Building a New System!!..Your Answers Needed

Hi Peeps---Gona Build meself a New System...Do U think these R ok, if Not, Why Not, n Please give me Your recomendation on the one U would buy......THANKS...In UK ok.....

ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe
AMD Athlon XP 2800 or 3000+333FSB
Kingston DDR400 512MB PC3200 memory...Or would U buy 2 x 256Mbt
Graphics Card--ASUS 9400 Magic GeForce 4 MX 4000 128Mbt.
What HeatSink n Fan would U buy....Is the Stock Fan that comes with that Processor any good!!?
Tower---ChiefTec BX-02 Silver Case...No Power supply...Gona buy a 400W PSU....

Trying to keep costa down but still want a Good System....
I am NOT a Games Player...Only play Real Tornument Occasionaly.....Am a Photographer, so if U think there be a Better Graphics Card at about the £40 to £50 mark, Please say so....
THANKS ALL........

Looks like a good board all around.

Only one question though. Why buy DDR400 if the cpu fsb is 333? That would necessitate DDR333 or PC2700. I believe if you get PC3200 and put it in a computer that the fsb is 333 it will run at
PC2700 speed. Might want to think about that before spending any extra moneies. Which ever you get, according to Asus, this is a dual channel board and I believe you have to buy them in pairs. If I'm wrong on that, the Doc (DrMDJ) will be along shortly to sort me out. :D

And ThermalTake heatsink/fan are good ones. I have the Volcano 11+ but I believe they now have a Volcano 12 out. Don't forget the Artic Silver also. ;) I wouldn't use the stock fan myself but others may have different views on that.

Buy a Antec or Enermax psu. Best those are.

I wouldn't go for an all out graphics intense video card since you are a photographer. I am too, and I have the Geforce FX5200 128mb DDR. It works for me just great. I don't know about MX4000, so you might wait to see what others have to say on this one. Good place to check them out is here:
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/gra...charts-03.html

Hey Photolady, we both have the same vid card. Yes, with Dual Channel DDR, you have to buy in pairs, or in some cases, you can disable it in BIOS, Im not sure about it but hey...

Hi Photolady, Thanks for Your Reply....
Did Not know that this Board was Dual Ram...Not heard of it, so completely clueless...lol
Is it any Good, Is it Better, or would u say stick to normal!!?

Not Gona Go into the intricasies of DDR400 n 333FSB as I not Got a Clue n You'll just Baffle Me..LOL....It is what was Sugested I should Do n Buy, by someone who is supposed to know what hes doing....(say no more)lol..Plus U put the FSB in Bios to 166FSB..again, so he says!
These new Boards Baffle me.....Plus, Would IDE Hard Disks Run on SATTA or would one have to buy a SATTA HD, if so will that run on IDE.......

Or to make My Life Easier, What Board would U say is Good....
As regards the Graphics Card, I did look at the one U got n do like it but I need one with DVI, TV out, etc.,

DRMDJ-----TRAIN-----ANYONE----HELP!! Suggestions Appreciated..

ARRRGH CAP'M! SPEELCHEKR KINNA TAKE DIS KINDA ABUSE! Sorry, I had to do that. Dual Channel RAM is theoretically (or definately) faster than RAM. However, you have to have a twin of that RAM (ie 2 DDR 512 keeping brand name the same helps) An ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) is not compatible with an SATA (Serial ATA). They are keyed differently than the other. I dont think there is an adapter or anything to make them go in. Anyway, I hope that helped

Here are some samples of ATA and SATA contollers. The go into the PCI slots and allow you to hookup more devises.

Yes that mobo has:
"Dual-Channel DDR400 Support
The 128-bit TwinBank DDR Memory architecture doubles the DDR 400 (PC3200) bandwidth. System bottlenecks are eliminated with balanced architecture and peak bandwidth up to 6.4GB/s."

Per ASUS

If you decide to go with the PC3200 memory, just get identical sticks.

