Rebuilding Desktop System

[anken]

I'm planning to revamp our 3yr.+ desktop system.
It's used a lot for flightsim gaming.

Case: LiteOn HT761S 400W 51.00

Mobo: Asus A7V333-XL 83.99

Processor: AMD Athlon XP2600/333
2.08 GHz (Thorougbred) 219.00

Video Card: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB 379.00

Cooling unit or Heatsink/Fan ??

Those are some of the parts I found at newegg.com.

Can I use the Radeon Card with the AMD Chip or do I have to go with the GeForce?

I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance, Ann

[chris64]

That setup should be fine(compatability speaking). BTW what hard drive is in the old system(assuming you'll be using it in the rebuilt one) because you might want to get a Faster Hard drive to load those Flight sims. When I was using MS Flight sim 2000 on a 10gb 5400rpm drive it loaded really slow.

[jmebonner]

It looks pretty good. The AMD processor (retail) will come with a heatsing and a thermal pad. This should be okay unless you are overclocking, or you want a super-quiet system. I usually opt for the stock fan, what's a couple decibels? Radeon card should work okay and I also assume you're getting ram.. Since you have the 333fsb, you'll want to get ram that fits that performance range. Good luck, building your own is very gratifying!

[Toddly]

Anken ,Yes you can use the Radeon with the AMD chip.

[sup3rcarrx7]

Get one of those new volcano 11's. Those are SWEET.

[anken]

I have the Western Digital HDD 16GB at 7200 RPM. This will have to do for the time being. Hope to get a bigger one after recovering from the current expenses.

Ram? I plan on buying Corsair DDR 256MB.
Sometime later I plan on getting the Turtlebeach- SantaCruz Soundcard . Also I will look into the Volcano 11's.

I could use our curent case (generic mid tower) but I like the idea of having some of the USB connections in the front.

Have seen some complete systems with the 6 in one card reader in the front for the digital cameras and really like that but haven't seen this feature in any case/powersupply combos.

Have made some extensive changes in our current system and am looking forward very much to upgrade the system with the parts that I have picket out myself.
Thanks for all your suggestions. If you have any additional ideas I will appreciate it very much.

[bill1971]

Hey, Anken:

I'm also building a new system to replace one that is 3+ years old.
I, too, liked the 6-in-1 card readers. I found one that fits in a 3.5" floppy bay.(I'm lucky, my case has three 3.5" external bays).
This one comes with both a beige and a black bezel, which is a nice touch. Let's see if I can find a link:

http://www.svc.com/usb206incfre.html

Anything to make things a little more compact, and limit the number of external units and associated wiring.

Also, have you considered the Asus NForce2 board instead of the VIA-based board? (Unless you've already purchased it).

- Bill

[Corsairpro]

yes, get an nForce 2 board!!!!!

[anken]

Bill, thank you for the info. on the card reader.
It's just what I'm looking for.

Why do you prefer the Asus nForce 2?
I havent' bought any of the parts yet. Ann

[Shawn711]

I too would suggest an Nforce2 mobo........I have the Asus A7N8X Deluxe motherboard and have been quite happy with it......lotsa features (dual lan for highspeed internet sharing, sata hd connections, firewire on board, on board 6 channel sound, on board usb 2.0, etc.....) I would suggest either this board, which newegg.com has for $139 shipped last I knew, or the slightly cheaper A7N8X standard model (not sure of latest price there) with maybe a XP2200+ (which can be had for just over $100 for retail with HSF).........should be just about as capable for what ya wanna do, and slightly cheaper.....(maybe enough for bigger hd..... ) Plus A7N8X can use AMD chips with 200 Mhz, 266Mhz and 333 Mhz FSB......basically any chip AMD currently has or will have in the near future........Just my opinion......

Shawn

My system:
Powmax 0209 4HL case
A7N8X Deluxe w/ AMD XP 2200+
512MB Kingston PC-3200 RAM
Western Digital 7200 RPM 100 Gig HD
ATI Radeon 7200 AGP
Soundblaster Live Platinum Soundcard
Cambridge Soundworks FPS 2000 Speakers
Sony CD Writer 52x24x52
Generic DVD-ROM 10x
17" Proview Monitor