Building/Upgrading a Computer. Need Advice. - Page 3

Sentrosi · 2003-04-22, 12:09 PM

For more info on this board, visithttp://www.8rda.com. They have some great info on this board, including overclocking features that makes this board one of the best. The differences between the 8rda and the 8rda+ is that the + has on-board firewire and USB headers, where the 8rda only has the USB headers (I believe).

I have this board and it rocks. I'm not into Overclocking, as of yet, but I may give it a shot later on.

The reason why I went with a 400W power supply is that the 9500pro and on up require a seperate connection to the power supply. It'll draw a whole lot of current. Not sure the exact specs, but when you add 2 CD-ROM drives, Hard drive and the actual power to the mobo, you're pulling down a whole lot of wattage. Always go for more power (Tim Allen said that, and it's true).

That case looks pretty. I did hear that you'll need to switch the fans around on the bottom. They come with the fans blowing out, not in. The exhaust fans at the back of the case are designed for that. Other than that, not too bad (except for the power supply).

Mydis · 2003-04-22, 09:43 PM

Alot of newegg items come with free stuff. But when I add the free thing to my shopping cart, it tacs on the price of the item as if I were buying just that item. How do I get the price deducted?

I was hoping to order tonight so if anyone could give a quick reply I would be grateful.

Sentrosi · 2003-04-23, 04:49 AM

is there a coupon attached to the freebie offer? You may have to cut/paste the coupon number in a coupon field in order to receive it. Just like buying groceries in the store.

Daleon · 2003-04-23, 01:24 PM

To clear a few things up for you so its a little simpler.

AMD's XP line of chips are numbered to match the performance of a comparable speed Pentium chip. Say when someone earlier said a XP2100 performs like a P4 2.1 this is what he meant. Thats why the AMD chips may be clocked slower, but performance wise you would not be going any better with a faster P4. Speed is not king, performance is king. Speed is a close 2nd heh.

With the amount of money you are working with you really don't want to even go near Intel stuff. You will get much more performance for price with AMD stuff.

I just spec'd out an upgrade for a friend that came close to $200 and will prolly out perform most ppl's systems here. This is a break down of what he is getting:

Newegg - This site it top notch, why so many ppl like them.
Epox 8RDA+ = This is the newest version of the Nforce2 board from epox, a C1 stepping which means basically version 2 which means more stable at over 200mhz. Ppl have gotten this board to 244fsb = insane! Newegg has this board right now for $96, that is an incredible price. Its feature wise comparable to a Asus 87N8X Deluxe at much cheaper price. Someone earlier mentioned the Nforce chipset, sorry but that thing is old and junk. The Nforce2 chipset is the only new AMD chipset worth a crud, I don't care for Via anymore.

As for chip:
AMD XP1700 + OEM T-BRED-B JIUHB 0309
That JIUHB is from a batch of XP1700's that are way underclocked. This chip can clock up close to 2.5ghz, hit 2.2 without a sweat. Its only $53 and this site has great reviews.
http://www.gameve.com/store/gameve_v...?idproduct=267

If you don't want to mess with OC'ing, I'd suggest getting an AMD XP2500/333 or 2600/333. The prices on these new Bartons have dropped like a rock in the last cpl weeks.

RAM
Not that big a deal. You want atleast PC2700. I would suggest a name brand such as Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin. Here you can really pay as much or as little as you want. Minimum price for a 512 stick is prolly gonna be about $65 range for Kingston cas 2.5.

Heatsink
Volcano 7+ is $28. You can spend more and get better, but this is a very good one for a Volcano series, don't get the 9.

So thats about $250 for:
A TOP of the line MB that you can seriously upgrade to better chips later. A chip that will do decent as is, but if you learn how to OC will FLY and perform better than chips costing 3x as much. Good, not great, DDR ram that will highly out perform any SDRAM. And a very reliable All Copper heatsink.

Both newegg and gameve have great deals on S/H right now also. Both have great reviews under www.resellerratings.com. If I were you I would take what you had left and get a 9500 Pro. If you can get this card for under $150 your getting a deal. Its not quite as good as a 9700 Pro. The only other card in its performance range is the TI4600 which generally can't find under $190 to often.

Gluck and hope you get a good system.

Mydis · 2003-04-23, 10:55 PM

Originally posted by Sentrosi
is there a coupon attached to the freebie offer? You may have to cut/paste the coupon number in a coupon field in order to receive it. Just like buying groceries in the store.

I dont see any coupon numbers or places to enter coupon numbers. I sure it is really obvious and I am just missing it.

Ok, here's the exact description of the free item(this one happens to be a zodiac paper weight

)
___________

Zodiac Paper Weights Leo (July 23 -August 21) -- Astrological Zodiac Paper Weight.This is a block of crystal glass with a three dimensional Astrological Zodiac inside it. It's done with a laser heating a very tiny area inside the glass, creates a very tiny bubble of air inside the glass. Thousands of these bubbles of air at varying heights and depths creates a three dimensional shape suspended inside the glass.
Limited Time Offer: Free with ANY VGA Card or Hard Drive Product!
How does it work: Buy any qualified item and add this T-Shirt to cart. Credit Given at Order Confirmation. Limit One Per Customer Model#: LEOGLASSGIFT Special Free FedEx Saver Shipping
___________

Does this mean that after I confirm the purchase of the comp parts I can go back and order the freebie, or the freebie automatically gets sent with my purchase or what? And is that mention of a T-shirt a typo? That is the only mention of a shirt in either the paper wieght or video card descriptions.

