Computer Forums - View Single Post - building a new computer, want it to be a BEAST!

Martin · 12-14-2002, 10:55 PM

^^^ Hahaha, definitely a must have if you have the money, and do some heavy work with CPU-taxing applications

For your budget, a Thoroughbred Athlon XP 1800+ (1.53 GHz) has very good performance and runs quite cool as well - I would suggest anything up to the 2000+ (1.67 GHz) model. You will need a motherboard for the new CPU, but IMO either the ASUS A7V333 (KT333), ASUS A7V8X (KT400), MSI KT3 Ultra ARU2 (KT333) or the MSI KT4 Ultra (KT400) works well.

For RAM, 512 MB is plenty enough, but it would be ideal to get 1 GB if 512 isn't cutting it for you. PC2700 sticks are getting quite cheap now, and if you will be using a KT400 based motherboard, PC3200 is ideal.

For HDD, get at least somewhere within the range of 40-60 GB, 80 GB even. 20 gigs just ain't cutting it for the large amount of space apps these days eat up.

Video card:

GeForce4 Ti 4200 64 MB as a baseline, but check out the Radeon 9500 cards as well.

Extra (essential) stuff:

An Athlon processor functions best in a case with good airflow - you may need to consider a new one if the current one has absymal airflow. Some I would recommend are from Antec and Chieftec. As for the power supply, anything less than 300W max. output is bordering on RISK. If you are thinking of using multiple HDD's and add anything else which eats up power, consider no less than 400W.

12-14-2002, 10:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
Martin Monster Techie Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: California Posts: 1,423	^^^ Hahaha, definitely a must have if you have the money, and do some heavy work with CPU-taxing applications For your budget, a Thoroughbred Athlon XP 1800+ (1.53 GHz) has very good performance and runs quite cool as well - I would suggest anything up to the 2000+ (1.67 GHz) model. You will need a motherboard for the new CPU, but IMO either the ASUS A7V333 (KT333), ASUS A7V8X (KT400), MSI KT3 Ultra ARU2 (KT333) or the MSI KT4 Ultra (KT400) works well. For RAM, 512 MB is plenty enough, but it would be ideal to get 1 GB if 512 isn't cutting it for you. PC2700 sticks are getting quite cheap now, and if you will be using a KT400 based motherboard, PC3200 is ideal. For HDD, get at least somewhere within the range of 40-60 GB, 80 GB even. 20 gigs just ain't cutting it for the large amount of space apps these days eat up. Video card: GeForce4 Ti 4200 64 MB as a baseline, but check out the Radeon 9500 cards as well. Extra (essential) stuff: An Athlon processor functions best in a case with good airflow - you may need to consider a new one if the current one has absymal airflow. Some I would recommend are from Antec and Chieftec. As for the power supply, anything less than 300W max. output is bordering on RISK. If you are thinking of using multiple HDD's and add anything else which eats up power, consider no less than 400W. __________________ Martin's Page of Stuff I judge you when you use poor grammar.