Newbie purchasing A7N8X setup

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris R
  • Start date Start date
C

Chris R

Hello all. I'm a newbie looking to setup a system with the Asus A7N8X.
After reading posts on here for a few weeks I've decided to go with
the following setup:

Asus A7N8X
AMD ATHLON XP 2600+ Barton 333MHz FSB PROCESSOR CPU
CORSAIR MEMORY XMS 2 x 256
XFX Geforce4 MX440 64MB
Creative Lab Sound Blaster 128 PCI Sound Card
MAXTOP CSX147KBF-WIN Intel P4 Ready 7-bay ATX 350WPower

Admittedly some of the components are not great (video/sound/case),
I'm just looking for a decent setup and a learning experience. I do
not *plan* to overclock, although I've read several posts of oc'ing
this type of setup (with better fans of course). Some quick questions
I had were: is 350w ps ok for this setup, or should I get higher (or a
different ps than the supplied one), I've purposely purchased the 2 x
256 memory because I've read that it works great in dual mode with the
nForce boards, however I've read on here that it's not a lot better
than just 1 x 512. Also, I plan to run Win98 (please don't respond by
telling me to use WinXP, which is what I've seen several times :) . If
there's anything I've left out let me know - otherwise any tips I can
get would be greatly appreciated, and hopefully I won't need to come
back with problems after I get this setup! Thanks to all.
 
Sounds like a good setup. By the way the SB128PCI card is very good with a
decent set of speakers. I would recommend you spend a few more dollars and
buy a better video card if you plan to play any 3D games especially
something like Flight Simulator.
 
Why not get the Deluxe version and ditch the 128 soundcard for the 6.1
onboard Nvidia sound?
I have it and I actually took out my Audigy 2 because in my opinion and for
what I use it for the onboard sound was better...
TH
 
Oops make that 5.1 sound...sorry..
TH
Todd Howard said:
Why not get the Deluxe version and ditch the 128 soundcard for the 6.1
onboard Nvidia sound?
I have it and I actually took out my Audigy 2 because in my opinion and for
what I use it for the onboard sound was better...
TH
with
Click to expand...
 
Todd Howard said:
Oops make that 5.1 sound...sorry..
TH
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the tips so quickly! Anyone have opinions on either
the 2 x 256 to run in dual mode, or save a few dollars and just get a
1 x 512? Thanks again, I'm glad I made this post.
 
I run my 2 X 256 in Dual Mode.....but I have never run it in any other
mode.....Way I see it....why not use it, if you have it right? :)
TH
 
Considering the importance of the power supply to everything else in
your box, I'd opt for the best I could find. However,if your computer
is a toy and not a tool, you can probably get by with a no-name
supply. It is difficult to say outright if your 350W supply will be
sufficient because there is no agreed upon standard for how the 350
watts should be apportioned between the various voltage rails in your
system. So one 350 watt supply could provide a hefty 3.3V rail and
starve the 12 volt rail while another could do the reverse. That's why
you're generally safe at 400W and above. However, if I was trying to
design the most cost-effective PC to sell, I would choose the smallest
supply I could find that would safely meet all the voltage
requirements of my system. However, since you have no idea how much
current your pc will consume on each of the rails, and that
information is not easy to come by, then the safest thing you could do
is buy the biggest supply that you could afford.

arnie
 
Considering the importance of the power supply to everything else in
your box, I'd opt for the best I could find. However,if your computer
is a toy and not a tool, you can probably get by with a no-name
supply. It is difficult to say outright if your 350W supply will be
sufficient because there is no agreed upon standard for how the 350
watts should be apportioned between the various voltage rails in your
system. So one 350 watt supply could provide a hefty 3.3V rail and
starve the 12 volt rail while another could do the reverse. That's why
you're generally safe at 400W and above. However, if I was trying to
design the most cost-effective PC to sell, I would choose the smallest
supply I could find that would safely meet all the voltage
requirements of my system. However, since you have no idea how much
current your pc will consume on each of the rails, and that
information is not easy to come by, then the safest thing you could do
is buy the biggest supply that you could afford.

arnie
Click to expand...

From what I read the Asus A7N8X gets the CPU power from the 5 volt
rail and the later models of competitor's boards get it from the 12
volt. So maybe that's a clue as to what you want your power supply to
be strongest in?
 
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