new system

[Thoric]

i have begun putting a system together for a mate, thought i better ask the more experienced kinda people...:) here are the specs:

EPOX 8RGA+ (NFORCE2, DUAL CHANNEL DDR400, AGP8X, USB2, FIREWIRE, LAN, GF4MX) - $285.00
Corsair 512MB TWINX-3200 (400MHz) DDR RAM, 2x CMX256A-3200LL DIMMs, Dual Channel TUNED - $375.00
Antec Plus 1080AMG Metallic Grey Midi Tower Case with 430W TruePower PSU - $245.00
Western Digital Caviar WD800JB (80gb, 7200rpm, ATA100, 8MB) - $210.00
AMD THOROUGHBRED XP 2000+ (1670mhz) "A-CORE AIRGA" - $165.00
Microsoft Optical Value Combo - Multimedia Keyboard + Wheel Mouse Optical OEM - $60.00
Sony 16x DVD Tray Load (40x CD-ROM) OEM - $75.00
Liteon LTR-48246S 48x24x48 Re-Writer - $90.00

this is all in Aussie dollars...equaling $1505.00

a few questions:

the new amd bartons are 333FSB? just wondering about the upgradeability on the Epox board.

extra ide ports might be a issue later on, i guess a raid pci card would fix that well?

the gf4mx intergrated graphics will have to do for the moment, prolly get a radeon 9500/Geforce FX sometime later down the track.

let me know on concerns with the list, thanks...:thumb:

[Darthtanion]

- It is my understanding that the EPoX boards (and just about all using the nForce2 chipset) will have no problems running the 333MHz Barton processors coming out soon. At most, they're looking at a BIOS update to be able to handle the task.

- A RAID card will give you extra ports, but you can save a little cash if you opt for a regular ATA133 PCI type IDE add-on card. It won't allow for RAID functions obviously, but it should fit the bill if the main concern is additional IDE ports.

- Remember that the GF4MX is not DirectX 8.1 compatible. This means that you will find yourself limited with regards to gaming with several newer titles.

- You mentioned the 2000+ processor... how much more for the 2100+? From the data that I have been able to get from AMD, ALL 2100+ processors will be the T-Bred "B" core variety. While I can't guarantee the high-end stepping of these processors, they are all at least the newer process.

Sounds pretty good. Keep us posted about benchmarks and such. :D

[Thoric]

if the GeForce4 MX integrated graphics is only DirectX 8.1 compatable, will it still play Directx 9 games?

will it either refuse to run them, or just limited graphics?

[Darthtanion]

Whether the newer games will run will be up to the creators of the title. I think there were some issues with DirectX9 games running on older DirectX8 peripherals, but you missed the point I stated above...

The GF4MX is not even a DirectX 8.1 component. What this means in simple terms is that it cannot even show all the tests that are run in 3DMark2001, yet alone anything newer.

Just food for thought.

[Wiggo]

Let's see if real plain english works then. The GF4 MX is only a DX7 based video so it's already 2 steps behind so it's retarted and ya's should think about the 8RDA/+ and at least a R9K video card (this combo will beat the **** out of the 8RGA+ and be DX8.1 compliant). :rolleyes2

[Thoric]

lol, sorry i missed the 'not'...thought it was 'only'

yeah the 8rda and a maya radeon 9000 would be good, cash is a problem, $135 for the maya.

[Wiggo]

It will pay ya to save that little bit more up first in the long run. ;)

[Thoric]

thanks for the advice guys.

Instead of the 8RGA, i switched it to the 8RDA, with a 64mb gigabyte maya 9000.

i know its a average card compared to the rest, but its all that can be afforded with the cash he has given me to work with. He is pretty keen on a new box so he doesnt want to wait off that much longer...

also the AMD 2100+ is only a few bucks more expensive than the 2000+ so i put that down as well.

ill keep you's posted, thanks :)