Need CPU and Motherboard advice

[sling322]

Ok I have been thinking about building my own system.  I read this forum all the time, but I am still a little confused about what I should get.  Here are a couple of combos that I found on pricewatch.com.  Let me know what the difference is and what you think of the price and quality.

Deal #1:A7V266- Woa A7V-266 RETAIL BOX 3 YR Warranty No SND,Via KT266,UDMA-100,ATX 5P/3DDR/1A INSTOCK    Price $331

Deal #2:A7V266- Woa A7V-266 RETAIL BOX 3 YR Warranty Socket-A,Via KT266,UDMA-100,ATX 5P/3DDR/1A INSTOCK    Price $331

The only difference between the 2 is the first one says "no sound" and "socket-A".  Is that a big deal, and will my current Soundblaster card work with this system?

[mrsid2]

As far as I understood that describes only the type of the motherboard, not a full system.

If you are unexperienced in building a computer, ask some first hand advice from someone who does - or at least read some articles about the subject.
 www.tomshardware.com  and www.hardocp.com  have both very nice reviews, articles and tips on DIY computer building.

I would choose either Soyo dragon, abit kr7 or epox 8kha+ if I would build a computer now. Of course you'll need also an athlon XP (but dont buy the fastest model or you'll waste money), DDR RAM (Corsair, Crucial, Mushkin) and a geforce3 ti200 or 500 (or if you must, radeon 8500)

I just bought a leadtek GF3 Ti200 and its very nice. Image quality is very crisp and it overclocks to at least 190Mhz GPU and 480Mhz memory with stock cooling. I didn't encounter any stability problems at those speeds and I didn't want to push it higher - the performance is quite enough as it is.

[Defiance]

Hiya's,
If you go for the A7v266 get the a7v-266E as the "E" has the latest chipset (onboard audio u just disable in bios when using your sb card, also if you get any probs with the sb you slap her in slot 3 and assign irq 5 in bios to slot 3, that fix works for a7v and a7a and is sometimes needed i read for the a7v266 but not sure if needed on the latest "E" version-hope that makes sense)
Another mobo i think you can get as a cpu/mobo bundle is the ABIT Kg/r7 series which has amd chipset and is a great mobo

Have Fun

Def

on pricewatch i see the asus a7v266e is approx $160
and the abit (no raid) kg approx $115 and raid version approx $130

now if i was to buy the same from here in the uk they cost x1.56 more  lol

Read some reviews or failing that go here to forums to help make your mind up http://www.amdmb.com/vb/index.php

Def

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Defiance ]

[sling322]

I have been reading a lot on these boards here about different motherboards and chips and have decided to take the plunge sometime in the next few months and build one.  The prices I quoted above were motherboard and chip combos with AMD XP1800 chips.  I am basically just trying to get a feel on whether or not folks think the price is good for what they are giving you.  I am also trying to make sure to steer clear of anything that might cause compatability problems with any stuff I might use from my old system.  So far, I am considering using my current Sound Blaster card and I will probably stick my Radeon DDR in it for now until I can afford the GF3 later on down the line.

I appreciate your answers and advice guys.  I originally was trying to find an AH'er here in the Dallas area to build a system for me, but with the stuff I have read and with help from this board, I just might be able to figure it all out.  

[mason22]

defiance is right sling...

creamo, exile, and i just upgraded with the latest chipsets on our motherboards.

I have the Epox 8KHA+ (266A chipset), creamo and exile went for the SOYO DRAGON, as it has a few more options than what i was going to use (IDE RAID, Etc etc) but still has the 266A chipset (which is VIAs latest DDR chipset).

Get some good ram, pc2100, at least 512 megs, or go pc2400 if you want to get into overclocking.

As far as chips go, get a XP 1800, or wait a few weeks and the 1900 will go down i'm sure.