Wanted: Dos and Don'ts for self-build system

[blaverman]

Hi.
I've been reading the guides on selecting components for a self-build system. I'm thinking about doing this. I consider myself experienced enough for it, but that experience sofar was just plugging ISA and PCI cards, so this will be my first.

So you read the guides thinking that will help. But actually it doesn't. Because what I want doesn't fit those profiles (high-end dream/SOHO/Game/...). I don't want a high-end dream (way over the top for me) but definately more than a budget system. I'm no SOHO, no Gamer, nor a professional 3D artist.

Graphics:

I'm a programmer. So a good graphics card is nice -want to see a game now and then- but not essential. I'm still using a simple non-3d-accelerated 2MB card and quite happy. I wouldn't mind trying out a game, but I won't be playing Quake all night or demand perfect Flight-sim 2000 performance. So I want graphics performance, but it doesn't have to be top-level. I might go for a 20-inch or more display and high resultions, but not for the mo.

Motherboard/processor:

Definately important. SMP sounds thrilling, but will depend on the price. Probably just go for 256MB RAM, don't care what kind of, as long as I can afford it. Chipset? I haven't the foggiest why I should chose for one or the other. I suppose processor choice comes first then. So I understand in price/performance I should probably go for an AMD, 1.2 or 1.3 GHz? But SMP is maybe cheaper with a P3? Lot's of speed is nice, but does it _really_ make that much of a difference? Most stories and tests simply assume more is better. I guess "No worries" is the major issue. It should work.

Sound/DVD/CD/...
Eh... It's going to be a box up in my hobby-hole. Not a place to start watching movies. I already have a Plextor 8x4x40, so don't think I need a new one.. do I? Are they so cheap? Maybe for backup purposes. Sound card, yes. dolby surround and whatever? no. Speakers? Yeah. Simple ones.
If I have a CD writer, do I still need a CD player?

Ethernet: yes definately. Have a 10Mb hub. Might replace that with a 10/100 hub, so a dual speed card is probably the best choice. On board? No preference.

Harddisk: bigger than 20GB and at least 7200RPM. Do I need two? I gues I want this box to be triple boot Win2k/Win98/Linux... SCSI or IDE? Is that just a performance question?

My father once ran out of IRQs and had to stop buying new hardware. Is that an old hat?

So. Who can help me here with some real advice?

Bert

 

[Hanpan]

I am off to bed but i will answer one question. Some need longer answers but this one is simple.



<< My father once ran out of IRQs and had to stop buying new hardware. Is that an old hat? >>



YES

 

[agg123456789]

hi there. actually first off, check out my rig, because something like i am running may be nice for you. Although I would now choose one of the Athlon 1.2 Ghz. For motherboard, I have had great experence with my Abit, however the Iwill (KK266R) in my other computer is fantastic, and it is not too expensive. I wouldent go to DDR quite yet, unless you forsee your machine needing that %10 of proformence. ANd DONT get cheap ram. good stuff (micron, mushkin, or crucial) is so cheap now that there is no reason to jepordise system stability for a few bucks. For video I would choose the Hercules Kyro II 64Mb part. I like my MX, however the Kyro is a little cheaper, and it outprofroms mine in benchmarks. I absolutly love my RAID array. Back when I built this box, IBM drives were dirt cheap, however now i think newegg has some cheap Western Digitals. I wouldent go SMP quite yet, due to the pending release of the AMD 760MPX. I guess the exact specs for a system that i would recommend would be:
?Iwill KK266-R
?Athlon 1.2 Ghz
?400w Antec PSU (to insure you have no power problems)
?Tai-Sol Aluminum with copper inlay HS with a ystech or sunon fan (I cant deal with deltas)
?256MB PC133 DIMM from crucial or Mushkin
?Hercules Prophet 4000 Kyro II 64 MB
?two IBM 75GXP 7200 rpm 20gb drives on RAID 0
?Onboard C-Media sound
?Aopen 12x DVD (they are super cheap, and some software is begining to come on DVD so it is nice to have)

Hope that helps

agg123456789

 

[ledzepp98]

i would go in a little bit different route than agg123456789...i think it is worth it to go to ddr since there is barely a price premium. i would lay out a system like this...
- t-bird 1ghz to 1.33ghz (depends on your funds) and definately a 266mhz fsb version, and probably a taisol hsf
- epox 8k7a motherboard
- 256meg stick of crucial pc2100
- maxtor or ibm 30gig 7200rpm drive
- almost any ethernet card (3comm, linksys, etc...)
- onboard sound seems fine for you (the epox mobo has it)
- i guess keep your cd-rw although a 12/10/32 is ~$100 bucks
- i would get an aopen 12x dvd (some software is on dvd but it's nice to have a second cd-rom if you want to copy cd to cd, and it's not much more $$ than a regular cd-rom drive, although it's not necessary)
- as for video card, the radeon is supposed to have very good 2D, so maybe a radeon LE, otherwise, you might want to get a matrox g450


personally, i wouldn't try to set up raid...but that's up to you. the ibm 75gxp series has gotten a bad reputation, so you might want to get a 60gxp series drive. check out pricewatch, mwave, and newegg to start with...and good luck

 

[agg123456789]

Ya. I just did some checking...ddr really is not that much more expensive...go with it...but dont be afraid of RAID. it is very very easy.

On a side note, I have had no problems with my IBM 75gxps

 

[Konboy]

I would not go to AMD due to the heat problem. I recommend a intel 486 SX. You do not need the math processor in the DX and 486 can be overclock to 2 gig with good cooling.

 

[NelsonMuntz]

I agree with ledzepp98, but maybe a slightly larger hard drive would be a good idea for a triple boot (three partitions). The 40 GB drives out there aren't to expensive. For the video I would probably lean more toward agg123456789's thoughts. The KyroII is attractive for price/performance. Also if simple 3D is okay and you might want Video In Video Out (VIVO), look at ATI solutions like ATI Rage Fury Pro VIVO 32Mb AGP for like $65 at MWave. It even comes with Need for Speed High Stakes which is a game I love.

 

[tigerbait]

rofl @ konboy. What kind of cooling would you recommend?