need help to build a new desktop

[jenleib]

I am trying to buy a hard drive and a motherboard that match, first, and with what I can re-use my SDRAM memory. I also have an ethernet card and a DVD drive

For the HDD I have considered the Maxtor or Seagate 80GB, but I am a bit lost about the motherboard. I need a combo with video and sound card. I thought about ASUS or Intel with a Pentium 4.

I don't want to spend a lot of money, I don't use gaming, but I am on the net all the time.

Anyone can give me some options?

Thanks a lot

[diyrn]

it really depends on what you have available to spend....

what's your current platform specifications?

[jenleib]

Hmmm... $2 or 300.

I will install Win XP in my PC, it is to replace an AMD Duron presently working in Win 98

[diyrn]

I don't think there's any reasonably current P4 platform that utilizes SDRAM, unless you mean DDR SDRAM?

If you go AMD, there are some KT266A or SiS735 chipset mainboards still floating around that can use PC100 or PC133 SDRAM.

[jenleib]

No, I don't want an AMD anymore, I want a pentium 4. So you think I have to put my memory in the garbage? I just bought an upgrade of 256 MB. Yes, it is a PC133.

[diyrn]

afraid so...Newegg.com, for example, doesn't list any Pentium4 mainboards that use PC133 RAM....

You're probably going to have to bite the bullet and shell out for some DDR RAM. PC133 is pretty much history at this point....

Just curious, why so opposed to AMD? You can get an Athlon64 these days that will generally smoke the Intel cpu's...and if you have to buy new RAM too, there's no reason to limit yourself to just P4's..

[Ken6PPC]

jenleib, I don't think you will have to throw your memory away. Sell it!

You really don't want to use PC133 in your new computer anyway (even if you COULD find a motherboard that would support it), because it would be a bottleneck, and would slow down the whole thing. The DDR memory will be SO much faster!

[bombledmonk]

you aren't going to be able to build a P4 desktop for even $400.

Why is it that you don't want AMD. Anything in AMD's budget line will easily outperform equivalently priced Intel offerings.

[jenleib]

Thanks a lot, both of you.... even if it is not a very good news.

I am not SO opposed to AMD, but this one didn't last long, my previous one lasted much longer. But I have read in the reviews that the Athlon tries very hard to be competitive to Intel, but just can't.

I don't know enough to be sure.... So, can you give me some good choices? In both names?

Thanks again: D

[diyrn]

I myself just ordered an Athlon64 3000+ socket 939 and an MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum Nforce3 mainboard for just under $300. Of course, RAM would be extra for you, but I have some PC3200 DDR that I'll be reusing.

I expect this to be a pretty fair upgrade over my AthlonXP 2100+ at 2.33 Ghz /NF2...