I took the plunge! Check it out

Howdy all- Well, after reading sharkyforums for a year on my blazing-fast, uh, pentium 166 mhz :eek:, I decided a new computer was in order. The victory is that this forum conviced me to build a new rig rather than buy a pre-built. I am a little nervous, but I'm counting on you guys for help and advice. So I placed my order last night, and I'd like you all to check it out.

Everything below is purchased from Newegg, with the exception of the memory from spartantech.com, and the heatsink/fan from kdc.

CASE ANTEC SERVER SX1040 w/400 watt 1 $118.00
EP-8K5A2+ EPOX RET 1 $105.00
AMD 2000+/266 ATHLON XP OEM 1 $105.00
Thermalright AX-7 1 $24.00
Sunon 80mmx25mm 4-wire 50CFM 1 $8.00
Arctic Silver 3 1 $6.00
Corsair XMS 3200 C2 512mb 1 $185.00
ATI RADEON 8500LE 128MB DDR 1 $107.00
WD Special Edition 8mb cache 80gb 1 $107.00
DVD LITE ON 16X Retail 1 $39.00
CDRW LITE ON 48x Retail 1 $79.00
Santa Cruz Turtle Beach 1 $59.00
18 in. ata100/133 round cables 3 $22.50
Windows XP pro 1 $139.00
Shipping roughly $55.00

TOTAL $1158.50

So what do you guys think?? Also, any good advice for a 1st time builder? Is there hardware I missed?? Thanks guys! :D

congrats on ur new rig :) , there is nothing wrong with it..how long did ur p1 last you?....are u planning to use this for as long as u used the p1 ??.... lol...now just update ur sig and you're all set. :) :cool:

Agreed, looks like a nice machine. I imagine you'll be pretty amazed when you get it put together and switch from that ol' 166. :eek: :D The only issue I have with your setup is the 50CFM Sunon, as it would likely be too loud for my tastes. But that's a minor complaint - you can always replace it with a quieter fan if you find it's too loud.

Nice work, mealeyma. :) Let us know if you need help with anything, there's always someone around willing to lend a hand. ;)

Looks good -- we assume you're using the floppy, keyboard, mouse, and monitor from your old system?

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Originally posted by OS-Wiz
Looks good -- we assume you're using the floppy, keyboard, mouse, and monitor from your old system?

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I hope so.

Just a thought. If you are using the Original keyboard and mouse that came with your P166 you might experience some problems... The keyboard will probably have a DIN plug which does´t exist on newer mobos (there are DIN -> PS/2 adapters, but why not invest in a new kb while your at it they aren´t that expensive). The serial mouse will probably work, but i would recommend you to get a PS/2 / USB mouse.

yupe replace the monitor, keyboard and mouse.

keyboard is cheap anyway.

also get a usb mouse (optical ones if u can) switch from serial to usb or even ps/2 mouse is MUCH smoother. especially with winxp
its worth the extra bux. it just won't feel good haveing a spanking new system and an old kybd/mouse sticking out.

get a new 19 or 17 inch monitor. they not that much these days anyway. since u u sing a P166 before, I figure u was using a 15 inch monitor?

Damn thats gonna feel great when you get you system up and running. I thought I had a big jump coming from a P3 450 and a tnt graphics card. I wish I can get that same experience again. Don't worry I had the same scare when I was building my computer less than a year ago, but sharky came to the rescue. Its really not as hard as it seems(quite easy actually). I started not even really knowing what a pci slot or even a heatsink was for. You'll be ok and after you'll wonder why everybody doesn't build there own comps. I even find myself preaching to others about building there own comps. he he :D

I just bought today - microsoft office xp keyboard, and the optical intellimouse 3.0...quite the upgrade for me!

Also, I bought the MAG 15 in. LCD from BB for 299.00 after rebate...I was very impressed, as I have been shopping for cheaper LCDs for quite some time. It looks amazing to me even hooked up to my old 1 mb video card (it's so funny, in order to obtain 1078x768, I can only use 256 colors:( but the clarity is so much better than my old 14 in CTX which was really hurting my eyes.

1st mistake, trying to save to much money by not getting a retail boxed cpu w/ 3-year warranty.
plus that heatsink fan is gonna sound like a vacuum cleaner...heehhe

That looks like a pretty nice system. You're gonna like it a lot more. :) I went from a 120MHz to the machine in my sig. :eek: That was a huge improvement in performance! :)

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Originally posted by superslub
1st mistake, trying to save to much money by not getting a retail boxed cpu w/ 3-year warranty.
plus that heatsink fan is gonna sound like a vacuum cleaner...heehhe

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Well, I don't think buying the OEM 2000 was a mistake at all- I had planned on using better cooling than retail, and 100 bucks for a processor is dirt cheap IMO. Also, I know that the Sunon fan will be a little loud, but I can definately live with that, as I plan to try a little overclocking too