Final thoughts for my computer upgrade

Praetorian · December 28th, 2001, 09:37 PM

Here's what I'm planning to purchase online tonight guys. Tell me what you think of it.

ECS K7S5A w/ integrated lan and audio
1.4ghz Athlon XP 1600+ -OEM
Thermaltake Volocano 6Cu heatsink + fan
16mb Voodoo3 3000 AGP video
128mb Kingston PC2100 DDR ram -OEM
Enlight EN-72370X3C4 Medium ATX Tower Case

All of these can be found on Newegg.com. Video card is already ordered but anything else that I'd need to change let me know. Money is tight, so if you recommend something else, keep it cheap.

Praetorian · December 28th, 2001, 10:53 PM

*bump*

ragtop · December 28th, 2001, 11:35 PM

Looks good Praetorian

I assume you've read up on the K7S5A - it's a decent performer at a great price, but it has caused its share of problems for some people.

I just ordered a Soltek 75DRV2. Its more expensive, but it comes bundled with Drive Image 4.0 and PartitionMagic (two applications I was planning to buy anyway, so I figure the MB is almost free for me)

Also - if you're looking to stay cheap, Newegg has the retail box 1.33G Tbird for $100, (and an extra $5 off, if you buy it with the Soltek MB) Its pretty close in performance to the XP1600, and about $30 less when you add in the cost of the cooler. Plus you get the three year retail warantee from AMD.

I'm not trying to change your mind on anything - just a couple things to consider before you spend your money.

storm2k · December 28th, 2001, 11:52 PM

your specs sound good, but i too would be weary of your motherboard choice. sometimes it's better to spend a little extra for something a bit more relable. the 8kha+ is always a good choice, and i've been hearing great thing from people here about the iwill r333 (or whatever)...

Bob The Great · December 28th, 2001, 11:56 PM

Sounds pretty swanky. What sorta prices though?

You can get the EPOX 8KHA for $83 at newegg. Nice board. But then you would need DDR mem, so that could send you over budget.

Hope it all goes well man!

Praetorian · December 28th, 2001, 11:56 PM

Thanks guys, but something I forgot to mention. This is for a Linux box. I haven't checked the stuff you have recommened but compatibility with Linux is a must. From what I hear is a hit or miss with the onboard lan and audio on the ECS board.

edit - the current setup is $263. oh and ragtop, I've read up on the motherboard and video to insure compatibility with Linux (motherboard, maybe

). Everything else seems fine.

JacobM5727 · December 28th, 2001, 11:57 PM

looks good to me.. i hear your board is alright for the price.. but if you did want something more reliable, i say go for it

i dont know anything about linux.. yet...

Tomteriffic · December 29th, 2001, 12:05 AM

Looks like a good combo to me, and if everything is Linux compatible, you oughta have a screamin' banshee for a system. I just finished rebuilding a 1600+ /DDR combo on an Epx 8KHTA+ and this thing is scarin' me, even under Win98!

Praetorian · December 29th, 2001, 12:09 AM

I've been searching newsgroups from deja.com and some people have had problems and others haven't. It seems the AC97 audio chip works with Linux. I'm pretty sure thats whats on the board. And as for lan, a manual config with some other drivers will do it. But, I can never know until I try it. :-/

storm2k · December 29th, 2001, 12:12 AM

well to be on the safe side, you can disable the ac97 in the bios and just use a regular pci soundcard (hell even my sb live! is recognized by the kernel)... you could ave also gone for a much better videocard, since most of the major new cards come supported by linux these days...