Want to build new system, need product advice...

[KnowsNothing]

I plan on building a new system in the next few months and would appreciate people's advice on what to buy. Here's what I'm thinking:

CPU: AMD 1700+ / 1800+ / 1900 + (Depending on pricing)
Motherboard: ECS K7S5A (or maybe an nForce board)
Video: ATI Radeon 8500 LE (Really not sure about video card, would prefer to spend $50-100)
RAM: 256 MB DDR (Should I get more? Not really sure about all the latency stuff)
Case/PS: No real preference, I'll probably buy a new one (I know that the ECS K7S5A requires a good one)
Sound: Not sure if I should use the ECS on-board audio or buy a seperate card. In my current computer, I have an old Diamon Monster Sound MX300 that I might carry over to the new computer.
Hard Drives: I have an 40.0 GB IBM 60 GXP that I also might carry over, I'm open to the idea of buying a new (quiter) hard drive.
Optical Drives: Thinking about a combination DVD-Rom/CD-RW. Any opinions on this?
Monitor: 15" Eizo-Nano LCD

Here's what I plan on using the system for: I'm a Mechanical Engineering student and next semester I have to take 2 lab classes that require me to write ~20 page lab reports every few weeks. This means, some word-processing/Excel, some CAD work (Inventor, Solidworks, etc), and some computational software (ie Matlab). I want the computer to be able to handle some crazy 3d plots without getting silly. Stability is also very important. Basically I don't want my computer giving me a bunch of headaches. Also, I want to be able to watch DVDs and output them to my TV and be pretty good quality. Not a big gamer, but play some games on occasion.

Also, I plan on taking my old computer (Intel Pentium 350 Mhz) and making a Linux box out of it.

I know some people might suggest that I buy cheaper components (although the ECS mobo is pretty cheap) to avoid overkill, but I don't want to have to upgrade every year or so.

Thanks for your help, sorry for the long post. I know that I'm only providing a rough outline of my plans, but that's about all I have right now.

 

[foofoo]

hi,
i would make the following suggestions:
1. for what it's worth, i would reccomend against the ecs motherboard. get yourself a bit more expensive (but not too much) mb preferrably an nforce one like the abit nv7-133r. it's cheap (~85) and has great sound and a built in nic. some large (and vocal) minority of people have had real problems with the ecs board (including myself) and i cant personally reccomend them to anyone.
2. the radeon 8500 is the best at it's price point as far as i can tell. go for it but be sure to download the new unified drivers.
3. 256 mb is probably plenty and ram is easy to add.
4. get a reasonably ok case like a chieftec (antec).
5. the nforce sound is quite good in my opinion
6. the ibm drive is fine if it doesnt have any problems. no need to buy more drive unles you need more space.
7. i like having a separate dvd and cd-rw but that is mostly personal preference.

you didnt give a price range but i'm assuming that you want to go as cheap as is reasonable.

from newegg....

EVERCASE E4252WEF5, Intel P4 / AMD, 10-Bay, 300W P4, Truely Screwless ATX MID Tower Case. $41.00
ASUS CRW-2410A 24x10x40 CDRW - Retail $53.00
LITE-ON LTD-163 16X DVD ROM Drive - Retail $40.00
CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM $50.00
ABIT NV7-133R ATX Motherboard $89.00
AMD 1700+/266 FSB Athlon XP PROCESSOR CPU - RETAIL $98.00
ATI RADEON 8500 LE 64MB DDR - OEM/White Box $99.00

$470 + tax( if applicable) and shipping.

my 0.02

hope that this helps

 

[KnowsNothing]

Thanks for the advice, you were more helpful then I could have hoped for.

The cheaper the better, but I'm willing to throw down for a solid system.

The reason that I wanted a combo DVD/CD-RW is because in the past it seemed like my computer got bogged down with the extra IDE devices. Plus, I don't burn that many CD-Rs so speed isn't that big of an issue. Why do you prefer seperate DVD / CD-R drives?

