I'm seriously considering buying a new PC. The specs:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe motherboard AMD Athlon XP 2600+ 333Mhz processor 512 Mb of DDR400 RAM A 120 Gb/7200 rpm/8 Mb cache harddrive A DVD 16x/48x player A Philips 109S40 CRT monitor A case. I honestly don't know why I should buy an expensive (around �100) Chieftec (or other big name) case, instead of a much cheaper (�35) Sweex case. Is there really that much difference? It even has a 300W power supply unit.
And I've already bought a Club3D ATI Radeon 9700 non-Pro 128 Mb videocard.
I'm planning to assemble this PC myself. The first time I try that. So one of my questions is.. Do these components (boxed/retail versions) come with all the necessary cables/screws/thingies? Or do I have to buy things like IDE cables seperately?
Second... this motherboard comes with an onboard 5.1-capable soundcard. Which is great, but I don't have room for a 5.1 speakerset. But I assume you could just connect a 2 (or possibly 2.1) speakerset to a 5.1 soundcard?
Third question is about RAM. What's this 'new' CAS Latency number in ads? Just a pointless statistic, or actually something I should pay attention to? And does it really matter what brand the memory is? What makes Corsair better than 'standard' memory? Will I even notice?
Posted by Cartmaniac (Member # 256) on :
Rule #1: brands matter. Rule #2: there are exceptions to rule #1. B)
Yeah, buying a brand case is worth the added expense:
1) higher build quality (no sharp edges, no peeling paint, sensible layout, etc) 2) dependable power supply unit (no current spikes... constant output is of more importance than raw wattage) 3) noise insulation (trust me, a machine that produces more decibels than a vacuum cleaner WILL drive you mad in the long run) 4) improved cooling (fan mountpoints, better airflow, less accumulation of dust)
IDE ribbons & assorted accessories are supplied with the case... MOST of the time. No-name manufacturers tend to omit 'm to cut the price.
Retail components always come bundled with the necessary screws and cables to connect & anchor them.
Hooking up a 2.1 set to a 5.1 card is wasteful, but no, you won't blow your speakers by doing so. B) You'll just have three unused channels to play around with.
CAS latency is not a marketing fad, actually... it's a bit beyond the scope of this post to explain the inner workings of memory modules, but if you picture a field of rows and columns (like chessboard cells, only much, MUCH more numerous), the CAS (column address strobe) latency represents the number of clockcycles needed to fetch a given column from a row stored in a sense amp (a short-term buffer positioned at the end of each column) and transport its contents to the exit register (latch) where the data becomes available to the memory controller, which in turn hands it off to the CPU. Or, in english: something you'll hardly notice unless you're a benchmark freak. B)
As for Corsair & other A-type brands: whereas a few years ago you payed for a marked increase in speed and stability, now you pay for warranty, service, and the ability to overclock. Up to you, kid. B)
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Talking about cooling. Boxed AMDs come with a cooler. PSUs have coolers that also help as systemcoolers. Is that enough? What about cooling paste and extra (or better) coolers? I'm not a casemodder or an overclocker, so do I need those things?
Hmm. Perhaps I might go for an AOpen case then.
It must be a complete nightmare for 'normal people' to buy computers Posted by Cartmaniac (Member # 256) on :
Need? No, not strictly. But AMDs do run quite hot, and an Athlon doesn't have many thermal fail-safes to prevent the CPU from frying itself to a crisp. Definitely invest in an extra fan or two, as well as good (rule #1) paste to soak up the excess heat. A bigger sink wouldn't hurt, either.
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
I have an AMD Athlon 1.2 Ghz, and it's not too hot, probly cause it's a relativly slow chip nowadays, but it's way better than the old 333 Mhz. Only problem I've ever had with this thing was that the NTFS file system got corrupt, so I had to wipe my drives clean and re-install XP, losing all my files in the process. But that's not a CPU prob.
Only 512 megs of ram? should add some more, can never have enough.
Sounds like a sweet machine though.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Chances are, between the motherboard, hard drive, DVD drive, and case, you'll have more IDE cables than you need.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Oh, and I do have a limited budget
More RAM is nice, but it costs twice as much as well (d'oh!). Same goes for cooling gadgets.
There have been some changes in plan. I've come to the conclusion that is is probably better that I let the shop assemble it. Because if I fry my CPU, it's my loss. If they blow it up, it's their problem. Oh, and reconsidered the mainboard again. It's back to the MSI Delta-ILSR.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
A pity about the motherboard. It really is a breeze to setup, and it has a great feature set. I'm actually using it...in fact everything in your list is relatively similar.
Just a few notes: 1) Sure aethetics, usability and cooling are worth noting, but the only real "big" issue is the PSU. Unfortunately, this is one of the things that you only really notice if it screws up. If its screwed, you might notice system instabilities, random crashes, and other strange inexplicable occurences. In short: if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. 2) CAS latency. From what I've heard, a general rule of thumb, having CL2 rather than say 3 makes about the same difference between one processor stepping within the generation. i.e. A 2600+ with CL3 is about the same as 2500+ with CL2. That said, I've never bought the stuff because I'm cheap. 3) More seriously: The RAM has to match the FSB. In your example you're just wasting money by pairing DDR400 with with a 333FSB processor. i.e. PC-2100 DDR266 goes with a 266MHz FSB PC-2700 DDR333 goes with a 333MHz FSB PC-3200 DDR400 goes with a 400MHz FSB etc. 4) Cooling. One of the other things you'll only notice when it screws up....or if its too noisy.
