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Which operating system?


CaptnKarob
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I am building a new rig - nothing special, but better than what I have now. What I am wondering is what operating system to use. I have XP Professional now, but the memory requirement is high and my new system will only have 256MB at first until I can afford more - I want to keep as much memory free for gaming as possible. I have Windows 2000 Professional at work. I like them both but I can't decide which would be better for my gaming rig. Any suggestions?

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quote:

Originally posted by CaptnKarob:

I am building a new rig - nothing special, but better than what I have now. What I am wondering is what operating system to use. I have XP Professional now, but the memory requirement is high and my new system will only have 256MB at first until I can afford more - I want to keep as much memory free for gaming as possible. I have Windows 2000 Professional at work. I like them both but I can't decide which would be better for my gaming rig. Any suggestions?

Just use XP Pro... Whats the specs?

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I'm not sure what the RAM footprint difference is between 2000 and XP but I would bet its negligible. XP blows 2000 away in device support and XP will be supported longer than 2000.

Both are solid OSes IMO. But why not throw in another 256 MB stick? RAM is cheap. I don't think your lack of RAM should drive your OS decision. You are going to add RAM anyway some day, right?

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quote:

Originally posted by Kenada:

quote:

Originally posted by CaptnKarob:

I am building a new rig - nothing special, but better than what I have now. What I am wondering is what operating system to use. I have XP Professional now, but the memory requirement is high and my new system will only have 256MB at first until I can afford more - I want to keep as much memory free for gaming as possible. I have Windows 2000 Professional at work. I like them both but I can't decide which would be better for my gaming rig. Any suggestions?

Just use XP Pro... Whats the specs?


Here is what I have ordered for parts so far:

PC Chips Motherboard for AMD Processors, Model M811LU

Specifications:

Supported CPU:AMD Athlon/Duron processor Socket A

Chipset:KT266A Northbridge and VT 8235 Southbridge

FSB:200/266MHz

RAM:2 184-pin 2.5V DDR SDRAM (200/266) Max 2GB

IDE:Dual Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 (up to 4 Devices)

Slots:5 PCI slots,1 AGP (4x)

Ports:2xPS2, 1xLPT,1xCOM, 4xUSB and Audio

Onboard Audio:AC '97 Codec VT1612

I will disable the onboard sound and use my Soundblaster 16 PCI

AMD Athlon XP 2000+/266 FSB Thoroughbred 1.67 GHz

256 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM

NvIDIA GeForce 2 400

AMD CPU COOLER SOCKET A WITH 4 COLOR LED FAN

Triple Fan Hard Drive Cooler

40 GB Samsung 7200 RPM HD (will add second HD later)

Duro 400 Watt switching Power supply

(ALL THIS FOR UNDER $200!)

No Case - components will be built into the custom simulator cockpit I am building (see This post)

I'll use a spare 52X CD drive and an old floppy drive I have kicking around.

PS - anyone know where I can get 6 ft IDE cables?

[ 08-13-2003, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: CaptnKarob ]

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quote:

Originally posted by Spindoktor:

I'm not sure what the RAM footprint difference is between 2000 and XP but I would bet its negligible. XP blows 2000 away in device support and XP will be supported longer than 2000.

Both are solid OSes IMO. But why not throw in another 256 MB stick? RAM is cheap. I don't think your lack of RAM should drive your OS decision. You are going to add RAM anyway some day, right?

DDR RAM isn't cheap IMO $80 - $90 for one 512MB stick. I am building this on a VERY tight budget - as it is my wife is pi$$ed at me for spending all of our child tax credit check!

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quote:

Originally posted by Spindoktor:

quote:

DDR RAM isn't cheap IMO $80 - $90 for one 512MB stick.

Ok, so you must have two 128 MB sticks.

No - one 256MB stick for $47

quote:

I will disable the onboard sound and use my Soundblaster 16 PCI

Just something else to consider. You might be better off with the onboard sound.


YOu think so? I just bought the Soundblaster and it is pretty good compared to what I had before. Is the AC '97 Codec VT1612 that comes on the MoBo that much better?

I am a programmer - I do SOFTWARE, not hardware (but I'm learning!) Any advice is much appreciated!

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If you have 256 MB of RAM on one stick, your motherboard can support another 256 MB stick (PC2100) for a total cost of about $45. Thats a lot of bang for the buck. I guess that was my point about it being cheap. When you said you needed to spend $90 for a 512 MB stick, I assume you meant you didn't have a free memory slot.

I can't really say I have first hand experience with the Soundblaster 16 card, but I know it is a low end card. And the onboard sound on your motherboard is more comparable to a mid-level Soundblaster, perhaps a Live or first gen. Audigy card. I'd save the PCI slot and use the onboard sound but you can certainly try both and decide for yourself.

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quote:

Originally posted by Spindoktor:

If you have 256 MB of RAM on one stick, your motherboard can support another 256 MB stick (PC2100) for a total cost of about $45. Thats a lot of bang for the buck. I guess that was my point about it being cheap. When you said you needed to spend $90 for a 512 MB stick, I assume you meant you didn't have a free memory slot.

This mobo has PLENTY of available slots - but I've run out of money for this project so for now I'll have to be satisfied with 256MB RAM.

quote:

I can't really say I have first hand experience with the Soundblaster 16 card, but I know it is a low end card. And the onboard sound on your motherboard is more comparable to a mid-level Soundblaster, perhaps a Live or first gen. Audigy card. I'd save the PCI slot and use the onboard sound but you can certainly try both and decide for yourself.

I bought the SB 16 because it was the cheapest one Wal Mart had It is still better than what my Compaq came with - Maybe I'll leave it in the Compaq and use the OB sound in the new one.

Thanks for the input!

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i have win2kpro .. since win2k is an "older" os it will probably cheaper, since you are on a budget. I have yet to meet any compatibility issue. Say bye bye to dos though, in case you're using it, the closest thing to dos in win2k is the command console.

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I don't know if you've already bough the mobo, but PC Chips are notoriously unreliable. You might be better off looking at another brand, Asus, MSI, Epox etc. Go to www.pcmech.com and see what the guys on the forums have to say about PC Chips . They will also recommend an alternative. they may be cheap mobos, but it could cost you in the long run.

Edit: OK, just realised you've ordered already. too late to change the order?

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quote:

Originally posted by Paddy Gregory:

I don't know if you've already bough the mobo, but PC Chips are notoriously unreliable. You might be better off looking at another brand, Asus, MSI, Epox etc. Go to
and see what the guys on the forums have to say about PC Chips . They will also recommend an alternative. they may be cheap mobos, but it could cost you in the long run.

Edit: OK, just realised you've ordered already. too late to change the order?

This mobo had a 4 star rating on NewEgg.com. I know it is cheap, but I decided to go with it anyway for now. At least I can always upgrade later - which is more than I can say for my damned Compaq!

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This mobo had a 4 star rating on NewEgg.com. I know it is cheap, but I decided to go with it anyway for now. At least I can always upgrade later - which is more than I can say for my damned Compaq!


PC Chips mobos are incredibly cheap. In fact, for about 4 years, if you had one and had to get someting live device drivers, it was a pain. All because they didnt even print indentifiable model numbers on their boards. You had to go to their site that wasnt even up half the time and compare the motherboard to the pictures. Plus, PC Chip boards crap out alot. Thats why their so cheap, you go through so many of em. How much was it BTW?

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