comments on system needed....

I'm looking at putting together a new system, and would appreciate
some comments and recommendataions.

First priority is a rock solid system. Latest model or fastest is not
high on the list.

I do a lot of genealogy work, usually with several application
programs open at the same time; One or two genealogy programs, Access,
with several large (500+MB) databases, and Word all open, cutting and
pasting between.

I currently have a Matrox G400 Dual board with 2, 19" monitors, and
would like to either use that board, or a newer board with 2-monitor
capability . 3D capability is not a priority, as I have no games.

I also do some photo touch-ups and restorations in Photoshop, but
generally not at the same time the other apps are open.

I'm looking at an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe main board. I'll probably add
SATA drives, though not initially (probably use an existing 160GB WD
drive at first). Probably won't be using RAID... I have the capability
now with my Abit KT7A-Raid, but don't use it.

I do need the extra IDE channels, as I tend to run with several hard
drives ..... and lots of backing up between them (and 2 optical
drives).

First, is this Asus a good choice, or is there a better model for my
needs?

Second, what memory is recommended with this board (or whatever board
might be recommended)(I think I need at least 1 GB), and also, which
processor... again, for max stability not necessarily fastest
operation.

Any other comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

Charlie Hoffpauir
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~charlieh/

In article , Charlie
wrote:

I'm looking at putting together a new system, and would appreciate
some comments and recommendataions.

First priority is a rock solid system. Latest model or fastest is not
high on the list.

I do a lot of genealogy work, usually with several application
programs open at the same time; One or two genealogy programs, Access,
with several large (500+MB) databases, and Word all open, cutting and
pasting between.

I currently have a Matrox G400 Dual board with 2, 19" monitors, and
would like to either use that board, or a newer board with 2-monitor
capability . 3D capability is not a priority, as I have no games.

Firstly, you'll need to do some research on your video card. This
post suggests the G400DH may trigger the "AGP_Warn" circuit, a
protection circuit present on many modern Asus motherboards. The
purpose of this circuit, is to detect AGP video cards that don't
have the slots in the edge connector cut properly. If the G400DH
doesn't ground the TYPEDET# signal on pin2A, the motherboard won't
start.

This doesn't hurt the motherboard. For example, you could buy your
new Asus system, insert the G400DH. Press the power button on the
front of the case. If absolutely nothing happens, the G400DH is
an "illegal". If it works, then enjoy it. If the G400DH won't
allow the computer to post, then you may have to buy a newer video
card as well.

http://groups.google.com/groups?thre...ing.google.com

http://forum.matrox.com/mga/viewtopic.php?t=10834
"We've identified the G400 boards that support AGP 4x transfer
rates with an additional '4A' in the part number: G4+MDH4A32GB/40.

G400 boards without the '4A' in the part number will be the
models that may not work with 1.5V only motherboards."


I also do some photo touch-ups and restorations in Photoshop, but
generally not at the same time the other apps are open.

I'm looking at an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe main board. I'll probably add
SATA drives, though not initially (probably use an existing 160GB WD
drive at first). Probably won't be using RAID... I have the capability
now with my Abit KT7A-Raid, but don't use it.

I do need the extra IDE channels, as I tend to run with several hard
drives ..... and lots of backing up between them (and 2 optical
drives).

You can always buy a Promise IDE card, if you need more IDE
connectors. There are also SATA cards, if you want even more
SATA drives.


First, is this Asus a good choice, or is there a better model for my
needs?

First off, I don't own one. So, my opinion here is based on
observing the experiences of others. I would say the A7N8X-E is
a good board, in that the "BIOS-Save-Death" bug appears to be
fixed. I don't see a reason to be worried there. Installing drivers,
getting onboard sound set up, and details like that, appear to
be a bit more work on this board than some others. There is a short
FAQ here which recommends good drivers to use.

http://www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html

When flashing the BIOS, you have to use some care in selecting a
BIOS file to download, as there are a number of different versions
of board, and they have different BIOS. I think BIOS versions 1009
and 1010 were pulled, because of problems. That leaves 1008 and 1011
on the web site. If, when you buy the board, a BIOS 1009 label has
been placed on the flash chip, don't panic, as that 1009 appears to
work, and perhaps is subtly different than the one that was on the
web site. If you do get a BIOS 1009 board, simply use the flash
program to make a backup copy of the BIOS in the flash chip, onto
a floppy. Then, if the BIOS is ever borked, you will have the
original BIOS to use to try to restore it.

For other comments on the board, and Nforce2 issues in general,
see the forums on nforcershq.com .


Second, what memory is recommended with this board (or whatever board
might be recommended)(I think I need at least 1 GB), and also, which
processor... again, for max stability not necessarily fastest
operation.

2x512MB double sided modules in slot 1 and slot 3 should work fine.
Set the memory to operate at the same speed as the processor FSB.
In the BIOS, the memory frequency settings "Sync" or "100%" achieve
the desired affect. "By SPD" would not, if say you bought a FSB333
processor and DDR400 RAM, but when you use the "Sync" setting,
your DDR400 memory would be clocked at DDR333 to match the FSB333
rate.

As for brand, I'm don't put much faith in the Asus provided
qualified vendor list. Some people swear by these lists, and
that is fine. If you buy from a reputable vendor with a good
return policy, then swapping the RAM for ones with a different
kind of chip on them, should fix any compatibility problem.

The bottom of this page lists a few modules:
http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7N8X%20Deluxe

There is a similar list here, probably pretty old now:
http://www.asus.com.tw/mb/socketa/a7n8x/A7N8Xqvl.htm

The manual doesn't have a list in it.
ftp://www.asus.it/pub/ASUS/mb/socka/...x-e_deluxe.pdf

Now, a question you might ask is, why buy DDR400 memory if
buying a FSB333 processor. One answer is, the resale value of
your ram is better, if it says "DDR400" or "PC3200". Buying
DDR333 is a bad investment, as fewer people would be interested
in it.

The second reason, is if you find the computer slow at some
future date, you can set the FSB to 400, and then your DDR400
memory will match perfectly. Many people do this to the 2500+
Barton with FSB333.


Any other comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

Charlie Hoffpauir
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~charlieh/

This page lists various models of processors and their stats:
http://www.qdi.nl/support/CPUQDISocketA.htm

The Barton 2500+ is quite popular, and should be pretty cheap.

Go to this page, select "AMD" and "AthlonXP". The retail version
of the processor comes with heatsink and fan. The OEM would be
just the processor chip itself. (Is there a warranty difference
between the two ?). The retail 2500+ is $89. Compare the number of
reviews for each processor, to get an idea of which processor
most people buy.

http://www.newegg.com/app/manufact.a...log=343&DEPA=0

Just some opinions,
Paul