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Be gittin' yer rear in gear, greengoose, 'for I hafta come up there an goose ya! https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
Terrrriffic Train ! Did it make a pretty big hole in your pocket ?
...bistro ? https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ you still markin' the benches?
Total out so far is $614.22
Monitor 17" $170 ??
Video card 150 ??
the rest 125??
Still cheaoer than this Compaq was. And only 1 off the top of the line on everything so far, so it will have a long life ahead. Strong toooooo. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
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SMILE
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Still under a thousand. Except for the monitor. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
I can pick up a ATI 32MB video card for 80 but it is not the one I am shooting for.
So, Back to researching.
Nic's price depends on manufactor. 14 - 98
keyboard and mouse < 40
Still might make it under 1000 mark. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
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SMILE
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Ok...been checking around and here's what's come up so far:
If using any GeForce 2, to get the full benefit from it, the mobo AGP must have 2.0 compliance (again...nothing to do with PS compliance). The card works great on other boards, but not to it's fullest potential.
Mobos with the Intel 815e chipset or higher have this compliance; the Intel BX-based boards do not. So it's a toss-up as far as to what exactly do you want. Compared two boards; the Abit BX 133-RAID (BX-base) and the Abit SE6 (815e-base). Basic pros and cons:
Abit BX-133 RAID--excellent reviews; fast hard drive access; has two ATA connectors, two IDE connectors--nice to put two ATA hard drives on each connector (each can have their own "channel")--eliminates need to get a controller card for a 5th IDE device, such as a ZIP drive.(You can actually have 4 ATA devices and 4 IDE devices without the need for a controller card). Has one ISA slot for legacy devices such as an ISA modem. Con--can't take advantage of a GeForce 2 card's full potential (no AGP 2.0 compliance).
Abit SE6: also good reviews;fast hard drive access; has 2.0 compliance so it will run a GeForce 2 card to full potential; built-in sound if wanted.
Con--has only two ATA-100 connectors. If two hard drives, the slave will have to go on the same cable, 2 other IDE devices on the other connector--if you add 5th IDE device, you'll need a controller card (not a biggie, just an inconvenience to me). Also, has only PCI slots, so if you have an ISA modem...oh, well...go out and get a PCI modem (also not a biggie, but just inconvenient).
That's what I've got so far--still looking around. Like mentioned before, the card works very good, and still out-benchmarks the old one on my BX board. I guess it's the performance nut in me that it irks a little bit that the card isn't at "full gear".
Now, if there are any intrepid readers looking at this, and you know something more about this issue, BY ALL MEANS add your two cents! Inquiring minds want to know... https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
[This message has been edited by bistro (edited 01-21-2001).]
ASUS A7V has all the compliances but no ISA slots. [Don't use a modem] ATA100 controler.
AGP 2.0 spec's for 4X, 2X, and 1X AGP modes; and PCI 2.2 bus interface for 5 PCI masters.
You should be able to find the Intel version of this board. O/C's dream? choice dips or software.
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SMILE
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Is the only difference in the modems--- the pins where it connects in the slot?(PCI or ISA) Since I'll be needing one anyway, if that's the difference, it's not a problem. I looked it up and the Abit SE6 is about $10.00 more than the BX 133-Raid.
Why would having both hard drives on the same cable be a problem ?
Bistro, can the performance between the two cards been seen with the naked eye in actual operation? Looking at your write up, the Abit 133 Raid overall would be best. I say this from the standpoint also that I'm not a big game player as yet. Also the 133 is easier to work with and simpler in terms of hardware configuration.
The PC Outpost shop visited turned out to be disapointing as they only sell systems, games, software, and periphials -no components. The systems range from P-1 thru P-3 up to 6Gig memory and price range from $299 to $799. I observed one customer upgrading from P-1 to P-2 system. They finance their own. Interesting marketing here.
Train, saw a price for a 15" monitor for $99. So added in with the other info indicates prices still softening. Staying back from the cutting edge helps too. Maybe the 17 will come down more than the $170.
That thread on not building, this week, versus buying was valid for people that only want to surf, write, business, etc. Not valid in terms of money, quality, power, and dependability. (And the geek reasons. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/)
Off Topic - Downloaded Tweak UI and without thinking misassociated it with Word so I have a nice text document. Is there a quick reassociation method to correct my error? Get in a huurry always causes grief for me. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
Queen of Hearts, I must say the last comment made by you was not royal at all but very common. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
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Seek Knowledge First and All Else Will Follow
[This message has been edited by greengoose1 (edited 01-21-2001).]
Sorry greengoose, https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ I forget who I'm spozed to be sometimes and revert. Married into royalty, ya know. No Royal blood.
Doing a bit of research here, so can only drop in every once in a while for right now.
greengoose--just uninstall/reinstall--best way to correct that.
QOH: Not that much diff between PCI and ISA modems--just that ISA is being slowly phased out.
Train: Thanks for the tip on the Asus. Will check around for an Intel 815e equivalent.
Been playing around with this GeForce 2 MX card. For higher framerate/benchmarking scores, it's recommended to turn off all antialiasing (feature to get rid of the "jaggies" in 3D rendering). Well, I turned it on and ran a couple of 3D games/demos---looked very, very good. In fact, ran a benchmark before antialiasing and after. Actually got a better score with the AA on--go figure....
Greengoose: If you're not into intensive gaming and obsessed with frame rates, etc., you're not going to even notice this. Al-in-all, this is a great card (Hercules Prophet 2 MX). If this is the "low-end", I can't imagine the performance from the Ultra, GTS, etc.
Will check in later--it's off to cybersearch world. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
Train: Found it. It's the Asus CUSL2 mobo. Intel 815e chipset. Has had excellent reviews. A real good one for overclocking/gaming. Still, if one isn't into gaming all that much, but wants a workhorse, I think that Abit 133BX may be the way to go. Only problem I see is future upgrading. Looks like GeForce 2 vid cards are quickly becoming "standard". The BX boards will run them, but as I said earlier, will not run at full potential (i.e high graphics games/applications)--but unless one is really into that, they're not going to see the difference very readily.
bistro
Knew it was out there but, could not find it to save my ....
Also, I figure being more to the high end of the line It should have a long useful lifespan upgrade wise.
Q_O_H
A normal motherboard can take 4 ide devices only.
EXample
cd-rom
Harddisk
Zip
cd-rw
But, with the promise card.
Normal channel
Cd-rom
zip
tape
cd-rw
on ATA100 [promise]
4 harddrives [read lots of storage]
If you have 2 harddrives on the same ribbon it is slower to read from and write to the other as it has to interrupt as it read from one stops then writes to the other. Hope this makes cents https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
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SMILE
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Lots of things to consider isn't there? https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
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Seek Knowledge First and All Else Will Follow
greengoose
all kinds of compromises
Take your pick https://discussions.virtualdr.com/ https://discussions.virtualdr.com/
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SMILE
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Train and bistro:
I have a question for you.
You are aware of the problems Intel has had with the 815 chipset aren't you? Compaq even has a patch on its website for its computers that use the 815 chipset. Unfortunately, we (the company I work for)continue to have problems with the computers constantly freezing up. Even after the patch has been applied!
[This message has been edited by sdtech (edited 01-21-2001).]