I'm building a computer with parts from NewEgg. Have everything pretty much decided except for a few variations on my processor, video card, and ram.

Corsair XMS memeory is too expensive for me right now, so I looked elswhere on NewEgg and saw Mushkin and ORZ. Mushkin is more well-known, but the OCZ had good reviews for all RAM products and comes with a spreader.

I want either a Pentium 4 2.4 or 2.8. I can get both with 1 MB L2 cache, but the 2.4 is a 533 bus instead of the 800 bus for the 2.8. The price difference is 50 bucks, a significant amout with my upgrade plans in the next year (to maybe what's the best now or if there's better that fits, that)

Thirdly, there's the graphics. I want a Radeon, but ATI's own cards are too expensive. I've heard good things about PowerColor. THe only one cheaper that PowerColor was Sapphire, which I've heard bad things about. I don't want to spend greater than 150 on this first card. if there's somethign closer to 100 that will run all of todays games (not necessarly tomorrows too) and best, or quality settings, that's waht I want.


Lastly, there's no HDD, cause I feel I can get a better deal though some sites I know of. Would having SATA drives cause boot problems like I've heard about? If so, I can just get small IDE drive for my OS now.


Here's what I've picked as my best config so far, using the 2.8 processor and ORZ RAM...what do you think?

Cases (Computer Cases, ATX Form)
ANTEC ALUMINUM SERIES SUPER LAN BOY MINI TOWER CASE with Clear Side Acrylic Window and FREE Case Carrying Strap -RETAIL
Specifications:
Case Type: MINI TOWER CASE
Color: Silver
Material: anodized aluminum
Drive Bays: 5.25" x 3/0, 3.5" x 2/4 (external/internal)
Expansion Slots: 7
Front Ports: USB2.0 port x 2, Audio
Power Supply: N/A
Cooling System: 2 x 120mm
Motherboard Compatibility: up to Standard ATX
Dimensions: 8.2"" x 17.3" X 16.5" (DxWxH) more info>
N82E16811129145 $76.00
$76.00

CD/DVD ROM Drives
SONY Silver 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Model DDU1621, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Read Speed: 40X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: E-IDE/ATAPI
Buffer: 512KB
Access Time: 80-220ms DVD, 165ms CD
Data Transfer Rate: 1,800~3,600 kB/s (CD), 8,788~21,632 kB/s Single Layer, 5,586~13,520 kB/s Dual Layer
Features: Compatible with all CD formats
Remark: OEM Pack Drive only(see pictures for details) more info>
N82E16827131004 $36.99
$36.99

Controllers, Panels, etc.
VANTEC Nexus Fan Controller Panel (Silver), Model "NXP-205"
Specifications:
4 Channel Fan Controller
Adjustable Fan Speed Knob
Aluminum "U" Type Housing
Ultra Bright Blue LED Lights
Each Channel Supports Up to 18 Watts
Fits In A Standard 3.5" Drive Bay
No Need to Cut Wires Like Other Fan Controller. Just Plug The Cable In
Great for Vantec Tornado or Other High CFM Fans more info>
N82E16813999505 $16.99
$16.99

Memory (System Memory)
OCZ Performance Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
Specification
Manufacturer: OCZ
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-3-3-6
Support Voltage: 2.6V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: 64M x 64 -Bit
Special Features: Ultra Low Noise shielded PCB
Warranty: Lifetime more info>
N82E16820146833 $97.00
$97.00

Motherboards - Intel
One Day Sale, Ends 3/9/2004 4:00 PM PST
ASUS 875P Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "P4C800-E DELUXE" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Socket 478 Pentium 4(HT)/Celeron Processors
Chipset: Intel 875P + ICH5R
FSB: 800/533/400MHz
RAM: 4x DIMM support DDR400/333/266 Max 4GB
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 100, 1x UltraDMA 133(from Promise 20378) up to 6 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP Pro/8X, 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2,1xCOM,1xLPT,1xSPDIF Out,1xLAN,2x1394(Rear 1),8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: AD1985 6-Channel Codec
Onboard LAN: Intel 82547EI GbE
Onboard SATA/RAID: ICH5R, 2x SATA, RAID 0/1; Promise 20378, 2x SATA, RAID 0/1/0+1/Multiple RAID more info>
N82E16813131464 $175.99
$175.99

Power Supplies
THERMALTAKE W0019+PFC Silent Purepower 480W with Black housing - Purepower Butterfly ATX 2-Fan Power Supply, Model "W0019" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Type: ATX
Maximum Power: 480W
PFC: Active
Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
Hold-up Time: > 16ms at Full Load
Efficiency: > 68%
Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip point < +6.8V, +3.3V trip point < +4.5V, +12V trip point <+15.6V
Overload Protection: Not specified
Input Voltage: Not specified
Input Frequency Range: 47 - 63 Hz
Input Current: Not specified
Output: +3.3V@30A,+5V@40A,-5V@0.3A,+12V@18A,-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@2A
MTBF: Not specified
Approvals: UL, TUV, IEC, CB & CE more info>
N82E16817153011 $73.00
$73.00

Processors
One Day Sale, Ends 3/9/2004 4:00 PM PST
Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail
Specification
Model: Intel Pentium 4 2.8E w/ Hyper Threading
Core: Prescott
Operating Frequency: 2.8GHz
FSB: 800MHz
Cache: L1/12K+16K; L2/1MB
Voltage: 1.25-1.525V
Process: 0.09Micron
Socket: Socket 478
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Warranty: 3-year MFG
Packaging: Retail box (with Heatsink and Fan) more info>
N82E16819116170 $195.00
$195.00

