Building new system, your thoughts.

[Freakout]

Well at the end of the month(July) I will have around $1500-$2000 just for my new system. here's what I have in mind. I live in Ottawa, Canada so Canadian funds. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Full ATX tower 300w
Abit BX6 2 board
Intel PIII 500 cpu
128mb pc100 ram
Voodoo3 3000
SB live
10gb HD
40x cdrom
17" Monitor
Keyboard/mouse
canon printer
floppy
And a nic card for my Adsl connection.

Well can anyone make any suggestions or changes.

[Zonker]

I would consider a PPGA motherboard processor combination unless you are planning on serious CAD or Graphics tasks. I believe there will be better support and upgrade options in the futuire for the Socket 370

I would also look at a DVD/CD-ROM or CDR or CDRW instead of the CD-ROM. I have both a DVD and CDR.

There are personal, not really technical choices, but those would be my suggestions.

[BBA]

I like everything but the CD-rom, I would go with a Multi-beam 45X or a DVD. The rest is good, the V3's not bad but I tend to prefer the TNT2... Maybe I'd consider a P3 450 since it'll clock to about the same as the 500 but cost less.


BBA

[G_MAN]

sounds like a pretty decent computer. i guess i would say look at Asus's motherboards. i like the P2B-F which i think supports the PIII or maybe going with there P3B-F which i know supports PIII. i prefer Asus over Abit so i guess it is your own preference. also i agree with Zonker with the DVD drive instead of the cd-rom because i think in the mear future you'll wish you had. remember it takes software companies a while to catch up to hardware companies. i think there will be better games and things coming out on DVD. also go bigger with hard drive they are so cheap now that you should get atleast 18 gigs. i think it'll fit into your budget. i guess another personal preference is a HP printer. i have had both Canon and HP i like the HP better. sorry this reply is all over the place...just woke up.

[Stan]

Hi

Looking good...

HD: I would go from IBM, Gxp series (7200rpm, 2Mb cache, really fast)

Monitor: why not go for a 19" ? The difference in price is not that big. I have a Iiyama 450 (19") and I am really pleased with it.

You did not metion any speakers ? Sb Live is a good choice. You will need decent speakers. I have the Labtec APX 4620 (3 speakers set) connected to my sblive. The sound is great.

Printer: like G_MAN said, I like the HP 895Cxi, fast and quiet.

Motherboard, I will stick with slot 1 (ie PII/PIII). Abit is a good choice but I prefer Gigabyte, specially the BX2000.

Have fun

Stan

[Freakout]

Well I think I will be getting the Celeron 500A cpu, out here in Ottawa mid July, and should I get a speaker setup or just run it through my sterio system? Also looks like I will be looking for a IBM HD. You guys are great, thanks for the input.

Oh ya I am going to stick with a regular cdrom and not DVD, I already have a 2x2x6 HP 7200i Cdrw. And I find the Canon ink is cheaper than the HP.

[This message has been edited by Freakout (edited 07-05-99).]

[This message has been edited by Freakout (edited 07-05-99).]

[mango_22m]

1) why a full tower? are you looking to load it up with drives? you're probably better off with a mid-tower about 250W which will fit everything you need and still have room for more.

2) cant beat the BX6 rev 2 m/board. good choice there.

3) consider a PIII 450. the cost is far less and the performance difference is neglegable.

4) get a TNT2 instead of the voodoo. they're full 32bit and are a lot better, especially since its going to work with a PIII.

5) instead of the SBLive, check out the MX300 from Diamond. its based on the new aureal chipset and is awesome for gaming.

6) hdd size is good, but go for an IBM (7200rpm, 9ms). cost more but **** quick.

7) everyone here is saying DVD - but honestly, look at the cost of it. a DVD kit now will cost you at least US$100 more. they're still too expensive and not well supported yet unless you're guna watch movies on your computer (dont think so). the drive you're talking about is only worth about US$40, so upgrading it in 6-9 months time wont burn a hole in your wallet.

8) 17" monitor is just fine. but have a look at the specs on the one you get coz not all monitors are the same. you're better off with a better quality picture 17" than a cheap 19". brand is really irrelevant, only the specs. a 0.26 dot pitch, plus 16" viewable is what you'd consider a starting point.

9) which printer? all the canon's are good. ive worked with them for years and found canon's to be the most reliable and also print the best on plain paper.

10) speakers are important. if you're getting that sort of sound card you're guna need a good set of speakers to get the sound out of them. computer speakers are generally poor compared to what you'd get with a hifi system so have a listen to them and pick the ones you like.

otherwise you've got yourself a good setup that'll keep you busy for a long while.

good luck!

[Ygor]

Just a brief note... From what I've seen here so far, Western Digital hdd seems to be IBM under a cheaper but still well-respected name. Might save ya $20 or so.

[KillerBug]

Well, P3 500=P3 450 with a different multiplier, and twice the price, so screw that, get the 450. I like ABIT boards, and for now, it is a good choice. Try to keep about $325 left over, when the copermine Celerons comming, you can get a duel celeron ABIT and 2 copermine Celerons. How on only $325? Well, that should cover the motherboard, the first CPU, and an ALPHA sink, overclock it like crazy until ya sell your P3 and BX6.2 and get a seccond CPU and a seccond ALPHA. Also, you might want to upgrade your hard drive when you get that BP6, you can use 66mb/s drives on there, and who knows, once the copermines come out, maybee ABIT will have a board supporting AGP 4x.

[zodwell]

You may want to consider an Epson printer, naybe the 640. It is 1440X720, and does a fantastic job on photo quality paper. Also, HP printers have the name, but it seems their print heads are only 600X600 DPI (on the inkjet models). Of course, I have am HP672C, and I haven't had any problems with it yet...but if you want the photo quality, go with the Epson.

Forgo the speakers if you have a good stereo system.

[AndreBranco]

i think you should get the pentium 3 with the new mmx instructions! think about the future.

[Wiruz]

Don't go with the celeron, it can't be said enough. - perhaps a K6-III? 256 k's of full speed level 2 cache... trilevel - thats more than 2387 k's of cache on a PA-2013.... well, maybe i'm just an AMD fanatic.

Get a TNT2 instead of a Voodoo 3... much better

[ANTONIO E GUERRA]

If I may add to this discussion, the Celeron 466 is the best thing you can get for the money. If you can wait after September, Pentium III prices may come down. AmD new chip looks impressive in paper. As usual, AMD promises a lot but it never accomplishes according to the expectations. Another disadvantage, AMD new chip will require a new motherboard and its new release looks like a prototype for the new generation than a final release. I think we need to wait for a couple of months to really appreciate new Amd release. It will be worth waiting, you might get AMD chip cheaper and with less bugs from the manufacturer.

[This message has been edited by ANTONIO E GUERRA (edited 07-08-99).]

[Freakout]

Well guys I am definetly getting the Abit BX6-2 motherboard and a Celeron cpu probably the 400mhz. I figure that the newer stuff comming out will be very buggy and maybe christmass time or next spring I'll go 600+ with either a K7 or Intel cpu.

Again thanks for all the idea's.

[Traveller]

I would definitely ditch the Voodoo card and go for a TNT2 video card. If you can be patient the MATROX G400 should be out in a few months. It will probably kick some serious bootie.

[Freakout]

Yes the G400MAX is the card of choice for me now, At the end of this month I make the BIG purchase guy's. I can wait for the G400 and just use my Voodoo2 SLI and i740 card. Will the Celeron 400 be enough for the G400, I heard it is very CPU dependent.