Advice for a new gal...

[Infinitus]

Welcome, Annika
Agreed.
Another Asus fan here. I'd wait for the KT266A chipset before getting it though. Benchmarks are very impressive.
Graphics card I'd go with the GF2 Ti assuming you wait. Otherwise one of the other GF2 cards. Probably not worth the brute power of the GF3 or Ti500. May consider ATI cards if you use D3D a lot.
As for the OS, I'd go for ME or 98SE for gaming. I personally like ME because it boots/shuts down quickly even with network cards. (plus i had problems shutting down with 98SE)

[Tamahome]

hi guys! welcome me too

why is it no one seems to suggest ABIT motherboards? I have read some reviews that tells it was cool!!!

I have posted a thread "I want to build my own super PC" and sad to put it on forum named "CPU Overclocking" (hwaaaa!!!)

Niweiz back to business... what good combination of motherboard would you suggest guys?

isn't it? ABIT and NVidia???

[CocoMan]

Hey guys and gals, how about waiting for the new nforce motherboards? I hear they'll sell for under $200.

The onboard geforce 2 and XBox sound are more than enough for her gaming needs. It also comes with onboard 10/100 ethernet and a 56k softmodem so she can do some online gaming.

Here's the real reason I think she should get the nforce. It'll be so easy to setup. Just pop in the cpu,heatsink,2 ddr memory sticks,attach the harddrive and cdrom,install the OS and load the drivers from the cd supplied with the motherboard. No need to mess with jumpers or bios settings. The driver cd will probably use point and click menus for loading drivers. In the event that she might want to upgrade to faster graphics in the future, she could just pop in a geforce 3 without the need to reload drivers, since nvidia uses unified drivers.

[Infinitus]

Welcome to you too, Cocoman. Looks like you are also fairly new here.

I'm split between the nForce and KT266A chipsets. nForce has convenience and KT266A has pure performance. Anyone know whether the nForce has good OCing facilities? I suppose that would be dependent on the board manufacturer though........

[CocoMan]

Thanks for the welcome! Infinitus.

Yep, I'm a newbie. Just started yesterday, didn't know it was going to be so much fun!

I have come to the realization that no matter how much money I spend or amount of time spent studying and planning, will result in the perfect computer that fits all my needs. Therefore I have decided to build 3 seperate computers. (YYes...!)

1. A multimedia workstation for video editing, dvd and cd ripping, mp3 and dvd encoding and authoring.

2. A desktop pc for word processing, internet, home productivity, nude jpegs.

3. A kick-*** gaming pc for the latest games, bragging rights, boosting my deflated ego, even more nude jpegs. Also, it will be housed in a small flex-atx case with a flat panel display, so I can carry it to lan parties without breaking my back and looking like Quasimodo.

These are my modest life goals for my remaining years.

[Annika]

My goal is to achieve all of the above in one (apart from the cheesey jpegs) and I am quite happy so far.

__________________
Girl Genius(TM)


Windows ME operating system + CacheMan 5
AMD Athlon 1.4GHz CPU (266Mhz FSB)
<settings 10.5 x 133>
ASUS A7V-133C Mainboard (1007 v2 Beta BIOS)
768Mb PC133 memory
Quantum Fireball AS Plus 30Gb HD
HPT370 Raid Controller
2x 20Gb Seagate UDMA100 HDs
Samsung 308-b 8x4x32x12 CDRW/DVD drive
LG CRD-8522B 52x CD drive
Gainward CardExpert GeForce2 Mx 64Mb graphics
SoundBlaster Live! 1024 sound
HP UltraVGA 1024 Monitor
Microsoft Natural Elite USB keyboard
BrowserMouse USB wheel mouse
Thrustmaster Firestorm USB gamepad
MicroLab USB powered speakers
Mustek 1200UB USB Scanner
EPSON Stylus 580 USB inkjet printer
WinTV PVR USB Video Capture unit

Homebuilt and proud of it!

[CocoMan]

Annika, sorry about the jpeg crack! In these times of political correctness, it's hard to make a joke without offending someone. I tend to have a cronic case of foot in mouth disease.

Anyway, that's a very nice system you have. I especially like the amount of ram.

I noticed you have a wintv-pvr. I own the pci version. What do you think about the mpeg2 capture quality? My captures even at 12mbs seem dark and muddy. Also are you effected with audio sync problem on long captures? I would appreciate another users opinion.

