On Fri, 21 Feb 2003 14:07:18 -0800, Lloyd Sumpter staggered into the
Black Sun and said:
Quote:> the AMD Duron processor and 256MB RAM (For under $400CDN). The ones at
> this price have "on-board" video, sound and NIC. one system uses a
> "PCChips M810 AMD" motherboard.
Stay far away from that. PCChips make cheap, shoddy junk for the most
part. The motherboard is the *LAST* place you should be trying to cut
corners if you're building an x86 system; it's the most annoying thing
to replace, the hardest thing to diagnose problems with, and its quality
can vastly affect system speed/stability.
Quote:> Another uses "ECS K7SEM All-in-one" motherboard.
Better, maybe. I looked at something like that recently, it had an SiS
chipset though which I consider a red flag.
Quote:> If there's a problem, can the on-board stuff be disabled so I can use
> my current stuff?
Maybe. Remember, when it comes to computer hardware, you get what you
pay for.
Quote:> Also, is it worth it to go to an XP or Athlon rather than a Duron?
If you're looking for "cheap", no.
Quote:> mainly looking at more and faster RAM: my current system is a 400Mhz
> PII with 128MB
(All prices are in USA $, convert as necessary.) Get a quality
motherboard with as few integrated bits as possible and the cheapest,
slowest Duron you can find. Pricewatch lists a Duron 800 with a
Gigabyte GA-7ZXE combo for $94.50 in their "motherboard combos" section.
Round off with a TNT2 video card ($30), an ES1371 sound card ($30), and
an RTL8139 NIC ($10). That's $170+shipping, say $200 US total. Add a
$60 512M stick of PC133 RAM, and you should be under $400 Canuckistan $.
--
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see
Brainbench MVP for Linux Admin /
http://www.brainbench.com / "He is a rhythmic movement of the
-----------------------------/ penguins, is Tux." --MegaHAL
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