Before I buy the system... constructive criticism needed

[Zoda]

Hello, this is my first thread on this forum. I only got into computer hardware about 7 months ago.. Ever since i have been looking at computer parts, checking out reviews/ benchmarks ect... I havent had a job for awhile and I just recently got one.. I am saving up my money to buy. After many months I have finally decided on what I want and I think its all pretty good, however maybe the experts disagree.


After finding out that overclocking on nforce2 boards(espicially the epox) is not too hard and how much I could gain from it I started to rework a few things in order to be able to OC it. I am ordering everything from newegg.com Heres what I have come up with:

Motherboard: Epox 8rda deluxe
$112.00 + $0 shipping = $112.00

CPU: Athlon XP 2100 (1.736 ghz) t-bred
$87.00 + $0 shipping = $87.00

RAM: 2X256MB CORSAIR MEMORY XMS PC2700 DDR333 DDR RAM (512MB dual ddr)
$60.00X2 + $0 shipping = $120.00

Hard Disk: WD 80 GB SE
$99.50 + $0 shipping = $99.50

Video Card: ATI Radeon 9500 Pro
$205.00 + $0 shipping = $205.00

case:MAXTOP Black CSX147KBF-WIN Intel P4 Ready 7-bay ATX 350WPower Supply with side and top fan
$57.00 + 10 ship = $67.00

CD-RW: Lite on 52x24x52x
$50.00+10 ship = $60.00

monitor: NEC/Mitsubishi 17" CRT Monitor AS70-BK
$125.00 + $25 shipping = $150

sound: on-board

lannboard



accessories:

thermal paste :Arctic Silver 3
$6.00 + $600 shipping = $12.00

case fans: 2 X SUNON 80x80x25mm, Ballbearing, Case Fan, DC 12V, 2.1W, 2900 RPM, 39.0 CFM, 4-pin. (1 rear, 1 front)
buy 2=$8.5 each+ $0 shipping $17.00

heatsink: Thermalright SLK-7
$25.00 + $6 shipping = $31.00

heatsink fan: Thermaltake SMART CASE FAN II. Variable Fan Speed Control, by temperature sensor

$15.00 + $600 shipping = $21.00

northbridge cooling:
Vantec IceBerg, COPPER, All in one VGA & Chipset Cooling Kit CCB-A1C Retail
$12.00 +$6 shipping = $18.00

keyboard:
Logitech BLACK Elite Keyboard $36


mouse:LOGITECH B69 CORDED OPTICAL MOUSE - OEM
$12.00 + $500 shipping = $17.00

UPSowercom Ebook 350 Model PS2-350S 3+1 Outlets Retail
$38.00+ $0 shipping

total: $1055

Keep in mind I got a monitor, mouse, video card, hard disk and bassically th ewhole system so it is pretty expensive. I could easily cut off half the price without a few of my choices. I have not decided if I want new speakers yet or not (I mainly use heaadphones) and If I want to upgrade the sound I can always buy a new card and disable it. I plan to use my current CD-ROM, floppy drives, and OS.

I decided to get the cheap monitor since I have seen many good reviews and see nothing wrong with it. I picked the 9500pro for great performance and the price. The 9700pro costs a lot more. the CPU I picked based on what people can overclock to with different processors and since it was a lot cheapier than the barton chips. Every product has been heavily researched and I think I have a greta balance of price/performance.

If anyone is interested based on the overclockers.com database and a few posts I have seen the 1700 and 2100 chips seem to be the best overclockers.

So what I'd like from you is just some constructive criticism.

1. I am not too sure about the memory since some people claim 2100 is better than 2700 or even 3200 and others say the oppisite. Also there is not much of a price difference. What memory speed would you reccomend for this system?

2. Is the power supply enough? (350WATT from a maxtop case.)

3.On this rig how high would you reccomend overclocking in MHZ with the CPU? (considering this is my first time) How fast do you think this rig is capable of with this cooling? I dont plan on doing what I can since I am new and want to stay ina safe zone.

