I've really enjoyed this thread, folks. I am on the verge of ordering (from NewEgg)
all the parts for my first home-built system. My P-III 450 died a couple of months
ago and I have been limping along on my old Gateway P-166 (hey, a matter of cash
flow and job woes).
So, now that I'm flush again, I have been looking at the following:
- ASUS P4S533
- Intel 1.6a or 1.8a
- Corsair, Samsung, or Crucial RAM (in order of prefeference) at 256mb of 2700, CL2 or better
- Antec Case, probably a nice big 1060 w/430 watts (question on that coming up)
The only reason I haven't ordered the kit is that the mobo went out of stock while I was
dithering.
I have a Maxtor 40GB 7200rpm and a couple of smaller hard drives that I will simply
hoover over to the bigger drive while adding a second identical or bigger Maxtor.
Software, including OS, is not a problem. I've got XP Home ready to go.
Now, after reading this thread, I wonder about my choice of the ASUS P4S533. I'm
not locked into ASUS; I looked at Soya, Gigabytr, MSI, and even Intel for the same reasons
recommended. I've never overclocked, though I would like to play in that sandbox in a minor
kind of way. The choice of an ASUS was because I had heard they were one of the more
reliable boards. I didn't like the lack of USB2.0 support but hey, a PCI card would have cured that.
I do like the idea of just about everything I'll want to try is on the GA-81EXP. I have a LAN card, I have
a Creative X-Gamer 5.1 card, but still, I could put those in another system for my gf.
So I'm thinking about tailing the ASUS in favor of the Gigabyte 81EXP and keeping the rest
of my options. Any recommendations?
The good news is that I'm going to commit sometime soon, as soon as NewEgg has the board in stock,
or to some other board in their inventory. The P-166 saved me and is a workhorse but, as a steady
diet, is hard to take -- despite the fact that when I bought it two computers ago, it was SotA.
The earlier reference to the Antec case with the TP 431w psu involves this: I intend to run two hard
drives, a Pioneer 116 DVD-CDROM player, and a Yamaha CD-RW ,as well as the rest of the gear. Do
I need this much power, or will the case w/330w serve my needs?
Once the credit card is replenished, I'm going to order a Hitachi 721F 19" monitor and an ATI 8500
or one of the new Matrox cards, Para-somethingt...I need a good clear and large screen for what I
do in life, like writing adn GIS. I don't need a screaming game box, though I like some of the newer
games.
Again, any suggestins or recommendations on any of these items?
Thorby Baslim