Building New Computer

[andermic]

I'm building myself a computer to play around with linux so that i dont ahve to dual boot and worry about making sure the computer is easy for my parents to use all at the same time. And I just would like some info on hardware that people have in their computers that work nice. im looking to build a computer that isnt screeming fast, just pretty basic. But i want everything to work. im thinking no more than 1.5GHz on the processor, and 512 MB of ram..... i already have a 60gig hard drive. So, just let me know what goes well together, because im not too sure on what i want to get/what is compatible.

Case>
Motherboard>
Processor>
RAM>
GeForce Chip Video Card>
Floppy>

thats about all that i need.

thanks a lot~
-Michael

[jetblackz]

http://www.newegg.com/

Depends. You could narrow it down to more specific. Do you play games? What kinds? What else would you do with the computer? Is it a server? What distro are you planning on using?

Any all-in-one mobo should suffice. Pick up a case compatible with a front and back case fan. Stick with PS/2 keyboard & mouse. You'll thank yourself later.

[vampylestat]

pick whatever mobo you want, but pick one with ddr and no sdr! makes for a faster machine :p

[JamminJoeyB]

MOBO= anthing P4 with DDR
Video, gotta go with Nvidia here. Find a cheap GeForce 2 or 3. Good driver support and very good install intructions.

Sound, could be onboard or a card. Linux will support most. Just check the disto you are planning on using.

Don't forget USB. Most boards have 2.0 now. Your distro may have support for it or you will have to set it up yourself. I don't have a single USB device so I have never worried about if it worked or not on my machine.

[andermic]

To be more specific, im not a big gamer, but once and if i do want to play games, ill probably just go over to the windows box. I mostly want to do development or programming and maybe some web stuff. Like start a web page and host it from my computer....gotta get dynamic ip/fast internet first. Im going to be running slackware 9.0 or redhat 8.0/9.0 when it comes out if i was reading right.

Thanks for the ideas so far. But i have a question, i'm thinking of going with a p4 1.5Ghz, what would be a good motherboard to get for that processor...one that has USB 2.0 and what not....?

thanks,
-Michael

[Gaccm]

i would suggest getting a 1.4 TBird AMD proc. and get an nForce chipset. this comes with audio/lan/video all built in (video is equivilent to a Geforce 2 MX). This should save ya some cash.

[LinuxLuke]

I personally won't buy another intel chip new, I'm going to support AMD from now on, having used a duron and a celeron, the duron was FAR better, and intel is supporting MS with the paladium deal, so they'll not see any cash from me.

[jetblackz]

Sure thing.

Sounds like you'd be programming for a server. Then you'd want a fast and large HD. DDR RAM would be a good choice, depending on what programming language. Can you say me nitpicking? :) Java enjoys fast RAM and CPU.

If you really want Intel CPU, I won't tell you what to you. May I suggest my fave mobo? You'd get most bang for the buck with ECS.

http://www.ecsusa.com

Not sure about the P1.5 Socket. newegg.com has ECS K7S5A, the most popular in my city, on sale. Take a look. AMD CPU only.

[andermic]

I've decided to go with an AMD Athlon XP 1800 Proc. But going for the motherboard, should i go with SiS or VIA chipset. Dont really know what the difference is or if there really is a difference. they both have the same specs on hardware abilities so does it just come down to cos and what you want on your mobo?

and also, what a good power supply to get and about how much power should i get.....(should i just follow more is better, lol?)

thanks a lot, you guys have really lead me in the right direction so far.

-Michael

[MorphiusFaydal]

I have an athlon XP 1800, and a 300 watt power supply is more than enough. you could probably get a 250 and be safe, but i would say get a 300.

just my $0.02

[jetblackz]

MorphiusFaydal, nice setup.

andermic, you'd want a good PSU _and_ a good UPS. I've been running Enermax 350W Dual-fan for about a year. No problems. My friend just upgraded to Enermax 400W. He has 2x DVD writers and 2x CDRW writers. Can you say overkill?

SiS and VIA are all Chinese to me. I don't give a **** what the chipset is as long as Linux supports it. I hear VIA has an issue with Windows. Just install the VIA all-in-one drivers from the mobo CD. My mobo is VIA-based. No problems with Windows.

Have fun building the system.