1500$ system...few questions plz

[Armistad123]

i have been reading these forums for a while, and have done some research, and have come up with a setup for my new computer...and could really use your guys input. Heres what ive got so far.... all from newegg by the way

Case- ANTEC LIFE STYLE SERIES SONATA PIANO BLACK Model# Sonata w/ ANTEC TRUE380 380W Power Supply

CD-RW Drive- Lite On 52x32x52x Black Color CDRW Drive LTR-52327S - OEM

DVD ROM Drive- LITE-ON XJ-HD166/XJ-HD 165H 16X DVD ROM Drive BLACK- OEM

Floppy Drive- SAMSUNG 1.44MB BLACK FLOPPY DRIVE Model# SFD321B/LBL - OEM, DRIVE ONLY

Hard Drive- Western Digital 120GB SATA WD1200JD 7,200 RPM 8MB Hard Drive OEM

Keyboard and Mouse- Logitech Cordless MX Duo - RETAIL

RAM- KINGSTON HyperX Series 184-pin 512MB DDR434 (PC3500) DDR RAM modules, Model# KHX3500/512- 2 PIECES

Motherboard- ABIT IC7, Intel 875P chipset for Socket 478 P4 Canterwood ATX motherboard RETAIL

Processor- Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL

Sound Card- CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY WITH 1394 - OEM

Speakers- Logitech Z640 5.1 Speaker - RETAIL

Video Card- ATI OEM SAPPHIRE RADEON 9800 128MB Non Pro DVI/TV 8X AGP BULK


So What do you guys think of that setup?? Ive got a few questions/concerns that if you guys could answer, i would appreciate it.


1. With that case, will i be good to overclock my proc some?? i plan on running my processor 1:1 with some good 3500 or 3700 ram.

2. I heard the logitech cordless mx duo was really good, but i also saw some posts saying it lagged....now for 85$ for a keyboard and mouse, i want it to be something i can use for a loooong time...if the mx duo isnt that good, is there some other keyboard/mouse i should get?

3. About my RAM...i plan to run 1:1 with the ram and overclock a little...is this ram good? or is there some better 3500/3700 ram i should get?? Also, how much performance is really lost with loose timings?? cuz i was looking at some PC3700 buffalo ram, is that good?

4. Just point out anything you would change, or anything that is not compatible with eachother.



Sorry, this is sorta a really long post with lotsa questions...but you guys on these boards are really smart, so thanks to anyone who answers


P.S.- if this is on the wrong board sorry, wasnt really sure where to put it.

[Jojo1971]

get a DVD burner instead of buying a separate cdrw and dvd-rom..you can get a pioneer OEM for around $160-170. or if youre really on a tight budget get a dvd/cdrw combo for around $65. then when you get more $ in the future, get a dvd burner.

get the maxtor sata if you dont want the WD raptor. i believe it's faster than the seagate sata.

[oldfart]

Looks pretty good.

The mobo has 1394. Can you can save a few $ on a soundcard without 1394?

You do lose performance with loose ram timings which the PC3700 typically does. Unless you are going way high in DDR speeds, I'd try and keep them tight if you can. I think your ram choice should be OK as is.

[Chuck232]

Looks pretty nice, and as oldfart said, the mobo has firewire, so maybe something like a TBSC would do. Also, you'll probably be wanting a NIC cause that mobo doesn't have integrated LAN.

Good luck!

[Armistad123]

Thanks for the input guys

by the way, my brother already has a dvd burner, so i can just use his...dont really need to spend the money on one

is TBSC the turtle beach card?? ill check that out.

Oldfart, could you clear this up for me...im just wondering whether i would have better performance runing my 2.8C 1:1 with 3500 ram and 2-3-3-6 timings....or running it 1:1 with 3700 ram and some looser timings.

By the way, do any of you guys know of some 3700 ram that comes in 512mb sticks and has decent timings..that is around 280-300$ for 1gb.