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Building a Computer for my sister! (Read 906 times)

Feb 29^th, 2004 at 5:34pm

bm Offline
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UK

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Evening all! – My sister is away at university and could do with a computer to replace the useless old laptop she’s using (I’m not happy with her using it! - it can't even take the internet).

Anyway – being the kind brother that I am I have offered to build one for her! I thought these bits seemed to come together to make a nice little system but was wondering what you thought!

I have never built a computer before but think I can handle it (and this is a good one to start with) – I have read this guide and it all sounds quite easy! http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/ Is there any need for me to read anything else and can you recommend anything?

The bits:

Case: Mercury EROS 300W Midi Tower
http://www.microlandtechnology.com/products.asp?recnumber=93

Processor: AMD Athlon "Barton" XP2600+ 333FSB

RAM: 512mb PC2700

Motherboard: MSI KT4AV-L KT400A http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=456

Graphics: GF4 MX440 64Mb

Optical Disk: MSI X48 Active Panel 48x/24x/16x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive – Retail
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/optical_devices/dvs/pro_dvs_detail.php?ki...

Hard Disk: IBM/Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 80GB
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/desk/7k250.html

Speakers: Altec Lansing 2100

Keyboard & mouse: Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop v2.0

OS: M$ Windows XP Home edition

Does this sound all right? The budget is around £400 – Will these bits include everything I need to make it? (All the fans and heatsinks etc.) Any suggestions of changes to the line-up (all the motherboards, hard drives and optical disks sound the same!) would be greatly appreciated!

It doesn’t have to be an amazingly fast computer – it’s only for work! – but given the current price of the AMD’s there seems little point in getting any less then the 2600! I will probably throw in a TV card so it will be a complete entertainment PC so she can ditch her TV and CD player. There is the obvious restriction on size given the dimensions of a students berth! – Thanks for any advice!

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Reply #1 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 5:40am

Delta_ Offline
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Yeah that looks good. Make sure you get OEM windows XP Home it is a lot cheaper. Also you often get a manual with the motherboard giving you detailed instructions on how to do it. One other thing make sure you double check that the heatsink for the cpu is put on the right way around, it is amazing how often it is not and it will over heat if you don't. Have a look at OEM cpus aswell and buy a silent cpu heatsink and fan with it they are much better.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #2 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 6:31am

bm Offline
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Thanks Hyvry1_Delta for your reply, I was thinking of getting some of the kit from overclockers as 4_Series_Scania reccomended them I think:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

I had planned to get a retail CPU - I think it comes with both a heatsink and fan. Is that not the best thing to do?

Im not at all sure about the Motherboard! On the list of supported CPU's it missess out the barton 2600+. Will it work?
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_cpu_support_detail....

Quote:

Barton (0.13u) 166/333MHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache
AthlonXP 2500+ 166 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2800+ 166 Auto OK
AthlonXP 3000+ 166 Auto OK

Im also not sure about what sort of Hard disk to get, what sort would be compatible with the motherboard?

Sorry about all these dumb questions!

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Reply #3 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 6:54am

Delta_ Offline
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Woah!
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I don't know if the HSF with the retail 2600+ is quiet. I know when i got mine it was noisy and loads of people said theirs were aswell. I got rid of the HSF and put a silent one in it is much better now. You do get a 3 years warranty with retail though so maybe it is better to get retail.

Also i don't think 2600+ Bartons exist.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #4 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 7:46am

bm Offline
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The third one down on this page:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/amd_athlon_xp_barton.html

Unfortunately they don't seem to offer an OEM Barton XP2600+. Perhaps I could try the retail one and if the fan is too noisey I could replace it with another one.

Alternatively I could get the OEM Barton XP 2500+ with a 3rd party HS/HSF. such as this Akasa AK-821 2Q Silent CPU Cooler (Socket A) (HS-003-AK)
http://www.akasa.co.uk/akasa/coolers/ak821q/ak_821q-1.htm

What would you go for? or can you recomend something else?

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Reply #5 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 8:11am

bm Offline
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Grrr! What is the difference between all these drives!

Am I right in thinking that any IDE drive will work with the motherboard? I just don't understand what the difference between ATA-100 and -133 is!

I think the motherboard stats say it supports ATA-133 but then it goes on to say something about Ultra DMA???? Im beffuzled.....
Quote:

• An IDE controller on the VT8235 chipset provides IDE HDD/CD-ROM with PIO,
Bus Master and Ultra DMA133/100/66/33 operation modes

Am I right in thinking that any ATA-100, ATA-133 or Ultra ATA drive will work? If that is the case - which make of these makes is the best?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_IDE_Hard_Drives_59.html

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Reply #6 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 8:55am

Delta_ Offline
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Woah!
London, UK

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ATA-100 has 100mb/s transfer
133 has 133mb/s transfer.
Any of the above are compatible with that mobo. Get atleast ATA-100.

Getting retail CPU may be best then you get 3 years warranty instead of 1.

