Angelcats Christmas Present

[CERuppel]

First off let me just say HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am trying to put together the promised (and postponed) new computer for Angelcat. She has been very patient with me for the past year, but it has been chewing me up no end. (I can't get myself a new comp until I get her a new one...)

The wish list is below, and is not final. I have been searching out merchants for several weeks now, and have just about hit a brick wall. You see, all the ones that have what I want at a realistic price have Reseller Ratings of..., well not good ratings.

I am under the gun, as this present allows me to start a chain of PC upgrades troughout the family. And that is my big present to everyone this year.

Oh, yeah, the help part... I need help going thru all the merchants and finding the ones that have what I am after at reasonable prices.

PLEASE???

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This is a list of the specific parts that I am searching for to assemble Angelcats new christmas computer.

Please keep in mind that I am trying to deal with as few different stores as possible. If possible I would like to get as much of this from one store as a 'Build Your Own' bundle.

If you have any suggestions as to different parts I will listen. Please give me reasons, as these parts are all on this list for a reason.

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Motherboard: Abit KX7 333 R
Soltek 75DRV5
Abit for the raid controller, but also the quality.
Soltek for the performance is my back up choice.


Processor: AMD Athlon xp 2000+
Might go higher...


RAM: Two Crucial 256MB PC2700
This I have nearly given up on finding as part of the bundle...


DVD-ROM: Liteon 16x
This is one of the flexable areas, but a DVD is wanted.


Video Card: ATI Radeon 8500 64MB (not LE)
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 128MB
The 8500 is my first choice due to the more powerful engine.
The 9000 is my back up due to newer, also more RAM.


Case: No real brand specific choice here, but...
Want at least four 5.25 external bays
Total drive capacity of at least seven (have seen ten...)
Good air flow
Floppy (I don't have any working spares laying around anymore...)


Power Supply: 400 watt AMD certified/approved.
Again I have no brand specific choice.
Any recommendations?

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Thats about it for the parts I need to put Angelcats new system together.

We have all the hard drives and other little stuff.

Also any recommendations for extras would be taken seriously (this is after all AC's new toy...).

Thanks everyone, and try not to tip off AC, OK?

YGPM!

[CERuppel]

First things first: Learn to type!!!!!!!!!!!! (the typo king lives!!!!!!!!!)


Now, I would like to thank Whir and Doc for thier input and help.

Here is the revised list for Angelcats Christmas Computer:

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CHIEFTEC Server Chasis (Workstation Tower) Model DX-01WD- comes with Two Case Fans

SONY DDU1621 16X DVD ROM Drive (48X CD-ROM Speed)

Thermaltake VOLCANO 7+

AMD ATHLON XP 2100+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU

SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE

(two) CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 256MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 With Heat Spreader

ABIT KD7-RAID,VIA KT400 chipset AMD K7 motherboard ,DDR 400,AGP 8X,ATA 133,USB 2.0 ,RAID

ATI RADEON 9500 PRO 128MB DDR DVI AGP

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Please, any comments would be appreciated.

I will be ordering either Friday afternoon, or Monday if the anyone can come up with problems in this config...

Thanx

[Richard Cranium]

Abit KX7 333
$87.00 shipped

ABIT KD7-RAID
$121.00 shipped
@ NewEgg

AMD XP 2000+ Retail Box 3-yr
$91.00 shipped @ NewEgg

XP 2100+ OEM $95 Shipped
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...iption=&page=2

256mb Crucial
$64.00 shipped @ NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...roperty&DEPA=1

Corsair is $103.00 shipped

Sony DVD
$44.00 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

Allied 400W Power Supply ATX400P4 w/ Two Fans ***AMD APPROVED good to 2100+
$36 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...iption=&page=2

I would suggest one of the CompGeeks Sleek Silver cases, but they're out of stock.
Got a couple in a month back, thought little of them until I unpacked one on Tuesday,,, OMGawd, them critters iz NISE, very large bays, 3 fan mounts a 5" fan mount in the front. Big enough for double size SCSI drives I THINK..

Anyhow, that's all I have for now.

www.tcwo.com is good for bottom of the line prices too, sometimes a little cheaper than newegg, but usually it's a toss up.

[CERuppel]

Thanx Doc!

Take a look at the Chieftec case, it just impressed me alot. Included mounts for hard drive bay fan, front, back and side panel fans... Also the 450 watt PSU... Cost was $78

Also, I have had to change the Mobo and processor after reading further. Currently I am going for the Abit KD-7 Raid with the Athlon 2100+ processor.

And that leads to the other chock point, RAM. Seems that Crucial (my first choice) does not at this time have a PC3200 memory module. I know, it freaked me out to. So I'm going with the Corsair (my second choice anyway) as they have the PC3200 and it even includes a heat spreader.

Also, have you (or anyone) read many of the reviews oor know anyone that has used the Radeon 9500 PRO? All the reviews of this card I have found place it equal (roughly) to the G4Ti4400. And even put it ahead of the 4600 in higher end more demanding tests.

As for the other stuff, I have not gotten to attached to any of it (DVD, case, PSU...) and am looking for more input. But the Mobo and processor seem to be the ones for I want.

Thanx!

P.S.: Don't tell AC

[robin801]

CERuppel----the one sure way not to let angelcat see this post is to post this thread title.

angelcat please ignore

you know how we don't pay attention to those types of threads.


robin

[Richard Cranium]

I know nothing about Video cards.

As you may know already, most of what I build is OEM style units for sale.

The deal on the RAID mobo.

Is this for redunant storage or speed.

Data safety, then OK, if it's for speed, I suggest going another route.
Current HD's have fewer platters and more dense storage. As Peter M. pointed out. This means much more speed without increasing RPM.

You may have seen my thread about drive performance.
The newer drives smoke the ones produced just last year.

Only thing I recall seeing on the Radeon 9500 Pro cards was they didn't work at 8x AGP. Might be fixed now with new drivers, but watch for that if your mobo has 8x AGP.

Cheers
Mick

[CERuppel]

Thanx for the heads up on the AGP MickWish.

Doc: The hard drives for the case aren't going to be ordered until febuary or so (money). And reason for the raid is for the channels, so that the cd and the burner can have thier own IDE channel to themselves.

Now to go and read more about the 9500 and AGP 8x...

[CERuppel]

Well, it seems that the 'glitch' has been narrowed down.

The only affected systems are those based on the SiS 648 chipset. The bad news is that it is due to a lack in the chipset and thus no software fix is possible...

Also many of the ealier reviews were using a 'preview' card (not the same as the final card) and different drivers. One site did a review of the two cards (preview and final) and that was where I learned about this. When I went back and read very carefully many of the other reviews mention that the card is a reference or special.

The side by side tests of the two cards is interesting. The final kicks the preview card hard. It even beats out the G4 4600 in many of the UT benchmarks.

But since the 'incompatablity' issue won't be affecting me I can breath easier now.

(Ordered last night)