New to all this, buying new system, need recommedations =)

[DaMaDo]

Hello all!
I'm looking into an athlon system since they are well priced and seem to be more compatible from what I've read) with parts such as PSUs and water cooling systems.
I'm thinking of going with the 1.4 athlon which most stores say they are getting in next week. I'm a total newb at all this, but I wanna build a kick *** system. What would be the best machine I could build sans monitor (already have a 21 inch) for under $1900? Its just a gaming machine. Also which store would be a good place to get it at? You're all geniuses so I figure you can guide me well =)

 

[UnseenMenace]

Welcome to the forum

I was in your position a few months back and and still quite new to overclocking so my advice will come from recent experiences and would suggest reading the beginners guides on the front of this site first of all, not to mention reviews of motherboards and make a informed decision as to what products you are going to buy..
I brought a Abit KT7A-Raid mobo not only because of the reviews it was getting at the time, but because of how widely used and respected it is in the overclocking community as this was a consideration if I ever needed help and advice. I also choose a Duron over a Athlon as this was my first PC built for the purpose of overclocking, I decided that there was a chance I may damage the CPU (crack the core, or something else) and would rather loose a cheap Duron over the cost of a Athlon. The Duron is also a exceptionally underated CPU in my opinion and makes a awesome gaming rig

So my advice is simple.. read.. and educate yourself.. a resonable understanding will build a better PC than money alone, and dont get over ambitious,(forget watercooling for your first overclocked PC) things can go wrong and sometimes do, as clearly shown on these message boards with posts about 'cracked CPU cores' and the likes. ...

If you have any specific questions we will all try to help
-----------------------------------------------------
Duron 800 @ 1050 with Global Win FOP-32 (140 x 7.5)
Abit KT7A-Raid Mobo
512 mb (Crucial Stuff CAS 2)
Hard Drive Cooler
Elsa Eraser X2 Gforce with Blue Orb (modified to display as a Quadro and overclocked http://www.tweakhardware.com/guide/quadro/ )
Sound Blaster Live Value
Full Tower with 5 (120 mm) case fans with seperate PSU

 

[phiber]

for that much u can make the best machine

this could be what u would want
1.4 ghz Tbird
Abit KT7A-(R)
256mb of ram
Geforce 3
hard drive of our choice and everything because those are the things that mostly influence gaming and everything for overclocking

 

[DaMaDo]

Thanks for the prompt replies! I have heard of the KT7 and was considering it since a lot of people have been very happy with it. I also started hearing about some new epox and Iwill which might be better for the athlon. Some people seem to know things here that sites such as sharkyextreme haven't gotten around to reviewing yet. The KT7 seems like a good buy b/c I am planning on two IBM40gig 60GXPs in RAID0. Then again I can just buy a controller if there is a better mobo.
The motherboard is what I'm least sure about b/c of the new developments which is why I'm asking here since some of the sites still don't have some reviews.
Other than that I'm thinking of:
athlon 1.4
512 DDR ram PC2100? (maybe just 256...not sure if it makes THAT big a diff)
geforce3 (dunno which brand...prolly visiontek?)
2 IBM 40gig 60GXPs
hercules game theater XP sound card
enermax PSU (not sure how much power I need...going to be water cooled in the future)
Plextor 12x10x32 CDRW
lian li case (prolly PC-70) would go with a koolance if it didn't still have such weaknesses
I have't jumped on any motherboard b/c it seems to be the most important part. More research and recommendations still to go on that one. Newegg.com seems to have good prices. They don't have enermax PSUs though...at least not that I saw. I need to find another good shop for items they might not have such as the geforce3...they are out of all brands =(

 

[e_storm]

Some sites I use are:

ram - crucial.com
all kinds of other stuff - TCWO.com or Directron.com
Also, check on pricewatch for cheap prices on all kinds of stuff

 

[bruce]

