A few days into February I am going to be given $1,800 to build a computer. As I said, this will be my first time building one so I have a lot of questions. Let me start off by saying that the computer will be used for gaming, listening to MP3s, and the usual tasks of browsing the web, typing papers, and stuff along those lines.
I am also having a hard time right now trying to decide on several things. The number one question is... Should I wait for DDR? If not... Should I over clock? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Which of these parts should I buy OEM and which should I buy retail? Which OS should I use? I've heard that Via chipsets cause IDE issues in Win2K. Is it worth getting a DVD player for anything other than movies, because I don't want one if that's all it's good for?
Assuming I don't wait for DDR, these are the things I will need.
Monitor: What do you think of the Samsung SyncMaster 955 DF? I am open to other suggestions. Size is important but quality is even more so. Preferably flat.
$350?
Speakers:
$100?
Case: Any suggestions for a good ATX case with a 300W power supply?
$75?
Motherboard: Any suggestions for a good KT133A board? It's okay to list boards that are good for over clocking and those that aren't. What do you think about the MSI K7-T Pro2-A, can the integrated audio be disabled?
$150?
CPU: Definitely an AMD Athlon or Duron. Will I be able to get a new Athlon "C" with the 133 (266) MHz processor bus clock at that time, and how much will it cost? They start at 1Ghz, correct?
$200?
FHS: Whether or not I over clock, how important is it to have a good FSU? Which one do you suggest?
$35?
RAM: What kind of CAS2 RAM would you suggest? 128MB or 256MB? PC133 or PC150? Crucial? Mushkin? Etc.
$175?
Graphics Card: What do you think of the ATI Radeon 32MB DDR? What about a GeForce2 GTS? What brand do you like, I've heard good things about VisionTek.
$150?
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live! Value.
$50?
Hard Drive: IBM 30GB ATA/100 75GXP 7200RPM.
$175?
CDRW: PlexWriter 12/10/32A.
$250?
Floppy Drive: Blah.
$20
OS: Windows 98 SE.
$100?
Is there anything I forgot? Do the prices look about right, I tried to overestimate them. Feel free to make any other suggestions. If you know where I might find several of these parts at one place for a decent price, that would be really helpful. I'll probably use www.pricewatch.com and www.resellerratings.com when I start to buy the stuff.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Tzen
I am also having a hard time right now trying to decide on several things. The number one question is... Should I wait for DDR? If not... Should I over clock? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Which of these parts should I buy OEM and which should I buy retail? Which OS should I use? I've heard that Via chipsets cause IDE issues in Win2K. Is it worth getting a DVD player for anything other than movies, because I don't want one if that's all it's good for?
Assuming I don't wait for DDR, these are the things I will need.
Monitor: What do you think of the Samsung SyncMaster 955 DF? I am open to other suggestions. Size is important but quality is even more so. Preferably flat.
$350?
Speakers:
$100?
Case: Any suggestions for a good ATX case with a 300W power supply?
$75?
Motherboard: Any suggestions for a good KT133A board? It's okay to list boards that are good for over clocking and those that aren't. What do you think about the MSI K7-T Pro2-A, can the integrated audio be disabled?
$150?
CPU: Definitely an AMD Athlon or Duron. Will I be able to get a new Athlon "C" with the 133 (266) MHz processor bus clock at that time, and how much will it cost? They start at 1Ghz, correct?
$200?
FHS: Whether or not I over clock, how important is it to have a good FSU? Which one do you suggest?
$35?
RAM: What kind of CAS2 RAM would you suggest? 128MB or 256MB? PC133 or PC150? Crucial? Mushkin? Etc.
$175?
Graphics Card: What do you think of the ATI Radeon 32MB DDR? What about a GeForce2 GTS? What brand do you like, I've heard good things about VisionTek.
$150?
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live! Value.
$50?
Hard Drive: IBM 30GB ATA/100 75GXP 7200RPM.
$175?
CDRW: PlexWriter 12/10/32A.
$250?
Floppy Drive: Blah.
$20
OS: Windows 98 SE.
$100?
Is there anything I forgot? Do the prices look about right, I tried to overestimate them. Feel free to make any other suggestions. If you know where I might find several of these parts at one place for a decent price, that would be really helpful. I'll probably use www.pricewatch.com and www.resellerratings.com when I start to buy the stuff.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Tzen