Please help, putting a new pc together.

[mr wolf]

Hi,

I have just bought a new barebones system.

These are its specs:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dimension (L)300*(W)200*(H)185 2.85Kg (N.W.) 4.65Kg (G.W.)
Front Panel USBx2 Line-out/Headphonex1 MICx1 1394x1 SPDIFx1
Back Panel Serial Portx1 1394x2 USBx2 LANx1 VGAx2 S-videox1
Extension Bay 5.25"x1 3.5"x2
Mainboard FN41
Form Factor Small Form Factor
CPU Socket A 333/266/200MHz FSB
Chipsets
North bridge:Nvidia nForce2 South bridge:nVidia MCP-T
Memory DDR 200/266/333/400x2(Dual Channel)
VGA Geforce4 MX 128 MB VGA share memory
Audio Realtek ALC650 6 Ch Support Digital SPDIF Output
Expansion Slot PCIx1 8XAGPx1
IDE interface ATA-133
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am about to buy the following components to complete the system:

Cd/RW: Sony 52x52x24 CDRW

Floppy: 3½" Black Floppy Drive

HDD: 80GB IBM Deskstar 180GXP ATA100

CPU: AMD AthlonXP 3000 [2.17GHZ 333] RET

Memory: 512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (DDR400)

Graphics: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128Mb DDR AGP

I have never put a system together before and I am not aware of the problems that may arise form the above components.

Could anyone please tell me if these components will work together, or if they might cause problems?

Or if there is anything else I should be aware of?

Thanks.

 

[FrankToronto]

Honestly, it sounds like you have solid setup there...
The only thing that you have to make sure of is to diable
the onboard video on the motherboard. Have fun, that's gonna be a really nice system..

 

[byon]

Choose your nForce motherboards carefully as some of them are incompatible with ATi Radeon Cards. I would recommend you to try Asus nForce2 boards, Abit NF7-S(rev2) and Soltek nForce2 boards.

CPU:
I think you should get a AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton instead. 3000+ isn't worth the price.

Memory:
get two identical 256mb ram instead of a piece of 512mb. This would allow your motherboard to run dual channels that offers you a double in the bandwidth as well as performance.

HDD:
good choice!

lastly, remember to buy an extra IDE connectors (80-pin ones; ATA133)! yup, so your CDRW won't share the same channel as your hard disk

 

[mr wolf]

Thanks for the reply FrankToronto,

Is the HDD ok? I notice on the sys specs it reads "IDE interface ATA-133" But on the HDD itself it reads ATA-100.

Not knowing what any of that means, could someone explain, or reassure me that it will work ok.

Thanks.

 

[RSM123]

Just two suggestions -

As you only have one optical drive listed there (your CDRW) you might want to get a separate DVD drive as well - they're so cheap it would only be another $30 or so.

I would also suggest you look at getting better cooling fans. The retail ones that come with the CPU are probably adequate but it wouldn't hurt to be sure. It might save you from lock ups etc later on.

 

[byon]

Originally posted by mr wolf:
Thanks for the reply FrankToronto,

Is the HDD ok? I notice on the sys specs it reads "IDE interface ATA-133" But on the HDD itself it reads ATA-100.

Not knowing what any of that means, could someone explain, or reassure me that it will work ok.

Thanks.

ATA-133 means it offers you a bandwidth(transfer rate) of up to 133MBps.
Dont worry about the harddisk specs. your motherboard will run at bottleneck to compromise your harddisk's ATA100(100MBps) speed. The 33MBps does not make a difference. I assure you that your system will work with the harddisk

 

[RSM123]

Check these links :

http://www.webopedia.com (Terminology / Definitions.)

http://www.computerhope.com General help.

http://www.computing.net ---- do --------

http://www.techimo.com Tech tips / Forums.

http://www.sharkyextreme.com ---- do --------

 

[mr wolf]

Thanks Byon,

I'll take you advice on the CPU.

I actually intend on putting 2 512mb memory, but I forgot to put the x2 in the specs.

Regarding the Motherboard. The barebones system comes with it already installed, and I already have it.

Regarding CPU fans, the system comes with a heatpipe which is apparently quite good.

Also, I only have one place to put a cd drive, and I never really use a dvd drive, so I thought I would leave it out.

Thanks.

 

[mr wolf]

Thanks for the links.

 

[byon]

Originally posted by mr wolf:
Thanks Byon,

I'll take you advice on the CPU.

I actually intend on putting 2 512mb memory, but I forgot to put the x2 in the specs.

Regarding the Motherboard. The barebones system comes with it already installed, and I already have it.

Regarding CPU fans, the system comes with a heatpipe which is apparently quite good.

Also, I only have one place to put a cd drive, and I never really use a dvd drive, so I thought I would leave it out.

Thanks.

yup, make sure both memory are IDENTICAL

please do not overclock.
apparently in the long run, the heatpipe is not sufficient to handle the tremendous heat (after overclocking).

 

[mr wolf]

Yeah, I have heard about problems with different types of memory.

And I dont intend to overclock.

I don't really know how, and it is a very small and compact system and heat could build up quite quickly.

Thanks.

 

[byon]

Originally posted by mr wolf:
Yeah, I have heard about problems with different types of memory.

And I dont intend to overclock.

I don't really know how, and it is a very small and compact system and heat could build up quite quickly.

Thanks.

yea, enjoy your new rig

 

[mr wolf]

Thanks guys,

I am off to order the stuff now.

It should be up and running in a few days.

(though I'll be back here if it isn't. )

Thanks.