New dually system, thoughts?

[lonewolf1983]

mobo: MSI/asus$550
ram: 512mb ECC pc2100 $250
dvd: Pioneer tray/slot $120
cdrw: Liteon 24/32 $120
case: Cheiftec DA-01BD Full tower black $120
psu: Leadman 500w $120
floppy: generic $15
hard disk : WD 80gig 800JB(8mb cache) $250
vid: generic gf4mx440 $180
sound: Onboard or sblive DE5.1 $70
network: generic realtek $20
cpus: Dual xp1800+ retail $442
kb+mouse MS pack $50
monitor: 17 flat or 19 crt $400

total: $2707 (australian dollars, prices are the best i can get)

heres a few questions....

1)which board would suit me better, the Asus or the MSI??
id like to save a pci slot and some $$'s with the asus onboard sound, and overclockability isnt really a huge concern.

2)enough power with the PSU?
3)and any issues with a gf4mx440 in either of those boards?
4)will stock cooling on the XP's be good enough? im not looking to overclock and they will be @full load 24/7.
5)is the ECC worth getting in the system (im only going to use 2 banks, and ECC is 2x the price of standard.

cheers
:)

[Henry Rollins II]

1) I had the same choice and I choosed the Asus. But that was merely because i had an iPanel laying around. I had C-media onboard sound on a Soyo board before and liked it. If it is better than the MSI´s onboard AC97 or not I can´t tell. PCI slots a rare commodity, I think it is sad that there aren´t more slots on these boards. Anyway, both boards are basically the same thing(as with all other MPX boards), I´ve seen good test results with both.
2) Yes.
3) I dunno, get a ti4200. Dual head and better performance.
4) Yes.
5) I guess you are talking about registered ECC? They are supposed to enhance stability a lot. And also: If you use non-reg memory, you can only use two memory slots. Ebay is a good source for ECC/REG memory, you can make some sweet deals there. Check it out.

[Henry Rollins II]

One more thing: The more expensive of the two MSI models also have onboard LAN. Save you another PCI slot. :)

regards,
henry

[lonewolf1983]

thanks for the ideas

the gf4mx440 is the best option for me, im not a heavy gamer, and cant afford a gf4ti

yes im talking about registered ram,and im only going to use 2 ram slots, i was just wondering wether its worth the 2x ($250 Aus) price difference :)

[LandShark]

hey Wolf,

i'm using a GeForce2 MX card on one of my duallie. works fine. not a problem at all.

as for ECC register ram, well, that depend whether the board "need" it. on both of my duallie, i using non-ECC non register memory. and runs fine w/out any problem.

btw, i'm using A7M266-Ds.

good luck buddy!!

[Henry Rollins II]

Originally posted by lonewolf1983


yes im talking about registered ram,and im only going to use 2 ram slots, i was just wondering wether its worth the 2x ($250 Aus) price difference :)

Well maybe it works fine with non-reg, but then again also not. Check with forum admin Jon about reg/non-reg.

regards,
Henry

[LandShark]

if i remember right, Jon is using both ECC and non ECC memory on his duallies.

[Jon]

Both run fine but I find the one with the ECC registered (I do turn off ECC in the BIOS) seems much smoother and is much more stable overall.

You can save a few bucks getting unbuffered but these boards really do prefer registered memory in them.

[lonewolf1983]

*bump*
anyone else??
im thinking of using crucial unbuffered pc2100, cause its 1/2 the price of registered stuff, the only registered i can get is apacer.
only 1 512mb stick,or 2 256mb sticks should be ok in the Asus board right?

edit: Apacer pc2100 registered DDR is the only registered i can get, is it any good??

[LandShark]

check the memory for sale page. i got a stick of Crucial ECC memory up for sale. was intended to use on my duallie. but since my PC2700 samsung is running fine, i didn't bother to use it.

[Jon]

Originally posted by lonewolf1983

edit: Apacer pc2100 registered DDR is the only registered i can get, is it any good??

Considering they don't overclock all that great to begin with I would say the Apacer would be fine.