Building t3h c0mp

[Gallstaff]

Hm I searched for that board and it looks like it's exactly what I want. the only thing is how do I tell if it's the new 2.0?

 

[gameboy900]

Well on the board where it says the name A7N8X (between the pci slots) it will also say in tiny letters Rev 2 or Rev 2.0. Asking the store should also be a good idea as would looking for it on the box itself where all the barcodes are.

 

[Gallstaff]

Well I plan to get all my parts off of the interent (mostly newegg.com) so is there a different name scheme for the revision?

 

[gameboy900]

You just have to ask for the rev 2 board. And make it very clear that you are looking for the rev 2 board ONLY. No other way really.

 

[Alexvrb]

http://www.asus.com/news/2003/20030517.htm

Sometimes they just upgrade the BIOS and make minor changes. I had a KT133A-based board that had like 3 "PCB revisions", but I had the same BIOS and same features/performance/etc as the two later revisions. The newer boards of course ship with a newer BIOS already installed.

So just go ahead and get the one from newegg and you'll be fine. Remember that the nForce boards are meant to be run with mem/fsb synced, so if you get a CPU that runs on a 333FSB, get the same memory (or set it to run the same, like setting 400Mhz DDR to run at 333). Running with a 333 FSB and 400Mhz memory is actually slower on the nForce 2. Also you'll want to have 2 memory sticks to run in dual-channel mode. Man, I'm getting jealous just thinking about it. I'll wait and see how Athlon64 + nForce 3 looks, by then I might have some money

.

 

[Gallstaff]

I decided not to get an nforce board. Let me show you guys my 'shopping cart' and you decide.

ROUND, 10-Inch, Floppy drive cable. Booted, 2-Connector. ( BLUE ). Please see the image. more info>

N82E16812103013 $4.99

$8 ea.@2+

$7 ea.@3+

$6 ea.@5+

$4.99

Ultra ATA-133 IDE 36" 3H Round Cable Transparent Green RTLFor IDE Hard Drives, CD ROM, DVD ROM or CDRW,

ATA-40P connectors w/ pull tabs

Cable: 30AWG 40*Twisted Pairs, Jacket: PVC

Insulator: Foam PE+ Skin (AI / Foil Shielded)

Impedance: (130+10 ohms) more info>

N82E16812104603 $8.99

$8.75 ea.@3+

$8.5 ea.@5+

$8 ea.@10+

$8.99

ROUND, 10-Inch, True ATA133, IDE, Color: RED specially shielded with Copper Aluminum Mesh covered with a clear tube. Cable for IDE Hard Drives, CD ROM, DVD ROM or CDRW, 2-Connector, 33/66/100/133, 10 Inches Long. With Clear Boot. Please see image for the actual look. more info>

N82E16812881032 $6.25

$6 ea.@3+

$5.75 ea.@5+

$5.25 ea.@10+

$6.25

Controller, Panels, Add-On Cards, etc.

USB (2.0) PCI card, 5-Port(4 external + 1 Internal). With software. Retail. NO USB CABLE. more info>

N82E16815102002 $17.00

$22 ea.@2+

$21 ea.@3+

$20 ea.@5+

$17.00

Fans, Heatsinks (Case, CPU, Chipset)

VANTEC AeroFlow VA4-C7040. For AMD socket A 462 and Intel 370/FC-PGA/FC-PGA2. Retail. Vantec Vertical Aluminum Fins with Copper Core Heat sink + T.M.D. fan, and triple clip for secure instalation.

Specifications:

Supported Socket type: Socket A/462 and Socket 370

Material: Aluminum with copper

Fan Speed: 5600 RPM

Air Flow: 35.5 CFM

Bearing type: T.M.D.

Dimensions 74.5x74.5x60 (mm)

Life Cycle: 80,000 Hrs. (Comes with thermal Compound) more info>

N82E16835110007 $27.99

$30 ea.@5+

$27 ea.@10+

$25 ea.@15+

$27.99

Hard Drives

MAXTOR 60GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # 6Y060L0 - OEM, DRIVE ONLY DiamondMax Plus 9

Specifications:

Size: 60 Gigabytes

Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA133

Seek time: 9 msec

RPM:7200

Cache 2MB

OEM(Drive alone) 1 Year Manufacturer Warranty more info>

N82E16822144124 $76.50

$76.50

Memory (System Memory)

►On Sale! GEIL DDR RAM 512MB PC-3200 Value 400MHz Ultra- CAS 2.5, 2T CommandGL5123200B Value. DDR400, CAS 2.5, 184 Pin Dimm, 6-3-3 2T Timings,6 Layer PCB, Aluminum Heat Spreader, bulk pkg - Lifetime Warranty. more info>

N82E16820144305 $73.00

$73.00

Motherboards - AMD

MATSONIC MS8147C,VIA KT400 chipset for Socket A ATX motherboard

Specifications:

Supported CPU:AMD® Athlon / Athlon XP / Duron processor

Chipset:VIA Apollo KT400 (VT8368/VT8235)

FSB:200/266/333 MHz

RAM:3x 184pin DDR 266/333/400 Max 3GB

IDE:2x ATA 66/100/133 up to 4 Devices

Slots:1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI 32-bit 2.2, and 1x CNR

Ports:2xPS2,2xCOM,1xLPT,4xUSB,1xRJ45 and Audio Ports

Onboard Audio:CMI9739/6 CH AC’97 CODEC

Onboard LAN:10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet LAN more info>

N82E16813184002 $54.00

$54.00

Power Supplies

Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply. UL, CSA, TUV, CE Approved. Intel Pentium 4 Compliant. Switches: ATX Logic on-off additional power rocker switch (115/230 Volt selector switch). Fan: 2 ball-bearing Fans, Temp. Auto Control. 1300 rpm at 25°C ~, 2400 rpm at 80°C. P. G. Signal: 100-500ms. Over Voltage Protection recycle AC to reset: +5V trip point < +6.8V. +3.3V trip point < +4.5V. +12V trip point <+15.6V. Unit Size: 15cm(L)x14cm(W)x8.6cm(H). Retail. more info>

N82E16817153006 $49.99

$49.99

Processors

AMD ATHLON XP 2500 "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- OEM

Specifications:

CPU: 1.83 GHz

Type: XP 2500 Barton Core

Cache: 512K L2, 128K L1, Total 640KB

BUS: 333MHz

Socket A

OEM (Processor Only) more info>

N82E16819103378 $87.00

$87.00

Sound Card

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Dolby Digital 5.1 SB0220 - OEM

PCI 32-bit, 1024-voice Environmental Audio Sound Card, now with Dolby Digital 5.1 support

EMU10K1 Digital Signal Processor provides studio quality sound reproduction for digital processing and playback of MP3, WMA, WAV, Internet Audio, MIDI, and CD audio.

EAX Environmental Audio Effects allows gamers to hear sounds coming from all around them over multiple speaker configurations with full EAX support Not Compatible with Unitek Spdif Port Adapter, more info>

N82E16829102156 $33.00

$33.00

Video Cards

GAINWARD GeForce 4, 8X AGP. Ti 4200, 3.6ns, 128MB DDR. VIVO, Power Pack. 1 DVI port + 1 CRT port + Video in Video Out (VIVO) + nVIEW (two monitors display) + one adapter for DVI to CRT + one multiple cable for VIVO, one DVD video editing software + one game CD + CD driver + manual. Retail. more info>

N82E16814128160 $132.99

$132.99

I kno wit's a lot but i'd really apreciate your input. all I dont have is the case.

 

[Alexvrb]

A KT400 is significantly slower than an nForce 2. Your PSU is overkill (for your system), but that's not a terrible thing. SB live! isn't all that good. Drivers are terrible, and its not a good performer. By spending the extra 33 bucks on that, that's 33 bucks closer to that Asus board, and that had superior sound. Plus the extra USB PCI card you bought, you wouldn't need with the A7N8X deluxe, it has like 6 USB 2.0 ports. Your CPU cooler (AeroFlow), is a good model, but a waste unless you're planning on overclocking. A model like the "Speeze FalconRock CPU Fan Model 5F286B" is pretty quiet, and a good performer. Much cheaper too. Your CPU choice is fine. I'd go with a graphics card with less frills, a GF4 Ti 4200 is a respectable performer at a low price, but if you dont need the extras get a cheaper version. Unless, again, you plan on OCing that too.

All that said, there's nothing really wrong with your purchasing decision. You could buy all that and be happy (unless the SBL! causes trouble, hah, but it shouldn't). But I hope my input has been at least helpful, and maybe you'll think about it some.

 

[Gallstaff]

Yeah maybe I should try to cut down a bit. And I do plan on overclocking just because I can. That's why I have the fan. And uh I dont want the nforce because I dont want to have to make my ram speed lower just to match my fsb speed... I would have to match them right? If i get a stick of 400mhz ram i dont want to lower it to 333mhz because my fsb is.

 

[gameboy900]

Actually no you don't have to sync them. You can have a faster ram clock then the fsb. That little sync problem has been dealt with a while ago in some bios update. Anywho you will not find a better performing mobo (overclocking or not) then the asus. If you look at just about every single tech site that does benchamarks on anything they will use the asus a7n8x deluxe as their test mobo (assuming they use an athlon system).

I also noticed you are getting the barton cpu. You may want to look at this article to see what sort of overclocking these cpu's are capable of.

 

[Alexvrb]

No, everyone misunderstood me. I never said you COULDN'T run them async. I'm telling you that it would be faster if you didn't. Faster as a 333/333 than as a 333/400. Do you understand now? Don't think of it as a disadvantage, think of it as an advantage - you can run async like other boards, but if you run sync, you get a speed boost in most instances, and at the least dont lose any speed. On top of that, it means you can buy cheaper memory. Or perhaps, buy 333Mhz DDR, but get CL 2.0 - that will help performance even a bit more. Though that is most certainly overkill for your purposes.

 

[Gallstaff]

Originally posted by gameboy900@Jul 12, 2003 @ 09:23 PM

I also noticed you are getting the barton cpu. You may want to look at this article to see what sort of overclocking these cpu's are capable of.

WTF?! I can't make shit or crap of that can you sum it up for me I dont understand it at all the only reason I am getting the 2500 is because Ice told me to and I know he knows what the hell he's doing but uh... yeah. Wassat all mean?

 

[fivefeet8]

Originally posted by Gallstaff+Jul 12, 2003 @ 10:53 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gallstaff @ Jul 12, 2003 @ 10:53 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'> <!--QuoteBegin-gameboy900@Jul 12, 2003 @ 09:23 PM

I also noticed you are getting the barton cpu. You may want to look at this article to see what sort of overclocking these cpu's are capable of.

WTF?! I can't make shit or crap of that can you sum it up for me I dont understand it at all the only reason I am getting the 2500 is because Ice told me to and I know he knows what the hell he's doing but uh... yeah. Wassat all mean? [/b][/quote]

Just read the conclusion on the article.

I'd also recommend an Nforce2 Mobo simply because I've got one and it's kick ass. You can find some for about $80 at pricewatch.com. As for your other remarks about Async ram and FSB settings 333/400:

I've got an athlon xp 2800(333mhz fsb) overclocked to 2.3 ghertz with a FSB OC to 400 mhz matching my PC3200 DDRram speed of 400mhz. The new athlon T'breds and Bartons are great Overclockers. They also run cooler than previous athlons. 400/400.

I've got an aBit Nf7-s Nforce2 Ultra 400 rev2.0 mobo.

 

[Gallstaff]

Ah OK i read the conclusion and i probably read it wrong but I guess the AMD is a good overclocking chip the the P4 is jus tmore practical and AMD really needs to get some new ideas out there if they want to continue competing? Well I'm still gonna get an AMD chip cause they're cheaper but did I get it right?

Edit (afterthoughts): BAH FUCK. I'm so confused now from all your guys different input. Get the Asus with nforce, get the barton, overlcock, get a 9600, sb sucks, lower ram BAH! It hurts. Here are my 3 questiosn that I need answered after having been brainfucked:

How would I go about lowering a 400 mhz to 333?

Couldn't I just overclock my fsb of 333 to 400?

What chip should I get the barton 1.8 ghz or the non barton 2 ghz?

Is it really that much more worth it to get serial ata hdd than an eide and the same goes with is it really tha tmuch more worth it to get ata133 than ata100?

And this is just kinda throwin in there but WTF is up with usb cards and firewire cards with a port on the inside? I mean when and how would you use that?

(ok so it was more than 3 questions dont blame me i'm not good with numbers; i dont major in history)

 

[gameboy900]

Originally posted by Gallstaff@Jul 13, 2003 @ 01:23 AM

Ah OK i read the conclusion and i probably read it wrong but I guess the AMD is a good overclocking chip the the P4 is jus tmore practical and AMD really needs to get some new ideas out there if they want to continue competing? Well I'm still gonna get an AMD chip cause they're cheaper but did I get it right?

Edit (afterthoughts): BAH FUCK. I'm so confused now from all your guys different input. Get the Asus with nforce, get the barton, overlcock, get a 9600, sb sucks, lower ram BAH! It hurts. Here are my 3 questiosn that I need answered after having been brainfucked:

How would I go about lowering a 400 mhz to 333?

Couldn't I just overclock my fsb of 333 to 400?

What chip should I get the barton 1.8 ghz or the non barton 2 ghz?

Is it really that much more worth it to get serial ata hdd than an eide and the same goes with is it really tha tmuch more worth it to get ata133 than ata100?

And this is just kinda throwin in there but WTF is up with usb cards and firewire cards with a port on the inside? I mean when and how would you use that?

(ok so it was more than 3 questions dont blame me i'm not good with numbers; i dont major in history)

Ok let's take this step by step.

You can run memory at any speed up to (and of course over if it's and good) what it's rated for. So the pc3200 ram you want you could run at pc2700 speeds. One more thing if you are gonna go for an nforce2 board get two ram sticks instead of one to take advantage of the special ram feature the name of which escapes me at the moment. Just get two sticks that are half of what you want each.

