Which system?

[Christof60]

Getting closer to chosing..... Pentium system would be about $150.00 more. Which one would you folks choose? I will list the two systems below....

AthlonXP 2600+ 333Mhz FSB Processor
ASUS A7V8X 400Mhz FSB 8X AGP Motherboard
6PCI/ 8XAGP/ 6USB 2.0 Ports
80GB 7200RPM Western Digtal Harddrive
512MB Micron 333Mhz PC2700 DDR Memory
52x24x52 Mitsumi CDRW Drive w/NERO
64MB GeForce4 MX440 DDR Video Card with TVout
High quality 6-Channel AC97 Audio
350watt Black Mid Tower Case with Front USB


or this......


Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz CPU 533Mhz FSB
ASUS P4S8X 533FSB 8X AGP Motherboard
6PCI/8XAGP/ 6USB 2.0 Ports
80GB 7200RPM Western Digtal Harddrive
512MB Micron PC2700 DDR333 Memory
52x24x52 Mitsumi CDRW Drive
64MB nVidia GeForce4 MX440 Video Card with TVout
High quality 6-Channel AC97 Audio
350watt Black Mid Tower Case with Front USB 2.0


Don't comment on the graphics card, I will probably go with the Ti4600 on either system.


Thanks!


Buzz

 

[Maverick494]

I would go with the AMD system, but I would put a Abit NF7 v2.0 in place of the A7V8X. You look like a man on a budget. what might that budget be? looking at what you have picked I would venture to guess 400-500 dollars.

This is what I would do for a opinion:

AXP 2500+ 333mhz fsb <b>87.00</b>
ABIT NF7 V2.0 <b>101.00</b>
80GB 7200RPM Western Digtal Harddrive <b>75.00</b>
(2x)GEIL 256MB PC-2700 (333MHz) DDR RAM <b>60.00</b>
MSI DragonWriter CDRW 52X24X52 Model MS-8352M BLACK <b>37.00</b>
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9200 64MB DVI/TV-out AGP BULK <b>65.00</b>
Raidmax Model 268FB(BLACK) 10-bay Case w/ 350Watt Power Supply Retail <b>36.00</b>

Subtotal b4 shipping: 461.00

The intel system would be 544.00 before shipping. You would get more life out of the AMD system as mentioned here than either of the 2 you built. The ATi card is a much better card than the GF4 MX440 and is 15 dollars more. The NF7 is a better motherboard than the KT400 based A7V8X. The mitsumi I couldn't find at <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com</A> where I priced everything, so I subbed a MSI that has been very good for me. I also subbed a black case that I could find because you indicated any black case with 350W & front USB. The 2500+ is cheaper and can easily overclock to the 2600+ speed. Also another money saver might be to get a 40GB HDD for right now and then add another later. Again I don't know the budget I just guessed. Think about these suggestions. Take them for what you will and enjoy whatever you decide to build.


Just a computer junky

 

[Christof60]

Hey Mav... Appreciate your response tremendously! Have to wonder why though that you would forgo the ASUS? I have had very good experience with them in the past, and they get really good reviews. Also, I am probably going with a GeForce4 Ti 4200 for my card. I have had a couple people tell me that the Radeon (the monster cards 128/256 mb) are really loud with their heatsink fan.....
Can you be so kind as to elaborate on why the AMD in your opinion? Also, the guy that has the Asus boards told me that it is upgradable to the 3000+ XP CPU.....

Thanks man!

 

[Maverick494]

Okay first the ABIT over the ASUS due to the possibility of having memory conflict problems and the Overclockability of the ABIT is better than the ASUS. I can say that the Ti4200 card is probably a good choice. The ATi cards have a very quiet fan. As a matter of fact the Ti4200 I just sold last month was a lot louder than my current ATi 9500 NP. But the Ti4200 will probably be a better card than the 9200 rady. AMD IMHO is a better bang for the buck. You will out perform the 533 FSB intel's with a Barton(almost always). Also the ABIT is upgradable to the 3200+ as well. The vidcards that have the monster fans are the Nvidia FX series cards, talk about loudddd! I am not knocking the ASUS board at all, it is a good board, but it is more expensive than the ABIT with the same features and it has a pontiential (as shown in this forum) to have the incompatibility problems.

Just a computer junky

 

[Mephistopheles]

Pentium 4 2.4Ghz with 800Mhz FSB and HT (+82)
ASUS P4P800 (8x AGP, Serial-ATA support) (+19)
GeiL 2x256MB DDR400 CL2 (+50)

So the Intel system would cost you 151 bucks more (for a "C" processor). However, this is one hell of a processor, and it's mostly between the 2.53Ghz and 2.66Ghz in performance, occasionally rising above the 2.8B. So this is an excellent choice too, if you're ready to spend some more money... it's also got HT.

But the AMD choice will do excellently, too.

 

[Maverick494]

meph has a point about the intel side.

However if you really want intel and are going with the C processor you could do this:

ABIT IS7 <b>109.00</b>
P4 2.4C <b>169.00</b>
Giel 2x256MB PC3200 <b>84.00</b>
GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4, 8X AGP. Ti 4200, 3.5ns, 64MB DDR. <b>112.00</b>

that totals $474.00

add in the 75, 36, and 37 dollar components from my earlier post and it is 622.00 dollars. The choice is yours about how much you want to spend.

Just a computer junky

 

[Mephistopheles]

Yes, that's a good one.

It might also be interesting because of upgradability: you can always move to Presott (Pentium 5) later on...

Anyway, we should all be so lucky as to not be on a budget... making decisions about this kind of thing is always a tad frustrating... :frown: You always come to thoughts like "oooh, if I had $95 extra bucks, I could buy the 2.8C and outclass even a XP3200+". It's things like that which are frustrating... and then, you always know that the next great thing is right around the corner, just waiting for you to have spent your money...

 

[HardWareBoss]

Ya the 3.4 Prescott is right around the ole corner.

 

[JimmyDean]

I really suggest you stay away with anything with MX in the name, as this wont offer you the performance you would want. Id say the 9600 pro is fairly good, at around $160

<i>Royal Fusileres, Company C</i>

 

[jmecor]

you're right!
MX does not have all those features of the titanium model.
And it's not even recommended as a good gaming gpu.