More RAM is a non-issue, with a similar setup I recently went from 512 to 1GB with no real change....but RAM was dirt cheap at the time. However, 256MB would be a definite no-no.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
I'm writing this as I read your specs:
1) No CDRW? 2) Case: Some retailers allow you to buy a case without a power supply provided you do buy a power supply. So, you could go with a cheap $15 case, and a $50 power supply. Of course, cheaper means no frills and stuff like that, but in the end, it's up to you. But the power supply is important. In my experience, I have blown a total of three power supplies. All three were generic power supplies which were unusually light (not much of heatsinks to cool the PSU down). 3) Your Motherboard supports Dual DDR. Consider buying the RAM in two sticks to take advantage of the extra memory bandwidth. And you may want to invest in a 400MHz FSB processor if you are using DDR400 RAM. 4) I hate to say this, but I believe Pentium 4s are better equipped to handle this Dual DDR concept than AMD. At 2600+, the AMD processor has trouble competing with the P4 2.6C processor. The Intel fan usually also does a good job with regards to cooling, so you may want to take that into consideration. If you ARE going to take AMD, ditch the supplied fan and buy a Thermaltake. 5) RAM: Be careful of mucking around with CAS settings and the like. My old computer would keep crashing under Windows 2000 due to "improper" CAS settings. I'm using Micron OEM chips. The ones from Corsair, yes they have warranty, and they are more overclocker friendly, that's probably why some of them come with their own heatsinks. 6) If you are looking to play A3D or EAX sound, forget the onboard. I purchased a new motherboard, and saw that I had options to play A3D, and it sounded great (echo, doppler effects and the like), but you know what, it made my game VERY choppy. You may want to invest in a decent soundcard if you really want the best sound options.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
Not on this particular motherboard. I used to have a Soundblaster Live 5.1, switched, and I haven't looked back. Good riddance to those awful Creative Labs drivers. You're going to need an Audigy or Audigy 2 to compete....and if I recall, Henry wasn't working on an unlimited budget. http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/audigy2_versus_nforce2/default.asp Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
I don't know who Henry is, but like him, my budget is limited. That's why I won't by an Intel processor.
quote: 1) No CDRW?
No CDRW. I have a CDRW in another computer. On the same network. So there is no immediate need for a CDRW drive.
quote: 2) Case: Some retailers allow you to buy a case without a power supply provided you do buy a power supply. So, you could go with a cheap $15 case, and a $50 power supply. Of course, cheaper means no frills and stuff like that, but in the end, it's up to you. But the power supply is important. In my experience, I have blown a total of three power supplies. All three were generic power supplies which were unusually light (not much of heatsinks to cool the PSU down).
I've decided on the AOpen HQ48 (which is probably the European name of the HQ45).
quote: 3) Your Motherboard supports Dual DDR. Consider buying the RAM in two sticks to take advantage of the extra memory bandwidth. And you may want to invest in a 400MHz FSB processor if you are using DDR400 RAM.
Or better yet, buying 333Mhz RAM to match my 333Mhz Athlon
quote: 4) I hate to say this, but I believe Pentium 4s are better equipped to handle this Dual DDR concept than AMD. At 2600+, the AMD processor has trouble competing with the P4 2.6C processor. The Intel fan usually also does a good job with regards to cooling, so you may want to take that into consideration. If you ARE going to take AMD, ditch the supplied fan and buy a Thermaltake.
Pentiums are too expensive. And I don't have Dual DDR (at least not initially).
quote: 5) RAM: Be careful of mucking around with CAS settings and the like. My old computer would keep crashing under Windows 2000 due to "improper" CAS settings. I'm using Micron OEM chips. The ones from Corsair, yes they have warranty, and they are more overclocker friendly, that's probably why some of them come with their own heatsinks.
I don't care about overclocking. And still don't see why I should care about CL.
quote: 6) If you are looking to play A3D or EAX sound, forget the onboard. I purchased a new motherboard, and saw that I had options to play A3D, and it sounded great (echo, doppler effects and the like), but you know what, it made my game VERY choppy. You may want to invest in a decent soundcard if you really want the best sound options.
I'm not that picky about my sound. Two speakers with a simple onboard soundcard are good enough for me. I don't care about EAX and the likes.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I put my computer together, uh, a long time ago. (Was I still in high school? Just out of, maybe.) So I don't know anything about the computers they have these days. I'm presuming that they run on cultured rat neurons and are powered by glucose and sunlight, from what I read in the magazines.
But, I have some "advice," for what it is worth: Take the time to really consider your case options. Good case design is something that I, personally, find really important, both from an aesthetic point of view and a practical one. It's nice for all your components to be easy to get to. Were I to build a new computer today, I'd be willing to spend a bit more for a really nice case. That, or I'd just put it in a toaster or an NES or something.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
And I don't have Dual DDR (at least not initially).
Dual DDR is not a type of RAM. It's a modified interface in which instead of one stream of memory in your motherboard, you have two (imagine one or two assembly lines in a plant, which is better?). It just so happens that most NForce2 Motherboards have this Dual DDR interface. All you really need to do is to put in two chips of the same RAM onto the motherboard per the manufacturer's specs. If you're investing in 512 MB, that means for Dual DDR, you need to buy two sticks of 256 MB RAM.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
I know what it means (well, sort of). But one memory bank does not Dual DDR make!
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Then get two. Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
I'd suggest getting those IDE cables that are all, like, tube and stuff (I am technical!) They improve airflow, and are a lot more convenient if you are ever mucking about inside the case.
I'm not knowledgable about case makes, but the main things I'd check for is whether it's noise (or worse, whether it rattles), and whether it has handy USB (and firewire) sockets at the front, FOR ULTRA CONVENIENCE!
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