I like the retail with standard HSF. If you don't like the noise change the HSF they are cheap to get silent ones.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #7 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 10:52am

Jared Offline
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A 2600+ just for school? WHy don't you head over to the for sale forum, and check out the 1800+ that I have for sale with a bunch of other stuff...

I'm about ready to take the best offer right now.. Wink

Wink

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Reply #8 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 12:18pm

bm Offline
Colonel
UK

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Thanks for the info Hyvry1_Delta! That has been extremely helpfull!

Other side of the pond I'm afraid Jared! And by the time its been shipped over here 64bit CPU's will be as cheap at this rate of computer developement (obsoletement)! Thanks for the offer though.

I am currently drawing up a motherboard and Harddisk comparison chart to see which ones are best, they are all the same to me! (different colours though - that may well be the deciding factor if my sisters got anything to do with it!)

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Reply #9 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 12:30pm

4_Series_Scania Offline
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Birdman, why give the gal a high performance car with skinny tyres? Wink

Wink

An XP2600 with a GeForce MX ! - You cruel sod! Grin

Grin

Joking apart, seriously just for a mo, you'd be far better with a cheaper cpu but slightly better GFX card Say an XP2500 with an FX5200 or do you think she'll just play Solitare? C'mon, she'll never get the best from her PC if she can't take an occasional break from the mundane Uni work & get some quality gaming time ,even if it isn't FS related, (You pre-installing a copy of FS may just get her interested... Undecided

Undecided

)

As for the hard drive, This Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB 7200RPM ATA100 - OEM (HD-001-SE) (Overclockers) I've got one, I'd happily get another..... 8)
Beware the I.B.M. / Hitachi (one in the same) Deskstar HD's, they have had poor reliability - my brother in law has had two fail on him! http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2003/debian-user-200308/msg02682.html - An interesting read about the "DeathStar" drives as me & my mates call 'em. Wink

Wink

My little sister (28!) has gone from a work-related pc user to an avid GTA Vice City fan following my upgrade of her PC - an XP2500 with 512MB PC2700 and a GeForce FX 5200 128MB (Asus 9520) and an Asus A7N8X-X mobo, previously, she did'nt even bother with Solitare, now I doubt she works as much as she games!!!

Sisters eh? Grin

Grin

Paul.

Posting drivel here since Jan 31st, 2002. - That long!

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Reply #10 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 2:13pm

bm Offline
Colonel
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Posts: 1177

Quote:

Birdman, why give the gal a high performance car with skinny tyres?

For the exact reason you put perfectly! (I also have a GF MX 440 lying around Wink

Wink

) It'll play the sims and play DVD's fine won't it? The alternative is a PCI GF4 MX420 if I wanted to be really cruel.....

Quote:

(You pre-installing a copy of FS may just get her interested... )

I don't think anything would get her even to take a slight interest in aeroplanes! (I did however get her to watch a program the other day when she showed some interest when they pictured a futuristic plane with loads of shops!)

Here are the tables of options,

I had thought the second Maxtor looked the best, what do you think of them?

The motherboards are slightly more difficult to choose between: Which would you choose? The MSI KT6V-LSR looks good to me.

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Reply #11 - Mar 1^st, 2004 at 5:09pm

Delta_ Offline
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Woah!
London, UK

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Unlike you two i actually like and respect my sister.

The WD looks nice. I always use WD, had mine for over a year now and had no probs, not even slightly. ONe thing aswell, no comps actually take advantage over ATA-133, infact none even use the full ATA-100. ATA-133 is just a gimmick.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #12 - Mar 2^nd, 2004 at 4:06am

bm Offline
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Right! - how are maxtors for reliability?

I have 4_Series_Scania recommending Seagate and Hyvry1_Delta recommending Western digital! So I thought I'd better go for niether.............

Seeing as the Maxtor has the best specification and good price (but its only a few quid in it!) is there any reason against them?

The description Overlockers.co.uk gives seagate is tempting though:
Quote:

Seagate's Barracuda ATA V disc drives deliver 7,200-RPM performance for desktops and entry-level ATA servers, with capacities up to 120 Gbytes. The products feature all FDB motors for the quietest acoustics in the industry, superior reliability and the Ultra ATA/100 interface. These drives include Seagate's exclusive 3D Defense System and a one-year limited warranty.

Does the cache make a difference to performance? - Although I doubt that my sister will be using even 50% of its potential!

Any thoughts on the motherboard? I have heard that Nforce2 is better but does it really matter?

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Reply #13 - Mar 2^nd, 2004 at 5:00am

Delta_ Offline
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Woah!
London, UK

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Larger cache means better performance, however i dount your sister will use its full potential. NForce are the best ones but that is really for a high-end gaming system and your sister may not see the benefit.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #14 - Mar 2^nd, 2004 at 9:04am

Jared Offline
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I'd rather be flying...
Uniontown, Ohio

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I can atest for the quality of the Seagate barracuda drives, they work really swell!

and recently (Since christmas) I have added the 120 Western digital caviar drive, and it seems to be workign really well so far...