$1900!!! Wow that's like a shoping spree!!! You can pretty much get what ever you want at that price! One thing to note is that as far as gaming goes, besides ram the harddrive is the one of the slowest parts of your pc, to offset this get a raid board and 2 IBM GXP75's (I think that's the correct model) and run them in raid-0 (stripping the drives). Also, the video card is the centerpiece of any gaming rig, don't skimp here for sure!!!Man I wish I had that much to blow on a system, definately read as much as you can! for advice and gettin schooled, read the articles and forums here, also get acquainted with some of the other good hardware sites ( www.hardocp.com , and www.tomshardware.com ). Don't rush in unless you know what you're doing, and for buying definately go to www.pricewatch.com

My "Dream" $1900 system:
Proc: any Athlon AXIA (should be good for at least 1.5Ghz aircooled)
Board: Iwill KK266R (I have the KK266 and love it!)
Drives: 2 IBM's in raid-0 config. (truely Awsome!)
Video: GeForce 3
Burner: Plextor 16x10x40x
DVD: Pioneer 16xDVD
Ram: 256M Crucial or Mushkin Ram
and a ton-o-fans! perhaps a thermoengine and a 7Kfan or those new Zalman coolers look cool, but only the 7Kfan version is acceptable!

...If you want the "ultimate" performance you might want a 760 mobo and DDR ram, Have fun shopping!!!

 

[DaMaDo]

Getting good info here. Thanks again for the replies.
I'm down to needing to choosing the mobo now I think.
The ones I'm looking at are (all on newegg.com)
Epox EP-8K7A with the AMD-761 chipset and VIA 686B AGPset $132
Iwill KA266-R with ALI MAGiK chipset $144
ASUS A7A266 with ALI M1647 chipset $132
ABIT KT7A-R with KT-133A chipset $135
MSI K7 Master with AMD-761 chipset $150

I haven't seen any 760s just 761s. I have no idea which of those mobos listed are better and I can't seem to find reviews for most of them.
Definitely gonna go with the raid 0. I think I'll get two 20 gigs (IBM 60GXP) since I've just never needed more than 20 gigs and I can just use the burner to store anything. DDR definitely also....is there beter than PC2100? Going go get from crucial.

 

[e_storm]

DaMaDo (May 31, 2001 09:46 a.m.):
Getting good info here. Thanks again for the replies.
I'm down to needing to choosing the mobo now I think.
The ones I'm looking at are (all on newegg.com)
Epox EP-8K7A with the AMD-761 chipset and VIA 686B AGPset $132
Iwill KA266-R with ALI MAGiK chipset $144
ASUS A7A266 with ALI M1647 chipset $132
ABIT KT7A-R with KT-133A chipset $135
MSI K7 Master with AMD-761 chipset $150

I haven't seen any 760s just 761s. I have no idea which of those mobos listed are better and I can't seem to find reviews for most of them.
Definitely gonna go with the raid 0. I think I'll get two 20 gigs (IBM 60GXP) since I've just never needed more than 20 gigs and I can just use the burner to store anything. DDR definitely also....is there beter than PC2100? Going go get from crucial.

You asking a huge question if your asking about best DDR mobo right now, as there seem to be differing schools of though on this. I think I can safely say that currently you have the right idea with the AMD chipset. I too am looking for one right now and have my list down to MSI K7 Master and the Epox 8K7A. Some sites to look for reviews are: here of course , anandtech, tomshardware, socketa.com, etc..
Anandtech has a weekly motherboard and memory summary which will tell you which boards are with which chipsets and some prices.

As far as DDR, there is currently some crucial pc2400 which I believe is cas2 and overclockable, but nothing in stone other than that.

Hopefully this helps. It'd be very interesting to see what kind of specs you end up with when all is said and done. Especially to see the benchmarks. ;D

 

[Big Mike]

While I saw pricewatch mentioned one great tool that wasnt is resellerratings.com, when the price seems to be too good to be true, it sometimes is...i ussually check vendors with them, newegg.com also seems to have good prices on most everything they sell.