Hi guys,
I'm building my first computer and really need some advice. These are the parts I've choosen to begin with:

1) Asus AMD 762 Chipset ATX Motherboard Model A7M266D
2) Dual AMD Athlon XP 1800+/266 FSB PROCESSOR
3) Cooler Master ATC-201-SX. 10-Bay. All Aluminum Case
4) Seagate Barracuda IV 80GB 7200RPM ST380021A Hard Drive
5) ENERMAX EG465AX-VE (W)FCA. 431W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4
6) KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2100 DDR RAM
7) KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2100 DDR RAM
8) TOSHIBA INTERNAL DVD ROM, 16X DVD, 48X CD ROM
9) Lite On 32x12x40 CDRW

I'm basically going to be using this CPU for on-line editing....I'll be running Avid Express DV and eventually Media 100. I have another internal hardrive and a couple of other parts that I don't have to buy. I'm going to be buying all this from http://www.newegg.com/index.asp?DEPA=1.

The questions I have are:
1) Do you think this power suppy is enough for a dual-proc. system?
2) Would you recommend any other PC2100 DDR RAM memory for this motherboard
3) This case has four fans....do you think it will be enough to keep the system cool. Someone had recommended that I use a Thermal Compound to help the proc. stay a little cooler. Do you agree?
4) Would you recommend any other parts that I might have forgotten so that I would get the optimum output for this CPU
5) Any other advice would be greatly appreciated

Please let me know what you think. I know that I might be going a little overkill here but, I want this computer to be expansive and be able to handle an extremely heavy workload. Thanks for any advice or help you might have.

Sincerely,
Mike K.

Ok, we've got a few problems here.

On the motherboard. I'd probably recommend a VIA chipset over an AMD motherboard. VIA is kind of known for a few compatibility problems if you are installing certain performance enhancement drivers (like the IDE Miniport driver), and things. But I've rarely heard of anyone buying an AMD motherboard. They may have even more problems, I'm not sure though.

However, yes, Asus is generally the best vendor (either that or Abit, Tyan, or MSI/MicroStar).

Athlon XP's (Palamino) will not function as multiprocessors, period. You need an Athlon MP's (Multiprocessor) for that. You'll also need a motherboard that will support dual processors. Furthermore, even if you are running Avid EXpress, and Media 100, dual processors are not needed. You'd be better just to get a 2100+

What interface is that harddrive running on? You don't need 80 gigs unless you really planning on filling up at least 75 gigs of that. The more platters, the slower it will be (I think the maximum density for harddrives now is 40GB per platter, and that's Western Digital's best for 7200 RPM, so that means 2 platters for you, at least).

If you are really looking for performance (and are running IDE anyway), I'd recommend an ATA-133 drive (though Maxtor is the only company currently making those). Also, you'll need a motherboard that supports ATA-133 to get the full benefit (not just ATA-100).

If you're going for SCSI, get an Ultra160 card with a drive at 15,000 RPM (Seagate and Fujitsu both currently have those out, and I'm sure Quantum will be soon to follow, I think IBM may have them out now as well - but 10,000 RPMs are easy to find).

Micron and Crucial are generally the best when it comes to RAM. But I don't see a problem with Kingston (though your NS might be .5 higher). I'll get to the 2100/266 issue below.

I can't really comment on the cooling devices or case, I really wouldn't know the best. I don't overclock anything but my videocard. I have two 80mm ball bearing case fans, and I never overheat.

However, about the burner - a guy I know has had not so good things to say about Lite On. PlexWriter has always been the king of burners, and probably always will. Of course you're going to pay a little more going for their name.

However, on your whole system, now that we have true 166 FSB (333 DDR), and RAM to go with that (also, probably by now, CL 2.0 speeds on the RAM), you might just want to scratch the whole 266MHz idea, and go 333. Also, Intel is starting to move away from RDRAM (Rambus), and going DIMM (DDR SDRAM). They've got new boards still with quad pumped Front Side Bus (533MHz, or 400), but support DDR 333 RAM. This RAM is also known as PC 2700.

Take a look

http://www.via.com.tw/en/apollo/KT333.jsp

http://www.via.com.tw/en/apollo/p4x333.jsp

And don't forget, AMD's new Hammer CPU, the Opteron, is about ready to be all over the retail market. What's the big deal? 64-bit processor.

awesome advice. I'm glad I'd posted this before I went ahead and bought all these parts. I'm gonna do some research about all your recommendations. thank you so much:)

Sure, no problem, I'm glad I could help.

One thing, if you really are going to be doing intense stuff, you might want to consider SCSI (it's going to be more important than your processor related performance).

I think the latest SCSI (this stands for Small Computer System Interface) card by Adaptec is the Ultra160 format. SCSI is a totally different type of interface than IDE - IDE is integrated into your motherboard, SCSI is run by an external card.

