Building a new system, please advise

[tschr250]

I am new to the baord, new to system building, and certainly new to OCing. I built systems 5+ years ago, but have bought 'em prebuilt since then.

I am going to be putting together a new system in the next few weeks, and I would like to get the group's opinion on my planned hardware.

Here is what my research has led me to:

Soyo SY-K7V Dragon Plus
Athlon XP 2000+
400+ W Power Supply
2x512MB PC2100 DDR
ATI All-In-Wonder 8500

I plan to use the system primarily for games and for video production, as well as for TIVO-like functionality. I plan to make full use of the onboard RAID, network, and sound capabilities.

I would be VERY interested to hear opinions on whether I should spring for the 2000+ or 2100+, or go after something that isn't pushed so much (like an 1800+, much cheaper). I have heard the higher end XPs don't OC very well. Also, is Windows XP Pro necessary, or will Home work just fine?

Thooughts?

Thanks in advance.

-Todd

 

[Arkaine23]

new system

Welcome to the Forums!

Get a lower-end XP like an 1800+... you could OC it up up to 2000+ speeds or better and save some cash. Or wait a couple of weeks for the new XP's with the Thouroughbred core...

The soyo is a good KT266a board, but a bit pricey. Shuttle makes some quality boards for less $. AK31 r3.1 and AK35GT-R are some good, less costly alternatives. And there's a brand new version of the AK35GT-R that uses the via KT333 chipset with support for PC2700 DDR... higher memory bandwidth. If you get a board like the AK35, which has vcore adjustments above 1.85volts for the cpu, that will be helpfull for overclocking. Epox is another manufacturer to check out.

8500 is a great video card and excellent value. Get the retail version, it has higher clock speeds.

Get Crucial ram if you are going with PC2100... for upgradeability Kingmax or Corasair PC2700 might be better. Kingmax doesn't cost much more than Crucial right now.

PSU: Antec, Enermax, or Sparkle 400w+

Heatsink? AX-7 is a good solid bet and not too expensive. Glaciator 2, Alphapal 8045, and SK-6 are also good choices. Don't forget the thermal paste... Arctic Silver 2 or 3 are higher recommended in these forums.

Can't say one way or the other about windows XP, because I don't use it... I like and use Windows 2000.