rec.autos.simulators

I am planning to buy a new computer and would like to ask you guys for an
opinion first. I am quite budget limited, but figured better now then
autumn, when I will be broke again. So I thought of getting a system:
Athlon 1.000
256 Ram
MB MSI-KT7 PRO LITE

Is this processor/motherboard combination capable of running DDR ram, and is
it actually worth buying DDR componentes for the moment ? What of cooling-
are these Athlons really producing so much heat- my room is hot in
summertime as is it- dont need another damn 50 Watt of heat blowing in my
knees ;-)

For graphics I plan to keep my GeForce 2 Mx/32 ram card until GeForce 3
costs less than a fortune- also is there an GeForce 3 Mx to be expected
later on ?

Cheers for helping out

-------
Mike

Perfect combo you're planning, gf2 would be fine, although a
bottleneck at high res. Price/performance ratio is looking good.

The mobo doesn't support DDR ram, but that's not that big a deal for
Athlon's ATM. The Athlon 4 will use DDR ram a lot better, but you'll
only get a 2-5% performance increase with DDR and a t-bird.

A DDR mobo will also be a LOT more expensive than the KT7 Pro Lite,
maybe 50-70% more. Go with SDR I say, ram is cheap.

Rafe Mc

Are you "buying" this new computer or building it?  Or, having someone build
it for you?

The answer to those questions will change the replies you get to your post
by a wide margin.  You don't mention important factors such as the monitor
(size and dot-size), power supply (under 300 watts is not good) and what
sims you run primarily, or what you intend to run on your new computer.  It
would also be important to know if this computer **must** be used for
mundane chores as well as sim racing and what operating system is planned
(or comes on it).  It would also be helpful to know "what" your budget
is.......if you are building or having someone build it for you.

If you are buying this computer "ready-made" from a brand-named
company.......I don't even need to know your budget....except I can tell you
that you are definitely paying too much for it (compared to building your
own).  It would also be helpful to know what system you have now (so we'd
know what comparison you'll have between your "new" and your "old"
computer).

My experience with "race box" customers who I've built systems for
eventually......is that when on a limited budget, they tend to cut corners
on the wrong components.  What they end up with is a "race box" only
marginally better than what they would have had by upgrading their existing
computer....and the important components are not sufficient to allow
long-term upgrading.

Those are just some thoughts I had when reading your post and contemplating
some answers.

Regards,

Tom Pabst

Cheers for very satistying answer Rafe- glad u liked my idea for a budget pc
:-) Yes, overclocking is not my direct objective, but a mobo capable of
using DDR would be nice, tho expensive. BTW- does the MSI board allow type C
of Athlons- running at 266Mhz ? Do you perhaps know which chipset it uses ?

Tom-thanks also for great pointers. Actually its the third option- someone
is building the system for me. I realised buying a mobo from a brand company
would cost me way too much, and decided to get it built this way. Didnt


it for work (Office 2000, perhaps some light 3d moddeling) and also ***.
I am a devoted GPL player, also like CMR2, and others, so it would be nice
to run these games at higher rez, using as much colors/FSAA as possible.

I basically plan to buy a system capable of above average performance, with
light upgrades in next 1-2 years, mainly adding a faster GFX card, and
memory.

Thanks again for help- I'm buying it next week.

Mike

All KT133A mobos allow you to use c type, 266mhz chips, which is a
good thing. Go through the review for whatever mobo you choose,
Anandtech is a good unbiased opinion.

Rafe Mc