4.Do you see any problems?? possible conflicts, incapatibility, ect? (I will be angry at myself if I messed up somethings compatiability)

5. Did I go overboard on the cooling?

6.Well, is it a good system?







This is gonna be a huge leap for me since this computer is around 3 years old( with a few small upgrades), is prebuilt, and is really a piece of junk.

Here is my current computers specs:
AMD k6-2 500MHZ CPU
geforce 4 mx420 pci (no AGP slot) - upgraded from onboard 8mb
256MB PC133 SDRAM - max supported, used to have 96MB
DSL
13GB HD with a low RPM
Acer V75M motherboard
ESS SOLO onboard sound
350 watt PSU
CTX 17" monitor (Im not sure what model, but its a few years old)
OS: windows 98SE


I have trouble running counter-strike on this when I have more than a few people playing.. I tweaked my settings very low and all too.. the CPU is the real bottleneck. I know people with equal speed intel chips (p-2 or p-3) who can run games fine, but everyone with the K6-2's has problems. more RAM and an AGP card would be good too, but It cant get any better with this mobo.

Sorry for the huge post, but I have been working on this for a long time now and am really excited, I feel all info I gave was necesarry


PS:I have never built a system, but I have experience with installing hardware including RAM, video Cards, and PSU's. I have taken apart a computer and put it back together without having an problems I couldnt solve fast. There are many sites and forums that wiill help me with building and overclocking, so I am not too worried about that.

Thanks a lot!!

 

[Zoda]

after looking around more I have learned that having the 3200 RAM helps you get to 200MHZ FSB and that many people using cooling on the south bridge and MOSFETs. Is it worth the money to cool all these things also or should I get a good speed with what I already have?

I think I will get the 3200, but Im not sure about cooling the southbridge and mosfets since I already have a lot on it.

 

[mfjonny]

I'd get a better PSU...

 

[Maxvla]

I'd get a better PSU...

check out the Thermaltake 420W psu. good rails and it sells for about 55 bucks.

had the link yesterday.. can find it again if you are interested.

otherwise looks great. very very similar to my new system (getting a 9500pro for it as well)

 

[Ben721]

check out the Thermaltake 420W psu. good rails and it sells for about 55 bucks.

had the link yesterday.. can find it again if you are interested.

otherwise looks great. very very similar to my new system (getting a 9500pro for it as well)

I definetly agree.

The Tt is an awesome psu.

 

[Maxvla]

i think it was at www.directron.com

 

[Zoda]

thanks

Thanks a lot everyone.. I have decided to change a few things:

1.PSU- now gonna get the thermaltake 420Watt
2.RAM - going for 3200 consair now
3. Cooling.. I've done a lot to that.

Heres what Im gonna get now(I've taken out the prices and junk)

Epox 8rda deluxe
Athlon XP 2100 (1.736 ghz) t-bred
256MB CORSAIR MEMORY XMS PC2700 DDR333 DDR (2 sticks)
Western Digitial 80 GB 7200RPM 8MB cache "SE" Hard Disk
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro
MAXTOP Black CSX147KBF-WIN w/ top and side fans.
Thermaltake 420W ATX power supply

cooling:
mosfets - 22x45mm Mini-Sink RAMsink
Southbridge - ThermalTake Blue Orb
Northbridge: Vantec IceBerq copper
CPU Heatsink:ThermalRight SLK700
case:Sunon 3900rpm 80mm 50.6cfm (rear and front)


Im gonna order the cooling from 1coolpc since it is cheapier with shipping.

 

[Zoda]

I changed the case to the
oh yeah: total is- $1012

Icute Tech Corp Mid Tower Case Model VG100SL-A05T-B with Clear Windows.. It has a temp monitor, front USB, front audio, 2 windows, side/front fans, and room for 6 more fans... It has a funky spider like design which I dont like, but It's the best looking case I foudn with a lot of good features and the price as well as user satisfactory. That is $50 with the tax included

sweet deal seeing as I upgraded the RAM ,PSU, case, and cooling.

