ThunderBird

Dakkon98 · Post by **Dakkon98** » Thu Feb 15, 2001 11:41 am

Well there comes a time when a 400mhz cpu doesn't cut the mustard anymore. That time finaly came.
Made the trip to the local computer stores and gathered price sheets. Came home and studied them for a while. Figured out that two of them where within $10-20 of the other one. So I went with the lowest one. Here is what $305 gets you in Brevard.

1 Asus A7v133a Moterboard Dual UATA 100 ide & hardware RAID 0 ( yes thats 8 ide devices on a mobo)

1 AMD Thunderbired 800Mhz processor*

1 cooling fan

Not bad realy, considering the same set up as a intell machine clocks in @ over$450.
I get an added bonus with the T-Bird though, overclocking somthing intell has stopped altogether on the new CPUs. A good quality pencil and I was able to take the T-Bird from 800mhz to 1.1Ghz in 5 seconds

Wow what a deal!!

More details later.......

[This message has been edited by Scott Danziger (edited February 15, 2001).]

Post by **gmattson** » Thu Feb 15, 2001 2:17 pm

Whenever I read posts like this from our computer literate buddies, I get real sad! Every time I must upgrade, I end up paying retail and getting old technology!

How about explaining the process that will take our Ford Fairlane computers and transform them into Vipers!

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GEM

[This message has been edited by gmattson (edited February 15, 2001).]

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Thu Feb 15, 2001 3:31 pm

You got the ASUS RAID board. GREAT! ASUS is the best. The spec sheet for your board in in the quote section at the end of this document. Mighty fine, mighty fine!

Do you have a soft menu? Those things are amazing.

The new boards with UDMA-100 pretty much have eight IDE ports. You will need a server case if you want to hang a lot of drives on it with a 400 or 450 watt power supply. If you consider moving up to a 1_GHz chip and you haven't picked out a case, get nothing weaker than 350 watts because those T-bird chips soak up the juice.

<hr>
George, doing it is easy. You don't even need a soldering iron anymore. Plug in a few connectors and away you go. However before doing so, read my prior posts on this forum on building a PC where Panther and I debated the virtues of whether to build one or purchase a turnkey system.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote

Asus A7V-133 Socket-A VIA/KT133A-based ATX-style motherboard for Athlon and Duron PGA CPUs with built-in Audio and ATA-100 RAID-0 controller This is Asus's latest Athlon motherboard that supports the soon-to-be-released 266MHz FSB Athlon CPUs. Really nice. Supports 4X AGP and "Thunderbird" 200/266MHz FSB CPUs, UDMA/66 and UDMA/100 hard drives for a total of up to 8 IDE devices. Features support for Stepless Frequency Selection, a new technology which allows CPU frequency settings to be set in 1MHz-increments through the BIOS (or CPU frequency can be hard-set through on-board dip switch). Also includes RAID-0/striping support (optionally set through an on-board jumper on the Promise ATA100 hard drive controller, which will convert the second two IDE ports to a RAID-0). The VIA Apollo KT133A is based on an innovative and scalable architecture that uses a two-chip set consisting of the VT8363A North Bridge controller and the VT82C686B South Bridge controller. Key features include support for four USB ports, AGP Pro/4X, UltraDMA/100 and PC Health Monitoring, 5 x PCI, 3 x SDIMM for maximum 1.5GB PC133 or PC100 SDRAM, 266/200MHz Front Side Bus, PC Health Monitoring & Suspend to RAM and AC'97 Audio. Note: All four of the IDE ports support UDMA/100, but two of the UDMA/100 ports (using the promise controller) are not Linux compatible

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

Tony-San · Post by **Tony-San** » Thu Feb 15, 2001 4:24 pm

George,

Those guys build there own. I simply buy a gateway 2000 with a 3 year on site service plan.

My monitor just went out on me. I called Gateway and they sent a replacement immediatly. Otherwise, it would have cost me 300 bux.

Post by **gmattson** » Thu Feb 15, 2001 6:44 pm

Remember all the trouble I was having with my All-in-wonder 128 Pro?

Turns out it wasn't my imagination. The damn thing is defective. After another round of very expensive phone calls and lots of tests, they finally agree that the board is defective!

I should have inquired if they had an upgrade, since so much time has gone by since buying it.

Gordi Breyette sent me some good tips about the board (he has one), including recommending I get rid of Millinium! However, they now have Millinium drivers, which I've installed. ATI claims their board will work just fine with all versions of Windows.

Meanwhile, I can get info into the computer, but will have to wait for my new board to download it to video.

Oh yes, maybe the board has been responsible for all the lock-ups and screen blanking out I've been experiencing.

Later,
George

a · Post by a » Thu Feb 15, 2001 6:49 pm

Tony has got a good point. However, one CAN get the same thing from a parts house, and there are several local. I won’t go into the build or buy discussion again, George, basically to build because you want to and want to salvage move to the next level with as slim an outlay of bux as possible.

