Hello all- I am lucky enough that the wife has signed off on upgrading my system (currently a Dell Dmension T700r) PIII 700mHz, 256mb ram, Diamond Ultra V770 32meg 2x AGP video card and a generic 13 gig hard drive with about 8 gigs full running windows 98SE.) The following is what I have spec'd out at mwave.com (anybody had any problems with them?) from some of the reading of the forums and some other sites...- Pentium 4 either 2.4 or 2.53 with 533FSB- ASUS P4S8X SIS648 chipset ultra ATA1- MS Windows XP Home edition (OEM)- Thermaltake dragon 478 full copper cooling fan- ANTEC True 550W power supply- 512MB RAM- Western Digital 40GB EIDE Ultra-ATA/66-100 7200RPM Hard drive Now this is my first time "building" a computer. I'm not worried about getting the stuff and actually assembling it, I need help making sure I get the right stuff to begin with. The wife said I can spend $600, so I figure I'm good for about $800 and I'll owe her some roses :) Some questions/concerns I have....1) Any difference besides the speed of the 2.4 vs 2.53 cpu (more stable, etc., only about $35 diff in price, should I go with one over the other?)2) Which motherboard?? This is where I am really lost. I figured about $150 and probably going to stay with ASUS from what I've read. Am willing to pay a little more if it is worth it, I've seen boards with 845 chipsets, is this something I want?3) Windows XP home (full edition, not upgrade). Do I go the extra money for proffesional. I don't plan on networking computers, maybe just adding a second video card(PCI) and monitor some day for that PIC767 FMC :) and heard that home is a litlle more user friendly??4) This will obviously be the most advanced system I've ever had and am worried about cooling. Hence the Thermaltake fan. It saysit is good for processors up to 2.4, but if I go with the 2.53 I can't find a fan for that, will this one still fit the bill? How many different type fans should I have in the ATX case?5) Power supply Antec true 550, people seem to think this is a good company??6) Want to go with 512MB of the appropriate ram but it looks like this will obviously be based on the MoBo. Still have troubly deciphering some of the numbers and letters with these. Is Corsair good? Or should I maybe go with Kingston or samsung.7) Western Digital 40GB will be the primary drive and I will reformat the 13GB drive in my current system and that will be strictly for FS2002. Along with thiswhen I format the drive i believe XP gives you the option of FAT32 or NTFS, not that I neccessarily know the difference, but I gleamed that I want NTFS (better)? I am looking for a STABLE system, I don't overclock and don't tweak the heck out of anything. I am willing to pay a little extra, if it is worth it. I probably wont be upgrading the computer then again for another 2 years. The only exception you have probably noted, is I want to try to use the same Diamond video card out of my system, I know this will be my weak point in the system, but maybe for my birthday....will this card work on the selected MoBo, it seems like some wont support it. I thank you in advance for all of your help and any experience/info you can pass my way. Thanks again,Travis

1) I would get the faster cpu = faster Frames per second2) You can't go wrong with Asus boards3) Home should be fine if you don't plan on joining a network domain or back up software4) Get a fan certified fan for your CPU speed, don't skimp!5) Atec power supplies ROCK!6) Corsair is good but I run Samsung in mine and runs at CAS2 with no problems. 7) NTFS offers more security. Fat32 srives cannot read NTFS. But if both drive run NTFS it's all good.

>Hello all- >> >- Pentium 4 either 2.4 or 2.53 with 533FSB Based on reviews I read this summer, I went with AMD processor instead of Intel, but I suppose that is a little like arguing religion... You may want to compare prices Intel vs AMD for comparable power. >>1) Any difference besides the speed of the 2.4 vs 2.53 cpu >(more stable, etc., only about $35 diff in price, ...You want to go with the fastest that you can afford, but... Personally, if there is any budget consideration at all, I think this is the place to save as much money as you dare, and add it into a premium ASUS mother board or bigger disk. The price of a slightly older, slower processor is SO much less than the newest greatest, and the NOTICEABLE difference may be slight.>>>2) Which motherboard?? ...AMD has a very good "configuration" web site which lists the specific approved boards for the CPU that you are choosing, so that all you have to do is choose a board from the list that has any other features that you want (such as on-board sound, x number of USB ports, etc.) I don't know if Intel has a similar configuration site, but you should check for it.>>3) Windows XP home (full edition, not upgrade). Do I go the >extra money for proffesional. I don't plan on networking >computers, ...You can still "network computers" with XP home, just as you can with Windows95 or 98. I happen to have XP pro, but I don't really see a need for it if all the computers and users on your home network are "trusted".>>4) ...am worried about cooling. Hence the Thermaltake fan. >... How many different type fans should I have in >the ATX case? >AMD retail-boxed CPUs come WITH an "approved" heat-sink/fan, which is minimal, but if you are not overclocking, it seems to work fine. This may mean some money saved for you. As for the case, I would recommend an ANTEC Case. Besides the CPU fan, and the Video-card fan, and the dual power-supply fans, I have 2 case fans exhausting at rear, one at the side, and an intake fan cooling the disk area at front. >5) Power supply Antec true 550, people seem to think this >is a good company?? I am pleased with it.550w seems a little extreme for the system you describe. Their 1080AMG case, which I described above, comes with a 430W supply already installed. I am running AMD 2200+ CPU, ASUS A7V333 board, TI4200 video, and two 120gig Western Digital drives. >>6) Want to go with 512MB of the appropriate ram ...If you go with 512mb, try to get it in one stick. Then when you save some more pennies, you can add another to make up the full gig. If you do not specify, they will supply it as two-256s to get rid of old stock. That will take up two memory slots, and you will have to throw them away if you wanted to go to 1 gig.>>7) Western Digital 40GB ... and I will >reformat the 13GB drive ... i believe XP gives you the option of >FAT32 or NTFS, ...Get as much disk as you can afford. 40G is a little small, but tastes vary. If you get interested in video and/or scanning pictures, it will evaporate quickly. And you might get surprised by the size of the next flightsim version you buy. NTFS uses the disk smarter than FAT32, wasting less space. Art.

