Building rig

So, my brother is in college and needs a computer. He was originally going to go with an Intel but I think I've convinced him on AMDs pricetag. I just need to know a few things.

Okay, here is the system:

Cases (Computer Cases, ATX Form)
Athenatech MicroATX Mid-Tower Case with 200W Power Supply (Silver/Black), Model "A106" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Form Factor: ATX/microATX/flexATX
Color: Silver/Black
Material: Not specified
Drive Bays: 5.25" x 1/0, 3.5" x 1/2 (external/internal)
Expansion Slots: 4
Front Ports: 2 USB / Ear phone / Mic. In
Power Supply: Sparkle 200W
Cooling System: 2 Standard 6cm Rear Fans, 1 Optional 8cm fan in the Front
Motherboard Compatibility: microATX/flexATX
Dimensions: 381(D) x 145(W) x 368(H)
Special Features: Blue LED Light, Temp/ Fan speed LCD display, Tool-less design, Convertible Solution(desktop or Tower) more info>
N82E16811190017
$58.00

CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
Lite-On Beige 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model LTR-52327S BEIGE, Retail
Specifications:
Write Speed: 52X CD-R, 32X CD-RW
Read Speed: 52X CD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 2MB
OS Support: Windows 95/98/NT/ME/XP/2000
Features: Innovated SMART-BURN technology
Remark: Retail box (see pictures for details) more info>
N82E16827106198
$33.00

CPU Thermal Paste / Grease
**This item is NOT REFUNDABLE, exchange for same exact item only!!**
Arctic Silver's NEW Premium Silver Polysynthetic Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5. 3.5-gram( 1 cc. ) tube.
Specifications:
Thermal Conductance: >350,000W/m2 °C (0.001 inch layer)
Thermal Resistance: <0.0045°C-in2/Watt (0.001 inch layer)
Average Particle Size: <0.49 microns <0.000020 inch
Extended Temperature Limits: Peak: –50°C to >180°C Long-Term: –50°C to 130°C
Performance: 3 to 12 degrees centigrade lower CPU full load core temperatures than standard thermal compounds or thermal pads when measured with a calibrated thermal diode imbedded in the CPU core
Coverage Area: The 3.5 gram tube contains enough compound to cover at least 15 to 25 small CPU cores, or 6 to 10 large CPU cores, or 2 to 5 heat plates. more info>
N82E16835100007
$6.99

Floppy Drives
SAMSUNG SFD321B/LEB 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, OEM Driver Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 1.44MB
Average Access Time: not specified
Interface: 34 Pin Standard Floppy Connector
Form: 3.5 inch
Media Type: All Standard 1.44MB & 720KB 3.5 Floppy Diskettes
Features: Easy to Install, Just Plug & Play, For IBM5 & 100% Compatible Computers
Remark: OEM 1 Year Warranty more info>
N82E16821103202
$6.25

Hard Drives
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 80GB
Average Seek Time: 8.9 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Features: High-performance with 8MB Buffer
Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years
Remark: OEM Drive Only more info>
N82E16822144122
$68.00

Memory (System Memory)
Geil Dual Channel 184 Pin 512MB(256MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail
Specification
Manufacturer: Geil
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2 6-3-3
Support Voltage: 2.55V-2.95V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: two 32M x 64 -Bit
Special Features: Enhanced SPD for Dual Channel DDR motherboard
Warranty: Lifetime more info>
N82E16820144512
$91.00

Motherboards - AMD
Shuttle nForce2 IGP Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "MN31N" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Socket A AMD AthlonXP/Athlon/Duron Processors
FSB: 200/266/333 MHz
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 IGP + MCP-T
RAM: 3x DIMM support Dual Channel DDR333/266/200 Max 3GB
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 100/133 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP 8X, 3x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2,1xLPT,2xVGA,6xUSB2.0(Rear 2),1xLAN,1xGAME,Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650E 6-Channel Audio
Onboard Video: Built in GeForce4 MX(Dual VGA Ports)
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8201B 10/100M Fast Ethernet
Onboard 1394: Realtek 8801
Form Factor: Micro ATX more info>
N82E16813150041
$84.99

Processors
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail
Specification
Model: AMD Athlon XP 2500+
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 1.83GHz
FSB: 333MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included) more info>
N82E16819103379
$80.00

Extend my Standard Warranty on the above qualified items: $25.69
Subtotal »

$428.23
Shipping and Handling Charge »
Tax Instruction for All Resellers How Newegg.com calculates shipping

$ 8.00

Grand Total »

$ 436.23

And the questions:
The case comes with a 200 watt Sparkle PSU, think that'd be enough for just the stuff in the system, like, only one hd, one cd drive...?
Do you think that mobo would get the 2500+ FSB to 200? That's one of the big things, it needs to be able to go to 200.
The mobo would be able to support that ram, right?

Is there another micro atx mobo out there that's better for the price? Onboard audio is a big deal, as is the onboard video. I believe for what he's doing the video will be sufficient, and I've heard the audio is good.

Welcome to the Forums Carsludge!

Excellent choices!

I have built 2 identical systems basically, different PSU, memory & case.

These are great combinations, very stable, fast, onboard graphics can be tweaked to some respectable levels ~6000 3DMarks. You can play BF1942, RTCW, Q3 @1024 x 768 x 32bit res with no problem. The Soundstorm audio is excellent & with SPDIF support, Firewire & USB2 the connectivity of them are outstanding.

I would suggest using Buffalo\Winbond CH-5 PC3200 as it costs the same, maybe a bit cheaper and works great. As the MN31N doesn't support much OCing, FSB and memory timings only you could easily use 2 X ?mb of PC2700 which should run @180FSB with no problem.

I use all Fortron\Sparkle PSUs, they're a real good bargain, just make sure it has a P4 ATX power connector. You're probally are pushing a 200watts capacity, but I think you'll be OK.

My rigs both have Barton 2500+ @180FSB X 11, Lite-On DVD or CD\RW and 800JB HDDs, they've performed flawlessly.

Check out www.tblmemory.com for the Buffalo\Winbond, NewEgg has them as well but you need to look at the picture to see which OEM PC3200 are the ones with Winbond CH-5s.

Good Luck! Keep us posted as to how you make out.

Check out the Shuttle Section here at OC Forums for any questions or assistance.

Regards, Balrog

Question:
I know the 2500+ Barton could easily handle the 200MHz FSB, making it equal to a 3200+. So, that motherboard wouldn't be able to do 200, though? I've heard so many people make it without voltage jumps or anything. Just raising the FSB. Which is why I asked.

If this board can't make it to the 200FSB with the 2500+, do you know a micro ATX with decent audio that could?

Highest I've heard on MN31N was 195FSB stable w\PC3200.

Epox 8RGMI $79.00 @NewEgg, full OC BIOS, voltages, memory, FSB & multis, I don't know anyone that has one so I can't help you there.

Good Luck!

Regards, Balrog

if you get the shuttle an35n ultra, it'll handle the 200 fsb. pretty easily with that memory although it doesn't have onboard memory. Priced well at about 60 bucks on newegg