.:HSTuners::

Wren57 · 01-05-2003, 09:55 PM

Well guys, Im thinking of getting a new computer for college... the one I have now is great:
1GHZ AMD Athlon
384mb Ram
32mb ATI Radeon
blahblahblah

Anyways, Im looking to push the envelope for my next computer... 350watt case, best AMD processor (2600 I believe), 128mb video ram, 1ghz ddram... the works... so whats the best motherboard to use for the AMD Athlon chips, and where can I find one for a good price that has front USB 2.0 ports- thanks

ebpda9 · 01-05-2003, 10:19 PM

try www.tigerdirect.com i always buy from them and their prices are low

94_AcCoRd_EX · 01-05-2003, 10:25 PM

Go to newegg.com for your computer buying stuff.

350 watts is ok unless you'll be doing major overclocking and will be running lots of fans, drives, etc. 400+ is recommended for that.

AMD has faster processors out now (2800+ is coming out in a couple of days I believe).

I highly doubt you'd benefit from 1GB of RAM, but tell us what the computer will be used for.

Motherboards.... I like ASUS and Abit, but there are many good ones out there. The new KT400 boards will have your front USB 2.0 ports.

Basically, how much do you want to spend and what will you do with it? That would help us recommend a configuration.

Wren57 · 01-05-2003, 10:29 PM

Im gonna be gaming, music, downloading, browsing, digitial video editing, all the hardware-intensive stuff... I wouldn't mind spending around 600 for the whole system, as I will be putting it together myself (saves some cash and easy)...

94_AcCoRd_EX · 01-05-2003, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by highlander
Im gonna be gaming, music, downloading, browsing, digitial video editing, all the hardware-intensive stuff... I wouldn't mind spending around 600 for the whole system, as I will be putting it together myself (saves some cash and easy)...

$600? That will buy you the chip, board, and PSU. I guess you should save up a little more first. The good gaming cards are running $350 alone right now.

*ChrisCantSkate* · 01-05-2003, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by highlander
Im gonna be gaming, music, downloading, browsing, digitial video editing, all the hardware-intensive stuff... I wouldn't mind spending around 600 for the whole system, as I will be putting it together myself (saves some cash and easy)...

thats a hell of a wish list for 600.

*ChrisCantSkate* · 01-05-2003, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 94_AcCoRd_EX
$600? That will buy you the chip, board, and PSU. I guess you should save up a little more first. The good gaming cards are running $350 alone right now.

yeah SB audogy and a good 64 or 128mb card will be close to 600, and a gig of ram will proboboly be almost 250 if you get cheap ddr ram.

94_AcCoRd_EX · 01-05-2003, 10:47 PM

If you lower your goals and overclock to bump up the speed, 600 will get you somewhere though.

XP1600+ AGOIA stepping from newegg (runs @ 1850MHz+) - $50
KT333 board (of your choice) - $75ish
Antec tru power 430 PSU - $80
SB Live OEM - $32
Refurbed TI4200 - $115

You get the point. It could be done, but you need to add an expensive stick of RAM to this to O/C well.

Wren57 · 01-06-2003, 05:29 PM

Oh well, if $600 won't cut it I got several hundred more stock-piled... guess I *could use some of it too... hehe

94_AcCoRd_EX · 01-06-2003, 05:54 PM

Well, just let us know how much you actually want to spend (need a monitor too?) and we'll help you out. You have to pay a pretty penny for top of the line stuff.

Wren57 · 01-06-2003, 06:29 PM

Well I'd like to save most of my cash for my car purchase in May, but I could bump it up to ~800... and I already have a monitor, and don't neccesarily need top-of-the-line stuff that just came out yesterday... 2month old stuff or so is a lot cheaper, so that'll do just great...

