Have used them for the past 5 years in over 40 machines and no problems. Drivers are better tested than Nvidia too. Don't forget the thermal goo for the heat sink either!
pspr, Case has one fan, I may have to get another Reviews say the sound on the mobo is pretty good Forgot the nic card, thanks for reminding me! I hear 3Com are the best. Also forgot a modem! I was going to see what cables came with everything before ordering. I may use the round kind as that will impede airflow less than wide flat ones. For now I will use 2 existing monitors. I would really like to get LCD but they are just too much. I was thnking about getting 2 19" samsung CRT's. I will def ground myself, plus my office floor is hardwood, not carpet.
Thanks for the offer, I may just take you up on it. I found some pretty good info on tomshardware.com. I have read about a "burn in". What is that? Also, will I just be able to load Win XP or will I have to format/partiton HD? Thanks.
burning in is running the computer for a short while (maybe 24 or 48 hours, up to a week) in order to test all the components and connections in the computer. the theory is that if a part is going to fail, it will fail during this burn-in period. windows xp will automatically ask you if you want to format the hard drive if it isn't already formatted. i recommend you let xp handle it.
Reading up on Power Supplies can be in and of an education all by itself! It is not a very glamorous piece of equipment for your computer, but it is tremendously important. Note: Do not go by the stated total wattage of the product; instead, check the 3 rails for their stated wattages ( +3.3V, +5.0V, and +12V rails ). Remember, a Radeon 9800 Pro during intense gaming can draw about 75 watts of peak power. Moreover, your +3.3V rail is the rail that supports your AGP slot and your RAM. Make sure that this rail can handle all of the power demands of your system. The +12V rail supports your micro-processor. A typical Pentium 4 at 2.60 will require 110 watts at peak use. You might want to go with a power supply unit from PC Power & Cooling down in Southern California. Remember, you get what you pay for when it comes to power supplies! http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/index.htm
Arnie, I don't know how close you are to best buy stores but they have 19 in. viewsonic CRT flatscreen monitor (ultrabrite A90f+) for $229 - not a bad buy for a pretty nice monitor. Before the lcd's became prevalent these viewsonics were selling for around 500 bux if memory serves me correctly.
The processor I ordered says its a "retail box" with heatsink and fan. I would think they would include that. If not I can probably get it at Radio Shack.
Waggie, I've spent untold hours reading up on everything. The case I really wanted had 4 fans but is too wide to go where I want it, so I settled for a basic box with PS and one fan. It says I can add an additional fan in the front. The box I wanted also had a thermo display on the front and 2 speed controls for fan. Its amazing how hot these things can run. Gammers are especailly obsessed with keeping things cool. Lot of good info at tomshardware. I will just have to see how it runs.