Quote:
Originally posted by theburner
[B] I am in the process of buying the PC you guys helped me configure, and I have a couple of questions.
MOBO: Abit IC7-Max 3
This mobo specs out a Prescott Intel Chip.. I want to install a 3.4GHz CPU, but the Core is Northwood. The Mobo says it is P4 478 processors, and that the chip has to be a Prescott.
Is this critical? Prescott's (the ones I could find) all run 3.0 GHz and lower... BTW, both the Northwood and Prescott are P4 478's..
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Good choice on the motherboard...I think it's the best P4 motherboard on the market. Every 533 MHz and 800 MHz FSB Pentium 4 will work on the IC7 Max 3. You have nothing to worry about. The Prescotts are new, and well, they're nothing special. Tom's Hardware even reports them being slower than the normal P4's in some tests. You can get the 3.4 GHz Northwood P4 and it will work fine on that mobo.
Quote:
Originally posted by theburner
[B]Also, will the MOBO come with the metal face plate for the core Interfaces on the Case? I found a case I like, but the punchout holes in the core section don't match up with the Sound/Serial/NIC ports on the MOBO...
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The motherboard should come with the piece you're talking about. Every motherboard I've ever ordered has came with one. You just need to snap out the piece on the case and snap the one that comes with the motherboard in (so it matches up with the motherboard sound, keyboard, mouse, USB, etc.).
Quote:
Originally posted by theburner
Other than that here is what I am looking at putting together:
Mobo: Abit IC7-Max 3
CPU: 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Hyperthread Northwood
Corsair XMS 512MB PC3200 400MHz x2
Maxtor 60GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive x2
Sony DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model
I have 2x IDE Drives I will be adding (60 and 120 GB), another DVD Drive and CDR Drive, various PCI Cards, and a 128MB DDR 8x AGP Graphics Card (can't remember version of Radeon it is)..
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The setup looks good, but one thing you want to take notice to: you'll need a damn good power supply unit to make this PC run. I recommend getting a 430w Enermax or better. If you get a shitty PSU (the ones that come with most cases today), then there's a good chance that it won't even turn on. This is VERY important; I suggest a 430w Enermax PSU with the highest of priorities!
Finally, you really need to know which videocard you're getting. Quite frankly, the videocard is the most important aspect of a gaming machine today. A few years ago, you could get buy with a good processor and a shitty videocard, but now you MUST have a good videocard even if your processor sucks.
Which Radeon were you planning on getting?
I recommend the Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB from
www.newegg.com . It's a little over $200 and is the best deal you're ever going to find on a videocard. If you want to spend less than $200 on a videocard (which I highly recommend against with that setup) then just say so. I'd go for the 9800 Pro 100%.
-Lasereth