Building Computer for my brother

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[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 1, 2003
Messages
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hey all i just wanted a quick critique of the build for my brother...he does not need or want an uber box so im basing this one of my current system, just slightly upgraded

ASUS A7N8X deluxe
AMD 3000+ w/ retail heatsink
Corsair XMS 2x512 pc 3200
ATI Radeon 9800pro 256mb
Seagate 80gb SATA hd
Lite-on Combo DVD/CD-RW
Sony Floppy
Thermaltake Case Fans
PSU comes with the case, which is an I-Dreamer

post thought, issues, etc

im building for stability and value
 
Everything looks great... except the PSU.. Whats the link to that case/PSU combo? Thats one thing that is generally overlooked that can actually give you a lot of problems down the road.
 
This PSU is on sale:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103459

yeah, it's a pretty cool system in terms of price/performance

Has anyone read that SATA drives are harder to install? I would look into that for that motheroard. BTW, if you chose a regular Asus A7N8X with the VIA chipset or the A7V600-X, it would be compatible with Win98SE. I have a Duron 1.8 GHz and Asus A7V600-X which is fully compatible with Win98SE. But I also have a regular PATA Western Digital Caviar SE HD and NEC ND3520 DVD burner.
 
I'd also reccommend against the PSU, I've known friends that have used shoddy power supplys (a few of them enermax) and had issues with all sorts of stuff. I told them to grab an antec power supply and boom problems went away. I'm an antec !!!!!! myself so I always recommend their products as I've had numerous good experiences with them.
 
NovaBurn said:
I'd also reccommend against the PSU, I've known friends that have used shoddy power supplys (a few of them enermax) and had issues with all sorts of stuff. I told them to grab an antec power supply and boom problems went away. I'm an antec !!!!!! myself so I always recommend their products as I've had numerous good experiences with them.
Click to expand...

I've always had excellent luck with Enermax... as well as Antec too.. however I have had an Antec fail me before. Either one is good... just don't go with a cheaper model.
 
Maybe it depends who you talk to because I heard Antec lately is going to shit. Well, that's nice to know. Just kidding. I'm no expert. Just repeating what I read.
 
how much are you paying for that 9800 pro? 6800's are getting sub-$200 and would be quite a bit better.

the cheapest 256mb version of the 9800 pro i could find on the egg was $159, you can get a eVGA 6800 for $189 or if you like rebeats even cheaper.
 
He said his brother does not need or want an uber box.
The Sapphire 9800 Pro 128 MB I believe was $124 US at newegg. It's the minimum "most" that you can get in my opinion. This guy has made some pretty good choices for the money.
BTW, I did find a link that explains how to install SATA drives just in case you have a problem.
http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/SATA.html
 
forumposter32 said:
He said his brother does not need or want an uber box.
The Sapphire 9800 Pro 128 MB I believe was $124 US at newegg. It's the minimum "most" that you can get in my opinion. This guy has made some pretty good choices for the money.
BTW, I did find a link that explains how to install SATA drives just in case you have a problem.
http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/SATA.html
Click to expand...

he states in his parts list that he is getting the 256mb version, i believe he will get longer use out of a 6800 for only 30 bucks more.

But If you go with the 9800 pro i would just go with a 128mb version and you can get that same Sapphire Refurbished from the egg for $87 shipped...
 
That build looks pretty good, but I'd have to suggest going to a A64 setup instead. That's a pretty expensive setup as far as socket A goes. You really could put together a solid 64 system for 170$ (good mobo and CPU). With that being said your setup has the advantage of being almost the same as the one you have so you shouldn't have to give your bro too much tech support. I made the mistake of building a comp for someone who lived 3 hours away from me :( Its no fun to go that far to fix a problem.
 
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