Please check my planned rig

[godspeedx]

I'm planning to order my system within 24hrs. And I would appreciate it if someone could take a quick lookover and make sure all things are compatible or my best option. This is my first computer that I've built so I wanna make sure everything is straight. Everything is from newegg.com, but it doesn't have to be if there is much better price or something elsewhere. Thanks Lots.
Here's my planned rig.

 

[Poncherelli]

i just bought pretty much the exact same rig on sunday, expecting it tomorrow, except i went for the gigabyte mobo, and a gf4 4200. I'm hoping to OC my 1.8a to 2.4 also, i only got the corsair xms pc2700 ddr though. looks good, good luck with it.

 

[AMDawG1800]

Get PC2700 Crucial or Mushkin, first PC3200 won't work to the fullest and second, I saw some low Crosair memory benchmarks today.

I have had 2 80GB WD drives in the past 7 months. The first one was fine then died all of a sudden...the one now is running a little better...

 

[godspeedx]

Can you show me where the benchmark was, I'd like to check out the corsair and some other mem. benchmarks.

 

[mchammer187]

looks good except i would check googlegear.com IMO they have the best prices on the internet for 90% of comp parts


also I would drop the TI4600 for a Radeon 9700 unless you are getting a super deal < $200

or else get a Ti4200 for $140

 

[pitupepito2000]

what are you going to be using the computer for, that will helps us to be more specific in our advice. I would go for an Athlon since they are cheaper. Also I would go for a ATI Radeon 8500LE card they offer the best bang for the buck and they have gotten really good reviews, which are great. I have this card and it is just great. why don't you do a search in google and look at the reviews of this card. Also I would also check the prices at googlegear.com. They are as good as newegg.com and they offer really good prices. If you want to spend more money on the video card you can go for the GeForce4 Ti4200 since all GeForce4 cards are created equal, and you could overclock this GeForce4 Ti4200 video card to speeds of GeForce4 Ti4600 and beyond. IF YOU DECIDE TO GET A GEFORCE CARD DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT GET A "MX" card they perform lower than the GeForce3 cards

I hope thi helps

 

[godspeedx]

I will be gaming on this PC. I do not want to go with AMD because I can buy a P41.8 or over and overclock it at least 600mhz. I heard that you have to have special software or something to overclock video cards. Can you tell me the name of what I need or give a link? I will surely check out the reviews on the ATI card. Also, I will not be getting the comp until a couple more weeks because of planned P4 price drops. Thanks Again.

 

[MrCodeDude]

Make sure you get the Northwood 1.8A chip or else you won't be able to hit your 2.4 goal easily.
MSI GeForce4 Ti4600 > PNY
-- mrcodedude

 

[godspeedx]

I just forgot to put the A at the end of 1.8. Definitely going with northy. Can anyone tell me the special software that I need to overclock a GeForce 4 or give a link? tnx

 

[LeStEr]

Originally posted by: godspeedx
I just forgot to put the A at the end of 1.8. Definitely going with northy. Can anyone tell me the special software that I need to overclock a GeForce 4 or give a link? tnx

Rivatuner or a tool that comes with your card.

 

[godspeedx]

Ok thanks. I'll check it out.

 

[WarCon]

I like Rivatuner because it can low level overclock your card (assuming its supported), so you don't have that annoying screen bounce at the beginning of your GUI load.

 

[godspeedx]

Ok, thanks. Can I get some more opinions on ATI RADEON VS. GEFORCE 4. I was certain I was going with G4 until some people mentioned ATI Radeon 9700 and 8500LE. I'd wanna pay a little under $300, at MAX about $300. I don't know how ot overclock a video card but I probably will end up trying, and I have some friends who probably can help me.
Also, I can't find "Rivatuner" on newegg or googlegear. Do I need to search for something else, if not can someone give a link real quick. Thanks.

 

[WarCon]

Rivatuner is just software to overclock your card (its free I believe - still technically in beta), and it works great. It only works on Nvidia cards though. nvworld has Rivatuner for download.

 

[Goi]

If your budget is only $300, then the nvidia GeForce4 Ti 4600 is pretty much the fastest card you can get, unless you can miraculously source out a place that sells the Radeon 9700 Pro for that price. The MSRP is $399 now, with the lowest prices floating around $340 AFAIK.

As for overclocking, I prefer to use nvhardpage as its transparent(manifests itself only in the standard nvidia reference drivers control panel, rather than some standalone systray icon).

 

[WarCon]

Hey Goi, Rivatuner's low level overclock doesn't require the program to run at all, except the one time that you set it. I was happily surprised when I realized this. I don't like tray programs either......

 

[MournSanity]

Save up $50 more and get a Radeon 9700.

 

[Imported]

I'd spend the extra $50 and go with the 9700 Pro.

I built a similar system, but I went the rdram route instead. My 1.8A can hit 2.65ghz too

 

[Chadder007]

I wouldn't go with the 4600 either.....either get a cheap ATI 8500 or NV4200 .....or find an extra 50 somewhere and get the 9700!.

 

[godspeedx]

Wow, thanks a lot. I'll probably try to save for the 9700 since so many of you recommended it. And if I go with an ATI, what's the name of an overclocking software for it? Thanks

 

[mchammer187]

Originally posted by: godspeedx
Wow, thanks a lot. I'll probably try to save for the 9700 since so many of you recommended it. And if I go with an ATI, what's the name of an overclocking software for it? Thanks

radeonator is what i use for my 8500 you should check out the Rage3d forums for more info

 

[godspeedx]

What software do I need for overclocking an ATI Radeon 9700?

 

[mchammer187]

Originally posted by: godspeedx
What software do I need for overclocking an ATI Radeon 9700?

Im sure some software will be out for it when a lot of people actually have the card

it just came out this week and I dont think anyone has one just yet

 

[godspeedx]

aaaaahhh, no wonder newegg doesn't have it hehe. Thanks for dealing with my ignorance.

 

[Ilmater]

I too would have to say wait for the ATI 9700. In an age when the best and the brightest in computer hardware means a 3% increase over the second best, this is the first product in awhile to truly throw its competition by the wayside. Remember, in a few years when you're still playing games, that extra $40 won't seem like much. In order to overclock it, you can use Powerstrip 3.20, which is the same program that Anand Lal Shimpi used in his Gigabyte review today. C'mon guys, did nobody but me see that? Also, as long as you get the Corsair XMS, you're fine. They use bada$$ Samsung chips on those. If you get the CL2 chips with the heat spreaders, you're assured of getting the XMS. True, the other Corsair RAM isn't as good, but that's not saying it's not good, just not as good. Corsair makes the best PC3200 DDR RAM on the market today, IMO.

Edit: I almost forgot, don't go to one site for your parts. If you want to save that extra $40 for the Radeon 9700 go to Pricewatch.com and find anything that you need. I'll tell you what, a couple of you guys would be my favorite customers if I were Newegg or wherever else, but I'll never say "go to this site" or "go to that site". Who cares if they have the best prices 90% of the time. First of all, that's almost impossible since that would mean VERY low margins on 90% of what they sell. Businesses don't operate like that. I will tell you one site NOT to go to. I paid extra money for the "Platinum Package" at PCParts.com (no link provided for a reason) and still haven't heard a thing about my order. It's been over a week. They won't even answer my e-mails. Very shady indeed....