Building my first PC

[Newtechie]

Hi all -

After extensive research and reading reviews, I've decided to build with the
following components. I'm wanting to get feedback whether positive and/or
negative from anyone who's built a computer or more familiar with computers
than me and see if I did a good job in choosing my options wisely. I would
say that I'm a beginning intermediate when it comes to computers. So here
we go:

Case: Thermaltake (ATX)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE "GA-8IPE1000 PRO-G" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for
Intel Socket 478 CPU - ATX form factor
Hard drive: Maxtor 250gb, 7200rpm
Power supply: 480W
CPU: P4/3.0E GHz 800M 478P/1MB HT
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600XT
Ram: Kingston PC3200 DDR 512mb
F/D: Sony 1.44mb
1st CD-Rom: CDRW/DVD Combo (Lite-On)
2nd CD-Rom: Sony 16X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer (Model DW-D22A-B2)

Am I missing something? All responses will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Newtechie

 

[Danny Sanders]

Sound card?


hth
DDS W 2k MVP MCSE

 

[Jim Macklin]

A LAN card, unless the mobo has one built-in and a modem
v.92 if you want one.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| Hi all -
|
| After extensive research and reading reviews, I've decided
to build with the
| following components. I'm wanting to get feedback whether
positive and/or
| negative from anyone who's built a computer or more
familiar with computers
| than me and see if I did a good job in choosing my options
wisely. I would
| say that I'm a beginning intermediate when it comes to
computers. So here
| we go:
|
| Case: Thermaltake (ATX)
| Motherboard: GIGABYTE "GA-8IPE1000 PRO-G" i865PE Chipset
Motherboard for
| Intel Socket 478 CPU - ATX form factor
| Hard drive: Maxtor 250gb, 7200rpm
| Power supply: 480W
| CPU: P4/3.0E GHz 800M 478P/1MB HT
| Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600XT
| Ram: Kingston PC3200 DDR 512mb
| F/D: Sony 1.44mb
| 1st CD-Rom: CDRW/DVD Combo (Lite-On)
| 2nd CD-Rom: Sony 16X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer (Model
DW-D22A-B2)
|
| Am I missing something? All responses will be
appreciated.
|
| Thanks,
| Newtechie
|
|
|
|

 

[Jim Macklin]

Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 PRO-G i865PE P4 800FSB Skt478 DDR ATX
Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN Retail (Prescott Ready)
***Free 2nd Day***
400/533/800FSB, ATA/100, 1AGP, 4DDR DIMM, 5PCI, USB 2.0,
IEEE 1394, Audio, Gigabit LAN

The modem


in message |A LAN card, unless the mobo has one built-in and a modem
| v.92 if you want one.
|
|
| --
| The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
| But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
|
|
| || Hi all -
||
|| After extensive research and reading reviews, I've
decided
| to build with the
|| following components. I'm wanting to get feedback
whether
| positive and/or
|| negative from anyone who's built a computer or more
| familiar with computers
|| than me and see if I did a good job in choosing my
options
| wisely. I would
|| say that I'm a beginning intermediate when it comes to
| computers. So here
|| we go:
||
|| Case: Thermaltake (ATX)
|| Motherboard: GIGABYTE "GA-8IPE1000 PRO-G" i865PE Chipset
| Motherboard for
|| Intel Socket 478 CPU - ATX form factor
|| Hard drive: Maxtor 250gb, 7200rpm
|| Power supply: 480W
|| CPU: P4/3.0E GHz 800M 478P/1MB HT
|| Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600XT
|| Ram: Kingston PC3200 DDR 512mb
|| F/D: Sony 1.44mb
|| 1st CD-Rom: CDRW/DVD Combo (Lite-On)
|| 2nd CD-Rom: Sony 16X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer (Model
| DW-D22A-B2)
||
|| Am I missing something? All responses will be
| appreciated.
||
|| Thanks,
|| Newtechie
||
||
||
||
|
|

 

[Mike Hall]

A really good computer can be spoiled by a crap keyboard and mouse..

