System??

[Cyric]

Ok here goes, this is what I got so far:

CPU= Duron 750

MOBO= Asus A7V w/o sound

HD= Either Maxtor 20GB 7200rpm
or Segate 9GB 10000rpm

Video Card= Looking at Radeon 64mb VIVO need something
that will be able to play DVD's to TV set with good
picture quality

Case= Antec SX1030

Cooling Fan= not sure

RAM= Crucial 256mb PC133 CL2

What do you guys think? What else do I need, will add CD writer and other non-essential things later. Will mostly surf the net, play games, and watch DVD's (to the TV from video out)
Help me out guys. Thanks

Cyric

[Cyric]

Help Somebody???

Just trying to learn.

Thanks Cyric

[Memo]

Cooling....hmm, there's a lot of things you can go with. I like the Vantec, GobalWin HSFs. You choose as I don't know what kind of noise level you like. As far as video card, I have never used the Radeon, I hear it's great though. I have a Herc. GeForce2 GTS 64MB. It has a Tv-Out i've used for DVD to my tv, works great as well.

[OC]

I'm going to build a system to show off, so I'm going to use a Core cooler from http://www.cpufx.com. LPM here at G|A frequently posts HSF reviews from different hardware sites, so be sure to check those. Also check http://www.thetechzone.com and http://www.hardocp.com for similar links. Also pay http://www.plycon.com a visit.

I wouldn't bother with a 64mb video card. One of the current darlings of the geek crowd is the ATI Radeon 32 DDR, with or without VIVO per your personal preference.

-OC

[Edited by overclocked on 04-07-2001 at 08:32 PM]

[cruelpupet]

might want to go with a board that support DDR Ram

For future upgrades

if you play a lot of games, 9gb of hard drive space isnt that much. i have a 15 gig and a 60 gb, before i got the 60gb, the 15 was so full with 15 games i had to keep writing cdr's to backup anything that wasnt an application just to have enough space for the page file (this is a pain, try finding stuff on 20 unorganized cdr's. some new games need well over a gig for the full install. something to keep in mind when choosing a hard drive.

as for cooling, the best hsf's tend to be noisy, but if youre not gonna oc you dont need the best.

the radeon 32 (ddr or sdr) is probably the best right now short of getting a dvd decoder card, but the 64 MIGHT help on games. the emphasis on might because you might not care about the little extra detail for the extra money you have to spend. this is really up to you.

as for ram, crucial makes great stuff, but i suggest getting mushkin pc133 rev3.0. i dont know the price difference, the mushkin is guarenteed to do 150mhz if you ever plan to oc. (if you do, you might want to consider cooling for this ram)

[cruelpupet]

or look into the Kingmax Tiny BGA ram..I love that stuff

Im using 2 128 sticks of it PC150 Cas 2

ive used kingmax tinybga pc133 cas2 and havent been that happy with it. i hear its pretty good with heat, but ive had lots of trouble with it at 133 222. not many problems with it at 133 333 though. ive had great results with mushkin at 133 222.

is there a huge difference if i run some ram at cas2 or cas3? i know when i benchmark it there is a significant difference, but is there a real world difference?

[froggystyle]

actually check out the ddr deal thing i posted......it seems you could put to gether a system such as this follow

1 gig athlon 266 bus
msi 266 mobo
256 crucial ddr ram
in win case 300 watt
+ fan

all that will run about 500

add about $100 for a 7200 rpm 20 gig maxtor
(dont buy wd...nothing but trouble)

add burner of your choice for about 100-150
add vidcard...depending on what you want... 80-200
sound card between 50 and 100 for sblive

modem or whatever...20 bucks

total comes to...

about 800 bucks for a ddr base system system

maybe a thousand for better video and better sound

[froggystyle]

and thatw if you include cd writer...without that you can take out a hundred bucks or so..cut the base price to 700