Paragon

What are you trying to get out of your computer by overclocking? Overclocking a little bit will not do much of a performance increase (it's when you go from.. say.. 600 to 800 you see something - I OCed my PII300 to 366 and it was not worth it) TBirds will run hot even when they are not OCed (If you HS is not properly installed, you can fry the chip within seconds) It is mostly hit-n-miss when overclocking.. Like Gondor said, not all chips will OC the same. The main thing to keep an eye on is the temp Do not keep your case open when OCing unless you have a large fan on it Test for stability also.. use some 3D tests (like 3DMark2000 and there is a Q3 torture test I think) being able to OC to a certain thing does not mean it is stable - I was able to clock my GF2 GTS ram (no ramsinks but soon will be) to 390 but it didn't even make it thru the first 10 seconds of 3DMark2000 so I will need to get some RamSinks (also getting a LasagnaII for the GPU) Hope this helps a little (most you probably know already)

Ya.. if you think about it.. it could happen to any company. At least WD let everyone know about the problem and took action to fix it

I agree with Dman on his point on the Pro. As for the NV20, I have heard prices of up to $600 (not sure if they are tru tho so don't hold then as fact) I got my 32MB GF2 (CLA2) because of the deal and also because with teh money you will save, you can spend on a better card in the future when teh GTS (or GTS Pro) is startign to hold you back (like my Riva128 was)

quote: Originally posted by Hofy: 2 Western Digital 30 gig ATA 100 7200 RPM HDs (will be set at RAID 0) Nothing but bad news there. Go with some Maxtors or IBM drives. c> TDK 12/10/32 Velocd burner Paragon, the TDK is a Plextor. Just dresses up in TDK. c> Just my 2¢. c> Ah... TDK=Plextor.. groovy I have 2 Maxtor drives at the moment (both ATA66 but not RAID) and have had no problems with them. Had an IBM in this computer (traded for ATA66 Maxtor) and my brother had IBM in his comp with no problems at the moment (Dell likes to use IBM HDs)

Micron Offers DDR to End Users: 01/05/2001 - Duane In an effort to help get DDR memory technology into the hands of consumers, Micron Technology and Crucial Memory have announced that they will start selling PC1600 DDR memory modules directly to consumers for the same price as PC133. This move should also help stifle Rambus and their RDRAM propaganda. If only they had 2100 RAM

Just found this.. I knew it was comin out but not this soon www.Gamersdepot.com TDK Kicks off Multilevel Recording: 01/08/2001 - Duane At CES this week, TDK has announced plans to start implementing multilevel recording into upcoming CDR-W drives. With this technology they claim that they can achieve threefold the current capacity of current CDR-W drives. TDK speculates that end users will be able to store 2GB (gigabytes) of data and record that data at a rate of 36x.

you might want to take a look at the KT133A chipset too.. http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q1/010104/index.htmlBut http://www.hardocp.com/articles/chipset/ktsvsddr/ DDR isn't looking too hot at the moment.. might take your advice. http://www.gamersdepot.com/hardware/motherboards/iwill/ka266-r/001.htm I would probably get the KT133A if I could find it(save a lot of money on RAM) but not sure waht I'm gonna do.

True.. I been thinking about that and might go for the KT133A chipset.. I saw that there was not much difference between that and DDR (DDR is so new..) and if I get a 133 TBird 1.2GHz, I can transfer it to a DDR Mobo if I upgrade when the performance difference is greater (If it gets greater) However, I like the Idea that DDR is faster with 3D modeling programs like 3DMax and other Graphics Programs.. It's a tossup right now- need to do more thinking.. Thanks for you input

Do you really need an Ultra? I bought the CL Annihilator2 and it works wonders for me. However, my system is holding me back now (only get around 2000 marks in 3DMark2000) so I am gonna upgrade my system. Is it really worth spending all that money when in a few months you'll want a different card (NV20 is comin out sometime but is gonna be pretty expensive) even then I wouldn't spend that much on a Video card. I don't mean to dicourage you but when I was shopping around for a car, I asked myself if I really need an Ultra - to me it more of "HEHEHE.. I have an Ultra Card" Response:"OOOOOOOOOOOOO" It's a never-ending battle.. now it's 64MB soon to be 128.. a little crazy don't ya think (I only have 64MB system RAM in this comp) Anyhoo.. I'm just goin on and on.. I have always liked nVidia products (my other card was a 4MB Riva128) and I think they have real good driver updating (unless you are a poor man who has a Riva chip) Sounds like you are in for more of gaming.. go for the nVidia chip. If at really high res (like over 1280X1024) then you will need an Ultra but whats the point at running it that high? Do you really need to? Just to let ya know.. it took me a few months to actually find the card I wanted (plus it helped that I was able to get the CLA2 for 180 and free shipping)

Sounds good then. Now if the damn DDR mobos would come out more.. DDR RAM get cheaper, I could actually build a new computer like I have been wanting to for a year now.. seems like there is always somethign better comin out

for cooling your Video card, you can get a Blue Orb or TennMax LasagnaII (wait till the second version is out) I don't know if you have RamSinks on your card but that might not be a bad Idea if you plan on continually overclocking. I would also put a fan blowing across the card to blow past the RAMSinks.