 

[Leythos]

Hi all -

After extensive research and reading reviews, I've decided to build with the
following components. I'm wanting to get feedback whether positive and/or
negative from anyone who's built a computer or more familiar with computers
than me and see if I did a good job in choosing my options wisely. I would
say that I'm a beginning intermediate when it comes to computers. So here
we go:

Case: Thermaltake (ATX)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE "GA-8IPE1000 PRO-G" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for
Intel Socket 478 CPU - ATX form factor
Hard drive: Maxtor 250gb, 7200rpm
Power supply: 480W
CPU: P4/3.0E GHz 800M 478P/1MB HT
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600XT
Ram: Kingston PC3200 DDR 512mb
F/D: Sony 1.44mb
1st CD-Rom: CDRW/DVD Combo (Lite-On)
2nd CD-Rom: Sony 16X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer (Model DW-D22A-B2)

Am I missing something? All responses will be appreciated.

Tape backup device or external drive for backups?

Extra Case FAN's?

Quality UPS?

 

[Sandman]

Sounds fine. What the hell do you care what anyone else thinks? You must
have a reason for your choices here, it must be based on either your use of
the machine or what you thought were the right components for you.
The only change I personally would make is 1 gig of RAM; reason; no one has
ever said, 'Gee, I have way too much RAM in this thing"...Have fun....

 

[Newtechie]

It's already included on the motherboard.

Sound card?


hth
DDS W 2k MVP MCSE

 

[Newtechie]

I didn't plan on getting a modem card because I use high speed. Maybe I'll
get one as a back up.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

One DIMM or two?

An 865PE mainboard supports dual-channel memory, which means DDR DIMMs
installed in same-sized pairs. (I doubt that dual channel kits are required,
but if the price is the same as two individual DIMMs, you may as well get
the kit.)

It may be possible to run the board in single-channel mode, taking a memory
performance hit. How large an impact that would have for real applications,
I don't know.

Is the HD PATA or SATA? Just curious - I don't expect there's a large
performance difference between a SATA1 drive and a plain old Ultra 133 on an
865PE board. (NCQ and SATA2 may offer improvements, but they're not
exploited by an 865 mainboard.)

Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Jim Macklin]

You need a modem to FAX and it is a nice back-up when the
cable is down. Also, some software still uses telephone to
register.


|I didn't plan on getting a modem card because I use high
speed. Maybe I'll
| get one as a back up.
|
in message
| | > Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 PRO-G i865PE P4 800FSB Skt478 DDR
ATX
| > Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN Retail (Prescott Ready)
| > ***Free 2nd Day***
| > 400/533/800FSB, ATA/100, 1AGP, 4DDR DIMM, 5PCI, USB 2.0,
| > IEEE 1394, Audio, Gigabit LAN
| >
| > The modem
| >
| >
| > "Jim Macklin" <p51mustang[threeX12]@xxxhotmail.calm>
wrote
| > in message
| > |A LAN card, unless the mobo has one built-in and a
modem
| > | v.92 if you want one.
| > |
| > |
| > | --
| > | The people think the Constitution protects their
rights;
| > | But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
| > |
| > |
| > | | > || Hi all -
| > ||
| > || After extensive research and reading reviews, I've
| > decided
| > | to build with the
| > || following components. I'm wanting to get feedback
| > whether
| > | positive and/or
| > || negative from anyone who's built a computer or more
| > | familiar with computers
| > || than me and see if I did a good job in choosing my
| > options
| > | wisely. I would
| > || say that I'm a beginning intermediate when it comes
to
| > | computers. So here
| > || we go:
| > ||
| > || Case: Thermaltake (ATX)
| > || Motherboard: GIGABYTE "GA-8IPE1000 PRO-G" i865PE
Chipset
| > | Motherboard for
| > || Intel Socket 478 CPU - ATX form factor
| > || Hard drive: Maxtor 250gb, 7200rpm
| > || Power supply: 480W
| > || CPU: P4/3.0E GHz 800M 478P/1MB HT
| > || Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600XT
| > || Ram: Kingston PC3200 DDR 512mb
| > || F/D: Sony 1.44mb
| > || 1st CD-Rom: CDRW/DVD Combo (Lite-On)
| > || 2nd CD-Rom: Sony 16X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer (Model
| > | DW-D22A-B2)
| > ||
| > || Am I missing something? All responses will be
| > | appreciated.
| > ||
| > || Thanks,
| > || Newtechie
| > ||
| > ||
| > ||
| > ||
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Newtechie]

