What do you think of this computer I plan to build ?

[ROcHE]

AMD Athlon XP Barton 2500+
Epox 8KRDA+
2 x 256 DDR333
WD 80 Gigs 8MB
Radeon 9500 Pro 128MB
Liteon DVD 16x
Liteon CDRW 52x

Opinions ?

 

[Luagsch]

looks like u are not trying to overclock the cpu...
looks ok to me. (how much is the price-difference between a 80 and a 120 gb hdd? i thought the 120-160 have the best mb for price-value now).

 

[jagr10]

What about sound card, speakers, case, and monitor? Or do you have them already? Looks good though.

 

[dpopiz]

looks pretty good. here's what I'd change:

120gb probably is a better value than 80gb and you can always find some way to use extra space. I think the 120gb 180GXP is the best value out there right now. newegg has it for just over $100 and that drive is rock solid (those old stories about IBM drives simply aren't true anymore), besides being one of the fastest and quietest IDE drives there is today.

get a 48x LG cd-rw instead of the liteon. I have that liteon drive and it sounds like a vaccuum cleaner all the way down to about 12x. I've heard the LG drives are very quiet.

you probably ought to get some more memory like 1GB since memory prices are at rock bottom right now.

 

[DannyBoy]

I think you should disregard what dpopiz says about the IBM drive.

Go with a 120gb Seagate Drive, quiet, and in some tests have been proven to actually be quicker than an equivalent WD SE drive.

Also stick with the LiteOn drive, it maybe slightly louder but it certainly performs better than its LG rival.

Dan

 

[Ilmater]

Noise issues with any CD-ROM drive, IMO, are ridiculous. At work, it's a different story. I listen to CD's while I work on spreadsheets all day, and that gets annoying. If I'm burning a CD at home, why would I care how loud it gets? No modern game is going to access the CD more than enough to just check that it's there (which you can usually get rid of one way or another ). Not to get OT, but seriously, dpopiz, what in the world would bother you enough with that drive to recommend something slower and with lower quality?

OK, back on point, I really like WD, and especially hate Maxtor. It's all dependant on what your experiences have been. I am pretty sure that IBM got around the problems with its drives from before, and now that Hitachi owns the hard drive business, you really shouldn't worry too much about that. If I were you, I'd look at how much space you want, compare that price with one that is the next step up in capacity (such as 80GB vs. 120GB), then see if the price is worth it to you. As far as performance vs. price, WD is the best performer, but it might cost a little more. However, I doubt you'll notice the difference between the WD JB series and any other manufacturer's 8MB versions at equal sizes, regardless of platter density. I'm anal and I only want the best. IMO, WD IS the best, so that's what I buy. If you're looking to save a little money or save a litte noise (Seagates are quieter, but again, I don't see how hard drive noise bothers anyone in a home environment), feel free to look elsewhere.

 

[ROcHE]

Thanks for inputs.

 

[dpopiz]

if you'll look at the reviews and hard data about the lg and liteon drives instead of just going with the popular one, you'll see that the lg is one of the fastest and most reliable drives there is while being far quieter than any other and all for the same price. as for the ibm drive, I have one myself and with AAM turned on, I can't even hear its seeks. yet it still beats my friend's 'cuda V and DM+9 in almost every benchmark.

 

[bulldawg]

Originally posted by: DannyBoy
I think you should disregard what dpopiz says about the IBM drive.

Go with a 120gb Seagate Drive, quiet, and in some tests have been proven to actually be quicker than an equivalent WD SE drive.

Also stick with the LiteOn drive, it maybe slightly louder but it certainly performs better than its LG rival.

Dan

I agree with DannyBoy about the hdd, but I have only had experience with one LiteOn and one LG drive. No real problems with either.