Video Cards
POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9600PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "R96A-C3N" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset/Core Speed: ATI RADEON 9600PRO/400MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/600MHz
BUS: AGP 1X/2X/4X/8X
Ports: VGA Out(15 Pin D-Sub)+TV-Out(S-Video Out)+DVI connector
Support 3D API: DirectX®9, OpenGL®2.0
Cable/Accessories: 3 Cables, 2 CD, Manual
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048x1536@85Hz
Retail Box (See pics for details) more info>
N82E16814131219 $146.00
$146.00

Extend my Standard Warranty on the above qualified items: $49.02


Subtotal » $ 816.97
Shipping and Handling Charge » $ 25.00
Grand Total » $ 841.97

you mean ocz ram?

yea

As far as video, a 9800 pro is only about $60 more. Just a thought, since the 9800 pro is far superior than the 9600. Also, what are you doing about sound? I wouldn't use the onboard sound, even though that is the best P4 mobo out there. You could throw in something like a SBlive 5.1 for $20.

You might want to consider getting a P4P800 Deluxe instead of the P4C800. Not only is the P4P800 cheaper, but the only real difference is that the chipset on the P4C800 supports PAT technology, which gives you about a 5% speed performance. However, with the latest bios, the P4P800 can use PAT as well.

You could then put that money you save towards a better video card.

Other memory you might try is Crucial. I've never had any problems with them, and it's cheaper than Mushkin or OCZ.

Depending on what you plan on using the system for (obviously gaming, but what else?) you might look into going AMD over Intel... It'll be a lot cheaper.

I've never really heard anything bad about Sapphire cards. When I was looking into purchasing a 9600, that was the brand I was gonna buy.

You also didn't put a HSF on your list. If you don't want to run the stock HSF, I would recommend a Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu... It works great, and I only paid about $30 for mine about 6 months ago.

i have somewhat of a set up you have listed.

Intel 875P, 2.8 with HT, ATI 9600, but i think i have Corsair PC2700. i have a GB of RAM. i also use a Seagate 120GB SATA HD.

the other thing different is that i payed 3 times as much for my comp so you're gettting the better end of the deal

shell out about $25 more you can get that Asus mobo with the nvidia chipset. hear it's good. but then you'll have to go with an AMD processor

That termal take power supply comes with a blower fan (both adjustable with knobs on a 5.25 plate). Hopefully, I can hook up the PS and HSF to the 4-knob fan control I got for my 3.25 bay. THe connectors look similar enough. That would be just awesome...controlling my ps, HSF and two 120s all thorugh one 3.25 interface.

I'm choosing pentium ovcer AMD (which I favor ultimately because of performance per price) because of Upgradibility and 800 FSB. The top of Athlon's XP line (3200) rooughly equals the bottom of Pentium's 4 line (2.4) in benchmarks I've seen while reaserschign this. I read it in some Extremetech.com article a couple weeks ago. THis same site also had a review on Intel's new chipset (the one the P4C800 has and P4P800 doesn't) and they were impressed and said it was a great buy. Similar articles/websites have reached the same verdict.

If tehre's enough reason to go to an AMD (probably a 2500+ [can you still buy them with BIOS presets to bump to 3200?]) I'd grab Asus's A7N8X-E Deluxe. I want it to do well on currant games, and next-gen games (but not necessarily on top settings for later games). I'm sorta splurging on a great mobo/etc now so I can update my CPU, graphics in a year or two.

I'm intrigued. I posted on another forum and someome made the same argument (Asus P4S800D-E Deluxe with the SiS 655TX chipset). If this mobo will support all P4s and maybe future ones, I'd go for it. It would save me freaking 75 bucks. I could get two OCZ sticks too

By the way, I picked OCZ over mushking cause for the 20 bucks I got better Cas latency and a heat spreader

I wouldn't go with a SiS chipset. The P4P800-E or the P4C800-E are both excellent choices. Stick with the intel chipsets.

I don't know where you found that article at, but an XP 3200+ would absolutely decimate a P4 2.4GHz CPU.

I know, maybe it wasn't the 2.4 exactly, but I do clearly remember the top of the pentium 4 line beat the athlonxp by like a 1/3 or something. It could have been something besides sheer performance, I think it was some measure of value or something.

That fan controller will bash you dreams over super over clocking because it jacks up your power a little and is a huge power hog if you use 4 high power fans with it. I would not put a CPU fan on that controller because of the risk of the fan stopping.

Here's some interesting sites regaarding chipsets for mobos. Intel 865PE and 875P; SiS 655TX.

Here's the start: http://www.tomshardware.com/motherb...1215/index.html

and the end:
http://www.tomshardware.com/motherb...is655tx-12.html

There's also a flash demo of SiS new technology:
http://www.sis.com/hyperstreaming/index.htm###

Tom's hardware Guide still crowns the 875P as king, with the 865PE a close second. Its conclusiong of Sis 655TX is intriguing. The demo and Tom's analysis seem very complelling.

Asus mobos with the these chipsets price 104, 138, 178, respectively.

I want to by the best mobo I can right now, as to allow for future upgrades onto it. I'd be willing to take any of these three, although the 875P seems too expensive, especially with the 865PE and Sis on the scene.

Ok, what in that fan control cause it to stop that the included control from thermaltake woudln't? If it comes to worse, I can just mount the org. controls on a new face myself.

WOuldn't the fans draw what much power regardless of which fan control they use. both 120s, the PSU and HSF have controls that come with them..I'd just like to use my 4-fan control for it. Who know,s if it comes to the worst, Ill jsut return the fan control