rate this comp

[oxymoron]

ok.. i want to build a new comp in march (some time away) but i wanted to have a second opinion...

Here are the specs.
CPU AMD Athlon XP 2100+ ( waiting 4 price drop of 3000+)
MB Giga-byte GA-7VAX(KT400) OR MSI KN2-L(nforce2)
Case & PSU enermax CS-3171-S3A
Graphic Card ATI AIW 8500DV*
OS Micro$oft WINDOWS XP (Pro*) OEM
DVD-ROM undecided*
CD-RW Cyndyne lighting IV (optorite (got it 4 christmas)) 48x16x48
Hard Drive Maxtor 60GB 6Y060L0 Diamond Max Plus 9 UATA133 - Bare Hard Drive
Memory undecided*
Heat sink TermalTake Volcano 9 cool mod
note: * represents things i am unsure of. i am open for suggestions, but keep in mind i am not Bill Gates.
i am willing to spend up to $50 on the dvd-rom, $70 on mem. i am also thinking of using a stand alone tv-tuner instead of ATI AIW. but graphic card + TV-tuner can't go over $200. i might not go for the winXP pro ed. b/c i dont think i need it.... oh, one more thing plz keep in mind that this is a sub $800 sys, and i am 16, i only work weekends... tell me what u think... 8)

[BuddhaTB]

Overall, it's a very good sub-$800 system. I would personally go for the GigaByte motherboard as it uses VIA's KT400 chip. For the DVD-Rom, nothing beats a Lite-On in terms of price and performance. However, I would highly recommend a slot loading Pioneer DVD-Rom like t he 106S if you want a cool looking optical drive. The case you have selected is really nice, my friend has the same one and its from enermax, so its pretty good. As for the RAM, since you have a $70 budget on it. I would go for 2 modules of 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM. Buying two modules of 256MB is usually cheaper than buying one module of 512MB. I would just check out Best Buy on a weekley basis since they always have RAM sales. $30-$40 on a 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM is a really good deal if you can find it. Hopefully RAM prices drop between now and March. I would recommend getting faster speed RAM, but since you have a limited budget, I would go for PC2100 since with the higher speed RAM, you won't notice too much of a difference. The general rule for buying RAM is to purchase the most RAM you can afford. Other than that, it'll be a nice system. If you have any other questions, just post a reply.


Also check out
www.Motherboards.org

[oxymoron]

how do slot dvd-roms work? do they scratch-up the cds? and what type of memery do you think is best (that i can buy at a store?? do yall think kingston or pny is good? or are they generic?

[BuddhaTB]

how do slot dvd-roms work? do they scratch-up the cds? and what type of memery do you think is best (that i can buy at a store?? do yall think kingston or pny is good? or are they generic?

The slot loading drives have a mechanism inside that pulls the CD/DVD in from the edges when inserted into the drive. The mechanism only touches the edges of the CD/DVD, so it won't damage or scratch up the recorded area of the CD/DVD.
Here's a list of helpful threads on the Pioneer slot loading DVD-Rom.
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=8448

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=7130

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6754

Here's Ian's review on the Pioneer 106S
http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=38


As for the memory, the best brands you can buy at a retail store are Kingston, PNY, Crucial, Corsair, and Mushkin. Try to look for ones that have a lifetime warranty on them too. I would just check out the Sunday ads for any sales on the memory, also check out the hot deals section of the forum. Anything in the $30-$40 range for a stick of 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM is a really good deal.