Sentrosi · 2003-04-24, 02:35 AM

The freebie is added after you confirm your order. It'll show up as being charged, but before you submit, double check to see if you're being charged.

Mydis · 2003-04-25, 02:35 AM

Ok, everything ordered(never did get my damn freebies). I knocked the Processor down to a 1800, but other than that everything you (sentrosi)recommended for the comfortable price of $397 including tax and shipping.

Anything I should know or be doing untill my parts arrive?

Keep an eye on this thread. I will have a million questions when it comes time to put it all together.

Sentrosi · 2003-04-25, 02:46 AM

Just a couple of questions...

1) Have you ever put a system together?

2) Do you have a place to put this together? This may sound like a stupid question, but I hope you're not going to assemble this on the carpet! I recommend setting it up and installing everything on your computer desk, if you have room. If you don't, set up a card table in the computer room.

You may have to buy an extra 3 pin connector, if the 9500pro doesn't come with one. You can find one of them right here. Just cut off the yellow RPM sensor, you won't need it.

Mydis · 2003-04-25, 02:23 PM

1. Nope. (thought that was pretty obvious =)

2. Yes, I can clear the gunk off my computer desk and set up there.

Looking at some computer construction sites, they make a big deal out of getting shock resistant wrist bands and what not. Do I really need one of these or will I be ok as long as I make sure to touch my case before touching any of my parts? If a wrist band is that important, could I just use some rubber dish washer gloves instead?

Sentrosi · 2003-04-25, 04:53 PM

The main thing to remember when assembling a computer is that ESD will wreck everything you put into it. That being said....

In order for you to be truly ESD safe, you need to be grounded to a true ground. The computer case is not considered a "true" ground. Even if you use one of those clippy ESD wrist bands and clip it to the case, you're not truly grounded. The inside of the cases these days have either a primer or a glossy finish to them. You have to scratch away at the surface paint to get to the bare metal. Seeing as this isn't really a ground anyway, you're wasting your time.

In order to get a true ground, go out and buy a short length (6' or smaller) 3 prong extension cord. It's ok if its the cheapest you can find, you're going to hack away at it anyway. Now, take that cord, cut off the female end (the end that you plug stuff into) and peel away the insulation. You'll see three colored wires, white, green and black. The Green wire is the ground, the other two are AC power. You'll want to peel the insulation back about a foot or so from your first cut. Then, cut off the Black and White wires and wrap some electrical tape around the exposed wires. Then, come back up to the green wire, strip away the insulation til you see bare wire. Clip your wristband to it and then plug in your cord. You've just brought true ground to your band.

Or, you can be like many of us and just be extra careful NOT to touch any exposed contact surfaces. Anything that looks gold or silver do NOT touch. Touch only surfaces that are green. Handle each component like it was a nuclear bomb. You should be fine.

Mydis · 2003-04-25, 06:17 PM

Hmm... cutting the end off a wire, attaching the exposed wire to my wrist, and pluging in the wire. Sounds like a good way to electrocuit myself.

I think Ill go with the "Dont touch the metal parts" methods.

Mydis · 2003-05-01, 06:56 PM

Well crap.

Got my parts today. The box that contained my case is covered in dents, cuts, and one esspecially large gash, 5 of which you can see from INSIDE the box. The things inside the box are no better off. The styroform around the case is in pieces, the front panel of the case has all of the bracket things that hold it on broken off, the bottom of the front panel is badly cracked in two places, and the metal panel where the hardware meets the mouse, keyboard, etc. wires is warped.

The back panel I could easily correct with a pair of pliars. It is the front panel that is the problem. I dont know if newegg or fedex is at blame for this, but I am very dissapointed. Arr... I dont know if I should send it back and get a new one, or if I should just glue this one back together.

Im going to check my other box and see how well my other parts did....

Sentrosi · 2003-05-02, 11:34 AM

Give newegg a call. They'll most likely give you the customer service number to FedEx. I've never had a problem when it comes to FedEx taking back something they damaged in shipping.

Mydis · 2003-05-02, 06:38 PM

Ok, newegg is sending me a new front panel.

About the epox motherboard: You said you have the same mobo, right? Well how do you go about putting the metal piece that comes with the motherboard(the one that goes over mouse, usb, moniter, etc slots) to connect to the motherboard properly? It has all kinds of wierd tabs and things that look as though they are supposed to connect to something or serve some kind of purpose, but as far as I can tell: they dont.

Things going well so far, other than that.

Sentrosi · 2003-05-03, 02:13 AM

You're talking about the back plate, right? On my case, it was a simple push-in that secured it. You'll have to remove your old backplate from your case in order to use it.

Those prong things that are inside the plate (when looking at it from being attached to the case) are used as grounding points so no ESD (electro-static discharge) comes out. When you slide your mobo into the case, those things will touch the metal parts of the connectors inside the case. It may take some working around inside your case, but it'll be nice and snug when in.