Hi Bob,

I have one stick of DDR 512 memory. Someone suggested I boost it up to a
gig, so I just might do that. I have a Maxtor 250gb Ultra ATA/133 hard
drive.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

Getting the second DIMM might be a good idea. In principle, the two DIMMs
ought to be identical, but it's not an absolute requirement. I've been
running dual channel with a pair of 512 MB DIMMs that were bought months
apart. (They both use Samsung chips, but not the same part number. They have
the same configuration, I think.)

Is the DIMM that you have PC3200 (DDR400)? That's the normal frequency
required with an 800 MHz FSB (front side bus) like the 3.0 GHz Prescott. It
would be possible to set a lower frequency option for the RAM using BIOS
settings, giving reduced performance.

In the end, you may save yourself some trouble by buying a pair of PC3200
DIMMs. www.newegg.com lists 2X512 MB kits from several manufacturers for
about $140 (US), including shipping. You could get 2X256 for less than $80.

The manual for the mainboard is available for download:

http://america.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/FileList/Manual/manual_8ipe1000g_e.pdf

It's about 7 MB in size, it's an imperfect translation, but you may find it
useful. (I see that the board supports single channel memory mode, but with
a nice CPU like a 3 GHz one, I recommend going dual channel, if you can
swing it.)

Bob Kn.

Hi Bob,

I have one stick of DDR 512 memory. Someone suggested I boost it up to a
gig, so I just might do that. I have a Maxtor 250gb Ultra ATA/133 hard
drive.

(snip)

 

[Newtechie]

Yes Bob it's PC3200 DDR400. I think I probably will end up getting another
stick. I bought Kingston for $67. I really appreciate all the advice and
suggestions you guys are giving me. It's gonna make this project a breeze.
Thanks so much!!!

 

[smadad]

UM, the P4-E has 2 mb L2 cache, not 1, but doesn't support DDR2 memory for
future upgrading, but oddly enough, Intel recommended mb. does. The P4 540
w/ht does .Your money, research,research,research.;-\

 

[Newtechie]

It's not DDR2.

UM, the P4-E has 2 mb L2 cache, not 1, but doesn't support DDR2 memory
for future upgrading, but oddly enough, Intel recommended mb. does. The
P4 540 w/ht does .Your money, research,research,research.;-\

 

[Darryl Malone]

I definitely agree that you need to at least step up and get another 512 MB
module to bring yourself up to a gig of ram.

 

[EasyFeelings]

personally i would go with Nvidia chipset on the video.

but thats just me.

 

[Guest]

Before you build: read this guideline, it's worth reviewing it before you fly
off and buy anyhting else:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20020904/

Also if you after performance, double check the data transfer rates between
the IDE drives and SATA. You may be persuaded to get a faster transfer speed
drive: after all this is where most of the system bottle necks are found: not
in the difference between 512Mb and 1Gb of RAM!

On the subject of RAM: DDR2 speed grades have been released at 400mhz and
533mhz with faster speeds of 667expected in 2005. Just double check your
modules as there is a big advantage in using DDR2-533. Read more at:

http://www.legendmemory.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2046

 

[yabbadoo]

Amazingly, nobody has mentioned USB connectivity! OK some's probably on the
m/b, but I'd splash out on a really good USB2 card with at least 4 rear
ports and feeds/leads for at least 2 ports minimum to the front case in a
spare drive bay, to augment the m/b ports.
Use rear ports for semi-permanent devices (printer,scanner,mouse/keyboard or
controller for same) and front ones for "occasional" kit (memory stick,
camera, card reader, etc). Avoid hubs if at all possible - if you MUST have
a hub, permanently connect it to one of the aforementioned rear ports, use
hub ports only for "light" power (or independantly-powered) devices.
There's lots of posts from frustrated users who run into trouble when
switching kit randomly port-to-port (having to reconfigure/re-install kit
for the "new" port) so having sufficient dedicated ports at the outset can
help avoid future grief.

Good luck Len