01-07-2003, 10:23 PM

I'd definitely shop at newegg. Not only are their prices the best (usually), but their customer service is top notch also. $600 will go a very long ways if you don't need a new monitor. Here's a few pointers (some have already been covered):

1. Go with at least a 400+ watt PSU
2. 512mb DDR ram would be plenty unless you do alot of memory intensive things like rendering with graphics programs, etc.
3. I wouldn't go for the top of the line processor if I were you. If you actually examine what you're paying for, you'll see that you are actually paying a lot more (sometimes hundreds more) for just a few mhz. That's totally not worth it unless you want bragging rights or something like that. More than likely a processor a couple steps down will be A LOT cheaper and provide you with enough speed.
4. If you do a lot of gaming, I'd look into a better than average graphics card. Again, though, high end graphics cards are very expensive, and the gains are sometimes minimal over the next model down.
5. A sound card shouldn't set you back that much. Unless you are an audiophile, a soundblaster audigy would do the trick and doesn't cost much. Order OEM and you save money by receiving the item in a regular box as opposed to a fancy retail box.

That's a few for now. Hope that helps.

94_AcCoRd_EX · 01-07-2003, 10:37 PM

For the graphics gards, the new Radeon 9500 pros are a step down from the 9700s (though you can mod them into 9700s) but is considerably cheaper.

01-08-2003, 12:27 PM

haha... 600.

sorry just had to laugh.

trev's got a good layout there. if you just need a good solid graphics card and don't wanna lay out alot of cash i would check into the ti4200s either 64mb or 128mb. either are cheaper than the R9500 and will do a good job on any current game.

if i were you looking to spend about 800 i would go with a tbred based athlon 1700 or better and get a great cpu cooler set then get some nice ddr (not the cheap stuff) and a good KT333 or KT400 board. then with the extra money left over you can decide what you want to do for your HD, vid card, sound card, etc.

for sound i would suggest the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I like my Audigy but drivers are less than stellar. the TBSC should run around 60-70 bucks. HD i would go Western Digital and get as much space as you can afford. the 8mb cache Special Edition drives are nice but do cost a bit more.

do you need a cdrw? dvdrom? any extra stuff?

if you are spending lots of money on a new system you should invest in a good UPS. (Uninterruptible Power Supply) My brand of choice is the APC company. I have a Back-ups CS350 which works great. its got 6 outlets on the back and protection for your phone and lan lines as well. Also has monitoring from your computer. One of these will run around 75-85 bucks depending on where you look. keep in mind these are very heavy so you might consider purchasing them from a local ripoff shop unless you just get a killer deal online and the shipping isn't outrageous. Since i bought mine we've had two lightning strikes very very close to our house and both mine and my dads (6 year old apc) are still running like champs not to mention all the equipment plugged into them.

enough rambling.

Max

ps. if you are shopping on newegg the Chieftec/TurboLink server towers with the 420W power supplies are a great deal. i think they are about 75-80 bucks. I have one on my P4 system with a 66% overclock with no power problems whatsoever.

94_AcCoRd_EX · 01-08-2003, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Maxvla
if you are spending lots of money on a new system you should invest in a good UPS. (Uninterruptible Power Supply) My brand of choice is the APC company. I have a Back-ups CS350 which works great. its got 6 outlets on the back and protection for your phone and lan lines as well. Also has monitoring from your computer. One of these will run around 75-85 bucks depending on where you look. keep in mind these are very heavy so you might consider purchasing them from a local ripoff shop unless you just get a killer deal online and the shipping isn't outrageous. Since i bought mine we've had two lightning strikes very very close to our house and both mine and my dads (6 year old apc) are still running like champs not to mention all the equipment plugged into them.

Good point! I just bought an APC LS700 from someone on the overclockers forum (cw382 or something), and its been great. Nothing like losing power and having your equipment stay on so you can save, etc.

01-08-2003, 07:44 PM

i gotta idea, keep your old put, sell your Highlander, buy a Civic, and swap the motor out, nitrous, the worx...

or u could just get one of those cheap(meaning affordable, of course) Dells....

01-08-2003, 07:46 PM

put = puter = computer

*ChrisCantSkate* · 01-08-2003, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mirkwo0dForest
i gotta idea, keep your old put, sell your Highlander, buy a Civic, and swap the motor out, nitrous, the worx...

or u could just get one of those cheap(meaning affordable, of course) Dells....

hey.. my dell works fine

Wren57 · 01-08-2003, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mirkwo0dForest
i gotta idea, keep your old put, sell your Highlander, buy a Civic, and swap the motor out, nitrous, the worx...

