New System

[farmer]

OK guys, I'm building a new system and I wanted to show the specs and get some input from you on diff components. Here is the idea I have so far......

CoolerMaster ATC110 Case
ThermalTake 420watt PSU
P4 2.8gig CPU
Gigabyte 8INXP mobo
Corsair PC2700 512mb ? here
WD 80gig HDD SE
ATI 9700 PRO ? here
Philips Acoustic Edge soundcard (have now)
Toshiba DVD-ROM
Lite On 48x CD-RW
WINXP PRO


This is what I have on my mind but would really like some input as to memory and video card. I'm really not impressed with the GFX after what I see but still have a lot of ? with Ati drivers.

Let me know what you think.....

Later....

[jAkUp]

very nice.... how fast is that dvd rom? as for memory, go with corsair, i have 512mb from them, and i think they are very stable, and very fast.

[The Baron]

Toshiba drive is 16x. Actually, I'd go with the Pioneer slot-loading drive instead of the Toshiba drive... EVERYBODY loves the Pioneer slot-loading drive. :p

And, if the difference in price isn't that great, I'd go with the PC3200 RAM because the upcoming P4s with the 800Mhz FSB will probably use PC3200.

[farmer]

OK, as far as memory goes, Corsair has two different versions, the XMS and the regular. There's a fair diff in $. What is the real difference in this ram?

Far as the DVD-ROM I been told the slot loading isn't the best for different size media. Don't know for sure, that's more of a question......

Far as video card, with a new install, would all the old Ati issues be a lot less likely to happen? (Last Ati card I had was a 8500, never did get it to install)


Later......

[The Baron]

XMS has more aggressive timings, AFAIK. So more aggressive timings equals faster performance, but it's up to you if the difference is price is worth it.

As for the tray v. slot loading issue... do you actually use teeny optical media? Because if you do, I'd like to shake your hand--you're the first person I've ever met that does so. :p

Yes, with a fresh install, the ATI driver issues are much less likely to be evident.

[farmer]

Thanks for your input Baron..........

[The Baron]

Hmmm... one last thing.

At this point, I would go with a 9500 Pro or a 9700. Probably a 9500 Pro. It will easily hold you over until R400 or NV35/NV40, and those cards are going to be WAY faster than the R300/NV30. :D

[farmer]

OK, the card I have right now is a Leadtek Geforce3 Ti500, and I've actually toyed with the idea of just running it for a few months until the new cards came out. The card still runs fine, just a very poor OC'er, which at persent is no big deal.

Later....

[budd_wm]

Farmer, I would wait for nVidia's or ATI's next card as a GF3 still does pretty good now a days. Your system specs are nearly identical to mine. However, I am watercooling which will make a difference in OCing (maybe not a very large one, but a noticeable one). I'll be posting specifics on how I got my final OC and what worked well and what did not work well in the Processors and Mobo forum. Stay tuned, might post it tonight.

[The Baron]

I'm kinda in that "can't upgrade much" category. If I were to upgrade my video card, I'd be horribly CPU limited (1.4Ghz TBird). If I were to upgrade my processor, I'd need a new mobo. Then I'd need new RAM. And then, if I didn't upgrade my video card, I'd need a new video card because I'd be horribly video card limited. :p

So I decided to wait for Hammer, R350, and NV35. Should be an interesting time...

[s3ntry]

Originally posted by The Baron
Actually, I'd go with the Pioneer slot-loading drive instead of the Toshiba drive... EVERYBODY loves the Pioneer slot-loading drive. :p

I had a slot-loading Pioneer until about a month ago when the slot-loading mechanism just broke on me (the drive was about a year old). For the last couple of weeks it started making some weird clicking noises everytime i inserted a cd and the drive would take a long time to pick up reading and a long time to eject as well, until one day it just stopped working. I was lucky to get the cd out of the drive since, unlike the tray-loading drives, you cant open it up and take out a cd with the drive off, if it gets jammed inside.

I have a Lite-On DVD-ROM now and i can say it's way better than the Pioneer drive, it may not look as sexy as the slot-in drive, but it sure performs better than the Pioneer ever did!

[budd_wm]

Aw shut up. ;) Slot load rules. :D

[SnakeEyes]

So you've NEVER received free software on one of those mini credit-card type CDs, The Baron? ;)

Not that I think that's necessarily a reason to care, since most of that free stuff stinks anyway. :D

[The Baron]

Originally posted by SnakeEyes
So you've NEVER received free software on one of those mini credit-card type CDs, The Baron? ;) Oh, you mean AOL CDs? I have but one word for you:

Skeet.

[SnakeEyes]

Originally posted by The Baron
Oh, you mean AOL CDs? I have but one word for you:

Skeet.

ROFL. Funny! :D

But not the ones I was talking about. Still, for most people here, the ones I'm talking about are still mostly useless. (Most of the ones I've seen are for my kids- things like the X-Men cartoon interactive discs that came with McDonalds' Happy Meals, or the Crayola Coloring Activity disc that she got with some crayons.) ;)

[-=DVS=-]

I would suggest 1 drive its DVD 16x and CD-R/RW all in one and cheap
Samsung CDRW Combo Model SM-348BEA 48x24x48 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=5&manufactory=1077&DEPA=0&sortby=14&order=1)

[lagadu]

Originally posted by The Baron
I'm kinda in that "can't upgrade much" category. If I were to upgrade my video card, I'd be horribly CPU limited (1.4Ghz TBird). If I were to upgrade my processor, I'd need a new mobo. Then I'd need new RAM. And then, if I didn't upgrade my video card, I'd need a new video card because I'd be horribly video card limited. :p

So I decided to wait for Hammer, R350, and NV35. Should be an interesting time...

well, you'll have to start somewhere :)
i had my 9700pro on my tbird 1ghz for about one month :cool: