Is this custom computer ok?

[palmboy5]

Is this custom computer ok?
I didn't get it yet.

ECS K7S5A
AMD Athlon XP 2000+ w/fan (or maybe 2100+)
512MB PC133
40GB 7200RPM IDE HDD
16X DVD-ROM
GeForce4 MX-440 64MB SDRAM
USB 2.0 4 external, 1 internal
2 scroll optical mouse (got it)
Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro (got it)
KDS 1280x1024 CRT Monitor (got it)

is this good for around $400?

 

[Vehementi]

Gah! Ditch the K7S5A, man. And get DDR! You won't regret it, trust me. Your RAM and system board would pose a serious bottleneck, especially with a CPU that fast. You should get like an nForce2 or smth like that. You won't regret it.

Anyway I gotta go...good luck.

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Well, it seems ok for an entry level...

But why PC133 ram? You'll see a better performance with that cpu and DDR...

I would not go with an nforce2 board for an entry level computer though...
It is very good, but it's also a bit expensive... (109$ here)

The K7S5A has support for ddr ram as well as sdram...
So you could stick with that... From the reviews here, it seems like a good deal...

You can pick up a crucial 256mb DDR (pc2100) for 64.79 here, (512 for 131.39).

Or you could pick up a generic DDR (pc2700) 512mb for around 100$ here...

The latter (generic) might not give good yields if you try to overclock, and might not be as good as Crucial...

Personally I'd go for Crucial since there is so little price diff, and you know you get quality with Crucial

The last thing I'd change is the GeforceMX.. It's really just a souped up Geforce2 core...
If you can afford it, the 9500pro will give you much better quality speed and features... (It's fully DX9 compliant to boot ) You can pick one up for 178 here...
If that's a bit to much I'd either go for a 9000pro (100$ from here, or a Geforce 4 ti4200 for 100$ here...

All of the 3 are much better than the GF4MX, and should last you quite a while: )



Hope this helps...

 

[palmboy5]

I'll switch it down to Athlon XP 1700+ then.

I'll be buying from here

The MX is just fine for WarCraft 3, Combat Flight Simulator 2, Counter-Strike, and DVDs.
I dont get new games, I'm not a gamer, so MX has no future with me

the RAM price just went up and I'm trying to keep the price around $400 so im sticking with PC133

 

[iss]

the Radeon 9000pro it is a much better card than the MX and has outstanding DVD playback you can find them for as little as 89.00 at newegg. I have a 9000pro in my wifes machine running with an AMD 1600 the kids have a 1800 both machines benchmark the same so if you are looking to save money take advantage of the dirt cheap prices on the AMD 1600 chips (52.00 at newegg)

 

[palmboy5]

mwave is cheaper....

yahoo is just as cheap...

right now the video card is $50 find a card at that price but better

ill be back on sunday...

 

[hdmk]

If I were you - I'd go with DDR - rather than SD ram. However appealing the price difference is, the sdram will slow you're computer down - if I were getting SDRam to save on money, I'd go with the cheapest Athlon XP you can find - i.e. the slowest

If you want to save money, please go with 256mb of DDR rather than 512mb of PC133

 

[palmboy5]

here...


CODEGEN 6055-C10
$33.00
ECS K7S5A
AMD Athlon XP 2000+ w/fan
$89.88
256MB DDR266
$51.09
40GB 7200RPM IDE HDD
$75.00
16X DVD-ROM
$35.00
GeForce4 MX-440se 64MB DDR RAM
$56.00
USB 2.0 4 external, 1 internal
$18.00 (wow)
Floppy 1.44 (got it)
$0.00
2 scroll optical mouse (got it)
$0.00
Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro (got it)
$0.00
KDS 1280x1024 CRT Monitor (got it)
$0.00
Linux RedHat 9.0 (got it)
$0.00

Total= $412.93 @ mwave



one problem, the motherboard says Athlon (full series) the FSB is 200/266, so the highest it can take is the 2400+. But looking at other motherboards at that price, it shouldnt be able to take it...(more like 2000+) Can someone make sure what is the fastest Athlon the Motherboard can take...?
The video card is "second edition" what improvement did they do?

 

[Rick]

I don't know if Vehementi has ever touched one, but the ECS K75SA is quite a decent board and it has had very lasting appeal because of the features and price.

I have personally built 4 systems with this board and I am happy enough to recommend it. It isn't a great board, but it isn't going to make your computer blow up or anything silly like that. It has a mediocre feature set - Could be better - But more than functional for just about anyone on a budget.

 

[Vehementi]

Originally posted by Rick
I don't know if Vehementi has ever touched one, but the ECS K75SA is quite a decent board and it has had very lasting appeal because of the features and price.

No & I never will. ( Hopefully :dead: )

 

[Phantasm66]

SDRAM???????

 

[Rick]

Originally posted by Vehementi
No & I never will. ( Hopefully :dead: )

Then your opinion of the K75SA should hold little to no value for anyone, but yourself of course. You probably shouldn't make such a strong stance against any product without actually having worked with it.

 

[Phantasm66]

Originally posted by Rick
You probably shouldn't make such a strong stance against any product without actually having worked with it.

The same is true of any device.

Or any computer configuration.

We should not question it so, without first taking it apart....

The truth is, we cannot take EVERY machine part....

So we must make small observations about each small PART OF THE MACHINE....

...that we can take apart....

 

[palmboy5]

the case looks pretty good for the price

if only it had more 3.5" hiddens

 

[ThrasherFan22]

i dont know if someone has said this yet but 40 gigs is nothing. get around 120-180 at least

 

[halo71]

i dont know if someone has said this yet but 40 gigs is nothing. get around 120-180 at least

Man, that post is like 5 years old! lol....