Here’s what you need, George, and you can identify what you have that you can still use:
Monitor, keyboard, mouse. [things to reuse]
Floppy drive and CD drive [more things to reuse]
Hard drives [you can plug them right in without reloading your operating system.]
Video, sound, and modem cards. [things often want to reuse]
Memory [if it fits, consider using it]
Case [only the first time you build necessary]

This is what you want to buy.
Motherboard
CPU

-)open case
-)mount floppy drive and CD drive into case
-)mount hard drive into case.
-)plug cpu into motherboard (someplaces will do that for free)
-)attach fan to plugged in cpu (the same someplaces will do that for free)
-)plug memory into motherboard (if bought new memory, the same someplaces will do that for free too)
-)screw motherboard into case. Oriented child’s play, esp. if you bought a slide-out back.
-)plug in cables from power supply into motherboard. Cables are clearly marked these days plus the manuals have gotten better.
-)Plug cable into floppy and into motherboard.
-)plug cable into CD drive and into motherboard.
-)plug cable into hard drive and into motherboard.
-)plug video card into slot
-)plug monitor into video card, keyboard, mouse and power cable into back of case.
-)turn power on. If no smoke and you used your previous hard drive and with a little luck, you are already up and running.
-)Assuming you are up and running turn power off then attach sound and modem cards, plus any other goodies. Remember software is already installed if you use your old hard drives.

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Thu Feb 15, 2001 6:55 pm

Good thing you don't have to be a speed-typist to build a pc. The above was my post which got away from me before I finished it.

AND the above is PC-correct!

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

dakkon98 · Post by **dakkon98** » Sat Feb 17, 2001 1:21 pm

Yes that softmenu is GREAT! ! do all the configuration right on the screen no more jumpers.
Tony Does have a very valid point.
The system I just built is *basicly* the same as the Gateway I bought. So far the home built is is within $100 of the prebuilt.
BUT it's what *I* wanted, the exact Video card and room for expansion. Granted the Video Card cost as much as the mobo and CPU. What are my warrenty options? 1year on CPU, 5year on Mobo and VideoCard, lifetime on memory. Who does my warrenty work "ME" I call or email the manufacture and get a RMA setup and ship it 2 weeks later I get the replacement. Now thats not next day or even 2-3 day service like Gateway or Dell or even HP. So yes $100 for the faster service is worth it if it's my only system.

Chuck

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Sat Feb 17, 2001 1:57 pm

You'll have a hard time living without a soft menu now, Chuck. What do you have for "stuff" inside the box?

If a person holds on to a system until it is ancient then passes it on to his kids and goes out to buy a newer one at a PC house and does little more then surf the net, keep active in email correspondence, listen to music, do some word processing and maybe a little spreadsheeting, then to get into the nuts and bolts is absurd, Chuck.

However, if you want to configure one, two, or more to your own specifications and want/need to know what's inside as well as being able to upgrade every year or two at a minimum resource impact, then building is cool.

I had both a Dell and two Zeoses right from the factory and enjoyed calling the 800 numbers and having replacement parts ringing my doorbell within a few days.

I don't know about you, Chuck, but even when I purchas a factory-sealed unit, one of the first things that happens is the side covers get removed and with screwdriver in hand....

I think the way George goes through PCs, stomach lining, and hair follicles, he really should investigate putting one together.

You've got to try an LCD monitor, Chuck, they really are an eyesaver.

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

Tony-San · Post by **Tony-San** » Sat Feb 17, 2001 3:02 pm

I just cannot stand all the headaches. Of course, I built my own in 94. Im sure hardware has learned to play nicer with each other since then....

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Sat Feb 17, 2001 4:14 pm

There can be headaches, Tony. Since 1994, however, significant advancements have been made. Today's BIOS makes it so easy.

Unless you are looking for something in particular with a pc, there may be no reason to build. Fact, I'm pretty sick of playing PC mechanic, and only continue because I get bored sometimes and everything just goes together. I wish EVERYTHING just plugged in to the motherboard or was part of it. Besides, If I could go back 20+ years armed with today's knowledge [meaning all that I've been through pc-wise], I wouldn't even have a pc in my home, never mind build one...

Hey, it's snowing outside.

Allen

[This message has been edited by Allen M. (edited February 17, 2001).]

Post by **gmattson** » Sat Feb 17, 2001 7:03 pm

Thanks for the menu "a". I will give it a try.

One question though: My pc came bundled with Windows ME. Will it only work with the original motherboard? I know it checks something when I reformated my hard drive last month.

Thanks again.

George

Allen M. · Post by **Allen M.** » Sat Feb 17, 2001 8:34 pm

That Raedon card has quite the graphics engine in it. I've never seen one, but I'll bet it even has a fan mounted on it. w2k eats memory, so 256 was a smart choice, Chuck.
<hr>
"a" says software operating systems are licensed to the person rather than the machine. Windows, Win95, Win98, NT, and 2k always scan your pc for all sorts of goodies that it needs drivers for.

If something funky is going on then check with the maufacturer of whatever pc that you have.

"a" also says pcsforeveryone.com have a page somewhere on their website about how to build a pc. "a" quickly blasted out the sequence of events without reference, therefore may be good to check out what they say and compare noted, George.

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

Dakkon · Post by **Dakkon** » Sun Feb 18, 2001 2:47 am

Allen,
Sadly some vendors see fit to "encode" their recovery cd so that it only works on their computers.
I know HP does this. I've no idea what it looks for but it's mother board specific only. It's a "big brother" thing :O
Yes there is a fan on the Video Card. But after running the bench marks on this card I'm not to impressed. There is one other card out there that just eats this one alive. Plus it costs the same! LOL live and return i always say.

Dakkon · Post by **Dakkon** » Sun Feb 18, 2001 5:23 am

What the T-Bird has inside:
256meg PC133
15gig ATA66
8gig drive
48x CD-rom
64meg DDR ATI Radeon AGP card
3com NIC
Windows 2k