Future Computer Evaluation. Please respond if you have any a

[INFERNO2000 0]

I've just purchased a new Mobo(Asus K7V) and processor(Athlon 750) from "Whoisyourdaddy". This ad is in the Buy and Sell dept.

 

I've also purchased a new case, an AT901 http://www.pccase.com/products/AT901.html

This comes with a 250W Power supply

 

Parts I'm going to transfer from my current computers are

2 harddrives(30GB and 13.5 GB)

1 Floppy drive(from my 486)

3 128MB PC100 RAM chips

1 Video card(CL Annhilator Pro(GeForce DDR)

1 Sound card(Diamond Sonic Impact S90)

1 Modem(damned if I know)

1 NIC(Intel something or other)

1 DVD

1 CDRW

 

maybe an extra fan from my 486

 

My questions are:

1: Will my power supply give me any problems, or should I swap the 300W my compaq has in it?

 

2: I've read about some problems with Athlons and their motherboards...

Are there any major known problems with this Motherboard and CPU? If so--where can I find fixes

 

3: Will a direct transfer of my harddrives yield a working system, or will I have to reformat to make alterations due to the new motherboard, chipset, and CPU?

 

4: Is there anything else you can comment on that would help me in this endeavour?

 

 

My current computers specs are listed below. Mainly the only change I'm making is NON-Compaq motherboard, and a faster CPU, albeit Athlon instead of PIII.

 

 

------------------

PIII 500 (Pre CuMine)

393(listed)MB RAM

GeForce DDR (Annihilator Pro)

Sonic Impact S90

Win2K Advanced Server

Logitech Itouch Elite

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Everglide (HL Giganta)

Logitech Quickcam Home

etc. etc. etc.

[MarksmanX 0]

Quote:

Originally posted by INFERNO2000:
I've just purchased a new Mobo(Asus K7V) and processor(Athlon 750) from "Whoisyourdaddy". This ad is in the Buy and Sell dept.

I've also purchased a new case, an AT901 http://www.pccase.com/products/AT901.html
This comes with a 250W Power supply

Parts I'm going to transfer from my current computers are
2 harddrives(30GB and 13.5 GB)
1 Floppy drive(from my 486)
3 128MB PC100 RAM chips
1 Video card(CL Annhilator Pro(GeForce DDR)
1 Sound card(Diamond Sonic Impact S90)
1 Modem(damned if I know)
1 NIC(Intel something or other)
1 DVD
1 CDRW

maybe an extra fan from my 486

My questions are:
1: Will my power supply give me any problems, or should I swap the 300W my compaq has in it?

2: I've read about some problems with Athlons and their motherboards...
Are there any major known problems with this Motherboard and CPU? If so--where can I find fixes

3: Will a direct transfer of my harddrives yield a working system, or will I have to reformat to make alterations due to the new motherboard, chipset, and CPU?

4: Is there anything else you can comment on that would help me in this endeavour?


My current computers specs are listed below. Mainly the only change I'm making is NON-Compaq motherboard, and a faster CPU, albeit Athlon instead of PIII.

#1 Yes you need a 300WATT powersupply. The best powersupply can be found at http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/home.htm Also check if that powersupply is compatible with the Athlon motherboards (don't know the website for the powersupply compatibility chart, but it could be at the AMD site)

#2 Yes this is very true and most people have problems are with Nvidia based cards. You can find AGP drivers at the motherboard site that will try to fix these problems or it will set your AGP port to 1X

#3 You need to reformat because you have a new motherboard installed. Not all motherboards are the same and require different drivers to operate.

#4, Get rid of the Diamond Sonic Impact S90 and get a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live! If you have time to toy around with compatibility problems then stick with your current plan. But if you work and don't have hours to kill fixing BSOD or game lockups then get an Intel BX motherboard and CPU. I am recommending what I think is best for a working individual.

------------------
Supermicro P6DBE Rev 3.0 Motherboard
Dual Intel Pentium III 850
512 MEGS of ECC RAM
Sound Blaster Live!
Adaptec 29160 SCSI Card
GeForce 2 GTS 64MB
IBM DMVS18N Ultra 160 Hard Drive
Western Digital 20.5GB Hard Drive
Razer Boom Slang 2000 (USB)
Roland Sound Canvis SC-55
3COM 3CR990-TX-97 with 3XP Processor 10/100 PCI Network Interface Card
Plextor Plexwriter 12/4/32
Pioneer 10X DVD-ROM
Sony GDM-F500R Monitor

[INFERNO2000 0]

Why should I switch my sound card OOC?

 

I've read a lot of complaints about CL's Liveware, and my card works perfectly well...nothing special about it, but it plays all the sounds properly, does A3D, and I can have my headphones and speakers plugged in at the same time.

 

Also, I've already committed myself to the Mobo and CPU....and I go to college, studying computer science. I have plenty of experience ****ing with my computer...and I have time to track down BSODs....usually with my computer they tend to be fixable rather easily.

