3 MORE THINGS BEFORE I BUY. thanks
 

after literally MONTHS of research i think i've finally nailed down the specs of what will soon be my new nle system. i started out knowing near zilch about computers and nle. but talking with people and searching the web, reading, i learned a lot. this forum has definately been one of my main sources of information and has helped me out big time. thanks to everyone.

i just have a few more questions. although, knowing me, i'll probably be posting one or two more by the time i place my order on sunday morning.

these are the specs:


INTEL PENTIUM IV 2.4 800MHz
INTEL 865PERLL ROCKLAKE + LAN + SB + IEEE 1394 (intel 865PE chipset) motherboard
MATROX G550 32MB
WD 40GB 7200 8MB buffer
WD 80GB 7200 8MB buffer (exclusively for video storage)
LITE ON 52x24x52 CDRW LTR-52246S (i'll wait for dvd burners prices to drop a bit)

i'll need a single stick of 512MB DDR.
questions regarding memory:
which brand to get (mushkin, kingston, GeIL, samsung...)?
do i need PC2700 333MHz or PC3200 400MHz?

undecided between two monitors:
the more expensive option - VIEWSONIC P95F+ 19"
the budget option - MAG 996PFb 19"
the difference in price is about $160 (USD). there is no place here in tel aviv where i can actually view these monitors. the only displays i've come across hooked up all the monitors on display by some cheap device which made them all flicker. so much for displays. so, i'm really in the dark as far as monitors. i can only judge by user's opinions and advertised specs.

case and power supply. i really have no idea. not looking for anything fancy. i'm not into overclocking and i don't see myself mettling around inside my box too much. a simple case with enough room to add devices in the future is really all i need. firewire in front would be nice. i'll spend say $70-$80. any suggestions?
since i'm going with intel and not amd, i'm not sure if i need more than one standard fan blowing out hot air in the rear. what do you think?
will 300W be enough for my set up?

thanks again for all your patience and advice.
adi

Go for the PC3200 RAM. Your system can use it, and there's no sense introducing a bottleneck here. I generally don't bother with brands, they tend to be expensive. I've never had a stick croak on me yet.

I would put at least 1gb of ram into the system, winxp or win2k can fill up 512 fairly easily by itself.

Zac

Definately aim for a gig of ram. Also, my system has SIX fans in it. One for the power supply, one on each processor (Dual athlons) two in the back of the case and one on the front.

Video processing is extremely hard on cpus and boards... keep them cool.

thanks for the replies. so, if i understand what you are saying, should get 1 giga ram of any brand and a case big enough to fit 2 or 3 fans in there.
any particular case in mind? looking for something not more than $80.
and what about monitor. who visible are the differences between monitors? i know that the viewsonic is a good and reccommended monitor. what do you think of the MAG?

I bought a 19" Mag monitor last week for $100 after rebate. Works fine so far. Buy a cheap monitor that will last you a couple of years. In that time, prices for the nice flat panel monitors will have dropped significantly.

i use a CS 901 case, thats one of the chieftec series ones (the big one with 5 fan cages and a lot of space).
when the cpu you want use is a Hyperthreading cpu you need to take win xp home or professional, win 2000 isn't able to handle 2 logical cpu's.
use a good power supply ! enermax for example with at least 365 watt (better the 450 watt one). don't save 20 bucks on the power supply.

thanks for the tips and advice. ordered the 19" mag. the case they're building my computer in is a miditower with front and rear fan by a company called HEC. HEC also make the power supply, which is true 300W. anyone heard of this case? if it sounds bad, i beleive i can still make changes in my order tomorrow.

the power itself isn't the important thing. look at the specification and there the 5volt line. it should deliver 30 or (better) more ampere on that line. 350 watt (and the ampere on the 5 volt line) would be a better choice

ok. i'll take a look.
are you sure about w2k not being able to handle hyperthreading? what you are saying then is that i have no choice but to buy xp rather than use the w2k i already own.

yep, i'm 100% sure. win 2000 was developed with no HT in mind. it could only handle one or two physical cpu's (real dual cpu's). you can use win 2000 with that cpu and with HT, it will display 2 cpu's i think but the system can't get any benefit from it, it just can't handle the logical ones.
you can use win 2000 and deaktivate HT (or let it on but it will be no benefit from it, peraps it would slow down the system) or use win xp home (yes, xp home can't handle 2 physical cpu's but it can handle 2 logical ones) or xp pro which can handle 2 physical or 2 logical ones (i think i have read it can even handle 2 physical xeon who have HT so that would result in 4 cpu's - 2 logical + 2 physical). i have a HT P4 and use XP Pro, i had win 2000 (which is the best one i think). watch this site: http://www.2cpu.com/
by the way win 2000 isn't able to handle 133 UDMA fpr hdd's i think. i don't know if your hhd's and motherboard support that, but win xp will support that type on interface