AMD Newbie..... Motherboard and Mem Questions.......

[Rhino]

Hello Everyone,
I am building my first system. I don't think it's will be anything I can't handle but I would like some advise from the hardcore builders out there. I need help picking out a Motherboard for an AMD XP2100 CPU. I was told by a friend that I should go with an Asus A7N8X-Deluxe. Is there a better choice out there? Also how crazy should I go with memory? Do I need Corsair PC3200 DDR400 or will Crucial DDR PC2700 work just as well for 50 bucks less? I would described my PC use as "Hardcore" and a somewhat stable system is required for my work connection.

:cool:

[Wicked Klown]

Most people will tell you thats a good board. As for the ram and you want big brand name go with Cosair PC3200 or wait for the PC3500. Also what OS are you going to be using.

[Rhino]

I plan on running either W2k Pro (have a copy already) or XP Pro.

[Wicked Klown]

Ok if you go with XP Pro I would say get 512mb of ram.

[AstrumPreliator]

Get as much RAM as possible. You can never have enough. I have 768 right now, I am thinking about upgrading to a gig or more. Trust me.
And yes, go with Cosair PC3500 when it comes out.

[JDXNC]

Unless you plan to overclock that rig, get double the amount of PC2700.

[imported_Yoshi]

I like the Asus A7N8X, it is nice and stable. I didnt get very good OC results though.
I just got a Leadtek K7NCR18D Pro, I am going to install it tonight and get it OCed and benched this weekend Ill let you know how it works out.
I am using a XP2100 btw.

[SeanOMatic]

Did the Leadtek even work for you Yosh?

I swear, mine sucked the bullet, big time. I did however go back to single CPU for one day...

www.viperlair.com/~sean/asus.JPG

[Tearom]

I just purchased, as in 3 hours ago, the XP 2100+, The Gigabyte GA-7AVXP KT400 and 1GB of Samsung PC2700 DDR, from 11cb.com. All I read while researching my choices, taking in cost and performance, showed that to be the best bang for buck setup. Yes I know, an NForce2 board would have been better, but I couldn't afford it atm. As for the PC2700 memory, I researched it extensively and found many sites posting benchmarks compairing the 2700 and 3200 mem modules. In every case the 3200 only beat out the 2700 buy a few points. These were varied benches ranging from Sandra to Quake3. Like I said, I went for bang for buck, not newest products. The Samsung memory is highly recommended for its ability to handle "aggressive" overclocking as is the Gigabyte mobo. Lets hope it all turns out to be true.

Gigabyte GA-7AVXP Review: http://www.tweakers.com.au/articles/mother...7vaxp/page1.asp (http://www.tweakers.com.au/articles/motherboard/gigabyte_7vaxp/page1.asp)

DDR Benchmarks (Not the ones I read initially, can't remember where it was at, but same results.): http://www.3dxtreme.org/crucialmushkin.shtml

[Rhino]

:lol: Aight! Got it all together and it rocks! Thanks for the help! Now where can I find a free program to benchmark it? Also what temp should this sucker be running at and where can I learn about overclocking it?

Asus A7N8X-Deluxe Audio AGP8X LAN
AMD Athlon XP 2100+ (266MHz FSB)
512MB Samsung PC2700 DDR333
Gforce 2 (will upgrade when the budget allows)

[RenGryffyn]

u can go to overclockers.com or tomshardware.com.....they have alot of resoures there already.

[Majin Buu]

It's been 3 weeks now since I built my first system and it's running stable and sweet. I did research for it at tom's hardware, overclockers, etc and these forums.
Leadtek K7NCR18D Pro
AMD Athlon XP 2100+
512MB Crucial PC2100 DDR
Gainward Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti 200
Ahanix Platinum XP case w/ built in digital thermometer and side window
Antec True 330w PSU
Thermaltake Volcano 7 HSF

[Evil_Spork]

get that asus mobo its VERY good. and also either of the ram you mentioned will work fine.