New computer.

[Spee]

Finally getting a new rig. Did my calculations, and I can afford this...

ATI RADEON 9800 PO AGP 8X
ALUMINUM MID-ATX TOWER W/550W PSU
16X DVD BURNER
P4 2.4 GHZ/MOBO COMBO
1GB OF PC2100 DDRRAM
100 GB HDD

And, since I had 50$ remaining in my budget, I plan on buying a shitload of red cathodes, and a window kit, giving this.



Any criticisms on the casemod?

[Rbstr]

Hmm i'd get DDR400, not 266

What are the brands your lookign at for Mobo/ram?

[Spee]

Originally Posted by Rbstr

Hmm i'd get DDR400, not 266

What are the brands your lookign at for Mobo/ram?

double post, suck it.


l4vxa2. Dunno what brand.

[NoSurrender]

id normally stay away from "Combo Deals" most are just attempts to unload excess (unsold) inventory so that it doesn't waste space.

[Electrofreak]

yeah... i would have to agree and say that you should go for some DDR400 RAM too. Otherwise you are only runnin that RAM at half the FSB your CPU is capable of.

[Daleon]

Yea, pc2100 ram is not a good idea. If thats what you are buying and not using from an old setup. Invest in good, fast ram. Better chance of it lasting you atleast 1 if not 2 cpu upgrades over next yr 1/2.

Also no reason to get a 2.4. The 2.8c is practically same price. The 3.0c is in the same neighborhood even.

Also, 16x dvd burner or reader? Can get 16x readers. Burners are mostly 8x now, plextor has a 12x out but $$$.

Put the cash towards memory, video, and mb/cpu. Then worry about the other things as time goes by.

[Spee]

Originally Posted by Daleon

Yea, pc2100 ram is not a good idea. If thats what you are buying and not using from an old setup. Invest in good, fast ram. Better chance of it lasting you atleast 1 if not 2 cpu upgrades over next yr 1/2.

Also no reason to get a 2.4. The 2.8c is practically same price. The 3.0c is in the same neighborhood even.

Also, 16x dvd burner or reader? Can get 16x readers. Burners are mostly 8x now, plextor has a 12x out but $$$.

Put the cash towards memory, video, and mb/cpu. Then worry about the other things as time goes by.

The ram is from my current rig. Ive invested wayyy too much $$$ to throw a gig out the window.

Pricewatch.com has the 2.4 mobo combo a LOT cheaper than the 2.8

Probably 16x reader - Cheap drive.

[Rbstr]

yeah, it may not bee a good board at all.

[Spee]

Brand of the mobo is ECS. And I dont care much - As long as it runs/suports the radeon 9800 Im getting. its under warranty, so buh.

[Rbstr]

well do you know what kind of chipset, and the model of the board?

[Daleon]

The cheap combo deals are like playing russain roulette. I also hate to see people spend so much money, but try and come out $100 cheaper when that $100 can mean a huge difference in performance now and longevity of your system.

Which P4 did the combo you looked at come with, the 533, 800, or 533/Precott?

These are some alternatives:
P4 2.4/533 Prescott retail is $125 + MSI Neo2 i865G is $97 = $222
Check these user reviews at newegg. This chip will OC like a mofo, prolly run pretty warm but handles the heat well.

For a cheaper motherboard you could try the ECS 865PE-A for $60. Not sure how good an oc'er is, but might be good. That would put you down to $185, very close to your original combo and prolly better overall.

P4 2.4/800 Northwood w/Hyperthreading is $171 and any one of the above mb's. The HT'd could help if you do anything besides gaming. Will run a little cooler than the Precott. And will still OC nicely. All of this is from newegg, much more reliable than most of the places on pricewatch.

Your ram will do 133/533, but if you play with the timings and its decent quality stuff you should be able to clock it up to 200/800, if you want to run your memory/fsb in sync. Now if your not going to OC, all of this really doesn't matter as much and really just find something that will work I guess. There is just a large amount of untapped potential there.

[Spee]

Originally Posted by Daleon

Your ram will do 133/533, but if you play with the timings and its decent quality stuff you should be able to clock it up to 200/800, if you want to run your memory/fsb in sync. Now if your not going to OC, all of this really doesn't matter as much and really just find something that will work I guess. There is just a large amount of untapped potential there.

Im not overclocking. Thats reserved for AMD mobo's

[Rbstr]

[Rbstr]

well i'd go with somethign biger than a 2.4 then, becasue the 2.4 IMO exists Soley for DDR500 overclocking