Other than that, you are looking good to me. UHH, I'll take it :D ;)

LOL--Thanks for Giveing me a Chuckle Spooky Man...looked as if U were talking German with a Scotish Accent....
Thanks for the Explanation..So when I buy a New Hard Disk, it must either be an IDE, or a SATTA only....Which do U say i should Buy...(this is gona be My Last PC System for a Long Time, So I gota get it right first time)..

Thank You TRAIN---Good Read on the Asus..n the ATA & SATA controllers...I can NOT Afford 2 sticks of 512 DDR Ram, I'd have to Rob a few Grannys, n My Good Nature won't let Me Do that!!..lol
Perhaps I should stick to 1 x 512 Mbt DDR--Would that Work!or is this Dual Channel Far Better!!?
or should I put in 2x 256DDR, n would U go for DDR333 PC2700 or DDR400 PC3200..I Gona Drop the Processor to a XP2600+ "333FSB"...That should be fast enough for me I think!...

If anyone thinks I should drop my sights to a lower speck system, then Please Pop in n Let us know what it is.......
As mentioned earlier, this will be my last build for quite a while, so I need to get this right first time.......

It is Thanks to Train n DRMDJ n ALL the others here who did these Builds in this Forum that Taught me quite a bit, n my first build turned out quite well..So this be my Second..
THANKS ALL, n Sorry to be a Pest n ask more or less the same Questions as lots of other peeps...But there again, it does keep U occupied!!!..Cheers, Dennis..

Both SATA and ATA are IDE drives. You must ensure you buy either SATA or ATA. Your Motherboard MUST support SATA in order to use it, or buy an add on controller. It has a smaller connector. All newer motherboards have 1 or 2 ATA connectors. I'd recommend sticking with ATA, they have been around for a long time, are fairly fast, compatible with all new computers and some old ones, and are cheaper than a SATA drive. SATA is a relatively new tech. If you drop the processor speed, you'll save bucks and if the Motherboard supports it, you could always get a faster one. I don't have Dual Channel and I'm still happy with my computer :)

On the dual-channel memory... On that board the memory can be run in dual channel mode with 2 sticks or 3. With 3 sticks you would want to populate them such that the cummulative amount of memory in dimm1 and dimm2 was euqal to what was in dimm3. For example, if ya put 256mb in dimm1, 256mb in dimm2, you then would put 512mb in dimm3.

As for the performace gains from running dual channel... At best you may get up to 15% gain. But you are more likely to see something about half this in typical use. Ya might as well go for it if possible. Of course you can always move to it (by purchasing a second stick) down the road. It's up to you.

If you're not (or your friend isn't planning to have you, lol) overclock then the pc2700 memory will be fine. If you intend to overclock then you probably want to get pc3200.

Now I use the AMD XP2500+ Barton cpu in all 3 of my computers. HINT :D

And 2 sticks of PC2700 at 256 and it will function right nicely. ;)

See how that works out money wise.

Looks like you got what you needed. The Doc and the Train showed up. ;)

That board of you're looking at does support SATA drives. So you shouldn't need any add on cards.

And like Train........I'll take it....:D

Hi DR n Train, n of course everyone else!
Thanks for poping in n Helping out.....
This Dual Channel Mode is kinda confuseing me, plus, it looks as if Lots of Peeps out there R haveing Problems with this Dual Channel!!...R they haveing probs because they be Overclocking!!? or R They haveing probs because the Ram Sticks R Wrong!!?...
As U say DR-I can always use one stick n dissable Dual in Bios until I can afford to buy another.......OR...I could do what Train sugests n buy the XP2500 (which I was gona do because its great for Overclocking if i decide to do that) (I don't overclock at moment) n get 2 sticks of PC2700 at 256, cost slightly more than 1 stick of 512..Mmmmmm!
Now then, I run an PCI ATA100 is that simular to ATA on board?
If so, then normal IDE Drives should run off of it...Yes! No!
Don't need SATA so we'll forget it..