I definitely see your point about the MB, I think the extra $30-40 is worth saving the headache. Plus, since the nForce sound is good I won't have to buy a new sound card. I had gotten the idea that maybe the nForce chipset and the boards weren't so good, am I mistaken?

Anyone else have any advice?

 

[foofoo]

hi,

The reason that I wanted a combo DVD/CD-RW is because in the past it seemed like my computer got bogged down with the extra IDE devices

this board has 4 ide ports (assuming that you are not using the ide raid functions) for a total of 8 ide devices. for what you are wanting to do you can give each ide device that you have it's own ide chanel. i dont ecpect thet you'll be bogging down due to ide. (i'm typing on the same mb with an xp1900, dvd, cdrw, 2 ide hd and have no noticeable lag from the ide bus)

Why do you prefer seperate DVD / CD-R drives?

i actually like making on the fly dulicates when i'm archiving copies of cds. also, there are a lot more parts in an all-in-one and if something goes wrong with it you have to replace the whole drive. with separates, you can replace only the one that broke. (and you'll still be able to read cds while you are waiting for the rma) plus upgrades are easier with separates.

I had gotten the idea that maybe the nForce chipset and the boards weren't so good, am I mistaken?

i'm very happy with mine and the reviews have been quite good.

1
2

i think that for what you are looking for.... super stability and not a lot of overclocking options. this is the best route. the complaints about this board mostly have to do with it not overclocking well, but the reviews all fount it to be super stable.

good luck

 

[KnowsNothing]

Thanks for the good advice, I read the reviews and am pretty sold on the Abit/nForce solution (unless anyone makes a good argument for the ECS). I'll have to think a little bit about what sort of DVD / CD-R setup I want. I really don't burn very much, so maybe I'll just buy a cheap/slow burner and a DVD-ROM if that's a cheaper option. The 4 IDE interfaces on the Abit will definitely be nice.

Do you think the ATI Radeon 8500 LE is overkill for my needs?

If anyone else has any suggestions, they'd definitely be appreciated.

 

[ahsia]

Here is what I would get for your needs:

$80 Shuttle AK35GTR KT266A AMD Duron/ Athlon 100/ 133 MHz FSB IDE RAID (unfortunately newegg is out of stock on this one)
$108 AMD Athlon XP 1800+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - RETAIL (XP 1700+ is out of stock, I would get that for $11 less)
$79 Mushkin 512MB BASIC PC2100 (which should be enough if you don't plan to overclock, from mushkin.com)
$107 MAXTOR Quiet Drive 80GB 7200RPM Model # 6L080L4 -D740X
$60 Lite On 32x12x40 CDRW Model LTR-32123S
$38 LITE-ON LTD-163 16X DVD ROM Drive - Retail
$98 ATI RADEON 8500LE 64MB DDR CRT/DVI/TV ,Dual Monitor support DVIS+CRT
$41 EVERCASE E4252WEF5, Intel P4 / AMD, 10-Bay, 300W P4, Truely Screwless ATX MID Tower Case

I'll explain why. The Shuttle AK35GTR is an excellent board for the price. It doesn't have the integrated NIC or 6 channel audio, but this board is more stable than the ECS K7S5A, and cheaper than the ABIT NV7-133R. They just sold out the XP1700+, which is good enough for what you need. Get the retail Athlon XP if you don't plan to overclock, the retail HSF is excellent, cools well, and very quiet. Mushkin.com has its basic DDR PC2100 512mb for $79, excellent deal for an non-overclocked system. The Maxtor 80gb quiet drive is not as quiet as the Seagate Barracuda IV, but performs better. If you want the ultimate performer, the WD 800JB 80gb would be the next step up. Get separate CDRW and DVD-ROM, you have enough IDE channels for both, and the Lite-Ons are excellent. For $98, the ATi Radeon 8500LE is a steal, and definitely worth every penny. The Evercase is a great case, I've built several computer with it, and it is very good.

Please let me know if you any questions.