Critique my new AMD rig

L

LANKING

n00b
Joined
Jan 19, 2004
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Hey, i just finished ordering my new LAN rig, give me a little input and critique it. Here are the specs:

AMD barton 2800 + ( got for free, thanks to a friend with a generous uncle in the business!)
Asus A7v8x-x
256 mushkin basic green pc 3200
Aopen GF4 mx400 64 meg
WD 40 gig 7200 rpm with 8 meg buffer
kingwin KCU-7025 hsf

it's gonna be my frist computer build since my old celeron 500 i built a few years ago, i just recently got back into computer building after a long hiatus.

The kicker for this system, is the total was 226 dollars, all from newegg. I figure everything besides the video card is fairly future proof. Due to cash restraints because of school registration/books i had to settle for the mx 440 and only 256 megs of ram, for now :)

What do you guys think of this for a basic lan system? the price was definatly right. I am most likely gonna try for a 400 mhz FSB ( thats why i opted for pc-3200 ram). Don't worry, i have a pair of sunon 120mm fans, and another pair of 80mm fans for case cooling for this overclock. :)

Any input, and flames for my stupidity for building a new system with all the new gear coming out would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
What kind of PSU is gonna power this rig? I'd suggest a ~400W+ Antec or Enermax. Need a quality PSU.
 
Nice proc and mobo (what a nice guy for giving you a barton 2800+), but regular old Mushkin basic RAM? Good luck with the OCing there.
 
I have a a generic case with an enermax 400 watt psu.

I figure 40 gigs will be fine since it is only gonna be used for a lan box( i.e. not my main computer). And since i doubt i have have anywhere near the amount of games it would take to fill up a 40 gig drive, it'll be fine. Really the only things i'll need to put on it are call of duty, warcraft, BF1942, and starcraft. I was going for speed over huge amounts of storage space. ( I could get an 80 gig with a 2 meg buffer for the same price, but i wanted the 8 meg.) Hell, I would probably be fine with a speedy 10 gig.

Video card will be upgraded when i get my next paycheck, maybe...Depend how the mx works out..

Will definatly being buying more ram! Simple green rated at 400mhz i don't think will have any trouble getting up to 400 mhz, but who knows? if it doesn't work out i'll sell it to a friend cheap and pick up some hyperx or someting when i get my next paycheck.

All in all i think it's pretty good for 226 bucks. I'm pretty jazzed i'm getting a new lan box. :)
 
As far a sound card...I'm gonna give the on board sound a shot..If i don't like it, i'll throw in a Sound Blaster live i have sitting around. I'm not really an audiophile when it comes to computers...But thanks for the suggestions and comments!
 
Originally posted by LANKING
As far a sound card...I'm gonna give the on board sound a shot..If i don't like it, i'll throw in a Sound Blaster live i have sitting around. I'm not really an audiophile when it comes to computers...But thanks for the suggestions and comments!
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i wasnt an audiophile either until i heard the difference between my a7n8x onboard sound (the same you have) and my audigy 2 ZS
 
Well, it's definatly something to consider, i suppose. However, i'm sure that if the onboard sound is less than decent, my sound blaster live should do fine. It's a nice sounding card, i think.
 
The RAM will work fine, he is overclocking the processor so that the ram will run at its stock rated speed.

Get a 9600 pro/xt and another 256mb of that ram and that would be a super nice little rig.
 
Originally posted by Iceman_IX
What kind of PSU is gonna power this rig? I'd suggest a ~400W+ Antec or Enermax. Need a quality PSU.
Click to expand...
I really don't think he needs a PSU that big for that system. A quality 300W would be more than enough.

I would also use the SBLive! over onboard.
 
Originally posted by Mad_Pyro
You want the A7N8X, not the A7V8X. Nforce2 vs. Via.
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Trust me, i want the kt-400 board. :) I have had nothing but good experiences with VIA boards in the past. Plus the A7v8x-x is dirt cheap and solid as a rock, from the reviews i have read. Thanks for the tip though.
 
Originally posted by hi tech hate
more ram
better video card
Click to expand...

I don't think he really needs a bigger hard drive or a good sound card for just a lan box.
 
Thats what i'm thinking, 40 gigs is pretty decent, and for sound i'm not gonna be running any 5.1 system for lan...Probably just a good set of headphones or something.
 
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