This is going to be my first build...

I'm reading great reviews on the ABIT IC7-G and the AOPEN AX4SPE MAX.

I'm not sure which is better for my needs, or if there is a better one than
those.

I want to build a system that has 2 hard drives minimum (one that mirrors
the other in case of a drive that dies), with the possibility of adding one
or 2 more in the future.

I'll be surfing on LAN. I will be playing the occasional game. Nothing too
intense on the graphics (but I may in the future). And the sound doesn't
have to be spectacular.

I may want to have 2 monitors in the future.

I will need a system that allows me to have several Adobe programs, FTP, IE,
Netscape, etc all opened at once.

I may get into overclocking in the future. I'm thinking of a water-cooled
case as well.


Am I steered in the right direction? Which board(s) are more excellent than
the rest?



I have a P1 w/ 200 MH 128 MB RAM that just sucks right now.


--
Monkey With A Typewriter
http://www.monkeywithatypewriter.com
private.php?do=newpm&u=

OK, from a personal point of view and bearing in mind everyone has different
choices:

Intel 875PBZ (rock solid, integrated Serial ATA RAID controller, USB 2.0,
etc.)
512MB of Kingston DDR400 ECC RAM
Dual Seagate 80GB drives

This [partial] system can be setup in RAID 1, which will give you the
mirroring. The Intel board has been critized for being lackluster in
features and overclockability, but it doesn't have onboard sound, has
Intel's CSA Gigabit LAN chip and is rock solid.

I do like Aopen products, very good quality, as is Asus. From the past I
experienced problems with Abit boards, so never went near them since.
Case-wise, I usually choose cases with 120mm fan slots, so I can put in slow
120mm fans. Water-cooling, is usually required when overclocking, something
I do not delve into.

Just some ideas.

@drian.

wow.. we have so much in common... right down to the 200Mhz processor
we currently have!

We have the exact same requirements as well for the new system!

Coincidence?.... i think not.

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 03:20:28 GMT, "Monkey With A Typewriter"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>This is going to be my first build...
>
>I'm reading great reviews on the ABIT IC7-G and the AOPEN AX4SPE MAX.
>
>I'm not sure which is better for my needs, or if there is a better one than
>those.
>
>I want to build a system that has 2 hard drives minimum (one that mirrors
>the other in case of a drive that dies), with the possibility of adding one
>or 2 more in the future.
>
>I'll be surfing on LAN. I will be playing the occasional game. Nothing too
>intense on the graphics (but I may in the future). And the sound doesn't
>have to be spectacular.
>
>I may want to have 2 monitors in the future.
>
>I will need a system that allows me to have several Adobe programs, FTP, IE,
>Netscape, etc all opened at once.
>
>I may get into overclocking in the future. I'm thinking of a water-cooled
>case as well.
>
>
>Am I steered in the right direction? Which board(s) are more excellent than
>the rest?
>
>
>
>I have a P1 w/ 200 MH 128 MB RAM that just sucks right now.