what do u think?

[Nathan]

Asus [A7V8X-X] A7V8X-X (VIA KT400(A) S462/333FSB 2xDDR400 Dual-ATA133 AGP8X 6-Ch. Audio LAN ATX)
AMD [SDA3000BOX] Sempron 3000+ (Sempron 3000+ S462/333 2.0GHz / 512K L2 OD Cache (Retail))
Samsung [DDR400 512M OEM] DDR400 512M OEM (PC3200 512M DDR400 184pin OEM pack)
Alps [FD1.44-BK] FD 1.44 Black (1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive (Black))
Lite-On [LTC18161H 48x24x48x 16x] DVD-CDRW Comb (48x24x48 CDRW , DVD 16x Combo Drive int. IDE)
Maxtor [6E040L0] 40GB ATA133 7200 2M (DiamondMax Plus8 40GB IDE / 7200RPM ATA133 w/ 2MB Cache (Fluid Dynamic Bearing))
Maxtor [6E040L0] 40GB ATA133 7200 2M (DiamondMax Plus8 40GB IDE / 7200RPM ATA133 w/ 2MB Cache (Fluid Dynamic Bearing))
Sapphire [9600Pro 128M AGP] Radeon 9600Pro 128M (Radeon 9600PRO 128M DDR DVi-iI TV-o AGP8x retail)
Antec [SLK1650B] SLK1650B ATX 350W BK (Antec solution ATX BLACK 15" TOWER 350W ATX12V 3x2x3 Front 2xUSB ports )

what do u guys think of this machine, i need a computer for school, i want to do some light gaming and movie watching, and typing of course, this system comes to a total of $750 cad and an extra $20 for them to build it and test with 1 year parts and labour waranty...your opinions greatly appreciated!

[query]

Given the rising number of DOA and infant mortalities I've seen of late, I would not touch a Maxtor drive at the moment.   Buy something else - anything is better than Maxtor at the moment, with the possible exception of an old IBM Deathstar.

Likewise, I'd skip Lite-On in favor of something a bit more durable in the optical drive department.

[Nathan]

what do u think of the gfx card? or a radeon 9200?

and is L G a good name for optical drives?

i want a machine that'll be decent for the next couple years and yet cheap enough, i still need to get a monitor/ keyboard ect.

[query]

LG makes good drives.   For the price differential, you may want to consider a DVD writer rather than just a CD-RW/DVD-ROM.

The 9600 is mid-range;  the 9200, low end - if gaming is in the picture, stay mid-range.

[Nathan]

is it better to have one or 2 sticks of ram, i wanted 512 mb, or should i get 2 - 256 mb?

does the asus a7v8x board have any pci slots? or do they make agp modems or how does that work? i'm not sure if the place i'm moving to has high speed internet or not, just want to be safe

i switched the maxtor drive with a seagate 80gb drive

a sapphire 9600 pro gfx card
and a pioneer dvd+-rw / cdrw combo drive
and a sempron 2800 cpu
my new totalk is $747 cad, which is satisfing

a 350 watt p/s should be suffeint rite?

thanks,
Nathan

[Neon]

Probably one stick of RAM would be better; you can add another stick later if you want to.

The Asus A7V8X-X has 6 PCI slots. You will need to purchase a modem. Nearly all internal modems use the PCI interface (except really old ISA modems), and the external modems can be serial (older) or USB (newer).

A 350W power supply should be plenty *IF* it is a high quality unit. Antec and Enermax power supplies are frequently recommended here.

What are you thinking about for a case? monitor? keyboard? The wireless keyboards and mice can be very convenient.

[Carskick]

1 stick of RAM is best for upgradablility in a motherboard that doesn't support dual channel, such as the A7V8X-X. If you want dual channel, you'll need a different board.

[Nathan]

i'm using  the antec slk1650, its black, 15" with a 350 watt p/s

monitor:, there is a place nearby that sells monitors for cheap, good ones too! i think a 17" is 100 cad

keyboard and mouse, i was thinking a logitec wireless setup would be cool, and for sound i wanted creative labs,....i thinks thats the name, with 2 tweets and a sub

about this mother board, i was told to get one a little different with a nvidia chipset? could you tell me a good mother board (fairly new and upgradeable, that well support my cpu, amd sempron 2800+) thanks

[Carskick]

The Asus A7N8X-X is pretty much the same motherboard with an Nforce 2 chipset, yet it is a non Dual-Channel version as well. Anything from ASUS, ABIT, BIOSTAR, Gigabyte, and several others should work well. You should choose one based on what options you need and price. Some people have had luck with some lesser or generic brands, but I prefer the name brand mainboards.

[Neon]

Good choice on the Antec case. Logitech makes some great products - I have one of their wireless keyboard/mouse combos, plus a couple of other mice.

Creative Labs has a reputation for problematic drivers, but they are almost the only option if you want more than onboard sound. You might look at sound cards with the Via Envy24 chip; some people like the M-Audio Revolution 5.1; I use the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, which is several years old, but still fairly good.

You have a problem if you want to use a Sempron 2800+ AND still have upgradability. That chip is socket A, which goes "end of life" around the end of next year. AMD does not plan to make any socket A chips beyond the current top of the product line, the AthlonXP 3200+.

That said, the nForce2 chipset is mature and stable. You can't go wrong with the classic Abit NF7-S. Epox 8RDA+ and Asus A7N8X Deluxe are well regarded; Gigabyte, Biostar, AOpen, and MSI make decent solutions as well. As carskick said, you'll need to narrow the choices by deciding on the features you want.

