Tech Support Forums - TechIMO.com - View Single Post - to build or not to build, that is the question...

cyphen · April 4th, 2004, 08:46 PM

Hi all. (or some, considering that chances are pretty slim that ALL will visit this thread...)

So here's the deal... i have no sense of urgency to upgrade, so take time out of the equation. It would be nice, but my systems are plenty powerful enough as it is...

What i'm wondering (since i've been out of the loop for a bit) is should i upgrade now, or is there a big change on the horizon. I know 64 bit will be taking off, but if it's gonna be more than a year, i'm not waiting that long to upgrade. But i did hear rumors about either some PCI bus standards changing over, or SATA changes - or something happening around the 3rd quarter of this year. Anyone know what that may be?

So given all that, should i wait to build my computer? If there's some big technology coming out in the fall, then i'll wait but otherwise....

I'm looking to build something that meets the following conditions, so any recommendations would be appreciated:

Dual Channel DDR support for PC3200 or better
Used to AMD, but i'm open minded to Intel nowadays (if there's a clear difference)
Dual processor would be nice, but not necessary
Northbridge Gigabit would be nice
I'm going to stripe drives using dynamic disk, so if there's something that has more controllers, that would be cool...
Need some advice on chipsets... heard nForce is good, but was reading about an AMD chipset coming out that was at least as good... not sure what's out there right now...
USB 2.0 - goes without saying...

And anyone have any experience with those little BOXX computers? know what i'm talking about? they're like 8" cubes.... only have 1 pci slot, but have about every connectivity you'd need built right in... Are they worth it? Is overheating an issue with them? Is the airflow good? Are they quiet?

I know iknow... i'm full of questions!
Thanks in advance!

April 4th, 2004, 08:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
cyphen Ultimate Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 3,229	to build or not to build, that is the question... Hi all. (or some, considering that chances are pretty slim that ALL will visit this thread...) So here's the deal... i have no sense of urgency to upgrade, so take time out of the equation. It would be nice, but my systems are plenty powerful enough as it is... What i'm wondering (since i've been out of the loop for a bit) is should i upgrade now, or is there a big change on the horizon. I know 64 bit will be taking off, but if it's gonna be more than a year, i'm not waiting that long to upgrade. But i did hear rumors about either some PCI bus standards changing over, or SATA changes - or something happening around the 3rd quarter of this year. Anyone know what that may be? So given all that, should i wait to build my computer? If there's some big technology coming out in the fall, then i'll wait but otherwise.... I'm looking to build something that meets the following conditions, so any recommendations would be appreciated: Dual Channel DDR support for PC3200 or better Used to AMD, but i'm open minded to Intel nowadays (if there's a clear difference) Dual processor would be nice, but not necessary Northbridge Gigabit would be nice I'm going to stripe drives using dynamic disk, so if there's something that has more controllers, that would be cool... Need some advice on chipsets... heard nForce is good, but was reading about an AMD chipset coming out that was at least as good... not sure what's out there right now... USB 2.0 - goes without saying... And anyone have any experience with those little BOXX computers? know what i'm talking about? they're like 8" cubes.... only have 1 pci slot, but have about every connectivity you'd need built right in... Are they worth it? Is overheating an issue with them? Is the airflow good? Are they quiet? I know iknow... i'm full of questions! Thanks in advance!