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train22

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2001
Location
Boston, MA
Building a workstation... Any recommendation/feedback?

Hey guys, *long long* time no see (haven't been to this forum in over 4 years)

I'm building a friend of mine a new system and I could use a 2nd opinion... I'm not new to hardware etc, just been out of the loop (work-life really killed my hardware hobbying), I've not been watching the market as of late so I'm not up to date on all the mambo-jumbo, so I'd appreciate it if some of you could stir me in the right direction, or rather, the most "right" direction.


What he needs:
- A rock-solid system (will be used as a Linux workstation for backup, filesharing, and engineering work)
- Decent speed but still considered low-end I think (2.0ghz max)


What I plan to buy:
I want and AMD cpu and an ASUS motherboard (I've never had probs in 10 years with over a dozen diff asus mobos, it's the only brand I *really* trust)

As for mobo.. I realize the 754 socket is dying with the upcoming Socket X (or whatever it's called) but this system most likely won't be upgraded in parts. It will be used for about 5 years and then rebuilt from scratch. I find building systems with long-term upgrade-mindset in mind is unrealistic
anyway these days when socket standards last so little time anyway and technology is changing so fast.

I don't need really need suggestions as far as peripherals go, that's pretty straight-forward (HD, etc) so really the only thing I'm worried about is the CPU+Mobo combo. I just want the best valued low-end system I can get (he does not have a lot of money and I don't want to waste it)

So.. since socket 939/940 is too expensive, it's not worth it, a 2ghz 754 64bit chip will be plenty enough for him so I was thinking of this combo:

ASUS K8N-E Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce4-4X ATX AMD Motherboard - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131548

AMD Sempron 64 3300+ Palermo 800MHz FSB 256KB L2 Cache Socket 754 - $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819104233


Feature-wise, everything is fine, and I know ASUS won't let me down on the stability-front, but I am a bit skeptical since there is no feedback on the newegg product page for it and I can't find raving reviews about it.

NOTE: It doesn't even have to be 64bit, but value-wise I don't think it's cheaper to get a 32-bit system with the similar kind of performance as a $100 Sempron, is it?

So if someone could tell me if there's something wrong with this mobo, or if there's a better bang-for-the-buck choice for a 754 ASUS-ONLY mobo, that would be fantastic.

Thanks,
train.

EDIT: Oh forgot to mention.. (though it might have been obvious) This system will not be overclocked in any way, I just want a good spec-performing machine. Oh and by the way.. I don't know if this exists for x86 PCs but.. are there any PSUs with built-in batteries these days? I have something like this at work, it's like an internal UPS (on my Sun workstation). It's just more fun than an external UPS.
 
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