I... hope you were kidding... no offense to anyone here, but civic's just don't do it for me... fwd+no torque just doesnt float my boat... and they don't handle nearly as well as everyone would like to believe (my friend has a 2000EX manual that I have driven around a lot)... plainly put it's just not fast... and I cant really ever envision it *being fast without 10k+ of work... even then it wouldnt handle as great as RWD cars... FWD and no torque just isnt for me...

94_AcCoRd_EX · 01-08-2003, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisCantSkate
hey.. my dell works fine

As does mine. If you want reliable, not blazing speed or overclocking, Dell is a great brand. I've been running my P4 2.0 Dell 24/7 for almost a year now. I had a Dell PIII 550 that was running for years before that.

*ChrisCantSkate* · 01-08-2003, 09:30 PM

im running a 2.4 all day every day. no problems. i just dropped a 512mb stick of ddr in (768 now) and i have no problems with anything. i dont even ahve the desire to overclock, its plenty fast for what i need

01-05-2003, 09:55 PM	#1
Wren57 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Age: 40 Posts: 2,856	New System? Well guys, Im thinking of getting a new computer for college... the one I have now is great: 1GHZ AMD Athlon 384mb Ram 32mb ATI Radeon blahblahblah Anyways, Im looking to push the envelope for my next computer... 350watt case, best AMD processor (2600 I believe), 128mb video ram, 1ghz ddram... the works... so whats the best motherboard to use for the AMD Athlon chips, and where can I find one for a good price that has front USB 2.0 ports- thanks __________________ yeah, its that big

01-05-2003, 10:19 PM	#2
ebpda9 Repost Wagon Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: over here Age: 44 Posts: 17,266	try www.tigerdirect.com i always buy from them and their prices are low __________________

01-05-2003, 10:25 PM	#3
94_AcCoRd_EX Insomniac Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: OR Age: 44 Posts: 11,142	Go to newegg.com for your computer buying stuff. 350 watts is ok unless you'll be doing major overclocking and will be running lots of fans, drives, etc. 400+ is recommended for that. AMD has faster processors out now (2800+ is coming out in a couple of days I believe). I highly doubt you'd benefit from 1GB of RAM, but tell us what the computer will be used for. Motherboards.... I like ASUS and Abit, but there are many good ones out there. The new KT400 boards will have your front USB 2.0 ports. Basically, how much do you want to spend and what will you do with it? That would help us recommend a configuration. __________________ 1994 Accord EX coupe --Need hosting for your pics on HST? PM me...--

01-05-2003, 10:29 PM	#4
Wren57 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Age: 40 Posts: 2,856	Im gonna be gaming, music, downloading, browsing, digitial video editing, all the hardware-intensive stuff... I wouldn't mind spending around 600 for the whole system, as I will be putting it together myself (saves some cash and easy)... __________________ yeah, its that big

01-05-2003, 10:47 PM	#8
94_AcCoRd_EX Insomniac Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: OR Age: 44 Posts: 11,142	If you lower your goals and overclock to bump up the speed, 600 will get you somewhere though. XP1600+ AGOIA stepping from newegg (runs @ 1850MHz+) - $50 KT333 board (of your choice) - $75ish Antec tru power 430 PSU - $80 SB Live OEM - $32 Refurbed TI4200 - $115 You get the point. It could be done, but you need to add an expensive stick of RAM to this to O/C well. __________________ 1994 Accord EX coupe --Need hosting for your pics on HST? PM me...--

01-06-2003, 05:29 PM	#9
Wren57 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Age: 40 Posts: 2,856	Oh well, if $600 won't cut it I got several hundred more stock-piled... guess I *could use some of it too... hehe __________________ yeah, its that big

01-06-2003, 05:54 PM	#10
94_AcCoRd_EX Insomniac Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: OR Age: 44 Posts: 11,142	Well, just let us know how much you actually want to spend (need a monitor too?) and we'll help you out. You have to pay a pretty penny for top of the line stuff. __________________ 1994 Accord EX coupe --Need hosting for your pics on HST? PM me...--

01-06-2003, 06:29 PM	#11
Wren57 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Age: 40 Posts: 2,856	Well I'd like to save most of my cash for my car purchase in May, but I could bump it up to ~800... and I already have a monitor, and don't neccesarily need top-of-the-line stuff that just came out yesterday... 2month old stuff or so is a lot cheaper, so that'll do just great... __________________ yeah, its that big