k.. make sure it is at least 300W (should be since it is AMD approved) Also, what did you have in mind for HeatSink/Fan for the Processor?

quote: Originally posted by Gondor: Abit KT7-RAID w/ 1.2 GHz TBird Wait for DDR support to fully come out - also for DDR RAM to drop in price 2 Western Digital 30 gig ATA 100 7200 RPM HDs (will be set at RAID 0) I always like a seperate HD for backup and otherstuff (my clutter drive - I have everything I need to bring my system back to working order) I am still debating RAID for my system also - depends hoe much I can do it for (not sure what DDR mobos will have it on board and Promise RAID cards have a hefty price tag and converting an ATA100 card to RAID is a lot more work than adding on little resister Hercules Prophet II GTS (Geforce2 64meg gts) ----(transferred from old system) Soundblaster Live! X-Gamer (4 channel ver not 5.1) ----(Transferred from old system) TDK 12/10/32 Velocd burner (mmmm) Take a look at Plextors (heard they were good) I like my Sony but might get a Plextor - something with a large buffer (I think they all have large ones at those speeds) Sony Trinitron 17" (dont have room on my dorm desk for anything bigger) I have a Sony Triny 17" also and if ya can put your desk kittycorner, makes for more space for my upcomming 19" or 21" - there's always room for more. Philips 5x DVD Drive(will get new DVD drive eventually) ----(xfered from old sys) 3Com 10/100 Ethernet Card (btw I own a few linksys products and I have never had a problem with them) Can't say much here.. most cards will work - I went to use a cheap $20 in my Dell and it screwed my system up, had to reformat, was pissed, bought an $80 Intep Pro Management +) 256 meg of PC133 PNY RAM (xfered from old sys) You will need DDR RAM if you get a DDR system (as stated for the mobo above) - pretty expensive at the moment tho (Crucial is selling PC1600 DDR RAM at PC133 cost but do not have PC2100 RAM yet - wait to get PC2100) LT WinModem (for when I am not on campus) ----(xfered from old sys) probably forgetting something here but tell me what you think Let's see.. Case: I don't know.. I'm still looking for a good one that I like. Other than the typical keyboard/mouse etc. (includes Klipsch Pormedia) looks like it is complete.

LOL>. that will definitly keep it cool!!

It depends on how much stuff you plan on putting on your c:/ drive.. is 16BG gonna be enough? I have a Maxtor 27.2 ATA66 drive as my c: and I am using 12GB at the mement.. of course I have 5.3GB on my d: drive (Maxtor 10.2GB ATA66) The SCSI RAID would be nice if that would be enough space. I would actually not bother to mirror your Maxtors.. of course this is just me. And if you don't I would probably not RAID-0 them either - something about a 60GB drive as storage..

Here is one of the previews I looked at from October so there may have been changes http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/00q4/001030/index.html Here are the benchmarks: http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/00q4/001030/athlon-13.html Gaming Benchmarks: http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/00q4/001030/athlon-16.html I'll see if I can find any more. As a side note.. when you get your AMD processor.. ya might want to spend a little extra on a shim so you are less likely to break the damn thing - A lot of HeatSinks go on tight and if you tip the HS.. bad bad bad Here is a link to One that I was made aware of froma friend (I will probably just buy one since it is easier than making one) http://www.nerdsbyte.com/mall/accessories.asp (near the bottom of the page)

Without RAMsinks I cant get to 375.. havn't really tested much since there is really no use on this system (PII300 64MB RAM - LX motherboard 2XAGP) I'll wait till I tweak the card - LasagnaII HS&Fan and Ramsinks with fans As for my HDs.. I don't really backup teh whole drive.. I just backup documents and programs and also keep my personal stuff on it. If I needed to reinstall Windoze.. I would rather just do a total reinstall - better off this way.

Im gonna go with AMD Thunderbird on a DDR RAM Motherboard (760 chipset I believe) they havn;t come out yet last that I checked but I dont see any sense in spending and arm and a leg to buy a P4 (being that they aren't that good as expected) - it would be a little too hard to try and use the computer with only one arm

I was thinking of RAIDing 2 ATA100 drives (between 10-15GB each) on my new system Im gonna build. I know Im gonna buy one so Might as well buy 2..I'll let you know if I end up doing this or not

1. Wait for DDR RAM support to come out (I'm gonna get one when they come out in the coming weeks) - Are you looking on the supplier website or the actual motherboard website? 2. Don't bother wasting money on GeForce2 Ultra unless really play games at 1600X or greater all the time (I got a GeForce2 GTS and I love it - altho I am still on my old PII300 computer) 3. I would suggest gettin the 7200RPM ATA100 drive (I think the DDR Motherboards are gonna support it) and use it as your main drive. Use your old drive as a backup (Dual HDs have come in handy for me when I have to format my C: drive - just backup everything to the second drive - I also keep the program files I download and install for ease of installing my system again)

Joe: BSoD are usually not from hardware and more from software (usually Windows itsself) I used to have Win95b on this computer and used to get BSoD errors like crazy then I upgraded to Win98SE and havehad no problem. Is it the same BSoD that you get? Keep track of them and you can search for them on Microsoft's website and find what is causing it (i.e. you might need to update something) Hope this helps