PCA Forums

I have recently found employment, and not too soon. My old PC (PIII-733) is starting to die on me.

Here is what I have come up with so far:
Epox 8k3A+
Athlon XP 1900+
WD 1000JB drive (I hear that these are REALLY fast. 8MB of cache, baby!)
OCZ 'PC3200' DDR RAM (not sure on amount)
SB Extigy
GF3 Ti500
Tower case
Quiet PS
Arkua 6128 heatsink/fan

I have two dilemmas here. The first is how much RAM. I am going with a minimum of 512 MB. I plan to run WinXP and FreeBSD. Will I see an improvement in performance with 1 GB? Is it worth the extra $180 for the extra RAM? I am thinking no, but I wanted to ask around before deciding.

I am also really lost on the HS/Fan. I plan to unlock the processor, so I can still run it at 1900+ speed with a 166 MHz FSB. So I don't plan on overclocking the core speed at all. My main concern is that I don't want noise! I would like to run with an Alpha 8045 w/ a quiet fan, but the Alpha doesn't fit the motherboard I want. I have read that the Arkua is nice and quiet, yet still a good performer. Anyone here used that HS/Fan? Anyone here know of any quiet alternatives? I really cannot stand loud and/or whiny fans. I mean, what good do nice speakers and a good sound card do for you if the fans are loud?

I suggest the AX7. Just as good, if not better, than the Pal 8045. Works well with quiet fans.

Ditch the OCZ ram and get some Kingmax PC2700 or something else... 512 is more than enough for WinXP thats what i'm runnin' and the most i've used at an given time is 340 megs... That was with about 5 browser windows open and PSP7 running. U might try that AX7 and a quiet 80mm fan also.

There has been some "problems" lately with what exactly you get with that Epox mobo. From what I have read there are 3 different versions already. Make sure you get the latest one. I was going to order one, till I ran across this yesterday,

http://www.amdmb.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=110834

Now what? Wait some more I guess, till the smoke clears a little more, for me anyway.

Otherwise, nice setup Oh, ditto on ditch the OCZ ram, it's not really that good. Kingmax or Corsair for the high speed stuff.

sethpa

Second Predator on the RAM,

512MB Kingmax, Crucial, or Corsair XMS2700 will do you just fine

i'd go for the iwill xp 333 board.I have one, as does predator and havent had a singal problem.

I would wait for the Thoroughbreds to come out. You'll have lots more scalability/overclockability.

JMan

Thanks for the input on the RAM. I just wanna run 166 MHz CAS 2. 512 MB should be plenty.

Who makes the AX7? Alpha?

Oh, and when are the Thoroughbreds coming out?

I will check out the Iwill XP333, as well.

Thanks!

The AX7 is made by ThermalRight.

i m not 100% sure, but isnt the 1000JB 20 gig/platter, 5 platter design?

Why dont ya grab the 1200JB instead, its 40gig/platter and it smokes even more

Yes the Iwill XP333 is a very nice board! Mines been actin' funny lately but i think its the friggin' SB Live and 2k not gettin' along... Gonna pull it out one of these nights and find out.. I've overclocked to FSB of 11x155 fr 1.7 gig out of a 1700+ Ram timings are kinda scarce but its fat and stable and its not VIA!

Predator:
I didn't know what chipset was on the XP333, and then I found out: Ali (*shudder*). Too many bad experiences with Ali for me. I think I am going to stick with the 8k3a+ (v1.2). I like the reports I am hearing on high FSBs. I also like Mrs. Poops 8khal a lot.

Funpolice:
An I am not sure about the difference between the WD1000JB and WD1200JB. Storage review, here I come.

I put a 8khaL in my dad's computer. Nice board. He hasn't had a bit of problems with it. This Ali MagiK chipset is real nice. Its not as fast DDR wise as the KT266a's but its faster than the AMD760 boards. And stable as a rock. There are guys hitting 180-200 on the FSB with no problems on this board.