First Time Building a system Need a little help.

[jerrmz]

Ok, I'm building myself a system, and I could use a little help.

-Shuttle AK31 Motherboard/ Athlon XP 1700 1.5 GHz/ 266 Bus
Speed/ Fan & Heatsink

-Black Full Tower case/300 W power supply

-GeForce 4 Ti 4200 128 MB

-256 MB PC2100 DDR Memory

-Black Floppy/ CD ROM drive

-40 Gig Hard Drive 7200 RPMs
==========================

Now, I've been reading some things, and I'm wondering. Whats a RAID controller, whats it used for, and do I need it?

[AllGamer]

Originally posted by jerrmz

Now, I've been reading some things, and I'm wondering. Whats a RAID controller, whats it used for, and do I need it?

Ok setup, not enough power to my taste.

as for your questions

RAID, forget about it, you'll need minimum 2 x 40 gig drives for your configuration to work.

RAID can be a backup device, or a big huge HDD, depending how you configure it.

you can find more indepth detail on google.com, i don't want to confuse you, but that's the simplest way of understanding RAID.

Oh it's not same as the RAID for insect killers :D :p

as for your other questions, well, even if you need it, you can't, cuz you only have 1 HDD right now.

and you'll need to have a RAID controller, your mobo if i remember properly should have come with it build in.

[jerrmz]

Ok, Good, I wasnt sure what it was/if I needed it. I didnt want to miss something important.


What do you mean not enough power?

[DocEvi1]

he means as game machine, your computer lacks the oomph that many of us require.
Isn't the mboard you are going to use an intergrated unit?

Stefan

[AllGamer]

Yup EvilDoc read my mind

i was thinking on the GAME wave legnth

what you have there, seems like my office work computer instead.

[BipolarBill]

IMHO, that's plenty of "grunt" for gaming. Heck, my main gaming rig is a P3 1.2 w/Ti4400. I have no issues at all.

I would, however, put a purpose-built 350W or 400W PSU in that rig. The Athlon/nVidia combo will cause local brownouts in your neighborhood. http://membres.lycos.fr/limagerie/lol.gif

[rangeral]

If its a quality psu then it might hold up but if its generic then expect problems down the road, enermax or antec would do the trick.

Millions of users do without raid so don't worry about it.

[jerrmz]

Ok, I'm getting an Alienware Case (without the Logo) and a 400 W power supply.

I'm staying with the Mobo and processor.

I'm spending 650 dollars on the machine, I'm not really trying to build the "Dream System" because I don't have the money, but I can always upgrade later when I get it.

Anything you see wrong?

[BipolarBill]

Originally posted by jerrmz
Anything you see wrong? Nope.

[j.m@talk]

Originally posted by rangeral

Millions of users do without raid so don't worry about it.

Did a Bank Raid once! Most Satisfying ;)

[jerrmz]

Yeah, I'm familiar with Crucial.

[iceblue]

Originally posted by jerrmz
Yeah, I'm familiar with Crucial.
someone i know ordered pc2700 ddr from crucial, and returned within a week cuz it was bad. with a new replacement, months later his ram is dead again...somehow.

[BipolarBill]

I have scads of Crucial RAM. None has gone bad.

[jerrmz]

Mind sending me some ;)

[BipolarBill]

http://www.uniquehardware.co.uk/server-smilies/contrib/Bizkit/sweat.gif

[j.m@talk]

Me thinks you asked 4 that one BPB :D :r :D

[jerrmz]

Well...RAM is kinda expensive.

[jerrmz]

Yes, I have enough money for the 256 DDR PC2100 RAM,

And I'm getting a Green Alienware case w/ window and neon light.

[iceblue]

Originally posted by wallijonn
why not buy a white $50 tower instead and apply the $75 towards the ram?

icecube, there could be many reasons why the crucial pc2700 could have gone bad, to wit, power supply, overclocking, motherboard design (supposedly the new via ddr400 boards can't even run with ddr400, while the new sis boards are supposedly completely stable).

who might that be? :D

(u did, however give me a good idea for a future sn)

[pandaz3]

Seems to be a theme "Quality parts means Quality product" You guys always show the way and the WHY. thanks:)

[BipolarBill]

Originally posted by jerrmz
I'm getting a Green Alienware case w/ window and neon light. I'm gonna get a green neon light, but have decided that I don't need the PC. :rolleyes:

[Giblet Plus!]

Allgamer - The AK31 isn't an integrated everything mobo. It's just got sound. It's got a via KT266 (not KT266a) chipset, and it's made by shuttle. I should know - I used to have one. I did a bad BIOS flash, and now I've got a MSI KT3 Ultra. (mmm, red PCB) :x

[jerrmz]

Yeah its got integrated sound, but no integrated video.

I'm going to pass up on a soundcard for now, and use the buildin sound.

(I'm short on cash remember)