This will be my first custom build. It will be used as my primary system, as well as for testing and gaming. I intend to start with a nice aluminum tower with a minimum of 4 5" optical drive bays and a floppy, 3 or 4 HD bays and abundant cooling. I'm thinking a 400w to 450w PS.
My current main system is an Athlon 1400 w/ 1024 MB of 133 SDRAM. I have been very satisfied with performance on this system, it works great for gaming too. Obviously it would be cheaper to re-use the processor and RAM, but I realize that it is already outdated so I suppose an upgrade is wise. I'm addicted to having at least 1GB of RAM, so I'm concerned about the cost of a new MB with processor and RAM. I also need a minimum of 5 PCI slots, AGP for the video card. I prefer not to go with integrated functions, but an integrated ATA 133 controller might be worth looking at. I see no compelling reason to look at SCSI or SATA at this time. I will be staying with Win2K for the OS.

1) Should I look at getting a package deal on case/PS/MB/CPU/RAM, or can I do as well buying the parts?
2) What combination of MB/RAM/CPU will give me the most cost-effective performance?
3) Why not just re-use my CPU/RAM on a new board and update later? I have 2 512MB sticks and 2 256MB sticks of PC133, that I would really like to get some more use out of.

1. Only if it's the right combo for a good price. Thanks to sites like newegg.com buying parts individually does not carry the price premium it once did.

2. cost effective eh? Probably an AMD 2600 or so and a KT400A board which should be coming out soon if I'm not mistaken.

3. Using your current RAM could really limit the new system, and the boards which use PC133 or PC133/DDR hybrid are generally older. I got my 1GB of DDR333 for $300 or so, you could always get say 512MB now and another one later.

I would personally wait for the Gigabyte SiS 655 board (dual channel DDR 400) and maybe a P4 w/hyperthreading, but both of those things will be much more expensive than an AMD setup...the P4 3.06 is somewhere around $600 right now

I suggest ASUS A7N8X Delux.

The onchip soundcard (soundstorm) is more advance than Audigy & just a little short of Audigy 2 (and cost less than audigy 2 card)

And tons of other feature - 2 lan cards, sata....

Same here. I have used about 10 A7N-266vm motherboards (cheaper version of the board that you mentioned) and have had no problems, and some of the best speed I have seen yet. My next board in my computer is going to be the A7N8X Deluxe. Whatever you get though, I highly suggest the nForce chipset.

If you want to do this real cheap, just buy a XP CPU for just now and upgrade the rest later.

I'm thinkin about a new XP (1800+, about €60), overcloking it (since it is unlocked from the factory) to 2200+ to get some nice performance for little money..

Currently I am using an Athlon 1400 @ 1600Mhz...

1) Should I look at getting a package deal on case/PS/MB/CPU/RAM, or can I do as well buying the parts?
2) What combination of MB/RAM/CPU will give me the most cost-effective performance?
3) Why not just re-use my CPU/RAM on a new board and update later? I have 2 512MB sticks and 2 256MB sticks of PC133, that I would really like to get some more use out of.

1) No, never get packages. They may look like a deal, but if you look around, you can get better options for lesser price.

2) Get an MSI nForce2 mobo, Corsair XMS3200C2 RAM, AMD Tbred 2100+ Ver. B. The mobo will auto unlock the Tbred, and locks the PCI and AGP frequency, so you can bring the FSB to 200 w/ the Corsair RAM w/o affecting the system components other than the CPU.

3) nForce2 is a overclockers' dream mobo, it begs for high performance RAM, so your old RAM will hold back it's performance.

4) Go with an Antec Tru430 PSU, it has excellent rails and is virtually silent during operation.

Look around, but your best bet will be NewEgg.com. They have excellent deals on pretty much everything. Shipping for most components are free, and by living in NM, you get tax free (I hate living in CA).

OK, been browsing and I've come with this combination to start shopping for prices and comparisons:
case: Lian-Lu PC-70, 15-bay aluminum (room to play)
MB: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe
Processor: Athlon XP 2600 (best value of the top 3)
DDR RAM: 2x Corsair 512MB PC2700
PS: Antec 430W True430

This is coming in at about $1000 US at NewEgg.
Yikes....
I'm going to visit some local shops to look and compare.

Lian-Li PC-70 and two Corsair 512MB DDR333 modules! Looks like worth the $1000 investment.

ASUS motherboards are too expensive. Why you don't buy a Albatron mobo? They're very good and cheap. MSI motherboards are also very good.

You know, you could cut a huge chunk off the total price by getting a Cheiftec Aluminum Mid-Tower. Has front ports for USB2.0 and firewire. I know some people like the lian-li name, but sometimes it's not worth the price (PC-70: $200 w/ USB 1.1 ports). Seriously.

BTW, don't use retail HSF. Get the OEM 2600+, then head over to svcompucycle.com for a Thermalright SK-7. $20, $4 shipping. Pickup a Sunon 80mm 39CFM while you're at newegg, it's $6 ($5 shippping though). Good quality fan w/ low 32dba. But you could also head over to 2cooltek.com for some better quality Panaflo 80mm High ($10) and Low ($7) for the heatsink and case, they all have 3-pin connectors. Panaflo IMO makes the best fans.

Nice system you put there, RD.... only I'd advice you to take MSI (although that is a personal preference, since I've had far better experiences with MSI than I had with Asus...)....