01-07-2003, 10:23 PM	#12
munky185 Posts: n/a	I'd definitely shop at newegg. Not only are their prices the best (usually), but their customer service is top notch also. $600 will go a very long ways if you don't need a new monitor. Here's a few pointers (some have already been covered): 1. Go with at least a 400+ watt PSU 2. 512mb DDR ram would be plenty unless you do alot of memory intensive things like rendering with graphics programs, etc. 3. I wouldn't go for the top of the line processor if I were you. If you actually examine what you're paying for, you'll see that you are actually paying a lot more (sometimes hundreds more) for just a few mhz. That's totally not worth it unless you want bragging rights or something like that. More than likely a processor a couple steps down will be A LOT cheaper and provide you with enough speed. 4. If you do a lot of gaming, I'd look into a better than average graphics card. Again, though, high end graphics cards are very expensive, and the gains are sometimes minimal over the next model down. 5. A sound card shouldn't set you back that much. Unless you are an audiophile, a soundblaster audigy would do the trick and doesn't cost much. Order OEM and you save money by receiving the item in a regular box as opposed to a fancy retail box. That's a few for now. Hope that helps.

01-07-2003, 10:37 PM	#13
94_AcCoRd_EX Insomniac Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: OR Age: 44 Posts: 11,142	For the graphics gards, the new Radeon 9500 pros are a step down from the 9700s (though you can mod them into 9700s) but is considerably cheaper. __________________ 1994 Accord EX coupe --Need hosting for your pics on HST? PM me...--

01-08-2003, 12:27 PM	#14
Maxvla Posts: n/a	haha... 600. sorry just had to laugh. trev's got a good layout there. if you just need a good solid graphics card and don't wanna lay out alot of cash i would check into the ti4200s either 64mb or 128mb. either are cheaper than the R9500 and will do a good job on any current game. if i were you looking to spend about 800 i would go with a tbred based athlon 1700 or better and get a great cpu cooler set then get some nice ddr (not the cheap stuff) and a good KT333 or KT400 board. then with the extra money left over you can decide what you want to do for your HD, vid card, sound card, etc. for sound i would suggest the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I like my Audigy but drivers are less than stellar. the TBSC should run around 60-70 bucks. HD i would go Western Digital and get as much space as you can afford. the 8mb cache Special Edition drives are nice but do cost a bit more. do you need a cdrw? dvdrom? any extra stuff? if you are spending lots of money on a new system you should invest in a good UPS. (Uninterruptible Power Supply) My brand of choice is the APC company. I have a Back-ups CS350 which works great. its got 6 outlets on the back and protection for your phone and lan lines as well. Also has monitoring from your computer. One of these will run around 75-85 bucks depending on where you look. keep in mind these are very heavy so you might consider purchasing them from a local ripoff shop unless you just get a killer deal online and the shipping isn't outrageous. Since i bought mine we've had two lightning strikes very very close to our house and both mine and my dads (6 year old apc) are still running like champs not to mention all the equipment plugged into them. enough rambling. Max ps. if you are shopping on newegg the Chieftec/TurboLink server towers with the 420W power supplies are a great deal. i think they are about 75-80 bucks. I have one on my P4 system with a 66% overclock with no power problems whatsoever.

01-08-2003, 07:44 PM	#16
Mirkwo0dForest Posts: n/a	i gotta idea, keep your old put, sell your Highlander, buy a Civic, and swap the motor out, nitrous, the worx... or u could just get one of those cheap(meaning affordable, of course) Dells....

01-08-2003, 07:46 PM	#17
Mirkwo0dForest Posts: n/a	put = puter = computer

01-08-2003, 09:30 PM	#21
ChrisCantSkate Thought Police Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: orlando florida Age: 41 Posts: 9,662	im running a 2.4 all day every day. no problems. i just dropped a 512mb stick of ddr in (768 now) and i have no problems with anything. i dont even ahve the desire to overclock, its plenty fast for what i need __________________ Black Vtec Prelude-h22a power'd Many dreams come true, and some have silver linings. I live for my dreams and a pocket full of gold.

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