Got the buyin bug....

[Swedishlf]

Alright all, I got around $100 - $180 (if I feel the cause is worthy) burnin a hole in my pocket and I have the computer equipment buyin' bug. You know what I'm talking about. First Christmas in 7-8 years where I didn't ask for or recieve a single computer component. (another hobby needed to get set up over christmas if you're wondering why). So now I'm needing my fix.

Okay, Things I'm looking at:
CPU
MOBO
Graphics card
Hard Drive

Present state of each:
Athlon 1700+ (I've been out of the loop for a while, but this is one from about 5/02 and I think there are newer versions of the athies out there. Just so you know. Oh and this was purchased after I hosed my 1800+ with a botched unlocking job... did I unlock the 1700+ though? Damn straight I did .)

MSI K7t266 Pro 2 Ver 2.0

Radeon 8500, not the LE version

And a 40 GB Maxtor 5400RPM IDE plain Jane HD that is Partition 33GB for Windows 7 GB for Linux and used up about 76% and 50% respectively on each... Just slow as hell IMHO.


What I'm looking at for each
CPU: Not a clue, like I said, I'm out of the loop and I got the bug, so if you vote for this, specify what I should move up to. Anything will work, just so long as it's in my price range and I can overclock the hell out of it on air.

Mobo: I get the feeling that my mobo is not quite the best these days, but again I'm out of the loop. Same thing applies as CPU, if you think this would better serve me then let me know which kind and make sure I can overclock the hell out of something using it.

Graphics card: Well, if I can find a Radeon 9500 non pro.... That's really the only thing I'd look to upgrade too right now. I've got an itchy finger ever since the modding news came about. I'm waiting to see how the artifacting goes, and maybe even if the software mod works... Other than this though I wouldn't upgrade my card for a while to come I think, at least wait for an NV30 to drive down the price of the 9700's a bit.

HD: Looking at the WD 80 GB 7200 RPM with 8MB Cache. I would use it all for windows and make Linux at least half of my old 40 gig drive, if not just the whole damn thing. If you guys think it better, I could get another of my ****ty HD's and a raid controller for a little more than the 80 Gig drive. I'm going more for speed than for alot more space (80 gig total would be PLENTY) but reliability is also key.


So there is my dilemma. What is a boy to do? Your input is much appreciated, especially if you think a CPU or MOBO would be my best bet as I haven't paid much attention to that area of the scene for a few months. Thanks all!

[ThreeOnTheTree]

I hope you know that you will probably only be able to buy one thing.

Your CPU is fine, IMO, so we'll skip that one.

Motherboard: You could get a nicely loaded nForce2 board. Some come with SATA, Firewire, quality onboard sound, and support for 333fsb XPs. The Asus A7N8X Deluxe is good, as is the Epox RDA+, I think.

Video card: Maybe a R9500 or a GF4 of some kind.

Hard Drive: I'd wait until SATA comes out, if you can. That way you aren't already "in the hole" on that technology when it comes out.

I would go with a newer mobo.

[Swedishlf]

I know! The only being able to buy one thing is why I'm in this mess! hehehe

The mobo idea sounds good, but I don't have need for any firewire connections... How much better will Serial ATA really be though? Any good speculative links ?

Thanks for the input!

[Kid Chaos]

If you're beginning a process of evolution in upgrading, start with a motherboard. A good one. Future-proof and all. I would pick the Abit NF7-S. Do a word-search for "NF7-S" in this forum for more info.

Tell us *everything* you know about your power supply, case, memory, etc.

And a 40 GB Maxtor 5400RPM IDE plain Jane HD that is Partition 33GB for Windows 7 GB for Linux and used up about 76% and 50% respectively on each... Just slow as hell IMHO.

This may not be true in your case but it is possible your hard drive is slow because it's running in PIO mode (slow!). It should be running in DMA mode. In my version of windows (windows XP), I can go to START->Control Panel->System->Hardware->Device Manager->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers to check. Make sure when you check the properties for both the primary and secondary channels, "DMA if available" is their transfer mode.

[Todd a]

What memory and power supply you got? What OS? Sound card? Do you like your case or want to do some mods? There are a lot of options out there. The hard drive and graphics card you listed would be my choice. If I got a new MB and CPU, it would over run your budget pretty quick. I would get the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 board ($160) and an Athlon XP 2400+ ($175). You can get cheaper, but then you might as well stick with what you got unless your currant board will take the tbred cored Athlons.

I would make sure your system has at least 256MB DDR. If it does not then get some more memory. You could probably get the hard drive and some more memory and slip under the $180.

How about a new set of speakers like the Creative Labs 5200 retail 5.1 suround speakers for $63 +9 shipping and a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 for $108 (free shipping) here:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...116-116&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...102-154&depa=1

That would be a nice combo. How about an Antec AMG-1000 case for $70 +$15 shipping here:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...129-124&depa=1

Through in some LED fans for $7 here (better than NewEgg if you get more than one):

http://www.directron.com/superflower.html

You could also get into water cooling if you wanted, but you would have to be an advanced overclocker to try that.