This board kicks ass!

No ! don't get the XP 2600 , the T-Bred-B (unlocked) 2100 is out now & will easy run as XP 2700 on NF2 board $108@Newegg

I have the ASUS A7N8X DLX and XP 2400 running @166=333fsb=XP 2600 and this is very fast ! I just wish that XP 2100 was out when I got my 2400 , would of saved $$$

If your thinking of an AMD system & want too make sure your making the right choice on CPU & board then go here for some input AMD Boards

If you don't need all the extras on the ASUS board , that Epox NF2 is sweet and will allow all multipliers on the T-Bred-B's without any tricks

IMO the difference between a retail AMD CPU and an OEM isn't sufficient to justify the loss of the 3 yr warranty.. OEM is $275, retail is $297. 22 bucks for 3 years is more than worth it.

The HS/FAN that comes with retail processors, isn't attached, so you can toss it out and grab a thermalright SLK-800/SK-7 and an 80mm Fan for the much improved cooling it provides.

I've heard nothing but good stuff about the EPoX 8rda+ nforce2 mobo, including that the latest bios allows you to change multipliers in the bios, without physically altering the CPU itself. But I'm sure any nForce2 mobo will seriously kick ass.

Definitely get some Corsair XMS PC3200 ram, the DDR333 is good, but the DDR400 is better and it's only $4 more per 256mb.

Take a look at the Chenming aluminum cases, they come in a variety of colors, and they are the same as Chieftecs (which is the retail arm of Chenming). They come with Turbolink (Channel Well Tech) powersupplies, they're $89-99 bucks at newegg.

Can somebody tell this idiot if this is the right RAM for the ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe board: (There seems to be a couple different types of PC3200 DDR-RAM)

CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 512MB 64MX64 PC-3200C2PT With Platinum - Silver Heat Spreader OEM
Specifications:
Speed 400 MHz
Organization 64M x 64
CAS Latency 2-3-3-6-T1
Memory type DDR
Part number: CMX512-3200C2PT

TIA

I think the only difference is the ram cooling.

I'm seeing different speeds and density too. (64x64, 32x8, etc)

The 3200C2PT is the ram recomended by Corsair for the A7N8X

If you want to talk to the Corsair Rep (tech) through a forum then go Here , he'll answer any questions you may have on Corsair.

Thanks. the ASUS site RAM list shows #CMX512-3200C2, I think the "PT" just refers to the platinum heat sink thingy.

Yeah it's also got the "C2" string which is good, better latency than the other stuff.

OK
Placed the orders today. Wanted to say thanks to everybody who contributed. I rarely follow advice, but it's great to have input to give me a place to start. I actually took some of the advice in this case!
Here's the deal:
Lian Li PC-65 case , I can't resist the look and performance of aluminum. Decided that it has enough room for my needs. Comes with 5 fans, I got a few extra just in case.
ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe board WTF, the MB is no place to skimp.
CPU - XP 2600 / 333 FSB Again, WTF, this is my dream system.
Thermalright SK-7 CPU cooler Just too pretty to resist. Will use a Sunan 80mm 39CFU fan to start, the board will monitor temp for me. I really doubt I'll need more cooling than that, and it'll be quieter than the alternatives.
Corsair XMS DDR - 512MB X 2, of PC3200 The board will want 2 sticks for the fancy dual-channel feature, and there's even room for more!
Antec True480 PSU That aughta do it for 4 optical drives and 3 HD's.

Thanks again to everybody. I'l be back on here in a week or 2 when it comes time to try to make it work.

Man, that's one sweet ass system, especially the Mobo, CPU, and RAM. I got the exactly PSU and a pair of SLK-800. Now all I need is a pair of Tbred 2100+ and the MSI K7-L Master mobo.

OK, it's in one piece and more or less running.
The ASUS board leaves a bit to be desired, I would not recommend it. I'd get the non-deluxe version or another board altogether. There's a lot of issues with the NVIDIA drivers, sound, USB, and more. ASUS is dropping the ball with this one. The basic board seems fine though, runs pretty slick. I should have known better than to get an all-in-one board. The XP-2600 is running fine, and cool. (100'F much of the time). The memory works good too, I need to learn more about tweaking this board though.
4 optical drives running on the board, 3 HD's running on a Promise 133 controller, and the SATA ports are still open!

And what seems to be the reason you wouldn't recommend this board ?

Your post is confussing , everything runs fine but......

The onboard USB controllers are shit. i'm going to wind up getting a PCI USB controller. This may be a driver issue, but many people seem to be having similar problems. USB devices are continually vanishing and having to be re-installed, or won't install to begin with, all sorts of buggy problems.
The other issues are all related to the drivers too, it seems that NVIDIA and ASUS do not have their heads together on hardware and drivers. BIOS issues too. The audio is only marginal. Although it does have features like DD encoding, controlls are very limited. The PCI functions are also suspect, conflicts and such. Also, ASUS support is non-existant. It takes hours or days to get somebody on the phone, and emails are ignored completely.

In terms of the processor/chipset function/memory settings, it's great and a tweakers delight. If doing it again i would go for a basic board and PCI cards for all the other stuff.

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/index.php

try this out...IMHO the board is not that bad.

as for audio - it compared to a audigy 2 - u still find it marginal ??


I think the non-delux version is not worth buying - with hardly $30 extra for delux version

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13