Specs on New Computer!

[DManeKid]

here are my specs on a new computer for my 10 year old brother he wants to play games faster and i want to have a little fun with ocing (he playes games like age of empires, red alert 2, empire earth) (i will be playing some games on it like unreal tournament and counterstrike) so tell me what you think:

ANTEC Workstation Tower Model SX830w/ 300w

CORSAIR MEMORY 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM

Seagate Barracuda IV 20GB 7200rpm ATA 100

Thermaltake VOLCANO 7

SOYO K7V DRAGON+ Plus VIA KT266A ATX MOTHERBOARD

ATI XPERT 2000 PRO 32MB 4X AGP NO TV-OUT

AMD DURON 1.0 GHZ SOCKET A PGA PROCESSOR OEM

52X Lite On CD-ROM

will be using Arctic Silver II

Teac 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy Drive

i know you will all say "spend a few extra $'s and get a better video card" all i have to say is that is all he needs

[David]

That looks fine, a fast system. The one thing I would comment on is the CPU. I would go for a Thunderbird, even at 900-950. I have seen it posted somewhere that the Morgan core in 1Ghz+ Durons cannot go past 1.3GHz. I'm not sure tho. You would be better off getting a 266fsb 1GHz Thunderbird to take full advantage of the RAM bandwidth and for better overclocking.

As it is, I think that it will be a good fast system.

[DManeKid]

well the thing is i only want to get it to 1.3 so i am not worried...ummm im new how do i make a signature also?

[Rezman5]

Well, the dragon is very expencive, and if you aren't using RAID, then you should save $80 and go with a shuttle AK31 rev 3.1. Also, you might need a more powerful PSU, and I would use the money saved on the MoBo to either get a better processor (t-bird) or a better vid card. Also, if you can, get crucial memory from http://www.crucial.com plus they have free 2 day shipping!

Hope this helps

[DManeKid]

Originally posted by Rezman5

Well, the dragon is very expencive, and if you aren't using RAID, then you should save $80 and go with a shuttle AK31 rev 3.1. Also, you might need a more powerful PSU, and I would use the money saved on the MoBo to either get a better processor (t-bird) or a better vid card. Also, if you can, get crucial memory from http://www.crucial.com plus they have free 2 day shipping!

Hope this helps

Didnt i say not to say that?? lol i am goint to stick with the vid card i will look into the rest tho since many have told me to get a tbird AND can some1 please tell me how to edit my profile and how to make a signature (which is most likely in the profile editor)

[Kent]

Yes, the Ti200's will be going down to a reasonable price before long.

[DManeKid]

ok it is a no go with that sugested mo bo (the shuttle) there are may to many complaints about it (lockups, booting problems. northbridge fan) i cant work with that any other mobos i sould use? the dragon plus is $146 on newegg.com that is alright but still expencive i would like it a little lower but i really like this board...are there any very similar?? btw the shuttle sk31 was like $80 on newegg.com so it is only a $60 difference...

*EDIT* went with the the normal dragon, $8 less and it still has everything i need (the only thing i really noticed that was different was the onboard sound i think)

[jazztrumpet216]

I agree, look at a 350~400 Watt PSU and also look at a T-Bird. The Duron will cut it with the gaming, but I think a T-Bird at the same FSB or a bit lower (like 900... I think someone suggested that) will perform better, plus it'll OC better.

As far as making a sig, click "user cp" in the upper right corner of your screen, then go to "user profile" and scroll down tht page about half way. You'll see a big blank space, that is where you can type your sig.

[funnyperson1]

i suggest you look into another video card such as a geforce2 GTS or a Radeon32mb DDr because...i had the vcard based on ths same chipset as the Xpert2000....and its a little slow even in unreal tourney and QuakeIII

[Yodums]

Originally posted by DManeKid
here are my specs on a new computer for my 10 year old brother he wants to play games faster and i want to have a little fun with ocing (he playes games like age of empires, red alert 2, empire earth) (i will be playing some games on it like unreal tournament and counterstrike) so tell me what you think:

ANTEC Workstation Tower Model SX830w/ 300w

CORSAIR MEMORY 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM

Seagate Barracuda IV 20GB 7200rpm ATA 100

Thermaltake VOLCANO 7

SOYO K7V DRAGON+ Plus VIA KT266A ATX MOTHERBOARD

ATI XPERT 2000 PRO 32MB 4X AGP NO TV-OUT

AMD DURON 1.0 GHZ SOCKET A PGA PROCESSOR OEM

52X Lite On CD-ROM

will be using Arctic Silver II

Teac 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy Drive

i know you will all say "spend a few extra $'s and get a better video card" all i have to say is that is all he needs

If you upgrade to a tbird it'll have more advantage over games.
Your video card is going to be THAT good, go for something like a Radeon 7500 or a GeForce 2 Ti200 as it will last you in the future and it will give you 100% performance with your games.
Other than that everything looks good.

[DManeKid]

WOW i think i have been pretty much told to get a better proc and vid card so i guess im going to have to to satisfy all of you people ill get a tbird but what mhz? i will also be getting a ati radeon 32mb ddr minimum p.s. thanx for telling me how to get to the sig

[jazztrumpet216]

I'd say a T-Bird 900 would do the trick, but if you wanna play it on the safe side, go for a gig. Try to find something with the 266Mhz bus. If you want to be on the cutting edge, go for the 1.4, but it's all basically up to you. How much power do you want for the money you're willing to pay. Get the T-Bird, it'll be better for gaming, but the Mhz is really up to you. I wouldn't go below 900 though.

[stymee]

Originally posted by DManeKid
i will also be getting a ati radeon 32mb ddr minimum p.s. thanx for telling me how to get to the sig

Make sure you stay FAR FAR away from the Radeon VE (either 32MB or 64MB). It is cheap, but is absolutely HORRIBLE for gaming.

[tbirdkiri]

to change you sig click on the blue user cp button
then goto the edit profile tab
under optional info you should be able to change your signature.

[Yodums]

You should get the 1 gig AXIA stepping I believe as I've seen them hit very good speeds, 1.4-1.5 with good cooling.

Yes the VE is horrible for gaming because it is processing two monitors thus slower.

[DManeKid]

now updated should be final

ANTEC Workstation Tower Model SX830w/ 300w

CORSAIR MEMORY 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM

Seagate Barracuda IV 20GB 7200rpm ATA 100

Thermaltake VOLCANO 7

SOYO K7V DRAGON VIA KT266A ATX MOTHERBOARD

ATI Radeon 32MB DDR 4X AGP Video Card

AMD ATHLON THUNDERBIRD 950MHz Socket A PGA - OEM

52X Lite On CD-ROM

using Arctic Silver II

Teac 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy Drive

all for a low low payment of $553 plus shipping who knows how much...$100 maybe?