 

[Zoda]

After checking this page out I decided to check out a few "top" brands. http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=150384

To my suprise enlight has PSU's for fairly cheap. .Cheapier then the Thermaltake!
(from newegg)

Enlight ATX 360W P4 Power Supply EN-8420934 1 fan-$39.00

Enlight ATX 420W P4 Power Supply EN-8420934 2 fans - $46.00

 

[RoadWarrior]

Hmmm, what other people said about the PSU, ditto. Everything else looks very nice except I'd go for a manually controlled fan with a speed control on the heatsink rather than a thermally controlled one.

 

[Hookem]

Why in the world are you going to put an orb on your southbridge ??? And you might want to look at Sparkle PSU's do a search and find the 350watter with the single 120m/m fan...Looks like a killer system to me...alot like mine... http://www.directron.com/w0009.html is the 420 at directron http://www.directron.com/w0009.html oppps it think this is the one maxlava is reffering to...here is the fortron/sparkle 350watter from directron http://www.directron.com/fsp35060bn.html No experience with enlight or the thermaltakes...

 

[trendx]

I read an article about the difference between the 52x and the 48x burners, there is practically no difference what so ever, i would personally get the 48x burner, theres no reason for 52x the price difference isnt worth it what so ever.

 

[gahdzila]

the heatsink fan on the southbridge is a little bit overboard. you don't need it.

the heatsink for the northbridge...I think I would wait on that. the mobo should come with a fairly decent northbridge heatsink.

can you use some parts from your old system? or were you planning on keeping it running?

you could reuse your old case (as long as it's ATX, not AT or microATX), PSU (as long as it's ATX, not AT), monitor, floppy drive, optical drives. you might want to upgrade that HDD, especially if it's 5400 rpm, or ATA-33 or -66. That's the great thing with PC's, the architecture is open like that, you can upgrade a little or a lot!

I would especially recommend you reuse your old monitor until you save up enough bucks for a nice BIG monitor. I don't care what anyone says, when it comes to monitors BIGGER is BETTER! Also, go to a local shop and physically LOOK at some monitors, buying a monitor is very subjective...what looks good to someone else might look like crap to you. Also, buying a good monitor is an INVESTMENT that you will use for a lot longer than you use the rest of your system!

anyway...you mentioned money being tight...just throwing some ideas at you.

The WD HDD you picked out is one of the BEST performers on the market right now...and what a great price! The Radeon 9500pro is an EXCELLENT video card...if you're a gamer, you'll appreciate this probably more than anything else (just wait till you play something like UT2003 at 1600x1200, 32bit color, 4xAA!!!!!)

I chose the Asus A7N8x Deluxe motherboard as my nforce2 board of choice. Yeah, it's the most expensive one out there, but it's PACKED with features. But, the Epox one you chose should be a good one, too.

I agree with what the other guys said about the PSU. If you're gonna buy one, and not reuse your old one, buy a good one, name brand 400 watt.

Everything on your list looks pretty good to me. Now ya just gotta hit the "order" button!

 

[Skiing Squirrel]

Very nice system! I have seveal of those componants that are in your system as well. Very good choices, you have done you research. I assume you are going to overclock it? If you are, I would look at a bigger/better heatsink. SOrry if you already addressed that, I just skimmed thru it.

 

[XJ]

one other thing, doesn't the 2x256mb twinx dc ddr corsair crap cost more than the single 512mb stick? if it does, then just buy the 512mb stick, for one it'll allow you to whack another in when you get some more cash and also the dual channel ddr is of no purpose whatsoever unless you're using onboard video....which you're not.....so forget it.
Now, if the 1x512mb is more expensive, then forget i said this. that is ofcourse unless you want 1gb of it at some stage...;]
'constructive critisism' as you said. just trying to help dude.

~XJ

 

[gahdzila]

dual channel ddr is of no purpose whatsoever unless you're using onboard video

why is that?

 

[Zoda]

I read an article about the difference between the 52x and the 48x burners, there is practically no difference what so ever, i would personally get the 48x burner, theres no reason for 52x the price difference isnt worth it what so ever.

