Typical newbie "I'm building a computer" question

[Andrew Van Hout]

Hello pleasant and benevolent folks (or something),

I have an oldish PIII 600 Mhz machine that I want to update (read: salvage a
few parts and build a practically new system). Obviously, that means the
motherboard and processor is gone, which also means I can't salvage the RAM.

I'm thinking of going with a MSI K7N2-L mobo and an Athlon XP 2600+ (or
something equivalent). That also means DDR RAM, probably in the 512 MB or
more range.

I have a Geforce 3 Ti 200, which I'll recycle into the new computer. It was
working perfectly fine on all the games I have now, and I'm not about to
shell out $400 on a Geforce 5800 Ultra (or whatever). I have a DVD drive
and a CD-burner that'll happily be recycled as well. My current 20 gig hard
drive will probably either be put into a closet somewhere, or used as a
secondary hard drive, as I'll be updating to 80 gigs.

Now... here is the part where I start scratching my head. First of all, my
current sound card is crap (SB Live! Value, for the curious). If I read
correctly, the K7N2-L has onboard sound. Would it be a reasonable solution
to skip a sound card altogether and just go with that? Simply, I only want
the sound to work and be able to hear things. I don't care about "1337
quality" sound.

Lastly, the case, power supply, and cooling. I figure I should skimp on the
PS, but if anyone knows of a cheap but efficient PS, let me know. As for
the case and cooling, I want something that is, after all, cheap. I do not
want any fancy blue lights, or anything of the sort. I do not intend to
overclock my system. If anyone has any recommendations for cases and etc,
that would be great.

That's about all. I'll be reading some of the other posts in the group to
get a feel for other suggestions. Thanks.

 

[BUFF]

Hello pleasant and benevolent folks (or something),
snip

Now... here is the part where I start scratching my head. First of all, my
current sound card is crap (SB Live! Value, for the curious). If I read
correctly, the K7N2-L has onboard sound. Would it be a reasonable solution
to skip a sound card altogether and just go with that? Simply, I only want
the sound to work and be able to hear things. I don't care about "1337
quality" sound.

Lastly, the case, power supply, and cooling. I figure I should skimp on the
PS, but if anyone knows of a cheap but efficient PS, let me know. As for
the case and cooling, I want something that is, after all, cheap. I do not
want any fancy blue lights, or anything of the sort. I do not intend to
overclock my system. If anyone has any recommendations for cases and etc,
that would be great.

That's about all. I'll be reading some of the other posts in the group to
get a feel for other suggestions. Thanks.

1) If you want the MSI & it is a decent board then you want to get an K7N2
Delta-L which is the latest revision (or indeed a K7N2 Delta-ILSR if you
want the extras) with official support for 400FSB CPUs
2)The K7N2-L (&Delta) use a Realtek AlC650 codec which should be on a par
with your SB Live!.
The ILSR has abetter onboard Sound solution

3) Do NOT skimp on the PSU!
A lot of the problems that people get with instability etc. are PSU related.
It is worth buying a good PSU as it will see you through a no. of upgrades.

 

[The Astute Andrew]

Lastly, the case, power supply, and cooling. I figure I should skimp on

the

Reads as: "shouldn't".

 

[feroce]

That was a typo in the original post. I do *not* intend on doing so.
However, if anyone here has a relatively cheap but efficient PSU that they
would recommend, I would happily buy it.

I just installed a Fortron FSP350 PN PSU, couldn't be happier with it.
The 3.3 and 5 volt lines are rock solid, the 12 volt line reads a trifle
low, but not enough to be worried about. It is dead quiet, that big 12cm
fan is almost inaudible, yet airflow is excellent. Cost me $48 at
www.xpdirect.com. If you are comfortable with the 300 watt version, you
can get for under $30 at various places, including Directron and Newegg.

feroce

 

[Gary Tait]

Hello pleasant and benevolent folks (or something),

I have an oldish PIII 600 Mhz machine that I want to update (read: salvage a
few parts and build a practically new system). Obviously, that means the
motherboard and processor is gone, which also means I can't salvage the RAM.

I'm thinking of going with a MSI K7N2-L mobo and an Athlon XP 2600+ (or
something equivalent). That also means DDR RAM, probably in the 512 MB or
more range.

I have a Geforce 3 Ti 200, which I'll recycle into the new computer. It was
working perfectly fine on all the games I have now, and I'm not about to
shell out $400 on a Geforce 5800 Ultra (or whatever). I have a DVD drive
and a CD-burner that'll happily be recycled as well. My current 20 gig hard
drive will probably either be put into a closet somewhere, or used as a
secondary hard drive, as I'll be updating to 80 gigs.

Now... here is the part where I start scratching my head. First of all, my
current sound card is crap (SB Live! Value, for the curious). If I read
correctly, the K7N2-L has onboard sound. Would it be a reasonable solution
to skip a sound card altogether and just go with that? Simply, I only want
the sound to work and be able to hear things. I don't care about "1337
quality" sound.