Unfortunately this card will cost you maybe about $300. Also, it's important to have a motherboard with 64-bit (66MHz) PCI slots.

The normal read and write speeds (normal speeds, not burst rates) for 7200 RPM, ATA-100 drives are around 10MB per second - if you're on the same drive anyway (if you're going from one hardrive to another, or just reading, it can be about double that). That's why it's called ATA-100 (100 megabits per second, bits, not bytes).

The new SCSI drives run at about 50MB! That's going to effect anything where your harrdrive is involved (that means loading times, and any transfers not on your system bus).

SCSI is also sometimes used for allowing external drives (but mostly for high performance - people don't want to pay that much just to have an external drive, and would just go with Firewire or USB 2.0).

You can read about this here
http://www4.tomshardware.com/storage/02q2/020415/index.html

If you want to read about multiprocessors, you can here (but multiprocessors are basically only needed for servers - or video game programmers at Electronic Arts by chance.... it's also incredibly expensive to buy a motherboard that supports dual processors, as well as the processors themselves)

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_756_809,00.html

Oh, and here's a bit of info on the 64-bit era we are moving into (no more 32-bit digital signals soon enough)

http://www.amd.com/us-en/0,,3715_5753,00.html

Also, if you are going to be doing video related work (or games), you're going to need a good video card. If you're not doing workstation stuff, I would recommend a GeForce 4 Ti4600 by LeadTek. If you want a workstation card, well, I really don't know much about that area.

Dude. Look at this place.

Http://www.ocworkbench.com

They have reviews on every newest hardware there is and their reviews are backed up by bench top tests. You need to look at this place before making a decision.

I'm definitely going to consult you Sciforums people next time I'm interested in buying/buildinga computer. Most likely I'll get bits gradually when I can afford them, and slowly build up a good system. But that way I have to pay a higher price for a large monitor.

Ok,
Based on all your advice. I really did a lot of reasearch into what you were saying and totally agree with you. It is unnecessary to have dual proc. for avid express, also I agree with what you were saying about AMD versus VIA motherboards and 266 versus 333 mhz, PC2100 versus 2700. I am going to go with an IDE hardrive(ATA 133) not SCSI, maybe I'll upgrade in the future. You were right about the burner as well, I need to have a reliable burner so I will spend the extra cash. These are the new parts I have come up with:

1) ABIT AT7 VIA KT333 Chipset Socket A ATX Motherboard
2) AMD ATHLON XP 2100+/266 FSB PROCESSOR
3) KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2700 DDR RAM
4) KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2700 DDR RAM
5) MAXTOR 80GB 7200RPM IDE ULTRA ATA133
6) ENERMAX EG465AX-VE (W)FCA. 431W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4
7) PLEXTOR PX-W4012TA/SW 40x12x40 CD-RW
8) Cooler Master ATC-201-SX. 10-Bay. All Aluminum Case


The last question I have is for the proc. I couldn't find a ATHLON XP 2100+/333 FSB. Have they come out yet? Let me know if you agree with these parts and if you would recommend anything else that I might have missed. I can't thank you enough for all your help. I really appreciate you taking the time out for this. I'd really be screwed if not for this website.....thanks....Mike

Also I going to be using the PINNACLE VIDEO CAPTURE MODEL PRO-ONE video card. Its the most affordable and high quality card in my price range for editing. And its really the most reliable.

If you actually looked at the website I recommended( it has absolutely everything you need to know), you will find ECS motherboard with Sis645 chipset has better performance and price than Abit with via chipset.

I'm not sure where I screwed up. I read the links that you sent me. I went to the VIA Arena product reviews webpage. From the articles I read, the following motherboards were recommended for what I'm looking for:

1)ABIT KX7-333R, VIA KT333 chipset motherboard
2)ABIT AT7 VIA KT333 Chipset Socket A ATX Motherboard
3)EPOX 8K3A+ KT333CE DDR333 266MHz FSB ATA133 RAID Socket A MOTHERBOARD

I'm not sure I understand why the ECS motherboard with Sis645 chipset has better performance and price than Abit with via chipset. Also I did some searches for a ECS motherboard with Sis645 chipset and I think that I have been looking in the wrong places. Is there one you would recommend? Does this mean that I was completely wrong with the parts I have chosen? Please let me know when you have the chance, but I really did read all the stuff you sent me. thanks again...mike

In OC workbench they have a performance comparison chart in most of their reviews. That is what you should look for. You can't go too wrong with Abit and Via though. Just don't get Asus. They offer slightly superior quality but inferior performance for $100 more.

That website has a forum as well. You can learn from people's experience with their system.