Thanks for the help, do appreciate it. :-waveTravis

>1) Any difference besides the speed of the 2.4 vs 2.53 cpu >(more stable, etc., only about $35 diff in price, should I >go with one over the other?) Always go with the fastest CPU the budget will allow. No technical reason, but faster is always better :-) .>2) Which motherboard?? This is where I am really lost. I >figured about $150 and probably going to stay with ASUS from >what I've read. Am willing to pay a little more if it is >worth it, I've seen boards with 845 chipsets, is this >something I want? Since you're not going to overclock and you're looking for stability I'd look at the Intel motherboards. There is NOTHING as stable as an Intel CPU on and Intel motherboard. But be sure about the OC'ing, though, as there is no way to do that with an Intel board. But I'd definitely go Intel for stability (there will NOT be a performance loss witht he Intel board). >3) Windows XP home (full edition, not upgrade). Do I go the >extra money for proffesional. I don't plan on networking >computers, maybe just adding a second video card(PCI) and >monitor some day for that PIC767 FMC :) and heard that home >is a litlle more user friendly?? Home is fine. >4) This will obviously be the most advanced system I've ever >had and am worried about cooling. Hence the Thermaltake fan. >It saysit is good for processors up to 2.4, but if I go with >the 2.53 I can't find a fan for that, will this one still >fit the bill? How many different type fans should I have in >the ATX case? You will not need any extra cooling for the P4. The HSI that comes witht he CPU is more than adequate. Unlike AMD, you can't fry a P4. The CPU will automatically throttle back if it becomes too hot and will completely shutdown before any damage is done. Many of us are running a 500Mhz overclock on the stock Intel HSI with no problems. The Intel heatsink and fan are really a very good cooling arrangement. On the case fans you'll need at least two, one pulling air in and one exhausting the hot air out. If they are quality fans, just two, combined with the power supply fans, will be enough. >5) Power supply Antec true 550, people seem to think this >is a good company?? You can't go wrong with either and Antec or an Enermax. The 550 is a little much for the system you're building but it sure can't hurt anything. If you want to save a couple of bucks, though, the 430/431's are fine. Be sure the supply has two fans as this will also be a help with the cooling. The dual-fan supplies actually pull air over the mobo before exhausting it out the back. >6) Want to go with 512MB of the appropriate ram but it looks >like this will obviously be based on the MoBo. Still have >troubly deciphering some of the numbers and letters with >these. Is Corsair good? Or should I maybe go with Kingston >or samsung. Corsair is excellent memory. As is Samsung. I'd use the Corsair unless you get a RAMBUS mobo then I'd go with 40ns Samsung. >7) Western Digital 40GB will be the primary drive and I will >reformat the 13GB drive in my current system and that will >be strictly for FS2002. Along with this >when I format the drive i believe XP gives you the option of >FAT32 or NTFS, not that I neccessarily know the difference, >but I gleamed that I want NTFS (better)? The NTFS/Fat32 debate will probably never end. All I can say is read, read, read. It will make no differnce to FS2002, or any other application, which you use. TripNorthwood 2.2a at 2.72Ghz Abit TH7II-R512MB Samsung 40ns PC800Gainward 64MB GF4 Ti4200 300/57040.72's DX8.1 WinXP ProInwin case / Enermax 431W PSU3DMark2001SE = 13223http://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=4569591

Thank you!! You have all been a help!:-beerchugTravis