You can overclock the fsb but going from 333 to 400 is probably not gonna happen. The only cpu that can run at 400 normally is the barton 3200+. The only way to go from 333 to 400 would be to unlock the cpu (and void the warranty) and then lower the multiplier and up the fsb.

As for the two cpu's go for the barton 2500+.

Serial ata is the future. So getting it now won't hurt. You don't have to though as there are adapters that will convert any existing eide drive to it. It's just really nice because the cables are super small. There really isn't that much difference between ata133 and ata100. The more important thing to look for is a bare minimum of 8mb cache on the drive. That makes a bigger impact then the 133 vs 100 thing.

The internal usb and firewire ports are for internal hard drives or devices as well as for hooking up the from usb ports alot of cases have.

 

[Gallstaff]

Ah ok that helps and one more question. If I get a board that supports ATA 133 will an ata 100 still work in there?

 

[Curtis]

Yep, no problems.

 

[gameboy900]

Yes ata is backwards compatible. Heck you can use a 10 year old ide drive on a serial ata connection if you get the $20 adapter for it. Of course I'm not sure why anyone would want to buy a $20 adapter for a $1 drive.

 

[fivefeet8]

Originally posted by gameboy900@Jul 13, 2003 @ 10:02 AM

One more thing if you are gonna go for an nforce2 board get two ram sticks instead of one to take advantage of the special ram feature the name of which escapes me at the moment. Just get two sticks that are half of what you want each.

You can overclock the fsb but going from 333 to 400 is probably not gonna happen. The only cpu that can run at 400 normally is the barton 3200+. The only way to go from 333 to 400 would be to unlock the cpu (and void the warranty) and then lower the multiplier and up the fsb.

It's called "dual Channel" and it only works if you have 2 same capacity DDr ram sticks on Nforce2 mobos. Nforce2 mobos are at their best with it enabled.

If your thinking about Oc'ing, then better get the Nforce2 mobos. Nforce2 rev2 boards have their PCI and AGP speeds locked at 33/66. This allows you to OC the ram/FSB without affecting them. Via boards don't have them locked, meaing if you OC your FSB, you will also be OC'ing your PCI and AGP to unrecommended speeds. Decreasing Oc'ing stability. Those boards use dividers for their FSb/PCI/AGp speeds. A 333mhz FSB divided by 5 gives you the AGP speed of 66 mhz. If your gonna Oc your FSB then Oc'ing your ram to suit it will also be needed. Hence if you get PC3200 ram, you can Downclock it to your FSB speed without much harm or problems even if you can't get the FSB to 400mhz. But if you Oc the FSB and PC2700(333) ram, the ram is gonna bottleneck your Overclock.

Overclocking a 333mhz FSB on a Barton or T'bred Core Athlon is easy to attain and with no cpu bridge cutting on Nforce2 mobos. A lot of people have gotten their 333mhz fsb bartons to 400 mhz stable. My cpu has it's 333mhz FSB Oc'ed to 400 with no bridge cutting. You will need proper cooling, but a SLK800 or the Coolmaster Aero7+(I have this and it's great) will cool it down fine.

One more thing. Nforce2 mobos automatically unlock the multipliers on Athlon Xp bartons and t'breds through their bios. No need to manually unlock them yourself and voiding your warranty.

 

[Alexvrb]

The 2500+ Barton is a good overclocker, you could probably just run it at 400Mhz FSB without changing the multiplier. As far as VIA chipsets using a divider, that's not an issue if they have a divider set up for 400Mhz operation, that's only an issue if you plan on running at some funny in-between speed like 387Mhz. The nForce 2 simply outperforms those boards regardless, not that they are bad or anything. As I already said, and others repeated, get 2 sticks of memory with the same amount, for dual-channel operation. Remember that only a few models (such as the Asus A7N8X deluxe) actually have the Sound Storm audio. All the others use shitty onboard audio that uses your CPU to do the work (think winmodem). So even though this model is more expensive, it saves you from having to buy a sound card, and its sound performance (although not features) surpasses even an Audigy 2.

Also, the AeroFlow is a good HS/fan, you should be fine with that. It attains the cooling performance of some high-end noisemakers, without being a noisemaker.

 

[Gallstaff]

Another question: Does it really matter if it's an asus as long as it is nforce 2. I decided not to spend all that freakin money on that stuff because i'm not really that much of a quality buff. I dont really give two craps about fantastic sound quality. The board i'm getting is made by gigabyte and it also supports duel channel memory. Now this sounds pretty good to me but I do have one question. How do I exactly harness/use duel channel memory. It has 4 slots for 184 pin ddr memory but 2 are red and 2 are blue. I'm guessing I put 2 of the same sticks of memory in the 2 of the same colored slots or something... can someone explain this to me?

This is the board I plan to get. what do you think?