Unforunately, I can't sign up for OC workbench forum because I only have a free e-mail address and I can't use my work e-mail. I did however look over the OC workbench reviews for the three previous motherboard I listed and they gave excellent reviews for each one. I also checked out some other boards as well. Based on these reviews I think I'm going to go with the ABIT AT7 VIA KT333 motherboard, although I almost went with the EpOX. Also after going over my budget, I am going with either the AMD ATHLON XP 1900 or 2000+/266 FSB PROCESSOR to save a little cash. Since I can"t sign up for OC workbench forum, and I don't want to keep bothering you with this, I just want to know if you think that the parts I have picked will work well together and be compatible. These are the parts I have chosen:

1) ABIT AT7 VIA KT333 Chipset Socket A ATX Motherboard
2) AMD ATHLON XP 1900 or 2000+/266 FSB PROCESSOR
3) KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2700 DDR RAM
4) KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2700 DDR RAM
5) MAXTOR 80GB 7200RPM IDE ULTRA ATA133
6) ENERMAX EG465AX-VE (W)FCA. 431W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4
7) PLEXTOR PX-W4012TA/SW 40x12x40 CD-RW
8) Cooler Master ATC-201-SX. 10-Bay. All Aluminum Case

thanks again for all your help....Mike

Well, basically on the motherboard, there are 2 important things.

One is to avoid any integrated parts (or, as much as possible, integrated sound isn't the end of the world, and a built in NIC/Ethernet or modem won't kill you - but integrated video will make your PC worthless).

Secondly make sure you get the features you want. If you want a board with a RAID controller, that can be added via PCI slot. However, something like a CNR slot cannot be added on to your motherboard. So if you are thinking of future advanced networking devices, or HUB interfaces, you may want to make sure you get a board with a CNR, AMR, or ACR slot (CNR stands for Communication and Network Riser).

If you want a board with at least 5 PCI slots, some may only have 4 (some may have 6, there are alot of vendors, so it varies) - so this is something you need to look at before buying.

One thing I would do is avoid Gigabyte.

Really, as far as performance, your chipset is going to make more difference than your brand name vendor. SiS (Silicon Integrated Systems) has been doing better over on Intel's side making boards for the Pentium 4's. In my opinion VIA is probably better for an AMD based processor.

A 2000+ Athlon XP will be fine. You can even go with an 1900+ if you need to save money (the true clock speeds of the processors are actually lower - I have an 1800+, it's real clock speed is 1533MHz)

I don't think there will be versions of the Athlon XP with 333 FSB. If you want 333, you'll probably have to go with an Opteron.

But everything looks fine, yes. If you don't want to do SCSI, that's your choice - but I really do need to stress the importance of a good video card if you are doing video related work.

As for a non workstation card, the GeForce 4 Ti 4600 is great. It will handle any game out there. I strongly recommend LeadTek. But if you can't do that, then either GainWard or Inno3D (a part of Innovision). For a workstation card, well, like I said, I don't really know much about that area (though OpenGL 2.0 will be out shortly) - but 3DLabs was the best (they made the Oxygen and Wildcat chipsets) until they were bought over by Creative Labs (the Sound Blaster company).

Not to say they still aren't the best (their chipsets were always way ahead of the competition technologically - they had 128MB VRAM cards when everyone else was doing 64MB). They are also terribly expensive (like uh, $1200 for a video card.................) - but then, workstation cards are basically only designed for professionals (who's companies can usually afford that).

Avoid Elsa though (they're terrible - I think they might be vendoring Nvidia's Quadro chipsets, not sure). Your only other option would be ATI's Fire chipsets. But enough of that, that's for workstation cards. Otherwise a GeForce 4 (any of the Ti line, either 4200, 4400, or 4600) will be great (4600 for maximum performance and quality). Just make sure you do not get an MX card.

You're not bothering me with the questions, keep asking if you need to.

cool, I definitely will. thanks again for all the great advice. I'm probably going to be purchasing the parts in the next month, so I'll give you an update of how things work out. COuldn't have done it without your advice. thanks....mike

Don't know if I'm late but I thought i'd through in my 2-cents anyways. The Asus a7v333 mobo woulda been a better choice but thats all in the eye of the beholder. As for the ram I noticed its pc2700, now I dont know if kingston makes a cas2 version ( i dont buy from them, nothing buy problems) but you should look into finding a company that does, like corsair xms, much faster and very pretty :) oi and the grafix card, i'd forget about the Ti4600 unless you got the mula just growning out your buttock, the Ti4200/64m is just as good and half the price. Personaly I use a gainward Ti4200 on my gaming rig and a wildcat for my work rig.
Ah and the heatsink, thermaltake makes some fairly good ones ranging from "super quiet" to "oh my gawd i wanna kill myself" depending on your cooling needs, you can check out what amd recomends on their site as well. If you get a good case and work the air flow correctly with the fans as well as a decent heat sink you'll have no worries cooling wise mate.

Other then that listen to clarentavious, he knows what hes talking about.