Help needed on purchasing a new system

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dedsi

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Aug 10, 2004
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Hey all.
Im thinking of buying a new system and building it from scratch. However, Im kind of lost when it comes to deciding what to buy..and where to start. The only thing I know for now is that I want a Pentium 4 (running at about 3.0+ GHz) as my CPU. Anyway, I was thinking of starting with the motherboard.

So does anyone have any suggestions on what motherboard that might be a good buy? As Ive been reading along Ive seen alot of people talking about Abit IS7, what are your reactions to that?

And what CPU's are recommended? Ive been reading about Prescott and Northwood, but havent been able to figure out which I should select.

Any other recommendations what to buy besides the CPU and the motherboard are very highly appreciated.

Thank you for reading this post. Your thoughts on this question are highly appreciated.
 
What are going to be using it for? Gaming, encoding, or just email and web surfing

What's your budget?

Mobile XP 2600+ (11X200)
Abit NF7-S v 2.0
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB Corsair Twinx 3200LL
BBA 9800 Pro
Enermax Noisetaker 420 watts
Win98SE
 
Its going to be used for all purpose really, that is web surfing, email, programming, gaming, (basic) video editing, multimedia in general.

I dont have a real budget..I dont really require the "best and latest and most expensive" computer available now, but other than that I havent really decided anything. I would guess though on around €1000-€1500 (excluding monitor and speakers that will be re-used).<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by dedsi on 08/10/04 09:13 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
IS7 and a P4-3.0C would be a great combo. Spend the big bucks on your video card if you want to play games the best. :smile:

Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.5ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot
 
Thanks for your reply.

After looking at the internet shop from where I probably will buy my stuff I find that they have two items from Abit IS7:

Abit IS7 i865PE 4DDR-DIMM 5PCI SATA Raid Audio LAN Socket478 ATX
and
Abit IS7-E2 i865PE 2DDR-DIMM 5PCI SATA Audio LAN Socket478 ATX

Are there any major differences between those in terms of performance besides the obvious one that the first one supports 4Gb RAM and FireWire and the second one supports 2Gb RAM? And P4-3.0C, that is the Northwood model if Im correct, no?

Oh, and I have already been looking for an ATI Radeon X800XT video card, and I assume that its compatible with that motherboard (both support 8xAGP). Oh, and while we are at it, an X800Pro is like €100 cheaper than X800XT..is the performance gain worth it to pay that extra money?
 
Get the regular IS7 and not the stripped-down "Econo" version. The Pro card would be OK, but make sure you check-out the 6800GT Nvidia. 16 pipes instead of 12 makes a big difference.

Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.5ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot
 
he mentioned video editing.

i cant see a better option than to go ATI 9800 All-in-Wonder pro.

stable board, get some ram, 1-2 gigs are good for your purposes of video editing. the AIW by ati will allow you to encode raw footage nicely and quickly, as well as edit it with decent power. 270 dollars on pricewatch for a Retail boxed (must be retail boxed!!! has like 150 dollars worth of stuff in it) but it would make you content. I wouldnt go higher than 3.0 ghz, it just heats up more and nowadays, anything 2.8 with HThreading and 1-2 gigz of ram doesnt go much faster noticably. its just the ram and the vid card mainly.
 
Yes, that would solve the video editing end of it. AIW are generally good cards but lag their counterparts a little in gaming. I'm not sure what options the 800 cards have, but you're right on the 6800's. They are really set up for gaming. De-clocking from 3.4ghz to 2.8ghz I lose about 6% in Aquamark3. From 44,555 to 41,920. Not a huge difference.

Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.5ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot
 
Since the 9700 AIW, the high end AIW cards have used the same chip as the standard high end card. There is no difference in gaming benches between a 9800pro and a 9800pro AIW.
 
You should give some thought to the Amd 64 bit chips. You can get an A64-3200+ chip, for the price of the Intel 3 gig. It would be a lot better for you, especially in gaming.
 
he mentioned video editing.


Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.5ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot
 
Gaming seems to come before (basic) video editing. The A64 is better in bothe. It is only in Divx and a few other Intel special progs that the P4c&e win by a small margin. In x-vid, and a number of other progs, the A64 wins.
 
He said he wanted a P4, any suggestions to the contrary should be aimed at the original poster! LOL

<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>
 
These darn AMD fanboys! :lol:

Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.5ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot
 
Thank you all for your posts!

Im sorry that I havent replied so much to this thread, but its my first post on this forum and I must have misunderstood the "Email all replies" option (I thought I would get an email for each post and not only just those that are replies to my posts). So I didnt know there were so many posts..

Anyway, from what I understand after reading your posts is that IS7 and P4 3.0C is a good buy (since I want a P4) and I think I will go for that. However, Ive been trying to read up on chassi fans (whether I need one or not) and I havent found a definite answer. Considering I buy a P4 with a CPU-fan and not overclock it (or any other part in the computer), is it then necessary to have a chassi fan?

Once again, thank you all for your posts, they are highly appreciated!
 
Front fan - intake
Rear fan - exhaust
Side fan - intake
Power supply - standard exhaust fan

Most all 856 & 875 boards come with a fan on the chipset.

Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.5ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot
 
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