 

------------------

PIII 500 (Pre CuMine)

393(listed)MB RAM

GeForce DDR (Annihilator Pro)

Sonic Impact S90

Win2K Advanced Server

Logitech Itouch Elite

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Everglide (HL Giganta)

Logitech Quickcam Home

etc. etc. etc.

[GHackmann 0]

1. Definitely go with the 300W power supply. With a GeForce and an Athlon, you might not even get it to POST with only 250W, especially with 4 disk drives (2 HDD + 1 DVD + 1 CD-RW) and 384 MB of RAM. PC Power & Cooling's power supplies are among the best power supplies money can buy, but they're expensive. Antec's 300W power supplies are also terrific, and (like the PCP&C ones) they are AMD certified, but they're significantly cheaper. Either is a good choice.

 

2. The only problem you have to look out for is that Aureal-based sound cards (like the S90) cause crashes. Unless Via or Aureal come up with a fix, you can't use one and expect it to be really stable.

 

3. It depends. Sometimes Windows uses its own chipset drivers, in which case it will simply disable the old ones and install the new ones. Other times, Windows uses ones written by the chipset manufacturers, which can cause major problems when switching computers. I'd personally do a reformat, but if you really want you could *try* a transfer, but you'd better cross your fingers on that one.

 

4. The recommendation to nuke the sound card is a wise one. Diamond isn't exactly well-known for stellar drivers, so you're relying on Aureal (the people who made the chipset in the S90) for drivers. Aureal's Win2K drivers leave a lot to be desired stability-wise (random BSODs are frequently reported), so I'd go with a SB Live!. (SB Live!'s drivers also leave a bit to be desired, especially with EAX, but they're less likely to cause crashes.) If you're not picky, then you could even use the K7V's built-in sound, but don't expect terrific sound quality.

 

I would not, however, recommend ditching the MB and CPU for Intel ones. 95% of the problems reported by Athlon users could be fixed by installing new Via KX133 drivers or by moving the sound card to a different PCI slot so it doesn't share IRQs with something else. If you're really concerned about stability issues, then I'd go with an Abit KA7 or KA7-100 motherboard, which both are very stable, even at high clock speeds.

[INFERNO2000 0]

I'm using Windows 2000's "legacy" drivers.

 

I don't use A3D....at least, it's never worked to my knowledge.

 

 

I'm going to be strapped for cash for a while, so I'll test the S90 first then go for a new soundcard if necessary

 

Also, I think I'll go with the same harddrives, and if it doesn't like it? Damn. Reformat. no loss.

 

Would swapping the 300W Power Supply with the 250W work?

or is that a bad idea?

 

 

------------------

PIII 500 (Pre CuMine)

393(listed)MB RAM

GeForce DDR (Annihilator Pro)

Sonic Impact S90

Win2K Advanced Server

Logitech Itouch Elite

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Everglide (HL Giganta)

Logitech Quickcam Home

etc. etc. etc.

[INFERNO2000 0]

I'm using Windows 2000's "legacy" drivers.

 

I don't use A3D....at least, it's never worked to my knowledge.

 

 

I'm going to be strapped for cash for a while, so I'll test the S90 first then go for a new soundcard if necessary

 

Also, I think I'll go with the same harddrives, and if it doesn't like it? Damn. Reformat. no loss.

 

Would swapping the 300W Power Supply with the 250W work?

or is that a bad idea?

 

 

Also...do the retail chips come with heatsinks, or do I need to look about that on my own?

 

------------------

PIII 500 (Pre CuMine)

393(listed)MB RAM

GeForce DDR (Annihilator Pro)

Sonic Impact S90

Win2K Advanced Server

Logitech Itouch Elite

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Everglide (HL Giganta)

Logitech Quickcam Home

etc. etc. etc.

[MarksmanX 0]

Sound Blaster Live Value is only $37 at http://www.pricewatch.com

 

Your current HardDrives are fine for Windows 2000.

 

I did do a swap with my 350WATT to a 400WATT. I didn't have any problems, but they were the same brand.

 

Retail should come with heatsinks. OEMs don't come with headsinks. But I am not 100% sure for AMD.

 

 

 

------------------

Supermicro P6DBE Rev 3.0 Motherboard

Dual Intel Pentium III 850

512 MEGS of ECC RAM

Sound Blaster Live!

Adaptec 29160 SCSI Card

GeForce 2 GTS 64MB

IBM DMVS18N Ultra 160 Hard Drive

Western Digital 20.5GB Hard Drive

Razer Boom Slang 2000 (USB)

Roland Sound Canvis SC-55

3COM 3CR990-TX-97 with 3XP Processor 10/100 PCI Network Interface Card

Plextor Plexwriter 12/4/32

Pioneer 10X DVD-ROM

Sony GDM-F500R Monitor

[GHackmann 0]

You really do need to replace the sound card even if you're not using A3D. From the EPoX web site:

 

"''VIA Apollo KX133 System Lockup caused by A3D Audio Chip ''

ISSUE

 

Audio cards that use A3D audio chip causes KX133 system to deadlock when system traffic is heavy.

