Critique My New Rig, Please!

> A few questions:
>
> 1. Do I need a data cable and/or power cord for the SATA hard drive? Any
> other cables?

Well, you will need a floppy drive, if you don't have one, to install your
OS on an SATA hard drive. If your power supply doesn't have SATA
connectors, you will need an adapter, for about 2 bucks or something silly
like that, for one of your molex connectors. The data cable will come with
the mainboard.

>
> 2. What is the difference in these two drives (besides the price)?:
> - MAXTOR 250GB 7V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
> - MAXTOR 250GB 6V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)

No idea. They should both be great. If in doubt, go for the cheaper one.
Someone else who replied obviously doesn't like maxtor, but they are no
worse than many other good brands. I'd prefer WD or Seagate myself, but I'd
build with maxtor, and not think twice about it.

>
> 3. I know little about wireless at this point, but can someone recommend a
> good, inexpensive wireless network adapter? Verizon will be bringing me a
> wireless-G router as part of my fiberoptic installation this week.
>

For wireless, go BELKIN brand or Netgear, in that order. Other good ones
are Linksys and D-Link. Of those four brands, buy the cheapest 802.11g card
that will be compatible with your mainboard. Avoid Asus wireless products
like the plague. You've been warned.

Other thoughts: As someone else mentioned, your power supply needs to be
PCI-Express compatible. If it's not PCI-Express compatible, buy a new one.
There is an "adapter" to make it compatible, but if it's NOT compatible,
it's probably old enough that you should start with a new one anyway. Try
fortron/sparkle, enermax or seasonic, for power supply.

Oh, and ditch the MWAVE RAM!!! Go with Kingston or OCZ instead. It will
save you many headaches. -Dave
 >> Stay informed about: Critique My New Rig, Please! 

Thanks for everything so far. My power supply is an Antec SL350. Do I need
to upgrade to use this board and hard drive? Any recommendations?

"contrapositive" <contrapositive DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2-udnaIOz5voTBzZnZ2dnUVZ_vudnZ2d@giganews.com...
> Here's what I'm looking to purchase. I'm hoping for some feedback in case
> there are any glaring incompatibilities or omissions that I've overlooked.
> Also, I have a few questions toward the end.
>
> M/B: EPOX EP-9NPA+ ULTRA nVIDIA nFORCE4 ULTRA CHIPSET SERIAL ATA300 ATX
> FORM FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/3xPCI-E(X1)/3xPCI/4xDDR W/SATA
> RAID,LAN(Gb),1394A,USB 2.0 & AUDIO (CPU TYPE:AMD ATHLON 64 - SOCKET 939)
>
> CPU: AMD ATHLON 64 3000+ - VENICE, NO EXTRA COOLING FAN
>
> Memory: MWAVE 2GB DDR400 (1GBX2)
>
> CD/DVD: SONY DWQ-120A BLACK 16X SUPER ALL-WRITE DVDRW DRIVE W/SW (White
> box)
>
> Hard drive: MAXTOR 250GB 7V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
> NO DATA CABLE/NO POWER CORD
>
> Video: XFX GEFORCE 6500 128MB PCI EXPRESS DDR2 TV/DVI (#PVT44FRAMG)
> (Retail)
>
> I already have a good case. No dedicated sound card for now.
>
> A few questions:
>
> 1. Do I need a data cable and/or power cord for the SATA hard drive? Any
> other cables?
>
> 2. What is the difference in these two drives (besides the price)?:
> - MAXTOR 250GB 7V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
> - MAXTOR 250GB 6V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
>
> 3. I know little about wireless at this point, but can someone recommend a
> good, inexpensive wireless network adapter? Verizon will be bringing me a
> wireless-G router as part of my fiberoptic installation this week.
>
> Thanks!
>
> -jk
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Critique My New Rig, Please! 

Thoughts inserted in-line...

"contrapositive" <contrapositive.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2-udnaIOz5voTBzZnZ2dnUVZ_vudnZ2d@giganews.com...
> Here's what I'm looking to purchase. I'm hoping for some feedback in case
> there are any glaring incompatibilities or omissions that I've overlooked.
> Also, I have a few questions toward the end.
>
> M/B: EPOX EP-9NPA+ ULTRA nVIDIA nFORCE4 ULTRA CHIPSET SERIAL ATA300 ATX
> FORM FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/3xPCI-E(X1)/3xPCI/4xDDR W/SATA
> RAID,LAN(Gb),1394A,USB 2.0 & AUDIO (CPU TYPE:AMD ATHLON 64 - SOCKET 939)
>
> CPU: AMD ATHLON 64 3000+ - VENICE, NO EXTRA COOLING FAN

It says no "extra" cooling fan. Make sure it comes with a heat sink and
fan. You can buy OEM packages that don't come with those, I think, and you
will be disappointed if you end up without something.

>
> Memory: MWAVE 2GB DDR400 (1GBX2)
>
> CD/DVD: SONY DWQ-120A BLACK 16X SUPER ALL-WRITE DVDRW DRIVE W/SW (White
> box)
>
> Hard drive: MAXTOR 250GB 7V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
> NO DATA CABLE/NO POWER CORD

You will need a data cable and power cable for the drive. My motherboard
(Asus) came with a couple of SATA data cables. Check the motherboard specs
to see if it does, or just get one included in your order. Check to see if
your PSU has SATA power cables, or order an adapter for that (converts
standard 4-pin power connector to SATA).

>
> Video: XFX GEFORCE 6500 128MB PCI EXPRESS DDR2 TV/DVI (#PVT44FRAMG)
> (Retail)
>
> I already have a good case. No dedicated sound card for now.
>
> A few questions:
>
> 1. Do I need a data cable and/or power cord for the SATA hard drive? Any
> other cables?
>
> 2. What is the difference in these two drives (besides the price)?:
> - MAXTOR 250GB 7V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
> - MAXTOR 250GB 6V250F0 STAT300 7200RPM 16MB (Bare drive)
>
> 3. I know little about wireless at this point, but can someone recommend a
> good, inexpensive wireless network adapter? Verizon will be bringing me a
> wireless-G router as part of my fiberoptic installation this week.

Personally, for a desktop, I'd recommend a wired connection, if possible.
Wireless can be interfered with (i.e. 2.4GHz phones, microwaves, etc). Your
motherboard comes with the wired connection available, all you need is the
cable.

>
> Thanks!
>
> -jk
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Critique My New Rig, Please! 

"contrapositive" <contrapositive.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:f9-dnVhRkM2ZuB_ZnZ2dnUVZ_qGdnZ2d@giganews.com...
> Thanks for everything so far. My power supply is an Antec SL350. Do I need
> to upgrade to use this board and hard drive? Any recommendations?
>

From a 350? Yes. Start at 450, and stick to good name brands. -Dave
 >> Stay informed about: Critique My New Rig, Please!