So SPOOKY my man! Have U got the same Board but without the Deluxe....Or have you got a different board...
Another of my friends went out n bought the A7N8X-X nFORCE2ULTRA 2 days ago n says its great...but there again u can't tell if it's great in just 1 day!!...

Just phoned the shop n they don't have the XP2500 (wonder why!!) only the xp2400+, xp 2600+, xp2800+, xp 3000+ n xp3200+.....

So If I not gona Overclock, which un is it-----xp2600+ or xp2800+
1x120Gbt ATA Hard Disk or if IDE HD will it run on ATA....SORRY if I'm repeating, Not Techy minded, n Brain is useless...

THANK U ALL for your Kind Help......

Like I said, going for a dual-channel configuration of memory now is you choice, and you can always go to that later. Dual channel is sound technology, so if some people are having problems...;)

Quote:

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PCI ATA100 is that simular to ATA on board

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It's exactly the same except with the card you need to install drivers for it to work.

Quote:

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1x120Gbt ATA Hard Disk or if IDE HD will it run on ATA?

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Yes.

Just so you realize, XP2600 doesn't run at 2.6ghz. :D But were me, I'd get the XP2800.

Definitely go the dual channel route, especially those people who are choosing Pentiums...they tend to do much better with dual channel than AMDs (although that is changing soon with the new chips coming out). As DrMDJ pointed out, you get a little bit of a performance gain....not spectacular, but a little bit. They are working on it....should start seeing some better gains soon.
From what I have read, it seems that the majority of the "trouble" people have had with dual channel memory stems from either they have mismatched sticks (got them from a distributor who uses different manufacturers but packages them all under one name) or are using sticks that are unsupported by their motherboard. Others simply were disappointed that they didn't see spectacular speeds gains like mentioned above. They failed to realize that they were getting into the realm of performance vs. naked eye speed difference here....kind of like using Regular vs. Premium gasoline. We are both going 70 mph, but your car with Premium is operating a little better; more efficiently. :)

Wow! your All here today, that's Great...Thanks...
It is Allways Appreciated to here the comments & suggestions from U ALL...THANKS....

Can't afford a Pentium Bistro....Wish i could!

Do agree that Dual Channel Route is the way forward...But hardest part is which Slot/Socket do we chose!!...I chose Socket A because it's what i'm use to...But i think they be doing away with it soon!!!!Yes?

I'm running an "ABIT KG7-Lite" with 2x 256Mbt DDR Ram PC2100 with a NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX/MX400 graphics card.....It is Good enough but i am looking n needing a Better Faster system, not for games as I only occasionaly play Unreal, but for my Photography n DVD n Music.....I use PhotoShop 7 an Awfull lot these day......So If U Think that the System I have chosen is way over the top, then Please say so n give me a Recomendation....
I do know there be quite a few things in that board that i will not Ever Use.....(Remember, This Board was recomended to me by a friend who says it's the Best since sliced bread)!!!!!n it's ready for the Future...

So then PhotoLady, @ what does the 2600 run @!! is it 1.8Ghz or near...A 2800 is what i think will be appropriate.......What does anyone else say!?

THANKS for Putting my Brain back into Gear by explaining the ATA...Thought I was right but was not sure....

Bistro----Thanks for Explaining that in an easy way...I knew that was kind of correct but still find it all confuseing...lol..

So to itterate a little (if that's the word)....Please pop in n Recomend something else if U wish it will Help Me.....

ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe (or should i go for) ASUS A7N8X-E
2 sticks of Corsair or Kingston DDR333 256Mbt PC2700 @ £49.00p each in Lockal ASIS Shop......OR...
2 sticks of DDR400 256Mbt PC3200 memory @ £52.50p each.
Graphics Card...either a XFX-GF FX5200 AGP8X 128MBT DDR DVI/TV-OUT.......OR......RADEON 9200 ATLANTIS 128MBT DDR AGP8X DVI/TV-OUT..OR...whatever U recomend..lol
Maxtor 120Gbt or 160Gbt or an (120 + 80) works out cheeper than a 200 hard disk....Lite-On DVD-Rom 166S----
Already got a Floppy with card readers...n a NEC 2500A DVD Writer, plus PCI USB2.0 card if needed.......
Now then, I Don't Need SATTA or PATA (they Confuse the HECK outa Me) or a Nic Card ...Plus RAID Just Addles my Brain because I don't Understand it nor can Fathom out why anyone would want to Run 2 HD as One with a copy of everything on the other.....Sounds like a Waste to Me!!...I do DO Backups n I do DO a Copy of my System on another Drive....That's enough in it!?
Over To U lot then......Thanks..

Model: AMD Athlon XP 2600+
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 1.9GHz
FSB: 333MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A

Model: AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 2.08GHz
FSB: 333MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A

I have a 2800+ in my sons computer, it runs very well. Just buy a good PSU (Antec, Thermaltake,Enermax, Fortron ect..)350 watts or more, and ram (Kingston, Crucial, Corsair) are good trusted names. You will have to do some research on video cards to find one that suits your needs. I would look at FX5600 or better if you could. just my .02

Hi rbc---Thanks for replying.....
So there's not much difference between those 2 processors really!!..Iwon't be able to tell the difference between them!!..
that Graphics card looks nice but is too pricey for me @ £95.00p

So its juggling the pennies around n now seeing what fits within that price bracket...Gota choose between those two Processors n either stick in 2 sticks of 256Mbt ram....or..1 stick of 512Mbt..
That's the only two I gota make my mind up on....
Graphics card is gona be the Radion I recon!........
Thanks for the detailed breakdown of those Processors....
Catch ya later....

you won't see much difference between the two cpu's at all. ATI is a good choice for video card. If your going to buy a dual channel main board then you would do well with two identical 256meg sticks of ram pc 2700 would match either of the cpu's or pc3200 if you plan to oc. You could always but another 512 meg stick later on to put in empty slot if you feel the need.

Since you are not going to be playing all those high end games and only want this for you photography. My GeForce FX5200 works fine for now, since photos are 2D and not 3D, it does the job. I don't use nor have I ever used a Radeon cards but most people who do say they are the gaming card, so you might take this into consideration when choosing. Any benchmarks you find on graphic cards are meant, I believe, to show gamers/video users what they can do.

And just a suggestion on the memory, if you only get one stick, and if that stick should cause you problems, you have only one to see which is bad. And if the one stick should go bad, your computer is down until you get another good stick. :(

Two harddrives are better than one, at least in my opinion, since you use PhotoShop it will tell you to put your scratch disk on another hdd or partition. ;)

Thanks rbc-----Thanks Photolady---
my graphics card is a choice between the one U got Photolady n the one I mentioned...Just gota make me mind up.....

One last question for now-----Which is THE Best to go for---
2 sticks of 256 Mbt Ram or 1 stick of 512Mbt....In other words, which will run the Best..Or is that 'neither here nor there'!!..
Thanks All....Allways Appreciated..

Okay RAM if installed as dual channel, like your board supports, and using two sticks, may have some gain in performance. But overall, either will still only give you 512mb RAM.

Right now, buying 2 sticks of 256 may save you a few bucks. It will take up 2 RAM slots. But think down the road when you want to upgrade. Youll have a better chance of keeping the 512 single stick down the road instead of the 2 256's. It uses less RAM spaces, and down the road, you probably end up dumping the 2-256er's when you upgrade, costing more money down the road.

That's what I was Thinking Spooky man...Thanks for puting my mind at rest....
n That is True too, Photolady....
THANKS for Your Help.....Will let ya All know when I got it up n running...Be a few weeks yet though......Take Care All...
Thanks EveryOne....

Glad you could decipher what I said. I looked back and was thinking "What the ...?" As people, the performance gains of Dual Channel RAM are weak. Good luck and Merry Christmas :)