New system, need your opinions before the purchase.

Tydogg

All parts will be ordered from [url]NewEgg.com[/url].

Currently I have chosen the following parts:

ANTEC Performance PLUS Model PLUS1080AMG- with Antec Original TRUE 430W P4 Power Supply ATX12V Retail $117.99

Lite On Black 48x24x48x16 CDROM/CDRW/DVD Combo Drive LTC-48161H $60.99

Arctic Silver's NEW Premium High-Density Thermal Compound: Ceramique . 2.7-gram( ~0.8 cc. ) tube $4.99

NEC 1.44MB Floppy Drive FD1231H-304/FD1231H-305 - OEM, DRIVE ONLY $7.00

CORSAIR MEMORY Kit 512MBx2 PC3200 VALUE SELECT. DDR RAM - OEM $196.00

Asus Motherboard for Intel Processors Model P4S800 Retail $86.99

Intel Pentium 4 / 2.4CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB $173.00

ATI RADEON 9500 PRO 128MB DDR DVI AGP $205.00

Seagate 120GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Barracuda 7200.7 ST3120026AS $120.00

Shipping: $28.00

Total: $999.96

I need your opinions on this system. Will this mother board support dual channel DDR? It says it will support 2 dimms of pc3200. Does this video card out perform the geforce ti4200/4600? Any information would help me. I am trying to stay under $1000. Thanks

-Tyler

Google · Sponsor

Tydogg · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 10:27 am Post subject:

I also plan to overclock this system to 3.0ghz+.

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

Do your pricecheck on the tweaknews prices grabber channel, I think you can find some better prices out there.

Change your memory to Dual Channel corsair TwinX memory to take full advantage of your motherboard.
_________________
Owner & Administrator
www.Tweaknews.net
www.Pocketbookpinch.com

[TN]Tristan · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 2:03 pm Post subject:

The videocard outperforms both the Ti-4200 and 4600.
_________________
If I was to be any letter in the alphabet, I would be 12

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

The only other thing I could recommend is the 9600pro as a videocard over the 9500 version. That was you will have full DX9 support for the newer games coming on the market.

Here is a link to our Tweaknews shopping channel to find the best prices and save a couple of bucks.

http://tweaknews.pricegrabber.com/home_comp.php/ut=42ba437784b560c6
_________________
Owner & Administrator
www.Tweaknews.net
www.Pocketbookpinch.com

Tydogg · Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 7:32 am Post subject:

I am not sure if it is dual channel or not. Here are the specs from the Asus website.

CPU Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4/Celeron
Intel Hyper-Threading Technology ready
New power design supports Intel next generation Prescott CPU
Chipset SIS648FX
SIS963L
Front Side Bus 800 / 533 / 400 MHz
Memory 3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 3GB non-ECC DDR SDRAM memory
(PC2100/PC1600 up to 3 DIMMs; PC3200/PC2700 up to 2 DIMMs; 1GB PC3200/2700 with 32 DDR chips up to 1 DIMM only)
Expansion Slots 1 x AGP8X (1.5V only)
5 x PCI
1 x ASUS Proprietary WIFI Wireless Lan Connector
Storage 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33
LAN Integrated 10/100 Mbps LAN controller + VIA VT6103 PHY
USB 2.0 Integrated 6 USB2.0 ports
Special Features S/PDIF out interface
ASUS Instant Music Lite
ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2
ASUS EZ Flash
ASUS MyLogo
Overclock Features ASUS JumperFree
ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
CPU, Memory, and AGP voltage adjustable
SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) from 100MHz up to 266MHz at 1MHz increment
Adjustable FSB/DDR ratio, Fixed AGP/PCI frequencies
Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x Parallel
1 x Serial
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Audio I/O
1 x RJ45
1 x S/PDIF Output
4 x USB 2.0/1.1
Internal I/O Connectors 1 x USB 2.0 connector supports additional 2 USB 2.0 ports
CPU / Chassis FAN connectors
20-pin ATX Power connector
4-pin ATX 12V Power connector
Chassis Intrusion
S/PDIF out connector
CD / AUX audio in
GAME/MIDI connector
Front panel audio connector
BIOS Feature 2 Mb Flash ROM, ASUS JumperFree, Award BIOS, TCAV, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ASUS EZ Flash, ASUS MyLogo, ASUS C.P.R., ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2
Industry Standard PCI 2.2, USB 2.0
Manageability WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME, Chassis Intrusion, SM bus
Support CD Drivers
ASUS PC Probe
Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software (OEM version)
ASUS LiveUpdate Utility
Accessories User's manual
UltraDMA cable
IDE cable
FDD cable
I/O shield
Form Factor ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6"(30.5cm x 24.5cm)
Audio ADI AD1980 SoundMAX 6-channel CODEC
S/PDIF out interface

-Tyler

Tydogg · Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 8:07 am Post subject:

I'm now starting to think it will not support dual channel. Maybe I'll just splurge for one of the top of the line boards. I didn't really want to pay more then $100 on a mobo, but I want top performance and overclockability. As far as $150-$180 range for motherboards what can you recommend as being the top competitor? Abit? Gigabit? They are all so similar, and all want to give you all the extra perks. I want something that overclocks well and easy installation.

-Tyler

Tydogg · Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 8:20 am Post subject:

Too much to choose from, now I'm leaning towards Giga byte. I've decided to ditch the Asus mobo and coirsair memory. I now have added the following items to my shopping cart:

KINGSTON HyperX Series 184-pin 1GB Kit (2x 512MB) DDR433 (PC3500) DDR RAM modules, Model# KHX3500K2/1G
Specifications:
Type: Kingston HyperX
Capacity: 1GB (2x 512MB)
Speed: DDR433 (PC3500)
Latency: CL2 more info>
N82E16820144127

Gigabyte GA-8IK1100, Intel 875P chipset Canterwood for Intel P4 ATX motherboard Retail
Specifications:
Supported CPU:Socket 478 for Intel® Pentium® 4 processor.
Chipset:Intel® 875P MCH +Intel® 82801ER
FSB:800 / 533 MHz
RAM:Dual Channel DDR 400 / 333 ECC support Max 4GB
IDE:2 x UDMA ATA 100/66 Bus Master IDE
Slots:1x AGP Pro Slot, 5x PCI 32-bit Slots
Ports:2xPS2,2xCOM,1xLPT,4xUSB,1xRJ45 and Audio Ports
Onboard Audio:Realtek ALC655 CODEC
Onboard LAN:Intel®PRO /100 VE Ethernet
Onboard SATA: 2 Channel Silicon Image Serial-

-Tyler

Tydogg · Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 12:10 pm Post subject:

Personally, I am a bigger fan of coirsair then Kingston, but I read a few reviews about Giga byte motherboards, and I found that Kingston ram has been more compatible with Giga byte motherboards than other ram sets. If any of you know otherwise pls let me know. I really don't want to run into any incompatibility issues and no overclock complications. I sure don't mind throwing down another 20 or so dollars for coirsair if latency will be a problem with kingston.

-Tyler

[TN] Nathan · ALMIGHTY PWNER! Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 7406

Good luck bud, system should fly.

_________________
Owner & Administrator
www.Tweaknews.net
www.Pocketbookpinch.com