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  #1  
Old 10-17-2002, 08:49 PM
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,105
thinking of upgrading my computer-advice??

i'm currently running a first generation, Slot A amd athlon 500 on a SD11 motherboard with 1mb L2 cache. 196mb ram, and crappy 16mb pci vid card. Due to the 1mb cache, the computer acts much quicker than any 500 i've ever used, it actually acts more like my girlfriends 1.4ghz celeron laptop. Could have alot to do with that i have a 7200rpm HD too though. Anyway, it's getting a little out dated, and here is what i'm looking to update to. Any thoughts on it are appreciated.
1.Biostar M7VIP motherboard with Athlon XP 1900 processor
2. a decent video card with an RCA tv out option(any ideas? like to keep it under 150 tops)
3. 256mb ram
4. A cdrw drive to compliment my current DVD player

I already have a soundblaster live with digital out, and the reason i want a TV out is that way i can run a complete, dolby digital DVD system from my computer. Also, i would like the video card to have 64mb ram to run some of the newer decent games out there. My only problem is, i havn't used one single newer computer that i have been as happy with as mine. As far as program load times, even the newer ones my friends have dont seem to beet it at all. Also, i can't stand the "bubble look" of the new windows XP home, i absolutely HATE it. Is professional any better?? The only reason i find my current computer lacking is with the newer games and programs. I'm also a closet computer geek and i absolutely have to have a almost state of the art computer. Thanks for your help
RYan

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  #2  
Old 10-18-2002, 01:53 PM
94 E320
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 437
Ryan,

1) I like the asus av7333 motherboard..nice and stable and costs like $100...have to look though

2) the processor ur choosing should be fine, if u chose retail it comes with a heatsink (u still need to hook it up to the cpu)...i bought a XP 2000 and my friend a XP 1900...ran some tests...mine is like 5% faster when playing games...when using the internet and normal office type stuff...the same performance....if do go OEM with the chip and have to get a heatsink...Thermaltake VOlcano 9 is real nice....or the Volcano 7 is good too

3) that should be good amount of memory...try crucial.com they have 2nd day free air shipping...look for PC2700 or less i think pc2100 or something

4) LG & Liteon makes a good 40x12x48x CD burner...for like $55

5) for graphics card with TV Out....Asus V8420 GeForce 4 Ti 4200 64MB = 135, 128MB = 165....both are free shipping @ newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=48&manufactory=1315&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

XP Home and XP Pro look the same, XP Pro should be considered more like Window 2000 Professional....if u don't like the new look u can always turn it off and go back to the classic look aka Windows 2000....open up Control Panel> Display Properties> Appearance Tab> under Windows and buttons section> use the pulldown menu and selct "Windows classic style"

oh yeah with that asus mb, it comes with a good sound card onboard or u can disable it and use ur soundblaster instead

good luck,
ren
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  #3  
Old 10-18-2002, 02:32 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 157
Just a little about asus.

I got the A7S333, basically the SIS chipset verison of the A7V. Horrible board. Hate it, never buying Asus again, stick with Abit.

But on the other hand, during the install of the proc, my pliers slipped and nailed the board pretty hard. Needless to say it was broken. In a week I had a new one, at no cost to me, even thouygh it was entirely my fault. Gotta give Asus a point for that.

However, if it was designed better in the first place, there wouldnt be all those little capacitors or whatever around the CPU socket, and it wouldnt have broken.
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  #4  
Old 10-18-2002, 04:26 PM
94 E320
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 437
not trying to start a flaming war but i've gone through 4 asus boards and never had a problem with any of them

i think you won't have a problem with any top board makers asus and abit, time and time again their boards always get top marks on all the computer hardware sites...they are the most stable, fastest, and most feature packed

with the via kt333 chipset, i havent seen many reviews of the abit boards, only asus and soyo...everytime asus wins

also the abit one doesn't support USB 2.0...but their newer line Max series does but a little pricey and lacks expansion slots...i think there is like only 3 on there

yeah for sure the abit's are cleaner around the cpu area but with care, u won't go smashing any resistors on an asus motherboard :-)
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  #5  
Old 10-18-2002, 04:40 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 157
Smile

hey, no risk of a flame-war, I'm not passionate about this issue or anything, just stating my experience.

The whole ordeal was partially my fault as I didnt do my research on the baord. Only after did I find out that the 333mhz ram FSB is actually slower then 266 on the SIS chipset. Or that this particular board doesnt allow Core volatge adjustement.

Only other board I've had for a prolonged time is the Abit BF-6, and I have nothing but great things to say about it, what a board.

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