Wayfarers of Veeshan

Thanks for all the input so far -- I'm not sure I have the patience
to wait for PCI Express or BTX.

So far my leanings are to build my own system, as follows (please make suggestions, comments):

Case: Lian Li PC-65b
http://store.yahoo.com/shentech/lianpcblacco.html

MB:ABIT K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU, Model "KV8-MAX3" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... =22&depa=0

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1MB L2 Cache, The Only 64-bit Windows Compatible Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 343&depa=0

Mem: Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... WSE&depa=0

Vid:Asus GeForce FX 5700 Video Card, 256MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "V9570/TD" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... WSE&depa=0

PSU:Thermaltake Silent Purepower 480W with Black housing - Purepower Butterfly ATX 2-Fan Power Supply, Model "W0021" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... WSE&depa=1

HD:Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, MODEL 6Y120M0, OEM Drive Only
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... WSE&depa=0§ion=4

CD-RW:Lite-On Black 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model LTR-52327S, OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... WSE&depa=1

DVD:Plextor Black DVD+R/RW Drive, Model PX-504A-SW-BL, Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... WSE&depa=1

Sound: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PCI Sound Card -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... WSE&depa=1§ion=2

Looks good but I'm not sure about the Lite-On burner. I'm a believer in "you get what you pay for" and seeing those at Best Buy for $20 when the nearest competition is around $100 makes me question the quality. I have no personal experience with them so can't say for sure, just my 2 cents

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Trapped in Veeshan. Send food.

Looks pretty good to me, only a small suggestion that I would make:
It's not necessary to have a CDRW and a DVDRW in the same system.
I would go with a DVD +/- RW (Dual format burner) instead and a simple DVD or CD drive for the second, which might end up being a little less expensive. The DVD burner will also burn CDs.

My friend who builds about 2 PCs a year for himself and friends uses Lite-on CD ROMs and has never had a problem with them.

You can get DVD ROM drive now for about $30.

The DVD Burner I'm buying isn't much more than $100.

I agree - no need for 2 burners. Get a DVD Burner and a DVD ROM (or CD ROM if you don't think you'll need the DVD ROM) -- it's just better for the burner if you don't use it constantly for reading things.

_________________
-- Mindbender Llaffer Outloud
L70 ENC
<select name=Skills>
<option>78 past 1750
<option>272 from 2100
<option>Jewelry:300+Trophy
<option>Tailoring:259+Geerlok
<option>Pottery:256+Geerlok
<option>Smithing:256+15%
<option>Fletching:254+Geerlok
<option>Baking:252+Geerlok
<option>Brewing:251+Geerlok
<option>Research:202+Geerlok
<option>Alcohol Tolerance:200
<option>Fishing:182
</select>

I personally use a Plexor PX-708A DVD+/-R/RW drive and it works really well. The software the comes with it is also pretty straightforward to use and the drive I have reads and write nearly every format out there, except for DVD+RAM. But that didn't seem very important to me. Overall it's an excellent brand to choose when considering a DVD/CD burning drive.

- Att

Looks like it will be a great system. The only preferences i would have if it was my own system would be that the MB use the NForce2 Ultra Chipset with a dual channel DDR setup and that the power supply be from either Antec or PC POwer & Cooling. Lite-ON is actually a Sony Co. in that its products are Sony products sold under an additional name. In fact Sony is getting out of the CD/DVD making part of it & will have Lite-On do it all for them under the Lite-On name.

Thanks for the input. The reason for the two burners is
that I want to burn both DVD and CDs. I would *guess*
that I would be burning more CDs then DVDs, so wanted
a faster CD burner (52X CDR 32X CDRW). For $39 bucks
how can I go wrong?

On a related note, anyone have experience with the AMD 64s?

Chanzia

Not yet

_________________

70 Bard, at your service
Elder, Wayfarer of Veeshan

Also, , , Irodanise (52 Pal), Irodanes (31 Rog), Iroardanis (19 BL), Sinadori (25 SK), Dreminal (32 Dru)

I was told that they are going to be majorly changing soon, so not to invest in a mother board that you can't upgrade the chip to in a year's time.

Which is why in my system I'm sticking with a 32-bit chip. If they continue to put out faster 32-bit chips, all I have to do is switch out the CPU and I have an upgrade.

_________________
-- Mindbender Llaffer Outloud
L70 ENC
<select name=Skills>
<option>78 past 1750
<option>272 from 2100
<option>Jewelry:300+Trophy
<option>Tailoring:259+Geerlok
<option>Pottery:256+Geerlok
<option>Smithing:256+15%
<option>Fletching:254+Geerlok
<option>Baking:252+Geerlok
<option>Brewing:251+Geerlok
<option>Research:202+Geerlok
<option>Alcohol Tolerance:200
<option>Fishing:182
</select>

I have a CD/DVD RW and a CD/DVD ROM and also like to burn both DVDs and CDs. Honestly, unless you're producing a LOT of CDs, the speed gain with a pure CD RW may not be that noticable, except maybe at first if you're just getting into burning your own audio CDs and are doing it every day.

My "I hate computers cuz they always break" philosophy tells me that having 2 separate burners doubles your chances of mechanical failure.

Drex

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Drexxell , 71st GNecrOMancEr -- Wielder of ()
Druul , 60th Troll Shaman () + Wielder of and
Driss, 51st Dwarf Priestess of Brell Serilis
Dralia, 36th Erudite Enchantress

_________________
Trapped in Veeshan. Send food.