I Built It Myself !

[TruthIs1]

I'm very happy to say that due to the help and advice I've received from this forum over the past several months I was able to build my own computer without any major problems. THANK YOU :D

Only one small problem, windows reads my Althon 2700 as an Althon 1500+ 1.31Ghz in the system properties. It seems to be operating as fast as it should though. Weird?

Here's the Specs:
AMD Althon XP 2700, 512 mb pc 2700, Gigabyte GA-7VAXP motherboard,
ATI All in Wonder 9700 graphics card
Western Digital 120 gb Cavier Edition hard drive with 8mb cache
Windows XP Home
Antec True Blue 480 power supply
Lite On 52x CD-RW and a generic DVD player
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum EX
Logitech Cordless Comfort Duo
and my Logitech z-680 speakers are being shipped

P.S. My hard drive is C, I didn't partion it any further, will this decrease performance?

[Whyzman]

Congratulations! ;)

In answer to your question regarding the composition of your C: drive...well, that's a pretty big chunk to defrag...

One of the major advantages of partitioning is that you can separate the Operating System from your various data files.

Then, should you need to reload the Operating System you can format only the partition on which your OS resides and get a clean bill of health without affecting your data.

You can always backup your data to CDs or DVDs...but then you're still facing the massive 120Gig defrag situation.

This might lend some insight:

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20944

[Ichabod]

The problem with your speed sounds like the bus speed and or multiplier are set incorrectly. Review your mobo manual to get the correct settings.

[saphalline]

Failing what Ichabod said, see if there's a new BIOS version for your mobo on Gigabyte's website. That will often fix most CPU reporting errors.

[killercow]

You're getting the wrong speed most likely because when you first started it up it set the lowest settings up. For example When I first booted mine up it said I had a 1.2 Gig AMD processor. I went into SETUP > CPU setup and changed the speed settings. It should look something like a fraction.
My PC's Example:
CPU : 100/100
I changed it to:
CPU : 133/133

And it recognized it as the AMD ATHALON XP 1800+


ALSO congratulations!:)

[leatherface1974]

Cool Deal Truth.

If you dont mind my asking, how much did that set up cost you? I'm currently preparing to build one from scratch too, and it's rather similar to what you put together. I'm just trying to get a ball park figure in my head before I start purchasing components.

Thanks!

[TruthIs1]

When buying PC parts there are a few things to consider:
1. Do you want to buy the stuff from a neighborhood shop so you could deal with them if you have any problems or would you like to save money by buying from a faceless impersonal website?

2. Do you want to pay for full retail versions of parts or are you willing to buy OEM (brown box) products, which are cheaper, doesn't usually come with the extras like some software or drivers, and doesn't have a manufacture's warranty?

3. Do you only want to deal with reputable online stores or are you willing to take a chance to save some bucks?

That being said, I did a little bit of everything above. I bought most of the stuff about a few weeks ago so of course prices have dropped

Prices:
Bought from newegg.com:
Windows XP Home $93, Gigabyte GA-7vaxp $110, 512mb pc2700 $75, Lite On 52x CDrw $50, Althon 2700 $266, Cheiftec case $80, Logitech z-680 speakers $275

Soundblaster Audigy 2 platinum ex was $225
Antec 480 trueblue was >$100 from amazon
Logitech cordless comfrot duo was $78
ATI All In Wonder 9700 was $354 from gameve.com
Wester Digital 120 gig was $133 from xtream gear

Check out pricewatch they're great, amazon always has free shipping and isn't on pricewatch, buy.com sometimes has free shipping and they have a great return policy, but they're not on pricewatch either. I had a few things like case fans, a good 21 inch crt monitor, and a cannon s330 printer, so I didn't have to buy that stuff

Good Luck:)

[saphalline]

2. Do you want to pay for full retail versions of parts or are you willing to buy OEM (brown box) products, which are cheaper, doesn't usually come with the extras like some software or drivers, and doesn't have a manufacture's warranty?A lot of OEM hardware does still have the manufacturer's warranty. Whether it's the full warranty or a shorter warranty, it's better than nothing. A few products don't have a warranty, tho, so it's always better to check before you buy. If it's important to you. ;)