General System Question

[possum37]

Okie dokie, here's the deal...I've priced out a system over at mwave.com, and I was wondering, if I was to put up the components, if somebody could give it a look-over & let me know of any problems/issues/incompatabilities I might have overlooked...

N001-49-07 ASUS CUSL2 Motherboard Specs BUNDLE W/ RETAILED (INTEL PENTIUM III 733; 16X64 128MB PC133) $530.00

015166 MAXTOR 20.0GB ST0192000U EIDE ULTRA-DMA/66 9MS 7200RPM (Retail) $133.00

A09740 GUILLEMOT GeFORCE256 32MB AGP W/SDR MEMORY (OEM) $149.00

A00694 PANASONIC 1.44 FLOPPY DRIVE $13.90

A07080 3COM 56K V.90 INTERNAL PCI WINMODEM W/VOICE#3594 (OEM) $36.00

A06361 CREATIVE LABS BLASTER 52X EIDE CDROM (White box) $39.50

A05060 CREATIVE LABS SOUNDBLASTER LIVE! VALUE PCI 256VOICE ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIO (OEM) $47.90

A00035 IN-WIN Q500 FULL TOWER W/300W ATX POWER SUPPLY 5x51/4 1x31/2 6x31/2(INTERNAL) $73.00

I managed to price those, Win98, assembly & testing, and UPS ground shipping for a total of $1245.88 - which *seems* like a good deal. I'd be more than happy to hear peoples' opinions though!


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My knob tastes funny.

 

[Diesel]

A couple of *opinions*...

1) If you're comfortable with overclocking, you might want to look into a slower PIII and oc'ing it. Look into an 'e' Pentium instead of an 'eb' like the 733. I have a 600e that easily does 800.

2) The video card you selected seems awfully underpowered by today's standards.

3) NEVER BUY A WINMODEM!!!!!

4) I haven't had such favorable experiences with InWin cases. Many, many people love them, but I, for one, can't stand them.
From their selection, if you're looking at a full tower, look at the Aopen HX-08. Very nice tower. Well built.

Outside of all of that, is there any reason you're not looking at setting up an Athlon or Duron system? You'd be able to put together a faster machine for the same or less.


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On an long enough timeline, everyone's survival rate drops to zero.

 

[possum37]

DD's always right there on top of things...thanks, friend!

1) Tinkering I can do...overclocking I'm a bit wary of. If anyone is gonna mess it up, it'd be me. And at this point, nearly *anything* would be better than my 133.

2) Again, perhaps it's my perspective - I've got a 1MB card that's 4 years old, and an 8MB Monster VooDoo accellerator that's 3 years old. Nearly anything seems like an improvement.

Any suggestions on a decent card to get (that hopefully won't cost me a firstborn child)?

3) Yikes!

I figured a modem was a modem was a modem...what's wrong with a winmodem, and what should I consider in its place?

4) Noted. I just want something big with lots of expandability options - the In-Win seemed as good as the rest - but now that I have the opinion of someone I trust, I might have to change that.

And choosing an Athlon instead? Good idea...I'd need a good MoBo with plenty of expansion slots, and a good suggestion as to which to get, to boot.

Help me DieselDan Kenobi, you're my only hope...

No, really - thank you for any suggestions you could give me...ironically, I'm the most computer-savvy here at work, and as you all can see, that's not saying much...

...so I'll take all the help I can get. If anyone else has suggestions, I'd love to hear them!


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My knob tastes funny.

 

[Diesel]

Okay, here goes:

1) Fair enough. If you're uncomfortable with it, don't do it. It's probably not as tough as you think (in my case, it was putting on a better heatsink, and making an adjustment in the BIOS), but again, don't do it if you're not comfortable.

2) Instead of going with a GeForce256 with SGRAM, go for one with DDR. It will cost a bit more, but the performance gain will be worth it in the long run.
You might also want to consider one of the new GeForce2 cards if you have the money to spend and want the latest and greatest.

3) Not the case. A Winmodem is a modem with the DSP functions implemented in software rather that on a silicon controller chip. This means that your CPU is running your modem.
Aside from diminished system performance, compatibility issues, and limitation to a particular OS (Winmodems are named that for a reason; they only work in Windows), Winmodems are... well, they still suck.
Any hardware-based modem is better than a Winmodem. I would spend the extra money and get either an ISA or PCI US Robotics hardware modem, or get an external. No one's figured out how to make an external Winmodem yet, so you're safe with whatever model works best for you. Still, I recommend US Robotics over just about anything else (personal preference; I'm sure others have other brand recommendations).

4) I really like the Aopen cases I've worked with. Nice design, well built, sturdy, decent ventilation. I still prefer Enlight over Aopen, but alas, they don't make full-tower cases last time I checked. Check out the EN-7237 and see if it's big enough for you. A very nice mid-tower case.


If you're looking to do performance on the cheap, you really can't go wrong with a Celeron or Duron. The added advantage they have over their fuller-featured brethren is that they are WAY overclockable. If that's not a consideration, consider them solely based on price. They're not THAT much slower than their big brothers, but they also cost a fraction of the price.

