Robert_
asked on
Is this a good configuration?
Hi there!
I'm thinking of building my own computer (for the first time) and I've been looking around in magazines, the internet and so on. This is the pieces I've come up with:
HD: IBM Deskstar 75 GXP 30,7 GB 7200RPM IDE
CPU: AMD-K7 Athlon 700MHZ (with fan or whatever you call it in english)
"Box":Aopen HX45 Miditower ATX
Graphics card: 3dfx Voodooo 3 AGP
Sound card: SoundBlaster Live! Player
Motherboard: Microstar K7-Pro AMD-K7 Slot-A Athlon ATX
RAM: 128 MB SDRAM PC100, 8ns
I'm planning to steal the monitor, floppy, cd-rom, cd-burner, keyboard/mouse, and speakers from my old computer.
The cost for all this lands at $1324. Too much? If you suggest other parts I'd like you to keep the cost under this amount.
So what is your opinion? Is this a good package, is it something that I can expand when needed, will it be obsolete by the time I plug it in? Do you have any suggestions on modifications or maybe even a completely different package?
Thankz for helping us newbies!
Robert -Sweden
I'm thinking of building my own computer (for the first time) and I've been looking around in magazines, the internet and so on. This is the pieces I've come up with:
HD: IBM Deskstar 75 GXP 30,7 GB 7200RPM IDE
CPU: AMD-K7 Athlon 700MHZ (with fan or whatever you call it in english)
"Box":Aopen HX45 Miditower ATX
Graphics card: 3dfx Voodooo 3 AGP
Sound card: SoundBlaster Live! Player
Motherboard: Microstar K7-Pro AMD-K7 Slot-A Athlon ATX
RAM: 128 MB SDRAM PC100, 8ns
I'm planning to steal the monitor, floppy, cd-rom, cd-burner, keyboard/mouse, and speakers from my old computer.
The cost for all this lands at $1324. Too much? If you suggest other parts I'd like you to keep the cost under this amount.
So what is your opinion? Is this a good package, is it something that I can expand when needed, will it be obsolete by the time I plug it in? Do you have any suggestions on modifications or maybe even a completely different package?
Thankz for helping us newbies!
Robert -Sweden
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1cell
as for the price issue, shop around and see if you can beat the price. As prices vary so much depending on your location, it's hard for me to say.
If I saw that system for that price in the uk I'd be very tempted, but only if it came with the bits your "stealing" off your old system. You've got to add the cost of the operating system and software normally, but I guess you've got round that by using the data off your old hard drive or maybe you've got the software on cd anyway. I guess what I'm saying is without the monitor cdrom and software etc I wouldn't buy the bare bones system your buying for that price. I don't think it's a rip-off but its no bargain.
As for your choice in hardware - A1. I wouldn't skimp on the hardware if you can't find any cheaper at the same spec.( ie don't downgrade)I wish my system was near that spec I'd be a happy man.( Mines a measly p166 cyrix overclocked to 200mhz, 64mb edo ram, a whopping great 800mb ide hdd with an extra 2gb data drive ( where my swap file resides)
2 ( yes 2) mb pci s3 trio, win98/off97, 12 speed cdrom and a 56k modem (the only half decent piece of kit I possess). Compared to what your getting, I'm in the cretacious period.Still I can't complain, I got it all for free.
2 ( yes 2) mb pci s3 trio, win98/off97, 12 speed cdrom and a 56k modem (the only half decent piece of kit I possess). Compared to what your getting, I'm in the cretacious period.Still I can't complain, I got it all for free.
I'd just recommend you get a TNT2 or Geforce. The 3Dfx drivers have had DX issues, and not all manufacturers keep up with releases.
You could use reference drivers too :) Apparently the new ones fix the problems.
You could use reference drivers too :) Apparently the new ones fix the problems.
You forgot to tell us what you are using the system for.
if you are into 3d intensive gaming, this is close to an ideal pc.
i dunno about the price.. I live in India, where prices are different.
i recommend u forget about the voodoo 3,
get a Geforce 256 instead.
or even a TNT 2 (i m happy with my ASUS TNT 2!)
if you are not into gaming you can get a much cheaper display card, maybe a TNT 1.
there are a couple of motherboards which supports 133+ Mhz SDRAM
maybe u should think about those.
go to www.anandtech.com for further details.
How old is your monitor?
if it is more than 2-3 years old, you should probably replace it.
(see if it still gives good performance and refresh rates)
get atleast a 15 inch monitor in that case.
get a new CD-ROM drive(48 X or higher) if yours is less than 16X or 24X
go to www.tomshardware.com for further opinions.
if you are into 3d intensive gaming, this is close to an ideal pc.
i dunno about the price.. I live in India, where prices are different.
i recommend u forget about the voodoo 3,
get a Geforce 256 instead.
or even a TNT 2 (i m happy with my ASUS TNT 2!)
if you are not into gaming you can get a much cheaper display card, maybe a TNT 1.
there are a couple of motherboards which supports 133+ Mhz SDRAM
maybe u should think about those.
go to www.anandtech.com for further details.
How old is your monitor?
if it is more than 2-3 years old, you should probably replace it.
(see if it still gives good performance and refresh rates)
get atleast a 15 inch monitor in that case.
get a new CD-ROM drive(48 X or higher) if yours is less than 16X or 24X
go to www.tomshardware.com for further opinions.
ASKER
Sorry about that.
Yes I would like to be able to play 3d intensive games, and maybe some 3d modeling. Of course I will allso use it for the everyday wordprocessing and so on, but for that you don't need to much power. I guess I'm trying to build a computer that will last me quite a while. And when it does become obsolete I'd like to be able to upgrade it to the new standards. As for the monitor, they don't come cheap do they, if I were to buy a monitor aswell I would have to cut back on the other hardware, so for the time being I have to stick with the old monitor (HP Ergo 1024).
I won't be able to reply for the next week (at least I don't think so) but I'd like to leave this question open during the week to see if someone else has something to say. Don't worry I will award one of you with the points you deserve!
Robert -Sweden
Yes I would like to be able to play 3d intensive games, and maybe some 3d modeling. Of course I will allso use it for the everyday wordprocessing and so on, but for that you don't need to much power. I guess I'm trying to build a computer that will last me quite a while. And when it does become obsolete I'd like to be able to upgrade it to the new standards. As for the monitor, they don't come cheap do they, if I were to buy a monitor aswell I would have to cut back on the other hardware, so for the time being I have to stick with the old monitor (HP Ergo 1024).
I won't be able to reply for the next week (at least I don't think so) but I'd like to leave this question open during the week to see if someone else has something to say. Don't worry I will award one of you with the points you deserve!
Robert -Sweden