My first home-built system

[LuckyDog]

I am trying to decide what I want to put in my new computer system. I will be taking it to college this fall so it must be done by then. Here is what I am thinking about getting.

Athlon T-bird 1.4Ghz
ASUS A7M266
128 or 256? MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM
Leadtek GeForce2 Ultra
Maxtor? 60GB 7200 rpm HD
Enlight 7237 case w/300W or 350W? PS
Sound Blaster Live 5.1 x-gamer or value?
Pioneer? 16x DVD
Acer? 12x8x32x CD-RW

Any comments? Anything with a "?" I am not sure about.

 

[SSGTi]

Umm I think you will a monitor to go with that

 

[Kueay]

And maybe a floppy drive... maybe?

 

[LuckyDog]

ok, ok, I forgot the monitor and the floppy drive because I already have those already. Sorry. Any comments on what is on the list?

 

[NelsonMuntz]

Go for the extra RAM. Maybe save a little money by dropping from a 1.4 to a 1.33 or 1.2 GHz. Maybe drop the Ultra to a Pro or GTS and check out the OEM SB Live! 5.1 here. It is priced in between your two choices but it has the 5.1 channel sound.

 

[MrHelpful]

Speakers?

 

[MrHelpful]

You may want to change the Athlon 1.4GHz to an Athlon 4 1.2GHz because it overclocks much higher and runs cooler.

I would switch the A7M266 to an EPoX EP-8K7A because of the tweakability, or the MSI K7 Master for the stability.

256MB or 512MB memory should do fine (the latter if you use programs like Adobe Photoshop or 3D Studio Max). At $56 for a stick of 256MB PC2100, two will cost less than $120 from Crucial's web promotion. Enter your company name in the box (can be fake).

A Maxtor DiamondMax Plus60 60GB or an IBM 60GXP 60GB should do fine. Both are reliable and fast hard drives.

The case is good, although you may want to go with a bigger case like the Antec SX1030 if you plan on fooling around with it a lot.

Lose the SoundBlaster crap family and go with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz or the Philips AcousticEdge 5.1. IMO, these two sound cards are the best for consumer PCs right now because of their sound quality, features and relatively inexpensive price.

The Pioneer 16X is a fast drive, although it tends to be a bit noisy. The Toshiba DVD drives are quiet, but suck ass for DAE. AOpen DVD-ROMs hit right between.

Either Lite-On or Plextor makes good CD-RWs. Plextor tends to command a higher price premium, though.

 

[MrHelpful]

From Newegg.com

AMD Athlon Palomino 1.2GHz - $229 + $10 shipping
EPoX EP-8K7A - $125 + $10 shipping
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus60 60GB - $166 + $9 shipping
CardExpert/Gainward Geforce3 64MB - $342 + $5 shipping
Enlight 7237 /w 300W PSU - $45 + $15 shipping
Lite-On 16x10x40 CD-RW - $120 + $10 shipping
AOpen 12x40 DVD-ROM - $41 + $10 shipping

From Crucial.com/webpromo

256MB PC2100 DDR-SDRAM - $56 + free 2nd day shipping

From mwave.com

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - $70 + ~$5 shipping

From Plycon.com

Taisol CGK760 /w Sunon 26CFM fan - $42 + ~$5 shipping

From EMSComputing.com

Boston Acoustics BA4800 4.1 - $115 + $15 shipping


Total - up to $1447

 

[Duvie]

At least if you don't want to spend the money and go all the way with the GF3 then get the GF2 pro 64mb...the ultra is not much better then that and not worth the extra 80-100 bucks...IMO

go with the 256mb ddr dimm at crucial for 59.00 plus ups 2 day free...

Mr.helpful has good suggestion as well...