[Nathan]

i was going to purchase this system through www.ncix.com, has anyone ever purchased stuff from them?

is there a way in which i can check to see if this company is leget, and not some looser sitting in his basement advertising systems and just taking money and producing a product?....thats the main thing i am worried about!

www.ncix.com is a Canadian site, i am from Canada, i was also thinking about www.atic.ca, these are all located in Vancouver, i have had friends that have ordered from them, I have never purchased anything for a computer over the net! how protected am I?

thanks for the help,

guy that really wants a computer that'll make it to him

[Neon]

Have a look at Reseller Ratings - it can help you determine which retail companies are worth spending your money with.

It looks like ncix is fairly well regarded, but atic.ca is not.

[Nathan]

where do u guys usually get your parts from? perferably in canada if you do buy from here?

btw, thanks for all the help and tips with this machine, i think it'll be awesome, i think i'm going to stick with the socket a chip, they are the right price, i want to spend the least as possible, cause i need to eat and drive my truck too while i am at school! oh an i guess i need a place to sleep, the truck is to small for that, and it gets pretty cold out side in january

later guys
Nathan

[Neon]

Most of my gear comes from newegg.com and mwave.com, neither of which ship to Canada, unfortunately.

zipzoomfly.com is highly regarded and they will ship to Canada.

I hear Canadians talk about ncix.com, staples.ca, bigfootcomputers.com, buy.com (which I have used once) as good places to do business.

I have heard less than satisfactory experiences about futureshop.

[Nathan]

what is a good firewall and virus scan to have on my new machine?

is it important to have a non oem heatsink and fan?

[query]

The best integrated security solution is Trend PCCillin Internet Security 2005, hands down (link at left ).

Whether OEM or retail, the most important thing is to properly install the heatsink-fan and ventilate the case - ALL the newer CPUs run very hot and can easily be damaged from overheating due to an improperly installed heatsink or poorly ventilated case.

[Nathan]

how do you guys purchase your parts, with credit cards?....do you do this over the net?...i am leary on purchasing with credit cards and probably won't but i wanted to know how safe it is.....i heard just to make sure there is the little lock in the corner of ie and makes sure you have 128bit incription

my parents want me  to buy a computer from a store instead of off the net, they don't like the whole idea of shipping and if you need to use the warranty shipping  back and forth, thats a good arguement they have, but i don't want a system with an intel chip and integrated video and all that like the hps and compaqs come with and i want a system with genereic parts, one that can be upgraded, and to try to take my system that i have outlined in previous posts and get it made for my here at home it is like 4-800 dollars cad more.

i really want this system of www.ncix.com, but i am afraid of getting ripped off and getting a damaged product from the shipping, or basically paying them and not getting a system at all, it seems so tricky doing all of this over the net, cause you actually never talk to anyone or know anyones names....but yet i want a good system that'll play games that'll come out in the next 6 months rather than some pos that has 64mb intergrated grafics, pc2100 ram, and intel celeron 2600.... that crap is the same price as my machine, if not more, my parents really arn't into computers, so to try explain the differences and the benifits of ordering off the net is pretty much a hopeless case. besides have the places i've checked out don't even offer amd processors, and to upgrade to an ati 9600 pro 128mb is like a $210 dollar extra price, when i can buy the new card off ncix.com for $136

i'm getting a headache...... :-X
i have to figure something out cause i have to leave for school in a month, and i'll be 4 hours away from home, and i can't afford to be out a 1000bucks or get a pice of crap that won't do what i want it to....i'm not big into computers, i know how to use them and all, and re-install windows, but i just want a decent system that'll last me for a while and beable to play games that come out....is this to much to ask??!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!? grrr........

your thoughts are appreciated!

[pat]

I buy 80-90% of my stuff over the internet and always with a credit card. If for some reason you get involved with a bad deal, they can help you. If you don?t get what you ordered or for some reason the vendor won?t make things right, your credit card company can go to bat for you. Check your credit card policies so you know what your rights are.
Check out the vendor with Reseller Ratings, Bizrate or other online ratings services.
Read the vendors return policies. Are there restocking fees? Who pays for return shipping on items that may be DOA. Almost all vendors require that you get an RMA number for returns.
If you do your homework shopping online can be just as safe and secure as walking into a store and you can usually find items that aren?t available locally.

[Nathan]

1 stick of RAM is best for upgradablility in a motherboard that doesn't support dual channel, such as the A7V8X-X. If you want dual channel, you'll need a different board.

what do u mean by dual channel, i thought this borad has 2 slots for ram, so i could put one 512mb, and another later if i wanted  :-\

[Chandler]

DIMMS are 64-bit, but some boards run in "dual-channel" which gives it a 128-bit interface (when using 2 DIMMS).  But the speed difference is very small unless you're into benchmarking, and even then it's not great.

Have you looked at the Biostar M7NCD; it's only single channel but it's a good solid budget board.  There's also Abit's new NF7-S2 which is dual-channel for approx the same price.

[Roopert]

Nate

Check out the Hitachi HD's. I have 2 and they are very good IMO for the money. I purchase all of my stuff from newegg.com. Never had a problem.

[Carskick]

Dual channel is also more effective in systems using processors with integrated memory controllers, like the Athlon64s in the 939 socket. If dual channel is convinient, use it. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

For hard drives, I'm a Western Digital fan all the way. Segates and Hitachis should also be good alternatives.