Building a new computer

[tman]

First, I'll explain my situation:

I'm running on a Dell now, but thats not the problem. We had an old Packard Bell a few years ago, and it's been handed down to me. Specs:

Pentium MMX
4.3g Hard Drive
a motherboard that rests on the bottom of the case, with a vertical plate mounted to it in a slot, and the vertical plate has expansion slots for additional cards.
No idea what watt power supply.
CD Rom Drive 52X (2 blank 5.25 bays)
Floppy Drive
Windows 95

I want to strip the computer, reusing the CD drive, floppy drive, and possibly the power supply. The motherboard I was looking at is the vertical, not horizontal type. Is there a way to reuse the vertical card I have with the vertical motherboard? Here is what I was wanting to get:

-Asus A7N8X motherboard (Not sure whats built in and not)
-I wanted to add a Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum sound card with the 5.25 bay insert that has jacks for audio/video equipment.
-I want at least 256 RAM (Not sure what type I need)
-Maxtor 40(or greator) Hard Drive
-AMD Athlon XP processor
-Windows XP

Basically, I want a system that I can make competant for today, but will be able to easily upgrade in the future. I can't do that now, because everything is integrated together.

On the motherboard issue, if it's not possible to reuse the vertical card I mentioned, then would I be better off to just buy a new case?

Thanks for reading so far, I'm really quite interested in computers, and I really want to build this computer.

[Graphik Styles]

hmm what would you be using this computer for?

[tman]

basically, to do paper writing for school, and be strong enough to handle games well. I'll be playing Nascar 3, Rollercoaster tycoon 1 and 2, Age of empires 1 and 2. Feel free to add and delete components as you see fit, nothing is really set in stone in my mind right now. Thanks guys, this is appreciated.

[Webmaster_Zeus]

You will not be able to salvage the case, so you'll most likely have to buy a new case, as with brand names they tend to use proprietry stuff so its useless.

Secondly the power-supply MIGHT be re-usable (should be atx) but depending if its atx or at connection, it can be re-use (only atx connection).

Also check the mounting points of the power-supply as u'll be getting a new case for the new pc.

Get some 512mb of ram, at least pc 333.
Athlon 2000xp+ at least
use the mobo u mention
video card, well this is debatable, either a 4200 or 5600, up to u if u like dx9
and sound card, depending on the different mobo you select, use the nforce sound onboard, its quite good actually.

get a new hard drive too, at least 80-100 gigs.

That's about the specs currently, a bit hard for me to give specifics without the cost your willing to fork out plus I'm only aware of the Australian market. Good luck.

[tman]

well thanks, I figured I'd have to scrap the case. Is there any harm in buying off of ebay? I'd of course use reputable sellers. I'm worried about the scans the postal service uses, with radiation and all. Couldnt that ruin stuff?

[Webmaster_Zeus]

I know ppl whom have traded off ebay, but its touch and go, personally I'd prefer a front end shop, for warranty purposes its SO MUCH easier.

But whatever you do, just becareful and get educated, if you undsure how to tackle this post specific question and the other members and myself will do our best to steer u towards the right direction.

[tman]

The front end shops are much more expensive too

[Webmaster_Zeus]

There's a shop here in australia that sells the good products so cheap (been around for 10 yrs as far as I know) and its a front end shop.

Its most likely bargain hunting as I'm sure there are shops which is similar to what I've mentioned above.

Its really your call about the products and price you buy, but if you DO buy, buy quality products. By that I mean the brand names, and have regular driver updates. Drivers are the lifeline of stability, without much driver support, you may as well burn your money to tell you the truth, as drivers offer stability as well as compatibility and performance through each revision.

[tman]

So you said the motherboard had audio and video built in?

[Webmaster_Zeus]

Go for the Asus A7N8X Deluxe, you won't regret it.

For more info check out www.asus.com.tw and select where appropriate you region.

[tman]

alright, my shopping list:

-new vertical mobo ATX case and power supply
-Asus A7N8X Mobo
-AMD Athlon 2000xp processor
-Windows XP
-Maxtor 80gig HD
-New CD Drive
-new floppy drive
-500+ memory
-Will reuse monitor(eventual upgrade
-Will reuse mouse/keyboard
-will eventually get a new printer

My current mouse is a USB mouse, but has an adapter for the ps/2 port. Which is the better port to use?

What type of memory is used by the A7N8X? (EDO, SDRAM, etc.)

I'm sorry for asking so many questions, This is my first computer build. what will happen on first boot? Does the mobo know enough of DOS to let me install windows? What order should the software for the components be installed?

[Graphik Styles]

if your going to play games then i would suggest not using xp. I would suggest Windows ME, as its seen as alot better for games and stuff. But as you are upgrading everything you might as well get XP.

[Webmaster_Zeus]

Your missing out on a video card, get either Nvidia or ATi.

The one your looking at for Nvidia would either be the Ti4200 or the 5600 at least (you'll have to look at benchmarks to determine which you want, and if you'd like direct x 9 support or not).

For ATi look at around the 9200 or higher, again, benchmark and considerations.

Secondly, the ram used will be DDR ram (double data ram), which means there's a dual bus channel to the ram (parallel way of running it, but there is overheads, etc but you don't have to worry bout this bit, its comp architecture stuff).

SDRAM and EDO ram have been essentially replaces, EDO has parity checking which was needed in the old days (ALOT of performance overheads) and SDRAM well too slow for conventional use.

In regards to performance in relation to operating system, that's BS. If your looking in the sense of PURE performance, go for Windows 9x series, they allow the hardware direct communication and there's no encapsulation that ME provides with hardware and various memory management. But stick with XP because of various reasons:
-compatibility
-support for newer hardwares and its function
-driver support
-better memory management
-better security in relation to older version of windows
-better networking support compared to older version of windows

I mean, there's HUGE benefits in going to windows xp that your well worth in getting it.

Now basically you need to hunt for your video card.

[Graphik Styles]

from what i hear, ATi cards dont support OpenGl modes well, which is what alot of games use. I would suggest getting something that is made for OpenGL games.

[tman]

Thanks for being patient so far De$i and zeus, but what is De$i talking about?