Building a computer
 

Ok, so I'm building a computer before I head off to college. I have most of the parts chosen, but I want to make sure of compatibility, mostly between my hard drive, CD drives(CD/DVD & CD Burner), and motherboard. Thanks for the help.

Motherboard specs can be found here: http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd...herbd_d875pbz&

Hard Drive:
Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM Hard Drive 8MB OEM 6Y120P0
Specifications:
Size: 120 Gigabytes
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA133
Seek time: 9ms
RPM:7200
Data Transfer: 133MB/sec
Cache:8MB

CD/DVD:
Samsung Internal Beige DVD-ROM/CDROM Model SD-816BEP
Specifications:
Interface: EIDE ATAPI
16x DVDROM
48x CD-ROM
Access Time: 110ms DVD, 90ms CD (Average)

CD Burner:
Samsung SW-252BEN 52x24x52 CDRW Bulk- OEM
Specifications: Data Transfer: Read CD : 52X (7,800 KB/sec),Record CD : 52X (7,800 KB/sec),Rewrite CD : 24X (3,600 KB/sec)
Burst Transfer Rate PIO Mode 4 (16.6MB/sec),UDMA Mode 2 (33.3MB/sec)
Buffer Memory 2MB
Interface EIDE/ATAPI
Average Access Time 110ms
Size: 148.2 x 42 x 184

The compatibility is the only thing keeping me from buying. Thanks again.

Edit: Thought of one more question regarding the mobo...will I be able to connect to my school's network with the Gigabit lan without any trouble? And if so, will I be able to use a standard ethernet cable, or will I need to get a special one?

I wouldn't worry about compatabilty with the motherboard and the products that you have listed. I would doubt that you'd need a special cable to connect.

A few questions. Have you bought these products yet? If not and you value your money be sure to check GoogleGear, Newegg, and Pricewatch for the best prices. What processor are you going to buy, vid card also. Do you already have a case and power supply?

I have products selected from both Googlegear and Newegg. The processor will be a 2.8Ghz P4(and from another thread I know you hate em, but I have much more experience with them), no video card chosen yet. I have a Thermaltake case with 7 fans and a side window. For the video card, it'll be at least 64MB, possibly 128. The last thing I need to get is a sound card.

If you'd like to see the case, pics are here:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage....133-109-09.jpg

I don't hate Intel chips. They're great, but I just think they're overpriced. Plus I'm just more familiar with AMD. Looks like a good system so far. What's your price range for a vid card? Most importantly, do you game?

Price range probably maxes at about 300-350. I do game some, but as I'm heading to college (and majoring in engineering), this computer is gonna mostly be for work and modeling.

At that price range you can get a great card. I'm a fan of ATI products. I'm gonna buy this soon: ATI 9700 PRO With shipping it'll cost $279.75. Also the ATI 9500 PRO is a great card for $205. If you do get an ATI card make sure it's a PRO. Just do a google search and read a few reviews of those cards. I've never seen a bad review of either one.

If you wanna max out your price range then get an ATI 9800 PRO. :D

Most excellent. I thank you heartily for all your advice and help. I may just have to look at pushing the vid card range, as hopefully the parents will pay for that :D

You might also want to think about one of the ALL-IN-WONDER cards from ATI, which have all the functionality of the other cards but will also lee you watch TV and record like a TiVO.

Funny you should mention that....went to Best Buy today to get some minor things (keyboard, mouse, sound card, etc) and took a look at the video cards. Found an Asylum GeForce FX 5600 256MB agp card for 229.99, and a 30 rebate to boot. This was 100.00 less than the ATI cards with only 128MB.

I got a 9800pro on EBay for $350...so you might be able to swing it.

Whatever you do DON'T get it from Best Buy. It's only $143 at GameVe. Just because a card seems to be bigger doesn't mean that it's better. There's a reason it's only $143, and it's because it isn't better than a card that costs more money. Always Google for reviews of products that you're interested in buying.

sixate, good input on those cards, in my ongoing quest to get a new comp, threads like this are very very helpful :)

It's no Radeon 9800 Pro. :lol:

If ya check out benchmark tests, they show that the 256 MB versions of the FX 5900 Ultra and Radeon 9800 Pro aren't much more powerful than the 128 MB versions, if at all. The only way they pull ahead significantly is if you have anti-aliasing turned up to 8x with resolutions at 1600*whatever. Didn't keep me from ordering my 5900 Ultra yesterday though; I just want a card that is powerful enough to last a year or two.

-Lasereth