ronsandiego
11-03-2001, 07:10 AM
Fairly new to sysopt. Lots of bright and experienced people. I want your inputs.
I am a long-time computer user, but always had bought them preassembled. So I am brandnew to putting together a new system from the inside. I want a relatively fast system, but not looking to spend an arm and a leg....... Would like advice on components. Here are my objectives and thoughts to this point >>> My objective is to use the system to practice installing and runningWin 2k Pro, Win2k server, SQL server, etc, ... among other OS's. Also want to get familiar with various dual boots. Will use as part of home network. Not getting Win XP yet, but maybe in future. Not big into games so don't need the ultimate in graphics capabilities, but want some decent video.
From my reading so far and talking to knowledgeable friends, I am leaning toward something in this area....1.0 to1.4 Athlon, 512 - 1024 DDR, 266, 30 - 60 HDDs (maybe two). Also want to provide for using a removable HDD. Most likely would prefer a motherboard with LAN on board, but this is open. Not interested in overclocking. I know Athlons are cheaper for given speed, but from what I see reading a lot of the posts on the Motherboards forums, I see a lot more discussion of problems related to Athlon based motherboards than Intel based motherboards. I also understand that Athlons run hotter than Intel Pentiums. Talk to me about this issue. Not interested in having a lot of problems, so may consider Intel if consensus is that there are fewer problems. Still open on this Athlon vs Intel issue... Lower cost for speed of Athlons is appealing. Will be getting a large tower case. Have this picked out.
So please give me your inputs on this wideranging topic...There are dozens of motherboards available, and I have zero experience making these choices, so I need help narrowing this down...So tell me about the pros and cons of various models of motherboards--tell me about your favorites and ones to avoid. (Mention to me whether your favorite mobo has LAN onboard or not). I would like to spend less than about $190 on a motherboard. Preferably, more like $150 or so. Also talk to me about Raid, about your favorite HDDs, video cards, Athlon vs Intel chips, chipsets, etc, etc. fans, heat sinks, power supplies, etc.. and anything you can think of.
Obviously, I need stuff that is going to form a mutually compatible system. You can see I am not interesting in buying the very fastest processor on the market, or the absolute most expensive mobo, but want decent speed and good quality. I am interested in comments about the capability of any recommended motherboard to support later and better processors. If I end up getting Intel, I would probably be interested in a PentiumIII around 1.0, based on prices I have seen so far.
Also, I live in San Diego, and want to buy the stuff at a local store, vs over the net, so will invite comments on prices and reliability, etc, of the local stores. For example, if there are problems with trying to return stuff to a given store, I would like to know that, and do they back up what they sell, etc.
I appreciate all the input I can get. Thanks to everyone in advance...ron
I am a long-time computer user, but always had bought them preassembled. So I am brandnew to putting together a new system from the inside. I want a relatively fast system, but not looking to spend an arm and a leg....... Would like advice on components. Here are my objectives and thoughts to this point >>> My objective is to use the system to practice installing and runningWin 2k Pro, Win2k server, SQL server, etc, ... among other OS's. Also want to get familiar with various dual boots. Will use as part of home network. Not getting Win XP yet, but maybe in future. Not big into games so don't need the ultimate in graphics capabilities, but want some decent video.
From my reading so far and talking to knowledgeable friends, I am leaning toward something in this area....1.0 to1.4 Athlon, 512 - 1024 DDR, 266, 30 - 60 HDDs (maybe two). Also want to provide for using a removable HDD. Most likely would prefer a motherboard with LAN on board, but this is open. Not interested in overclocking. I know Athlons are cheaper for given speed, but from what I see reading a lot of the posts on the Motherboards forums, I see a lot more discussion of problems related to Athlon based motherboards than Intel based motherboards. I also understand that Athlons run hotter than Intel Pentiums. Talk to me about this issue. Not interested in having a lot of problems, so may consider Intel if consensus is that there are fewer problems. Still open on this Athlon vs Intel issue... Lower cost for speed of Athlons is appealing. Will be getting a large tower case. Have this picked out.
So please give me your inputs on this wideranging topic...There are dozens of motherboards available, and I have zero experience making these choices, so I need help narrowing this down...So tell me about the pros and cons of various models of motherboards--tell me about your favorites and ones to avoid. (Mention to me whether your favorite mobo has LAN onboard or not). I would like to spend less than about $190 on a motherboard. Preferably, more like $150 or so. Also talk to me about Raid, about your favorite HDDs, video cards, Athlon vs Intel chips, chipsets, etc, etc. fans, heat sinks, power supplies, etc.. and anything you can think of.
Obviously, I need stuff that is going to form a mutually compatible system. You can see I am not interesting in buying the very fastest processor on the market, or the absolute most expensive mobo, but want decent speed and good quality. I am interested in comments about the capability of any recommended motherboard to support later and better processors. If I end up getting Intel, I would probably be interested in a PentiumIII around 1.0, based on prices I have seen so far.
Also, I live in San Diego, and want to buy the stuff at a local store, vs over the net, so will invite comments on prices and reliability, etc, of the local stores. For example, if there are problems with trying to return stuff to a given store, I would like to know that, and do they back up what they sell, etc.
I appreciate all the input I can get. Thanks to everyone in advance...ron