Want to build a PC

[LionOfTheSouth]

Not looking for anything fancy. Just a budget PC ,but one that uses
relatively good components.
I was thinking of using an Athlon XP3200 . My present PC is using an Athlon
XP1700.
Dont really want to buy parts from all over the place.Any recommendations on
online retailers that still sell a good selection of parts for these CPUs?

WRT graphics cards, in the PC I have at the moment I have a Ge Force 3 Ti
200 .This is more than adequate for my needs ,so something of simialr power
is fine ,but I dont have any idea what to look for,its been a few years
since I took any notice of such things.

Here is what I am looking at


AMD Athlon XP3200+ 400mhz FSB

Abit NF7 V2.0 nForce2 (Wouldnt mind a board with LAN and Firewire ,but can
live without if no recommendation?? )

2 X Crucial CT6464Z40B 512MB DDR 400Mhz (1Gb = Overkill??)

Would I have any problem using bigger HD? I am thinking of 250Gb drive

Thanks for any input

 

[Gary C]

Here is what I am looking at


AMD Athlon XP3200+ 400mhz FSB

Looking here http://www.pricewatch.com/ one sees that for the same money,
you could get into a socket 939, 64 bit AMD. This would future proof
your system a little going forward.

2 X Crucial CT6464Z40B 512MB DDR 400Mhz (1Gb = Overkill??)

With the recent drop of RAM prices, one might miss a buying opportunity
if he went less. Plus, you'll never regret having that extra stick.

Would I have any problem using bigger HD? I am thinking of 250Gb drive

You mentioned "budget PC". 120 to 160gig is the sweet spot right now
for cost per gig ratio. Windows XP handles the larger HD's without problems.

 

[ToolPackinMama]

Gary C wrote:

Looking here http://www.pricewatch.com/ one sees that for the same money,
you could get into a socket 939, 64 bit AMD. This would future proof
your system a little going forward.

I agree. But mind your motherboards if you don't want to be stuck
buying a PCI express video card too.

I have had good luck in dealing with New Egg.

 

[jimbo]

I would choose two 100 GB drives rather than one 250 HG drive. I end
up using the second drive as a clone of the first drive.

jimbo

 

[ToolPackinMama]

I would choose two 100 GB drives rather than one 250 HG drive. I end up
using the second drive as a clone of the first drive.

So, you in essence end up with one 100 G. drive.

I have a second partition on my main drive that I save backups to. I
also save backups on cds and dvds. IMHO for most people a whole second
drive that mirrors the main one is overkill.

I mean, if every byte and bit of one's precious data is mission-critical
and one can't afford even an hour of downtime, then maybe. If all one
is doing is email, games and downloading porn (for example), then,
what's the big deal?

 

[jimbo]

A second partition on the first hard drive is also lost on a hard
drive failure. With Norton Ghost, I can clone the drive in about 20
minutes. If the first drive fails or gets corrupted, I can simply boot
the second hard drive. And with a boot manager, I actually choose
which hard drive I want to boot at anytime.

jimbo

 

[LionOfTheSouth]

A second partition on the first hard drive is also lost on a hard
drive failure. With Norton Ghost, I can clone the drive in about 20
minutes. If the first drive fails or gets corrupted, I can simply boot
the second hard drive. And with a boot manager, I actually choose
which hard drive I want to boot at anytime.

jimbo

OK, Im in the UK. From what I have seen ,there is quite a difference in
price between the two types of CPU .
I have been running this PC (AthlonXP1700) for the last 3 years or so .TBH
it does all I need without any problem ,but my kids PC is on its way out so
I figured if I upgrade to a XP3200 and let my kids have the 1700 it will all
be good . ?? what you think

 

[ModeratelyConfused]

A second partition on the first hard drive is also lost on a hard drive
failure. With Norton Ghost, I can clone the drive in about 20 minutes. If
the first drive fails or gets corrupted, I can simply boot the second hard
drive. And with a boot manager, I actually choose which hard drive I want
to boot at anytime.

Or, with a cheap RAID card, like I have, backups can be accomplished almost
instantly. I have 2 80GB SATA drives set up in RAID1. While this won't
help if I screw Windows up completely (that's what weekly backups are for),
it will help me if one of the drives dies, and I won't lose everything.

MC

 

[ToolPackinMama]

A second partition on the first hard drive is also lost on a hard drive
failure.

No duh. That's why I also save critical backups on removable disks.

 

[ToolPackinMama]

LionOfTheSouth wrote:

OK, Im in the UK. From what I have seen ,there is quite a difference in
price between the two types of CPU .

Hmm, yes, that's a factor.

I have been running this PC (AthlonXP1700) for the last 3 years or so .TBH
it does all I need without any problem ,but my kids PC is on its way out so
I figured if I upgrade to a XP3200 and let my kids have the 1700 it will all
be good . ?? what you think

Not a bad idea.

