Buying a new computer

hi ! 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

I actually looked at the same mobo myself and saw the lite version. It's a great mobo, as long as you aren't planning on o'clocking it. It has no allowance for that. But if you are happy with the stock speed (1 ghz aint bad!) then go for it. Great performance for the price. 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 On Wed, 1 Aug 2001 09:04:16 +0200, "Mike P" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>hi ! > >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 > >

Mike... 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

Hi ! 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 think it was that important to mention ,but my old comp is Celeron 466o/c@ 525Mhz. I use 17" monitor, capable of running 1280*1024@ 75Hz. I plan to use it for work (Office 2000, perhaps some light 3d moddeling) and also gaming. 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 "Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:Aiea7.23801$[email hidden]... > Mike... > > Are you "buying" this new computer or building it? Or, having someonebuild > 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

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> 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

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> 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 andcontemplating

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> some answers. > > Regards, > > Tom Pabst > > >

Best place to decide on a mobo is at http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.html?i=1511 which is a comprehensive listing of mobo and RAM prices. I'd personally go for a mobo based on the VIA KT133A chipset (like the MSI mobo). If you want to o'clock it, go for the full version, not the lite. 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 On Fri, 3 Aug 2001 10:22:42 +0200, "Mike P" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Hi ! > >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 >think it was that important to mention ,but my old comp is Celeron 466o/c@ >525Mhz. I use 17" monitor, capable of running 1280*1024@ 75Hz. I plan to use >it for work (Office 2000, perhaps some light 3d moddeling) and also gaming. >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 > > >"Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:Aiea7.23801$[email hidden]... >> Mike... >> >> 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 >> >> >> >