new computer

in the next few months or so, i'm going to build a new computer. just wondering if you guys could give some suggestions on some hardware you feel is the best out there now. i prefer to go with the fastest athlon processor that's out when i decide to start the buying frenzy..... so as far as boards go, which one is the best out there for athlons. what kind of suggestions do you guys have on. ......
case
hard drive
ram
video card
audio card
cd/rw drive
case fans
monitor
speakers
0s

the primary use of this computer will be to serve as the main host computer for my home network. there will be 3 other computers connected to it that will use my 2 way satellite internet connection. the problem i have with my current computer which is an athlon 550 mhz, is that when i burn cd's, my computer is so busy that it can't provide the internet connection to the other computers on my network. my main goal is to build a computer that will be able to handle this with no problem.

So do you want to make this just a server type PC?

Will you play any games on it?

it will be more than just a server....i want to be able to do things such as burn cd's, play games, ect.... i want it to perform while i'm using it and serve as a good host for the other computers on the network.

if youre going to be doing all of that on the computer, you may want to consider a scsi hd, at least for the os. but definitely max your ram (presumably ddr at the highest speed available).
audio, id say audigy gamer or higher, depending on your usage requirements. speakers, klipsch 5.1 are still the gold standard.
samsung monitors are very nice, and have lots of nice features and a good warranty.
cd-rw are constantly upgrading, so a recommendation now wouldnt mean much. you might want to consider a dvd-rw.
all of this assumes youre not on a tight budget, of course.

What price range are you going for here?

Lian LI case
AMD Athlon XP 2600+ or XP2700+(coming in Oct...333fsb)
A Mobo with the ViaKt400 chipset
512mb-1gb of PC3200 DDR RAM(I would go with 1gb because of the server role that the comp will play)
Geforce4 Ti4400(If you want to spend $100 more then get the Ti4600)
Santa Cruz Sound Card
100gb "SE" WD 8mb HD
Smaller SCSI drive for OS
Lite-On 48x12x48 CDRW
or DVD RW
Logitech's THX certified Z560 4.1 speakers I hear are good, and they are a lot cheaper then the Klipsch 5.1.
And WinXP Pro(I love it)


This PC will probably cost you a good amount of money

$2,500 to $3,000.........this would include the monitor.

dont know much about Lian LI cases. but both antec and addronics make large server towers with lots of slots for fans. which you will need if youre using it as a server and running an amd.

should i consider using a p4 processor?....i know the p4 would be more expensive, but would there be much better performance building with the p4 instead of amd?

no. but it would remove much of the concern about heat, as amd's thermal protection just doesnt work. youd have to check the breakdown of the benchmarks to decide which would offer the better performance for your usage patterns. but it shouldnt be too much different.

Stick with AMD. If you get a good case with good circulation of air you will be fine.

You could use Round IDE cables.

Think of it this way, why spend an extra $400 on a Intel CPU for a bit extra performance, when you can get an AMD and use that extra money towards something like more ram or a better monitor.

How early do you want this PC? Because around october, AMD is releasing the AthlonXP 2800+ and 3000+ with a 333mhz FSB. Might be something to consider.

the XP 2700+ is supposed to be released October 7th, with 333mhz fsb.

Up to you. You can go both ways.

P4s are more stable, but cost more. XPs cost less, but may tend to be a little less stable. I have known systems from both sides to go against that general comment, so your pick.

Go for a full tower case. You won't be disappointed. Make sure you don't go cheap on your motherboard. Many overlook this important piece of hardware. Go with a good motherboard maker like Asus, Abit, Intel, MSI, and a few others. Be sure to read up on reviews. Best way to handle what to get is to look at chipsets first. Set your sights on a particular chipset, and then review the motherboards that support the chipset of your choice..otherwise you will get snowballed by the choices out there. Lian Li cases are expensive and made from Aluminum which acts as a giant heat sink to make your case a few degrees cooler then if it was made from steal. You can save money by looking at steel cases though. Your call.

Go for a Soundblaster Audigy card. They are cheap and you can't go wrong. They are also the industry standard now a days.

Hard drives: I would say stay away from SCSI. The performance to cost ratio is hilarious. Little speed increase over much higher cost issues. Get a motherboard that supports RAID and go for RAID 0 with a pair of fast IDE HDs. If you want something with redundancy, go for one that supports 0+1 and get yourself 4 HDs. I like Fujitsu HDs..but they don't cater to the retail market anymore. Your choice of HDs. If you have money to throw around, make sure your HDs have 8 megs cash to speed things up a little.

Speakers. You can get yourself a nice cheap pair of 5.1 speakers that you probably would be more then happy with. Kiplich speakers are great, but they cost too much for computer speakers. Your call.

Video Card. If your primary intent is for gaming, I would go for either the fastest Nvidia or ATI card that I could afford. Truth is, older Geforce 3s are still more then enough for today’s games. You can get these for a lot less then the newer uber cards. I would wait till the games start stressing the video card. By then, those uber video cards are cheaper. Double edged sword. Do you get a more expensive (bleeding edge hardware bleeds the wallet) video card and not have to upgrade in a few years time, or go for cheaper card, and take the chance that you may have to upgrade in a years time. Personally, I would go for the next step down, unless you want bragging rights.

CD/RW drives are dirt cheap, and most are good. Just make sure your drive has burn proof technology. Higher speeds are nice, but you can get cheaper for a step down in speeds...and truthfully, you probably won't notice much of a difference. Mind you, CD/RWs are cheap, so go for the fastest if you can.

Monitors: If your doing games, do not go for an LCD monitor. Their refresh rates and resolution limitations are not conductive to fun gaming. Get yourself at least a 19" CRT monitor and you won't be sorry. Samsung, Sony, Viewsonic are companies I would look at.

Os: Windows XP due to greater game compatibility. Windows 98 or ME for even greater compatibility. 2000 if your looking for a strictly server computer that will play no games. Win 2000 suffers game incompatibility problems, but has less win XP overhead. Makes for a very stable leans OS for business use.

RAM: DDR for AMD, RAMBUs for P4s. Get at least 512 Megs of it. If your doing content creation, go for more.

My point is that you can have one hell of a computer system without breaking the bank, or robbing one. Money doesn’t grow on trees. However, with that said. If you want to splurge..that is your call.