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Building a computer for my Cab
thrash242:
--- Quote from: pointdablame on January 05, 2005, 12:12:51 pm ---*SNIP*
I am an AMD guy, so I won't be able to give you compatible Intel stuff, but I would go with something like an Nforce 2 motherboard and an AthlonXP in the 2400+ - 2800+ range. That will play all the games you want and be quite a bit cheaper.
I would recommend an Asus A7N8X motherboard. I've used 3 of them and love them. Good onboard sound, and it'll run you about $75. You could also look at the Shuttle AN35N-Ultra. It's another nice little board with decent onboard sound, and it'll only run you $60 or so.
For a CPU, you can get a 2500+ for $65 or so, or bump up to a 2800+ for just over $100. Either way, you'd be significantly under what Will suggested and would be able to run the games you want with no problems. Maybe Will or someone else could recommend a similar Intel setup.
--- End quote ---
I second his recommendations. I'm using an A7N8X Deluxe and a Athlon XP 3000+ as my main computer and I've had no problems at all and have been very happy with it. I've also built one using them for someone else. ASUS motherboards seem to be very good and very easy to set up. The manuals are excellent, which is somewhat rare for Taiwanese (I think) motherboard manufacturers. And I'm using the onboard sound over whatever the latest soundblaster is, with 5.1 surround sound.
I prefer AMD processors, as I think they're eaiser to set up, cheaper, and just as fast in most cases.
krick:
Whatever you buy, spend the extra 25 or so dollars and get a good motherboard. You'll be glad you did.
I only ever buy ABIT motherboards.
My friend swears by ASUS boards and usually gives them to me as hand-me-downs when he upgrades.
I hear good stuff about MSI motherboards but I've never purchased one.
I bought a Shuttle board exactly once. Piece of crap.
I bought an ECS Elitegroup board exactly once. Even bigger piece of crap.
pointdablame:
--- Quote from: krick on January 06, 2005, 10:33:21 pm ---Whatever you buy, spend the extra 25 or so dollars and get a good motherboard. You'll be glad you did.
I only ever buy ABIT motherboards.
My friend swears by ASUS boards and usually gives them to me as hand-me-downs when he upgrades.
I hear good stuff about MSI motherboards but I've never purchased one.
I bought a Shuttle board exactly once. Piece of crap.
I bought an ECS Elitegroup board exactly once. Even bigger piece of crap.
--- End quote ---
I agree with every word you said except the Shuttle motherboards. I haven't had an ounce of trouble with them, and I'm on my 3rd one so far, with a new shuttle being delivered to me tomorrow. They are great little boards. I do however remember them having some quirks when they were first starting out, but they've gotten glowing reviews lately.
krick:
I bought a Shuttle AV49PN (VIA PT800) P4 motherboard
moonpatrol 4 lyfe:
It looks like I'm leaning toward's Krick's suggestion.
What does everyone else think of this combination?
mobo: ABIT-IS7E2 ($69)
processor: PENTIUM 4 2.4CG (800Mhz) ($137.50)
memory: MWAVE 1GB DDR400(512MB X 2) ($126.00)
power supply: Vantec VAN-400B ION 400W ($59)
Does this motherboard have onboard video? I really dont care, because I'll be using an ArcadeVGA card, but if for some reason I need to plug it into a PC monitor, I'd like that capability.
I really like the look of the power supply because it will enable me to turn off my cab when I shut-down the computer. I won't need to putz with relays.
I saw a case at comp-usa today for $30, I'm not sure if it is ATX though. Do they come any cheaper?
How about cooling? Any other odds and ends I'm forgetting? Mounting hardware? IDE cables? etc, etc? (or does this all come with the stuff I'm buying?)
Am I really getting my money's worth? I dont want to spend my money on a MAME PC that I'll need to rebuild in a year or two. Does anyone suggest any upgrades?
OH! one other question. There's a huge difference in price between the Pentium 4 2.4 and the Celeron 2.4 What is so different about the processors, and am I better off with the pentium?
Thanks again,
Bill
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