 

[ToolPackinMama]

Or, with a cheap RAID card, like I have, backups can be accomplished almost
instantly. I have 2 80GB SATA drives set up in RAID1. While this won't
help if I screw Windows up completely (that's what weekly backups are for),
it will help me if one of the drives dies, and I won't lose everything.

Is catastrophic HD failure a common problem?

 

[Gary C]

OK, Im in the UK. From what I have seen ,there is quite a difference in
price between the two types of CPU .
I have been running this PC (AthlonXP1700) for the last 3 years or so .TBH
it does all I need without any problem ,but my kids PC is on its way out
so
I figured if I upgrade to a XP3200 and let my kids have the 1700 it will
all
be good . ?? what you think

My old P166 does most things that *I* need too.
But kids grow up and then want the latest and greatest games, requiring
more processor and video power.

A socket 939 M/board would future proof .... to a certain extent.
Here in the states, a XP3200 costs the same as a AMD64 3000.
That trend will surely follow across the pond.

Use patience or expand your shopping, because nothing is as certain,
as change.

 

[ModeratelyConfused]

Is catastrophic HD failure a common problem?

Not that I noticed, but it would be nice to have a backup just in case.

MC

 

[Ruel Smith]

Not looking for anything fancy. Just a budget PC ,but one that uses
relatively good components.
I was thinking of using an Athlon XP3200 . My present PC is using an
Athlon XP1700.

Why not Athlon 64? If you stay away from the latest/greatest Athlon 64 you
should get away fairly cheap. nForce 3 chipset boards are very affordable,
and the Athlon 64 3200+ is cheaper than the XP 3200+ at the moment.

Dont really want to buy parts from all over the place.Any recommendations
on online retailers that still sell a good selection of parts for these

www.zipzoomfly.com
www.newegg.com

I rarely buy from anyone else.

WRT graphics cards, in the PC I have at the moment I have a Ge Force 3 Ti
200 .This is more than adequate for my needs ,so something of simialr
power is fine ,but I dont have any idea what to look for,its been a few
years since I took any notice of such things.

AGP = GeForce FX5200 PCI-e = GeForce 6600 would be my recommendations if
that's all the performance you need.

AMD Athlon XP3200+ 400mhz FSB

Abit NF7 V2.0 nForce2 (Wouldnt mind a board with LAN and Firewire ,but can
live without if no recommendation?? )

2 X Crucial CT6464Z40B 512MB DDR 400Mhz (1Gb = Overkill??)

Would I have any problem using bigger HD? I am thinking of 250Gb drive

Consider this instead:

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130468

AMD Athlon 64 3200+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103502

And your memory is fine.

 

[Al Smith]

Or, with a cheap RAID card, like I have, backups can be accomplished almost instantly. I have 2 80GB SATA drives set up in RAID1. While this won't help if I screw Windows up completely (that's what weekly backups are for), it will help me if one of the drives dies, and I won't lose everything.

Is catastrophic HD failure a common problem?

The drives that have failed on me have always failed gracefully,
but you never know. I use a second hard drive for my mirror
backups. I also use it to back up my data uncompressed, and I have
non-critical files that take up lots of space, such as mp3 sound
files, on the second drive alone, so that they don't clutter up my
C:\ drive. If I lost those I could live with it.

 

[philo]

Not looking for anything fancy. Just a budget PC ,but one that uses
relatively good components.
I was thinking of using an Athlon XP3200 . My present PC is using an Athlon
XP1700.
Dont really want to buy parts from all over the place.Any recommendations on
online retailers that still sell a good selection of parts for these CPUs?

WRT graphics cards, in the PC I have at the moment I have a Ge Force 3 Ti
200 .This is more than adequate for my needs

<snip>

suggest you just keep the machine you have and add more RAM if you need
it...
and a larger HD if you need it.
as you said...your present graphics card is "more than adequate"
and it's not too likely you really need an XP1700.

I'm using an AMD1200 and my girlfriend has an XP2200
and as far as performance I can't tell the difference

 

[jimbo]

Is catastrophic HD failure a common problem?

I have 3 or 4 over the years. Not a nice experience.

jimbo

 

[jimbo]

No duh. That's why I also save critical backups on removable disks.

Well, cds and dvds are a sorry way to backup. How many does it take to
back-up 60 GB? A basket full? OK, I know you don't backup everything,
just the important stuff, right? And do you keep a log of what the
important stuff is and where it is? Probably not.

And here is another consideration. I have five operating systems on my
hard drive, WinXP, and 4 Linux distros. I use Linux Lilo as a boot
manager. Try recovering that system with cds and dvds.

Anyway, my method is quick, requires no thought about what to backup,
requires no log of important stuff and provides a quick return to
normal if disaster strikes.

But, I don't expect you to change, if you are satisfied with your method.

jimbo

 

[ToolPackinMama]

Well, cds and dvds are a sorry way to backup. How many does it take to
back-up 60 GB?

::sigh::

All I ever back up are documents and pictures. I personally don't need
any other back-up solution.

If I had 60 G. to back up, I suppose I'd invest in a external drive to
save everything to. They aren't that expensive.