How about better cooling. A nive SK-7 and a good LED 80mm fan would be nice and quiet and run you about $40. How about a nice case window and cold cathode light. Digital Doc 5.0, Vantec fan control, new blowhole with a laser-cut grill. Case applicate. Thumb screws. how about the new Logitech MX-700 cordless optical mouse and a nice Rat Pad. How about a good TV Tuner and remote keyboard/mouse combo. How about a nice force feed-back joystick. How about round IDE cables.

[Marvt74]

woah todd lots of ideas there man
i would go with the memory and hard drive choice

[Todd a]

Hey if you get anything you need to get one of these little remote controlled cars that are smaller than a Matchbox Car. NewEgg hjas them for only $11.99 with free shipping. I had to get one.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...999-302&DEPA=1



Just think of what the cat will think of this one!

[Swedishlf]

Wow, thanks for all the ideas guys!

As for the information you requested, I guess I'll spill the beans on the rest of my rig:
Enermax 431 Watt PSU
512 MB Kingston ValuRam DDR333 (2x256 sticks) with Aluminum Heat Spreaders
SoundBlaster Live! Value (not the best I know, but I'm not an audiophile and it seems to put out about what I want right now)
Win2k Pro OS
12x Creative DVD drive
40x12x46 Liteon CD Burner
Linksys LNE100TX NIC
Swiftech HSF (Can't remember the model, sorry)

That's about it...

As for the case and water cooling options and such.... I won't be taking any mod advice just yet for this case. I've got a brilliant little scheme that I hope will come to fruition this summer or sooner. Complete overhaul of my case with an integrated water cooling solution. So I don't want to spend money on Modding till I can do it the way I want. And my cooling seems to be adequate for now (though I'm itching to slap a waterblock on there).

I'll check out the NF7-S definately, and I might consider a new heatsink if the price is right. Can anyone reccomend a very good but preferably quiet one? I had to install a rheostat on the present one so I could hear my music over the fan!

I checked the Hard drive operation mode as you suggested and it lists the present mode as "Ultra DMA Mode 2."

Thanks again for your input everyone!

[Marvt74]

slk-800 pretty much the best air cooled choices available though a little steep.
worth the extra $ though

[ThreeOnTheTree]

You are a perfect canidate for an nForce2 motherboard with the SMP-T southbridge. It will give you better audio than your SB Live!, and it will love that PC2700.

FYI: buymstar.com is selling the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe for $137.00 shipped. That's where I got mine, and it came in less than a week (CA to MO).

[Kid Chaos]

Enermax 431 Watt PSU
512 MB Kingston ValuRam DDR333 (2x256 sticks) with Aluminum Heat Spreaders
SoundBlaster Live! Value (not the best I know, but I'm not an audiophile and it seems to put out about what I want right now)
Win2k Pro OS
12x Creative DVD drive
40x12x46 Liteon CD Burner
Linksys LNE100TX NIC
Swiftech HSF (Can't remember the model, sorry)

Excellent! With an nforce2 board, you can sell the sound card and Network card, Abit NF7-S is very strong in those two departments. Everything else is very solid.

Note: Some early versions of the Abit NF7-S did not come with mounting holes. Could be some of those versions still floating around out there. Newer ones should have the mounting holes. The mounting holes are required for some heatsinks.

Note: I may be wrong about this but I think the Thermalright SLK-800 is a heatsink only (no fan). So, you would use the fan you already have (not sure if it would be compatible) or buy a new one (check to see what fans others are using with their SLK-800s). If you plan to upgrade your heatsink, ditto on the SLK-800 recommendation!

[Kid Chaos]

I checked the Hard drive operation mode as you suggested and it lists the present mode as "Ultra DMA Mode 2."

OK. So, it is in DMA Mode. Just want to make sure.

[Swedishlf]

I'm Intruiged... Very intruiged by all this motherboard talk Methinks my mind is being made up...

Especially if I can get good on board sound and Network capabilities.... The linksys is a bit aged, but I have a box sittin here dying to crack SETI full time as soon as I have the spare parts... An extra NIC is a step in the right direction

Thanks again guys! Research commencing

[Todd a]

Well since you already have 2 sticks of memory the nForce2 board would be an easy switch. The Abit board is OK, but I like the ASUS board with it's dual NICs. Here is a reveiw of 6 boards:

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1759

It shows some nice performance gains over even a VIA KT400 motherboard, let alone your KT266A board. High end business apps though gain the biggest boost with these boards.

[Kid Chaos]

The Abit board is OK, but I like the ASUS board with it's dual NICs

Asus has yet to release a stable BIOS and their tech support is not up to par. The Abit NF7-S is The Top-Dog. For more info, ask the nForce junkies who hang out in this forum. Also, you can read about all the problems with the Asus A7N8X over at THG's forum.