Help finish P4 2.8C system...

[verse101]

Hey all,

Picking out parts for this system, need some help to finish up.

- P4 2.8C ($179)
- Asus P4800SE ($93)
or ABIT AI7 ($103)
or ASrock P4S55FX+ ($50)
- 2x512 PC3200 (OCZ or Corsair value series) ($150-170)
- Graphics card ?????? ($60-80 budget)

I'm certain of the CPU. The Abit & Asus are affordable, but $50-70 boards seem to be just as good w/ same features. Having a tough time on memory, I do plan on overclocking a little. I have no clue about the video card though, I'm not a hardcore gamer, but will play some graphics intensive games once in a while. Would like tv tuner option like ATI AIW, or possibly add in tuner card later.. any suggestions on something around $60-80 128mb card? Thanks for reading..

 

[etp777]

get the Abit IS7, Corsair Value Select or whatever bottom ram is(min runs fine up to 220mhz or so without upping vdimm), and hrmmm. Not really much of anything I can think of in 60-80 dollar range that can really play any games decently. THat's all the radeon 9550s, 9600SEs, Geforce FX5200s, etc. Nothing even halfway decent.

Oh, and the name brand boards use better chipsets(Intel vs. SiS, though both are better than Via), and use higherquality capacitors, voltage regulators, etc. Cleaner power, more reliable operation, little things like better manuals, more mature bios's, etc. It's worth getting a board with a good chipset from a good manufacturer. Crappy chipset/bios/chipset drivers cause more problems than most anything(well, that and bad ram).

 

[sparky853]

You are gonna have to spend more then 60-80 on a video card of you want to do any graphic intense gaming. R9800 Pros can be had for a couple hundred bucks or less. If thats too much, go for something like a R9600 Pro or XT.

Spec:
Intel P4 2.4B
MSI 645E Max-U Mobo
1GB DDR333
R9600XT 128MB
SB Live 5.1
WD 60GB
Maxtor 120GB
LG DVD+-R/RW
WIN2K PRO SP4

 

[Crashman]

I'd go with the Abit IS7 as it has more features than the AI7 and often cost less (I also like the layout better).

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Makaveli7]

for the graphics card you could go for a second hand ati radeon 9500 128mb and flash it up to a 9700. you can pick one up for about $40 - $60 and it plays farcry etc very well

 

[blah]

get ANY thing but AI7 board

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[verse101]

What's so bad about the AI7? Seems to have good reviews, good layout, fast chipset, and fairly good onboard sound. It is about $20 more than the IS7, so I would consider dropping it..but would probably need soundcard for IS7.

I was thinking of getting a Radeon 9600pro for about $125. But what games can a 9200SE play? It would save me $70 to get a 9200SE instead. I mostly play FPS like Medal of Honor, Battlefield, and EA sports games. System as it stands..

P4 2.8C ($179)
Abit AI7 ($103)
Geil Value 2 x 512 PC3200 ($168)
Thermaltake 420w PSU (~$45)
Powercolor Radeon 9600pro ($125)
Case ($25)

That's a little over $700 with tax and shipping, and still need maybe a couple of fans, thermal paste, etc. Any ideas how to drop this by $100? Thanks again guys!

 

[Crashman]

I use analog speakers. The IS7 has 5 analog ports, the AI7 only has 3. That means you'd have to set the 3 connectors as outputs and sacrifice your inputs.

Also the IS7 has a space between the top PCI slot and the AGP slot, while the AI7 moves the AGP slot downward 1 position. Since you shouldn't have a PCI card mounted the next position below AGP (interferes with cooling), all 5 slots are usefull on the IS7, while only the lower 4 are usefull on the AI7.

The IS7 is reputed to overclock better than the AI7. I haven't seen good proof though.

You would probably need a soundcard for the AI7, but not the IS7.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[blah]

you can get a case with 350W supply and save 40$. You can get one stick of 512MB and save 80$. You can get <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=13-123-209&ATT=Motherboards+Intel&CMP=OTC-P12ice5can" target="_new">this</A> board and save yourself a bunch of time troubleshooting and better network/sound/sata than IS7 has. You can get IS7 and save ~20$ on mobo as well.

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[verse101]

Ended up with this setup.. thanks for all the suggestions guys!

- P4 2.8C ($179)

- Abit IS7 ($83...saved $20)
Decided the AI7 wasn't gonna be much better and I'd eventually get a good soundcard for producing music. Since it's an Abit it'd be good for OC'ing no matter what.

- Corsair Value 2 x 512MB PC3200 2.5Cas ($160...saved $8)
There was a special on these at Newegg, so got them instead of Geil

- Sapphire Radeon 9600 non-pro ($94...saved $31)
This was the toughest decision. The Pro version was tempting at $125. But I did a lot of research and read a lotta reviews, and for what I need the 9600 will be fine.

- Thermaltake 420w PSU ($40)
Was lucky that this one went on sale this week, so I saved a few bucks here. I used to think generic PSU's were okay, but it seems you need a good supply to power up all the parts and make sure you don't fry them. So $40 is worth the protection.

So with all those things and a $25 case (pretty decent one), I got it to $581 before tax and shipping.