SOLUTION

 

A3D chip issues one memory read request cycle to North Bridge and expects a grant within 4 mico-sec of latency time. If PCI TRDY# is not asserted after 4 mico-sec, the A3D hardware will de-assert the FRAME# and REQ# to terminate the operation. However, the A3D audio software driver cannot acknowledge the termination and continues waiting for hardware response. Hence causes the system to deadlock.

 

This issue will only occur during heavy system traffic when the North Bridge cannot grant access to A3D audio chip within the 4 mico-sec latency time.

 

Source: VIA Application note Serial #AN137 Date 07/05/00.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

 

Since the above issue has no work-around on the VIA Apollo KX133 chipset EPoX suggests against using sound cards based with the A3D audio hardware with our EP-7KXA."

 

Although this note specifically mentions EPoX's motherboard, the same warning goes for all motherboards based on the KX133 or KT133 chipset.

 

If you're strapped for cash, and you're not going to be using A3D anyway, then you might as well use your motherboard's built-in audio, at least in the meantime. Heck, pick up a cheap ISA or PCI sound card; just don't use any Aureal-based cards.

 

Retail AMD chips do come with fans and heatsinks, and OEM ones do not (though some sellers will include their own with the chip), just like Intel ones.

[INFERNO2000 0]

Ok, you twisted my arm....not really, because I found a reason to go Best Buy out of this (that and the fact the RAM I bought last week went on sale. Doh!)

 

 

I picked up a SBLive! X-Gamer, which will hopefully suit my needs...Plus I got some games I can sell to my brother for full cost...

 

 

As for other things, I'm being told I can swap my Power Supplies so long as they're both similar(screw in)...with little to no problem. Hopefully PCCASE.com will email me back so I can tell them to just swap them there.

 

As for the harddrives, I meant basically hot-swapping them, just unplugging, replugging, and booting up.

 

But I think I'll reformat anyway...unless someone is POSITIVE that I'll be ok..

 

 

Anyone know of a modem that uses the AMR(Audio Modem Riser) slot?

 

I don't want to waste a PCI slot for an item I never use..especially when I can just plug my laptop in and use it...

 

 

------------------

PIII 500 (Pre CuMine)

393(listed)MB RAM

GeForce DDR (Annihilator Pro)

Sonic Impact S90

Win2K Advanced Server

Logitech Itouch Elite

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Everglide (HL Giganta)

Logitech Quickcam Home

etc. etc. etc.

[CUViper 0]

you don't have to reformat, but you do have to reinstall the os....

 

just boot off the cd, choose enter to continue, F8 'I agree', R to repair. This will redetect all hardware, chipsets, etc. and should work just fine

[INFERNO2000 0]

Really?

 

Hot damn!

 

Saves me an evening

[INFERNO2000 0]

Oh, and the 300W PowerSupply, has been changed PCCase told me they'd upgrade it for me

 

------------------

BUILDING:

AMD Athlon 750 (Slot A)

Asus K7V Mobo

PNY 384 MB PC100 SDRAM

AT901 Case

CL SB Live! X-Gamer

CL GB Annhilator Pro

Windows 2000 Advanced Server

Logitech Itouch Pro

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Everglide (HL Giganta)

Logitech Quickcam Home(listed as WEB)

Logitech Soundman G1 Speakers

Intel 21143 Ethernet Adapter

 

Linux System(To be built)

PIII 500 (Pre CuMine)

PNY 32MB RAM (subject to change)

I.S.O Video Card(ATI?)

Sonic Impact S90

Mandrake 7.0 or RedHat 6.2

I.S.O Ps2 Keyboard and Mouse

Compaq JBL Speakers

[INFERNO2000 0]

If I install Sp1(assuming it does get released before this weekend), and then click on R when I install it into my old drive, will that fuhk things up? (it trying to overwrite the new files, thus negating any effect SP1 might have)

 

Would I be most wise to just wait until all is put together to install SP1?

 

------------------

BUILDING:

AMD Athlon 750 (Slot A)

Asus K7V Mobo

PNY 384 MB PC100 SDRAM

AT901 Case

CL SB Live! X-Gamer

CL GB Annhilator Pro

Windows 2000 Advanced Server

Logitech Itouch Pro

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Everglide (HL Giganta)

Logitech Quickcam Home(listed as WEB)

Logitech Soundman G1 Speakers

Intel 21143 Ethernet Adapter

 

Linux System(To be built)

PIII 500 (Pre CuMine)

PNY 32MB RAM (subject to change)

I.S.O Video Card(ATI?)

Sonic Impact S90

Mandrake 7.0 or RedHat 6.2

I.S.O Ps2 Keyboard and Mouse

Compaq JBL Speakers