR, but the question is ECC or non-parity. Non-parity is cheaper by £15-£20. I?ve asked around and most people have said to go for the non-parity because ECC isn?t used much anymore and it can actually slow the RAM down. >>

Go non-parity. As you said, ECC does slow the system and really it's benefits are not seen except in special situations

<< Motherboard
I?ve got my eyes set on the Abit KR7A, but which one? There?s the KR7A, KR7A-133 and KR7A-RAID. If the KR7A is just the same as the KR7A-RAID (which is the one always reviewed) except without RAID then it?s the one I want as I don?t want or need RAID (as I understand it anyway). Anyone know more about the different models because as I said before only the KR7A-RAID is ever mentioned? >>

KR7A is a great board, but I really think that there are better boards for the price. I'd take Soyo's K7V Dragon+. It's the same cost as KR7A-RAID, but includes sound, ethernet, and even a smart card reader, and is great.

<< PSU
I?m going to be running an Athlon XP, GeForce 2 GTS and whatever else matters (the monitor has its own cable) so I?m guessing 300w minimum. All I need is something reliable and not terribly noisy to do the job, as well as reasonably priced. >>

Go with an Enlight, Enermax, or Antec power supply. They're top in quality, and 300W should be fine for your system.

<< Fan + Heatsink
As well as PSUs I have no experience in this area at all. Again I just need something reliable, quiet and a good price. I like the look of the Zalman Flower CNPS6000-Cu. >>

Dunno. Read Anandtech's Socket A Cooler roundup or just get the Retail CPU which includes HSF.
 
I'm having a bitch of a time trying to work out what's what on sites. Anyone know any good UK sites? I've got...
dabs.com
watford.co.uk
tekheads.com
theoverclockingstore.co.uk
overclockers.co.uk
 
OK, a bit of an update. I emailed overclockers.co.uk and they said that their motherboards are retail and processors OEM. So it's now like this.

RAM
Crucial 256mb DDR non-parity £58.99 + anandtech 15% discount if still available when I order.

PSU
Enermax EG365P-VE 350W £47.35.

Motherboard
Abit KR7A-133 £114.45. I can't believe this is so cheap compared to most other places. I may have to double check that it is really retail.

Processor
This is where the problem starts.
Athlon XP 1700+ OEM £111.86
Athlon XP 1700+ retail £131.60
Thats £20 for the heatsink + fan. Would it be better to go for OEM and get a cheap heatsink + fan for around £10? If it is then can anyone recomend ones which are comparable to what comes with the retail Athlon?

So this all ends up at about £342.65.


One more question about RAID, particularly RAID 0. Is it set to be an alternative to IDE like SCSI always has been, or a replacement? In 18 months will I regret not having it?
 


<< Is it set to be an alternative to IDE like SCSI always has been, or a replacement? In 18 months will I regret not having it? >>

No. IDE RAID will never find it's place anywhere except server's and enthusiasts and really, I don't think it's that great anyway. The successor in 18 months to IDE is Serial ATA which isn't out yet.
 
I suggest you think a bit more about RAID versus non-RAID mobo.

I bought the Abit KR7A/RAID with no intent to implement any RAID mode, but instead for the two additional IDE connectors.

In a typical system with 2 HDs, CDROM and CR/RW devices, each device can be configured as master on it's own discrete IDE connector (HD1 @ IDE3, HD2 @ IDE4, CD/RW @ IDE1 and CDROM @ IDE2) for best overall system efficiency - eliminating master/slave configurations.

I could care less about ATA133 and/or RAID support, but I think the two extra IDE connectors justify the additional cost for the RAID board version for more efficient system configuration.

Hope this helps!
 
Well there's £16 between the 133 and RAID versions. I need to get the processor sorted before I can think about extras like RAID really.
 
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