i need help picking parts for new computer

[JX3e]

my friend is going to help me make a new pc with the parts of my choice. i'm gonna be buying them at pc club and frys electronics. i need everything you need for a computer and i want 17' monitor that is flat but not lcd considering they are quite expensive. these are the parts i picked:


7200RPM Western Digital WD800BB

MED ATX w/ Front USB (Pac-Man)

PC133 SDRAM DIMM CL3 ValueRam

INTEL Pentium III 933MHz/133MHz FSB S370 OEM

Altec Lansing 3-Piece Speakers AVS300

3COM USR V90 PCI Performance Pro 3CP5610B

Viewsonic E70F 17" Flat Screen

Logitech Cordless Freedom Keyboard & Mouse

MS-6215 Lite Net PC

Creative Labs SB Live! DE 5.1

GeForce3 TI200PRO-TD 128 MB

CDRW+DVD 16X10X12 Toshiba TSDR1102BK

are those good parts? or maybe if you got any suggestions. i picked the toshiba because it's a CDRW+DVD, but suggestions are good. thanks.

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[saphalline]

All those parts look OK, but just wondering why you're going with a PIII? It has enough power for now, but no real upgrade paths unless you want a Celeron 1.3GHz someday. If you feel the need to stick with Intel, you could start a P4 system for not much more. The MS-6566 is a nice bare-bones Socket 478 P4 motherboard that uses DDR RAM. Then all you would have to do is buy a slow P4 at around 1.5GHz, to save some money. You wouldn't even need to save money on DDR RAM since it's so close in price to regular SDRAM.

The only reason I mention moving up to a P4 is that you've chosen a 128MB GF3 Ti 200 graphics card, so I assume you want to play games? A P4 is much better for that, and truthfully the PIII has pretty much run out of appeal for a new gaming machine. I mean, for the same price as a 933MHz PIII, you could buy two 1GHz Celerons, or (I just thought of this) you could buy one of the new Socket 478 Celerons (fits into a P4 mobo) and still have extra money left over!

Now I'll give my opinion on a few of your other parts. Get Crucial RAM, it's the best, fairly cheap, and they offer free 2-day shipping - just go here - www.crucial.com/ (http://www.crucial.com/)

I would also recommend getting at least 256MB of RAM, 512MB if you can at all afford it right now. Also, you didn't mention what size hard drive, but 40GB is IMHO the minimum for a gaming machine nowadays. 60GB or more is quite nice http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif. I don't know what kind of case that is, but a case can make or break your (or your friend's) building experience. I recommend an Antec case, they just upgraded their SX1040 so that it includes two regular case fans and a side-mounted fan for cooling your expansion cards. Then of course there's the constant battle by many of our forum members to get everyone to convert to $100 400 Watt power supplies. You know who you are http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif.

One more thing, have you given any thought to what CPU heatsink/fan combo you'll be getting. A cool processor is less crash-prone and has a longer life span.

In the end, I would definitely suggest waiting on a few of those parts while we help you out here. No offense, but there are a few things about my new rig that I wish I had given more thought to. Oh well, there's always an upgrade!

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this space for rent

[Nooyawkah]

Crucial RAM is the way to go, at least 256. I've found the DDR to be excellent. Pentium III may not be the best way to spend your money. Athlon XPs are cheaper than Pentiums and fast. The video card you picked out is, in my opinion, a great choice. Get a good quality case with room enough to work. I think that's an 80GB hdd you picked, also good choice, as is your power supply. I'm also a big fan of ASUS mobos...I don't much like my ABIT.
Good luck, and don't rush. These folks here know so much (lots more than I) and will be a great help to you. Good luck!
Larry

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They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
---Edgar Allan Poe

[iisbob]

My humble suggestions; skip the Pentium-go with an Athlon Xp at 1700+, will give you much more bang for the buck; instead of the Creative card ( and it's resource headaches ) go with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz-cheaper and { once again } more bang for your buck; ditto on an above suggstion for DDR instead of standard SDRAM-it's not much more expensive and will- " ... more bang for your buck..." http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

I don't care for ASUS motherboards, too many times tweaking/fixing these boards-i prefer ABIT/Epox/Gigabyte or even ECS.

make sure the mouse is Optical-you'll not regret it!

Ohter than that, can't see too much else you might need.



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iisbob

Computer-Show me the Enterprise; no bloody A, no bloody B, and no bloody C-just the original...Mr Scott { from a STNG episode }

[Steve48]

Hello,

Intell has just introduced some new p4 chips on the market. I don't know much about them, but I can tell you what it means to you, and all of us. LOWER INTEL and AMD chip prices! If you can stand to wait for a couple of weeks, you should find that P4 and Athelon chip prices will drop faster than Bill Clinton's boxer shorts!