Both are 7200 RPM with the 8Mb buffer... Wink

Wink

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Reply #15 - Mar 2^nd, 2004 at 5:09pm

bm Offline
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UK

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Posts: 1177

Oh well! She rang up and said she doesn't need it yet. She can stick with her 300mhz laptop if she wants! By August I will probably be able to get bits twice as powerful as this computer for the same price as the system above! Sad

Sad

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Reply #16 - Mar 2^nd, 2004 at 5:16pm

4_Series_Scania Offline
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He who laughs last, thinks
slowest.
Stoke on Trent England U.K.

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I can't vouch for the other HD's (with the exception of the crappy Hitachi/I.B.M...) so I still say the Seagate.

Motherboard, yes, the MSI looks good, the Asus (N-Force2) board is the one I'd go for, actually, its the one I did opt for to build my sisters (cheap) AMD setup.

The N-Force boards are great for gaming systems, more importantly, there about the most stable chipset available for the XP cpu's. I'd say stability is critical if important Uni work is the machines main use!!!

Birdman, if your sister loses a chunk of work due to a stability issue,caused by an iffy chipset, personally, I'd think she'd kill you! Grin

Grin

Dose choice of chipset matter? Hell yes!

And as for manufacturer, we both have Asus motherboards in our own systems, and to my knowledge, were both happy with them are we not? Wink

Wink

Regards,

Paul.

Bugger! You posted before I did Birdman.... I hope she enjoys all that power!

Posting drivel here since Jan 31st, 2002. - That long!

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Reply #17 - Mar 3^rd, 2004 at 10:21am

congo Offline
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Make BIOS your Friend
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Yeah, the nForce2 chipset mainboards are the go. Give that board you picked a big miss if you build a PC. Via chipset users seem to have probs.

Here, the Asus boards always cost more, and I have found some excellent alternatives that offer all the PRO features for less than the Asus base m/boards cost.

Soltek produce an excellent budget nForce2 board, the SL-75FRN2, as well as a few more variants.

Gigabyte also produce nice boards.

MSI make a good looking nForce2 board, but I have heard one guy screaming about them, because it didnt work right, but another freind had a similar prob with a new Asus board, so it's probly luck of the draw. There are obviusly duds making it onto the market.

I can recommend Seagate drives, the last cheap one I bought was faster than the one I got before with 8mb cache ram, and I paid a lot for the cache model. Angry

Angry

Also, the XP2600+ cpu isn't all that expensive compared to the whole rig, and a fast cpu will offer a smooth running machine, less prone to hang ups. So, I wouldn't go for a el cheapo CPU unless budget is a real contraint.

That CPU is probly gonna run warm, so make sure you have good ventilation in the case (fans).

Mainboard: Asus P5K-Premium, CPU=Intel E6850 @ x8x450fsb 3.6ghz, RAM: 4gb PC8500 Team Dark, Video: NV8800GT, HDD: 2x1Tb Samsung F3 RAID-0 + 1Tb F3, PSU: Antec 550 Basiq, OS: Win7x64, Display: 24" WS LCD

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Reply #18 - Mar 3^rd, 2004 at 5:23pm

Delta_ Offline
Colonel
Woah!
London, UK

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Posts: 2032

Quote:

Via chipset users seem to have probs.

Gigabyte also produce nice boards.

That CPU is probly gonna run warm, so make sure you have good ventilation in the case (fans).

I use VIA and have no probs, and it is a fast motherboard.

I use Gigabyte, Gigabyte use VIA.

You should not get temps higher than 50C load. I would expect with good ventilation you should get 45C load.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #19 - Mar 4^th, 2004 at 4:20am

bm Offline
Colonel
UK

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Posts: 1177

Thanks for all your help - I am rather dissapointed that she said she doesn't want it now! I was looking forward to building a computer myself!

Anyway, If she changes her mind this is what I would build:

Sorry all your efforts have been wasted Sad

Sad

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Reply #20 - Mar 13^th, 2004 at 8:56am

bm Offline
Colonel
UK

Gender:
Posts: 1177

Well I've been given the go-ahead Cheesy

Cheesy

Any last bits of advice or suggestions?

Thank-you all for your help

PS. I may me kind and get her a new graphics card for christmas if she complains Wink

Wink

(I've heard those TNT cards are good Grin

Grin

)

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Reply #21 - Mar 13^th, 2004 at 9:38pm

4_Series_Scania Offline
Colonel
He who laughs last, thinks
slowest.
Stoke on Trent England U.K.

Gender:
Posts: 3638

Quote:

Any last bits of advice or suggestions?

Enjoy the TNT! Grin

Grin

I refer the honorable Gentleman to the reply's I gave a while back....... Tongue

Tongue

Posting drivel here since Jan 31st, 2002. - That long!

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