[Annika]

Actually, for some reason only the HalfD MPEG2 formats are available on my installation - maybe this is a limitation of the USB version?

The synch problem might be down to the speed of your CPU and hard drive ... or possibly a clash with a systray background program (like RealPlayer control center) ... or even with your existing soundcard (requiring a sound driver update).

[nerdgirl]

The great stuff just keeps coming in. So, how do you find out about the nforce motherboards (when they come out, etc.)? I am still pretty undecided on motherboard. Just when I decide on one, I hear about the good/bad stuff of another. I'm very close in starting to buy my stuff, so I appreciate the super advice still coming through.

Thanks (as always),
ng

[Infinitus]

Hear ya on that one Cocoman! I think I'm going down the route of Annika though. An all in one system that will incapacitate me if I try to lift it! Tell you the specs when its built (waiting for the components :o .

Anyhow the nForce chipset has been finished by nVidia and some benchmarks have crept out. Slower than the KT266A (but not by much) and faster than any of the other competition. The general comment is "A hell of a good effort for a newcomer". I think at the moment its down to the manufacturer to optimise the boards and taylor them to their grand plan (benchamarks conducted on the reference board). This may mean that the final product of some manufacturers beats the KT266A
The KT266A is out now, and the updated boards should be released fairly soon if not already.

Nerdgirl, my suggestion is that you post the specs you're thinking of and any excess cash you may have above the price of the components you've listed. We can then all poke through the details, find the best deals and improve the spec. "Many hands make light work".

Hope the system goes to plan (eventually.......... )

[CocoMan]

Thanks Annika,
Yeah, your right! It's probably the onboard ac97 codec I'm using.

Nerdgirl,
You can find more info on the nforce chipset at Nvidias website or go here (http://www.anandtech.com/chipsets/sh...tml?i=1535&p=1) for one of the better previews.

Nvidia just posted a news release stating that all their graphic products (including the nforce) are now optimized to support all AMD processors. This includes the Duron and Athlon XP, along with optimization for Windows XP. This could just be marketing hype but still...!

It sounds like your feeling the itch to pull the trigger? My advice is pull away. Go find something else to do. Go read a book or find a boyfriend. Most modern relationships only last 2-3 months tops! By that time, the new stuff will be out and you can go back to gaming. At the very least, you can get a few free dinners out of the experience.

PS:Nerdgirl, if your only concern now is with the motherboard, may I suggest moving over to the motherboard forum and starting a new thread.

[ReefDogg]

Welcome Nerdgirl,

You'll find every one here is great and will give you good advice, they all did the same for me! So it's just a matter of doing your homework on mobo's, cards, procs. etc. I would say buy from a good online dealer, way cheaper than your local business's.

NewEgg, Allstarshop and Axion Tech are good and I've never had any problems with them. Just look at how much you want to spend and then go from there. But I do agree that the Samsung 955df is one awesome monitor!! Check Pricewatch for prices and also check the reseller ratings on a company.

Buts of luck!

[ReefDogg]

Welcome Nerdgirl,

You'll find every one here is great and will give you good advice, they all did the same for me! So it's just a matter of doing your homework on mobo's, cards, procs. etc. I would say buy from a good online dealer, way cheaper than your local business's.

NewEgg, Allstarshop and Axion Tech are good and I've never had any problems with them. Just look at how much you want to spend and then go from there. But I do agree that the Samsung 955df is one awesome monitor!! Check Pricewatch for prices and also check the reseller ratings on a company.

Best of luck!

[Lord Sech]

Nerdgal...

sorry im so late but as you were about a month ago, i was in the same situation 4 months ago.

as for the video card, you waited for the perfect time to build your system. There is such a great range of ge-force 3's to choose from right now. especially the new titanium 200 and 500 models from elsa.

If you re still undecided on the video card i would recommend the elsa 721. It has very impressive features (all of those of the gf-3) with a faster transfer speed and a tv-out option at a relatively low cost. I have heard retail prices at 250. Check it out at http://www.elsa.com/international/eu...gladiac721.htm

As far as speakers go, i didnt see what you are going to get but i bought the cambridge fps 1800 about 2 months ago and am very happy with them. And make sure you get a good heatsink/fan combo...preferably the gladiator ocz just in case you feel like getting the extra kick out of your system from overclocking.

Either way, keep the forus updated with your decisions.

-Sech

[CocoMan]

Hey Lord Sech,

If you want to reply to Nerdgirl, she's moved her thread to over here . I'm sure she would love to hear from you.