For just sound, onboard will do, it does me fine.

Lastly, the case, power supply, and cooling. I figure I should skimp on the
PS, but if anyone knows of a cheap but efficient PS, let me know. As for
the case and cooling, I want something that is, after all, cheap. I do not
want any fancy blue lights, or anything of the sort. I do not intend to
overclock my system. If anyone has any recommendations for cases and etc,
that would be great.

You can probably keep your current case.

 

[The Astute Andrew]

You can probably keep your current case.

That's the problem though. The computer was originally bought from Gateway,
and the case happens to be one of those non-standard pieces of crap.

 

[Wayne]

I just did a similar "upgrade" - ha ha by the time I was finished by old
computer was virtually intact!

I picked an EPOX 8RGA+ for onboard everything ... and I am VERY impressed
with the NForce2 onboard sound. I am convinced it is significantly better
than my old Soundblaster Live MP3 card. Onboard graphics are good too, as I
don't do the latest games.

I went with a Antec TruePower 430 which is probably overkill ... but the
voltages are rock solid. I have an AMD 2400+.

The improvement from my PII 450 is amazing.

 

[.Aba]

BAD, BAD figuring on skimping in the area of the PSU. Unless you want
problem challanges. Practically everything in the box is dependent on
good juices. In todays boxes +12 volts is more critical than a few
years ago. I say 25 amps are the least needed for +12 for todays needs
and future add ons. I'm talking $100 and up for a 425 - 525 watt PSU.
Pay now or pay later in agrivation.

 

[The Astute Andrew]

BAD, BAD figuring on skimping in the area of the PSU.

I think I mentioned in another post that the "should" was a typo. It reads
as "shouldn't."

 

[Dave]

I have an oldish PIII 600 Mhz machine that I want to update (read: salvage
a

few parts and build a practically new system). Obviously, that means the
motherboard and processor is gone, which also means I can't salvage the RAM.

I'm thinking of going with a MSI K7N2-L mobo and an Athlon XP 2600+ (or
something equivalent). That also means DDR RAM, probably in the 512 MB or
more range.

I have a Geforce 3 Ti 200, which I'll recycle into the new computer. It was
working perfectly fine on all the games I have now, and I'm not about to
shell out $400 on a Geforce 5800 Ultra (or whatever). I have a DVD drive
and a CD-burner that'll happily be recycled as well. My current 20 gig hard
drive will probably either be put into a closet somewhere, or used as a
secondary hard drive, as I'll be updating to 80 gigs.

Now... here is the part where I start scratching my head. First of all, my
current sound card is crap (SB Live! Value, for the curious). If I read
correctly, the K7N2-L has onboard sound. Would it be a reasonable solution
to skip a sound card altogether and just go with that? Simply, I only want
the sound to work and be able to hear things. I don't care about "1337
quality" sound.

Lastly, the case, power supply, and cooling. I figure I should skimp on the
PS, but if anyone knows of a cheap but efficient PS, let me know. As for
the case and cooling, I want something that is, after all, cheap. I do not
want any fancy blue lights, or anything of the sort. I do not intend to
overclock my system. If anyone has any recommendations for cases and etc,
that would be great.

I read on the AMD site that they recommend a PSU of at least 250 watts for a
very basic system of MB/CPU/RAM, basic AGP card, HD and CDROM (can't find
the link, damn). Adding extra cards and/or drives sees the PSU requirement
at 300 watts, minimum. The also recommend at least a rear mounted fan in
the case.

The best bet is to go for the highest power PSU you can afford and pay a bit
extra for quality. Cheap PSUs can deliver the power but some of them
introduce ripple into the current at the limit which can crash or damage the
system.

If your video card was OK in the old system then it should perform better in
the new system with the faster CPU, assuming no incompatibilities.

The built in sound would fine for what you want. Better sound would be
firstly achieved by buying a set of good speakers than a sound card. Not a
lot of games use much more than stereo 3D sound, which your board should
produce. I use the built-in sound on my board and am happy with that.

A good idea when selecting a new case is to consider potential cooling - one
with lots of fan holes punched in. Any unused fan holes in the sides and
back can be taped over to make sure there is a good air flow from front to
back and when extra cooling is needed it is easy to peel of the tape and
mount an extra fan or two. Also check the internal 3.5 inch HD mounts.
Some cases have only room for two HDs butted up against each other and the
HDs can get very hot. In a case with mounting for 5 or 6 HDs there is
plenty of room for spacing the HDs out for cooling.

If you have not done so then go to the MSI site and download the manual for
the board you are looking at. This will tell you of the features of the
board and will help you to select a case that fits your needs - eg. does it
have jumpers for front mounted USB/sound/microphone, etc.