A few questions...

Hello all, I am currently runned an old thrown together computer (AMD k6 550MHZ) or something like that....It is about maxed out to its fullest potencial. I mean I am running a 400MHZ processor overclocked to 550, so It is maxed. So I am going to just build me a new computer, but I am not up to date on the newer hardware.

Here is what I am currently looking to buy:

Motherboard: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe (Rev 2.0)
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton)
RAM: Crucial 512 DDR PC2700
Video Card: GFORCE FX5600 256MB
Hard Drive: Maxotr 80GB 7200RPM
and it is looking to cost around $500 once I through in a case.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or even agree with the setup I am looking at....Feedback would be appriciated...

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aah, building a new computer.

Ok, the motherboard you have gone for is not a bad choice actually. does it come witha sound board? because intergrated sound boards arent allways brilliant. best bet is to get a "creative" sound card along with it which are generally better than anything else anyway. (I know the motherboard but not what it comes with)

your graphics card...hmm. perhaps you should look at an ATi card in the "RADEON" range instead and make sure you get one thats AGP for games. integraed grpahics is not bad, PCI graphics boards suck so much ass so AGP is the way to go really if you are an avid gamer.

The RAM, you really dont need to be specific about the make, just make sure it works. I brought some RAM for my dad last christmas because his computer dindt have enough. thing was a brought it in august, by the time we found out the ram was shot, the shop had long-since closed so I was not a happy bunny...this year dad, your getting an air-compressor for the car! lol

the hard drive, I would go for a western digital personally, but that is just personal preference. 80GB is not a bad size but remeber they have just come up with 160GB so dont be surprised if its out-of-date and classed as "small" this time next year. it was not so long ago that 30GB was more than someone will ever need. hell, our first computer ca,e with 500MB hard drive, which was the biggest you could get at the time and we were never going to fill that with 4 people useing the computer. I've had this machine a day and I've allready filled 10/80 GB on my own.

the case you will have to think serousley abot actually. do you want a case that looks really posh and lights up and everything or do you just want one that just does the job? Light-up and/or see-through cases are not as expensive as you think IF you know where to look. computer fairs, PC worlds "compenents centre" places like that will sell you one for about £50. or alternatly you can get a plain case for about £10 from the same places!

I think that about covers it, and questions you can PM me or post them here which may be better

I am about 98.93% sure that the motherboard I chose has onboard sound, I may decide to get something by Creative Labs for sound. I am not entirely sure about going ATi for graphics because I am not sure the prices (haven't looked them up). I chose the Maxtor hard drive because that is what I have now, but I think I am going to go Seagate or Western Digital because my hard drive is totally messing up on me....I chose crucial because I have heard storys that the motherboard I chose and cheap ram simply don't get along, so I decided to go with something like Crucial or Kingston. As for the cases, I didn't mention one because I don't know any places to really look, the cases are whats giving me my problems...Could you direct me to some good places with some Modded cases (Neon Light n' all)....I don't think that I am ready for the hassle of water-cooled cases yet though....

I couldnt actually direct you anywhere to get a case because, dont forget, I am a brit

I dont understand that about cheap ram and asus motherboards not getting along. I have heard bad things about asus-based PCS (allthough, never experienced it yet) but not THAT bad. the PC i'm on now (Cuz I'm actually in a college computer lab) is a QDI mainboard motherboard system and apart from the fact its windozey 2000 Doent-workstation, its not a bad PC. allthough going from my new 2.4 Ghz to an 866Mhz is a toil! lol. its so slow! lol

the grapics boards, well aslong as you have AGP, an ATi will work.

I built my own computer not too long ago - set-up looks fine actually, although i would seriously recommend if you are going to be doing a lot of audio/midi work to invest in the Creative Soundblaster Live platinum. Its the standard SBLive card, but has a 5 1/4" Bay that has lots of connections on it (midi in/out, SPDIF etc). Other than that - good luck. It's not as easy as it looks!!

building a pc is easy if you know what you are doing.

get 2 256 DIMMS instead of 1 512 DIMM to fully utilize DDR functionality

does 2 256 not work?

Originally posted by kingy2003
does 2 256 not work?

*slaps* ofcourse it does

Thanks for the 2 256 advice, I think that I may go with that, but I am still having troubles choosing a graphics card, got any advice?

the geforce 5600's are pretty nice, good for the price range especially. I picked up an ultra pretty cheap at newegg. Some people prefer radeons but it basically comes down to personal preference, I had an ati, and it sucked so much power from a 550 watt power source that I needed to unplug drives to get it to work properly, it sucked, heh.

Originally posted by gnr2k3
Thanks for the 2 256 advice, I think that I may go with that, but I am still having troubles choosing a graphics card, got any advice?

well, my radeon 9200 Pro works fine on my 8x AGP so I'd recomend that. but if you really wanna spend the money then nVidea, but they are not allways worth it

I have a VERY similar setup to what you are proposing and I would definately suggest getting a SATA hard drive, in the long run you can get a second and raid them (this is fast...scsi is looking over it's shoulder).

The on board sound is good, i'm pleased with it. I've also got my xp2500 barton running at xp3000 speed with little trouble (ensure you've a good heatsink+fan and some case cooling, i.e fans etc).

Definately get two sticks of 256mb to utilise the dual DDR as previously mentioned too. My RAM is nothing particularly special and i've not had any problems, but if your budget will stretch do the branded thing.

I'm running a radeon 9500pro as i brought this before the rest of the kit, but after being an avid geforce fan my first dip into the radeon market was pleasently surprising, in comparison the radeon rocks, but as for what's best know...there's a bit more of a fight on.

Overall the Mobo is fantastic, the most stable system i've ever run, go get it!

What is Mobo?

Mobo=motherboard