Well the price difference was very little too, in fact I think the lite on 52x and 48X cost the same price, why not get the 52?

can you use some parts from your old system? or were you planning on keeping it running?

you could reuse your old case (as long as it's ATX, not AT or microATX), PSU (as long as it's ATX, not AT), monitor, floppy drive, optical drives. you might want to upgrade that HDD, especially if it's 5400 rpm, or ATA-33 or -66. That's the great thing with PC's, the architecture is open like that, you can upgrade a little or a lot!

I would especially recommend you reuse your old monitor until you save up enough bucks for a nice BIG monitor. I don't care what anyone says, when it comes to monitors BIGGER is BETTER! Also, go to a local shop and physically LOOK at some monitors, buying a monitor is very subjective...what looks good to someone else might look like crap to you. Also, buying a good monitor is an INVESTMENT that you will use for a lot longer than you use the rest of your system!

anyway...you mentioned money being tight...just throwing some ideas at you.

-Im keeping my CDrom and floppy drive.. everything else is pretty bad, the case is a mini tower.. the PSu is 300W HEC, my RAM is SDRAM, the video card is PCI, and my HD is only 13GB... I really wnat a whole new system... I am not gonna order everything right away though I'm gonna use my gf4mx420 PCI and my current monitor for a little while before I buy my 9500pro and the NEC monitor. That knocks off $300

-I want a new monitor since this one looks horrible with some games (extreme gamma problems that wont fix) and it is just bad.. I am thinking maybe I should get a 19" or even 21", but that would cost me more.. We'll see what happens.



- Im gonna get the Enermax CS-3051L-B3A (black version) because I love how it looks and here all good stuff about it... The maxtop is always out of stock and I dont like how it looks.. I am willing to spend a few bucks extra.


-I think Im gonna skip out on the self bridge, it is overboard.

-I found a link from somewhere on these forums to http://www.SVC.com for cooling.. The prices are awesome It's about $50 cheapier then newegg and $30 less then 1coolpc.

check out what Im gonna order:
1 Thermalright SK-7 Socket A Cooler $19.99
1 Thermaltake Crystal Orb $ 9.49
1 Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2 $9.99
20 Black Fan Screws $1.00 (thats 80 screws I think)
4 60x25mm 40CFM / 48dB YS-Tech 3-pin and 4-pin $11.96
1 Blue DDR Memory Module Heat Spreader $ 4.99
1 Arctic Silver III 3.0g Syringe $4.99
4 Silicon Zinc Thermal Grease $3.96
total:$76.37

I got a fan(smartfan2), for the heatsink 2 more fans, and I even got acooler lookign cooler for the northbridge (the crystal orb) and it is still mcuh cheapier then the other sites.. Of course everything said "sale" I hope they keep it that way until I can pay them.. (2 more weeks) this is gonna leave a whole in my pocket though.. lol

 

[Rafterman223]

I'd go with the Thermalright SLK-800 instead.
Also, you won't need RAM cooling, corsair uses heat spreaders. Otherwise excellent choices! You sure did your research! And welcome to the forums!

 

[Hookem]

I would ditch that orb...get the vantec iceberq instead...they are much quiter......and those 60m/m fans those things will drive you nuts...maybe change the case to something that uses 80m/m fans...And since it is a nForce2 motherboard you really should use two memory modules...

 

[Zoda]

I'd go with the Thermalright SLK-800 instead.
Also, you won't need RAM cooling, corsair uses heat spreaders. Otherwise excellent choices! You sure did your research! And welcome to the forums!

ehhhh the 800 costs $15 more and hear its only slightly better... The heatspreaders are for the MOSFETS.. I heard they can get pretty hot.. I did know corsair had heatspreaders on them.

I would ditch that orb...get the vantec iceberq instead...they are much quiter......and those 60m/m fans those things will drive you nuts...maybe change the case to something that uses 80m/m fans...And since it is a nForce2 motherboard you really should use two memory modules...

thanks for the advice, whats wrong with the 80MM's though?