For motherboard recommendations, check the reviews and Anandtech, since they're usually pretty thorough.

PS. FWIW, I checked the prices of Celerons the other day for my dad, and found that Mwave was significantly higher than Onvia. You might want to check for the CPU at Onvia before you commit to Mwave. I would, however, buy the rest of the stuff at Mwave, since they're first-rate.


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On an long enough timeline, everyone's survival rate drops to zero.

 

[JHowse]

Another consideration for a video card that is good in the price/performance category is the new Geforce2 MX. From what I have read, they are highly overclockable and give great performance for the money you spend. You might be able to get one for less than what you would pay for your SDR card and get performance closer to a DDR with appropriate OC'ing. Even if you don't OC, the performance is slightly better, so it's still a better value than the SDR Geforce.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[possum37]

Ok, here's what I've done -

Removed the ASUS CUSL2 w/ PIII 733, and replaced it with:
M069-55-07 ABIT KA7-100 BUNDLE W/ COOLING FAN & (AMD K7 750(OEM); 16X64 128MB PC133) $492.00 - Onvia didn't have as good a selection as I'd have thought...

Swapped the In-Win Q500 for the:
A00997 ENLIGHT 7237 MIDDLE TOWER W/250W ATX POWER SUPPLY 4x51/4 2x31/2 1x31/2(hidden) $47.00

Upgraded the GeForce256 to the:
A10340 GUILLEMOT GeFORCE2 32MB AGP W/DDR MEMORY & TV OUT (OEM) $269.00 - heck, I'm gonna use it, might as well get a good one, right?

And I just dropped the modem and the SB Live from the whole deal. I can pull those from my old system - with a brand new machine I wouldn't use my old machine much anyways. That drops the price down to $1210 and change, with $80 being the convenience of not having to put it all together & test it out myself, and about $40 to have it shipped.

****, I'm really tempted...


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My knob tastes funny.

 

[Diesel]

Sounds decent, but you already have everything on the way, so why not get the modem and sound card thrown into the mix? It won't add too much to shipping if you're ordering it from the same place.

Onvia doesn't have that great a selection, but remember that it's a site geared towards business, so the very fact that they carry mobos and GeForce video cards means they're already going outside their niche. They selection is actually pretty decent, considering....


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On an long enough timeline, everyone's survival rate drops to zero.

 

[liltaz]

Go for it!

*chanting* do it do it do it do it!!!

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"If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience."

- Woodrow Wilson

 

[Diesel]

Just let us know what you end up getting and how it works.
Especially that GeForce2 card... Might actually find something that I'd be willing to swap out my G400 Max for...

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On an long enough timeline, everyone's survival rate drops to zero.

 

[liltaz]

GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!!!!!!!

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"If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience."

- Woodrow Wilson

 

[possum37]

Originally posted by Diesel Dan:
Sounds decent, but you already have everything on the way, so why not get the modem and sound card thrown into the mix?

The sound card sounds like a given then...but now you've scared me about purchasing a modem!

Looking at MWave's selection (assuming I am to buy a complete system from there) what choice might be a good option? I think there are some there that might be winmodems that aren't really saying it up front...
http://192.216.185.10/mwave/DeptMDM.hmx?UID=&CID=&Back=

God this is bugging me. It seems like it was a much easier deal 4 years ago when I bought my current clunker...

Taz> If I would've had to guess who on the board would be the person in the red devil pajama suit on my shoulder, it would've been you...

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My knob tastes funny.

 

[Diesel]

Usually, I go the old fashioned way and buy the old-fashioned ISA modem w/jumpers. That way, I can set it to the specific port *I* want it to be on, and not let the OS decide. Also, it pretty much guarantees that OS compatibility won't be an issue.

This modem is listed as:
3COM 56K V.90 INTERNAL ISA FAX MODEM W/JUMPERS $80.00

Others that look decent:
3COM 56K V.90 INTERNAL PCI PERFORMANCE PRO FAX MODEM $65.00

3COM 56K V.90 INTERNAL PCI FAX MODEM W/VOICE MODEL #2976 $59.00

3COM 56K V.90 INTERNAL PCI FAX MODEM MODEL #2977 (OEM) $55.00

3COM 56K V.90 EXTERNAL FAX MODEM ($30.00 Mail-In Manufacturer Rebate Available till 9/30/2000) $103.00

That last one is sweet because it's external, but with the rebate, it's almost cheaper than many of the internals.


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On an long enough timeline, everyone's survival rate drops to zero.

 

[possum37]

Dan, I don't care what everyone else says about you - you rock. Thank you *so* much for all the help you've shared!

Now, to muster the courage to use the Amex...


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My knob tastes funny.

 

[JHowse]

Yeah. I got that U.S Robotics PCI Performance Pro modem that uses the 3Com chips to replace my POS Lucent winmodem. I immediately noticed an improvement in how my computer was doing when online. At least I can play online games with some decent response until I can get DSL. Definitely a good choice, if you ask me.