Building A New Computer Need Help!!

letztrade · Post by **letztrade** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 11:15 pm

K, so i'm building a new com. I saw an add on fry's for a 2.4 p4 cpe+ecs mb? I'm a real noob, so what do i need to make this computer complete and running? I get confused at the heatsink and fan part. I know i need case, mb, harddrive, vidcard, cdromdrive, cpu, powersuplly, ram and some fans? Help me out plz thanks in advance.

letztrade · Post by **letztrade** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 11:16 pm

o and also is the ecs mb reliable?

blade · Post by **blade** » Fri Jul 11, 2003 11:27 pm

2.4 p4 cpe+ecs mb

That sounds like the cpu and motherboard, right? If not sure, post the ad here and we'll help. Sounds like a pentium 4 2.4ghz cpu and an ecs motherboard.

If that is a retail cpu and I am pretty sure it is, then it comes with heatsink/fan. Use a very thin/even layer of thermal compound between the heatsink and cpu, on the raised cpu part only.

I've been an amd guy for the past few years so I'm not sure what kind of ram you'll need. Another who uses a p4 can suggest what you need.

ECS motherboards are not known as the best, but those who have them seem pleased.

If the cpu comes with heatsink/fan, then you will just need 80mm case fans, at least one as intake and one as exhaust.

letztrade · Post by **letztrade** » Sat Jul 12, 2003 1:30 am

yup its a cpu+MB combo. Also anyone know a good monitor for a serious gamer?

Slugbait · Post by **Slugbait** » Sun Jul 13, 2003 1:33 pm

If you're truly serious, the Sony F520 is the best. But you can't afford it. And don't assume all Sonys are created equal, cuz they're not...stay far away from the E540.

Other excellent (and much less expensive) options would be the Cornerstone P1750 or the NEC FE2111.

sethpa · Post by **sethpa** » Sun Jul 13, 2003 2:57 pm

don't forget a floppy drive, still very worthwhile to have around when needed.

letztrade · Post by **letztrade** » Sun Jul 13, 2003 9:59 pm

Anyone know a good heatsink/fan for a 2.4 P4 800FSB cpu?? Let me know thanks really appreciating the advices guys keep them comin

blade · Post by **blade** » Sun Jul 13, 2003 10:29 pm

SLK800U, SLK900U would be the best.

Then get a good 80-92mm fan like a ys tech one.

MAC · Post by **MAC** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 5:16 pm

I just built a new system using a P4 2.4C (800MHz FSB) priocessor. I'm not familiar with the ECS brand so I cannot comment on it. How much is Fry's asking for the combo? If its more than $275.00 forget it and go to New Egg. You can get a P4 2.4C (~$175.00) and an Abit IS7-E ($99.00) for that price and the Abit is a much better board in my opinion.

As for a heatsink/fan combo for your processor, the stock Intel heatsink and fan are good. I have read reports of being able to overclock the P4 2.4C to 3.0 GHz using the stock heatsink/fan and using the stock voltage setting. Just remember to remove the thermal pad from the heatsink and use some Artic Silver. I'm going to try to overclock this CPU to 3.0 GHz using the stock heatsink/fan. If you don't have the stock heatsink/fan, many people at another forum have been raving about the Zalman CNPS7000Cu and CNPS700AlCu. The Zalman is also fairly quiet. If I cannot reach 3.0 GHz using the stock heatsink/fan or the temps seem to high, I am going to get the CNPS700AlCu.

As for the other parts you need, here is what I bought

2 x 256 MB Corsiar XMS PC3500 DDR
Seagate 80 GB SATA hard drive
Mitsumi floppy drive
Lite-On 16X DVD
Lite-On 52x32x52x CD-RW

Do you know if the ECS motherboard has an on-board sound chip and/or onboard LAN? If not you will need to buy a sound card (Soundblaster Live 5.1 OEM) and a Network card (3Com). The Abit IS7-E has onboard sound and LAN so you don't need to buy the above two items.

The case I bought is a Beantech B60B Igloo mid-tower aluminum case. It came equipped with 3 80 mm cooling fans. This case is similar to the Lian Li PC-65 case. In addition, I purchased the Antec TruePower 430 watt power supply.

Since this is going to be used at LAN parties, I purchased a 17" Viewsonic VP171b LCD monitor. The colors on this monitor look great and there is no ghosting in DVDs or in the two games I play (Quake 3 and UT2K3). The monitor has 2 analog inputs and 1 digital input. If you don't want to spend the money on an LCD, I can recommend the 19" Viewsonic G790 monitor. I have had one for the past 3 years and have never had a problem with it.

The last piece is the video card. I have been using nVidia cards since I got my first 3D card, however, the ATI 9700 or 9800 look really good. I am currently running a Leadtek GeForce 4 TI4400.

I hope this will help you. If you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to ask.

MAC

letztrade · Post by **letztrade** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:33 pm

I just read reviews about the ecs mb and it probly aint a good mb to oc with. I'm thinking of getting a IC7 abit, but been hearing about sound problems. The no lan is no biggie can just purcahse it at frys or new egg good for $10. For Vid card I'll probably be getting a saphire 9500np and soft modding it to a 9700pro, 50/50 chance but i'm taking it. As for power supply i'll be getting the antec tru430 herd good things about this. And for memory I'll be getting some OCZ 3700 gold 2X256. These are probably by far the best ram to oc with. Only $87 at newgood. Much better than the corsairs in my opinion. And also does anyone no a good crt monitor for under $200?? Need a good one for gaming.

letztrade · Post by **letztrade** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:35 pm

O and mac don't worry about it. You can oc this chip easily to 3.2 and with some good rams you can reach 3.4 3GHZ should easy for what u got rite there.

MAC · Post by **MAC** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 11:40 pm

Hope so.

I flashed the BIOS on my IS7-E today so I could get the new Game Accelerator settings. I also, overlcocked the CPU to 2.64 GHZ, but had to raise the CPU voltage to 1.550. Also, had to raise the RAM voltage up to 2.65 I started having some problems so I returned everything back to stock settings, but it turned out it was caused by something totally different. I work on it some more tomorrow.

MAC

letztrade · Post by **letztrade** » Fri Jul 18, 2003 12:03 am

just set the fsb @ 250 at 5:4 and ur set at 3gig. No need to change the vcore or anything. Siple oc. If you want to get like 3.4 i suggest you get better ram like the one I stated OCZ and better cooling, like a slk-900 or a zalman 700.

BuSHyFr0 · Post by **BuSHyFr0** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 8:34 am

Samsung monitors are wear its at. Top notch quality, at a descent price. What more could anyone ask for?

BuSHyFr0 · Post by **BuSHyFr0** » Tue Jul 22, 2003 8:35 am

Originally posted by BuSHyFr0
Samsung monitors are where its at. Top notch quality, at a descent price. What more could anyone ask for?