Some thoughts about upgrading.
Keep in mind that this year and beginning of next year a lot of things are going to change. To name a few:
The processor "pin-outs" for the Pentium Prescot.
Same for the Athlon 64 series.
PCI Express will come out
The ATX case design will change.
FSB wil increase so memory will get faster, too.

So your future upgrade (without changing the MB) will probably the top processor of this moment. Same goes for the graphics card.

Or am I wrong?

I have no technical knowledge, so could you please elaborate a little on what those future changes mean? I really don't understand anything about those "pin outs" and whatnots.

As long as you are not recording music/songs... Different in what way? I guess you by songs mean singing without music, think it's called something like a'capella.

Is there any recommended sound card that isn't too expensive?

Depends on what you think at as expencieve. 'Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS' should be the best for games but the 'TerraTec SoundSystem DMX 6fire LT' that is cheaper should also be good, some people say TerraTec soundcards are better for music/singing/movies-sound

Mmm... I might check out this TerraTec. Anyway, I don't intend to get a sound card yet. I'll probably get the PC first. If the sound quality isn't up to my expectations, I'll get a sound card. By then, be ready for plenty of questions regarding "how to insert sound card".

Anyway, I've just checked the CPU chasis that you recommended- Antec Sonata Piano. It's a little... dull-coloured, but it looks ok. It doesn't look "cool" to me, though?... It's black (and things that are black here, including our hair, get heated up pretty easily ) and it says that for quietness, fewer fans have been included? I wonder if that's good because I'm afraid of my CPU getting cooked. I might opt for an extra fan if necessary. This casing looks good to me though. However, I wonder what these descriptions mean?

Quoted from a website:

*edit* All the websites I have seen commend the Antec Sonata for its silence while at work. I like that, because I appreciate a PC that's hardworking and of few words (makes little noise).

[This message has been edited by Duan Xuan (edited 02-08-2004 @ 09:18 AM).]

5.25 external bays are for things like cd-rom/DVD, cd-rw/DVD-rw in other words drives that need external access
3.25 external bays are for things like floppy drive and/or zip drive in otherwords small size drives that need external access
3.25 internal are for hard drives which need no external access

Hope that helps

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Recommended and recommended... it is on the pdf file from cybermind, Antec makes good chasis's (well, I prefer calling them cases), it has a 380 watt quality powersupply which is what you need. It's correct that black is know for easily getting heated, the good thing is that black is also good at getting cooled down.

In your warm climate, be happy you don't have white hair, it will shield you head against the sun for a longer time but it will also take much longer for your head to cool down with a higher chance of you getting a heatstroke.

[This message has been edited by Proconsul Creaticus Dania (edited 02-08-2004 @ 01:22 PM).]

No wonder the old folks here don't like to go outdoors...

Mmm yes, the Antec Sonata is made of thin metal, right? Should be easier to cool it down. So do I need an extra fan then?

Yes, mouselady, that did help. Sounds just nice to me. I will be needing 2 5.25" bays (1 for DVD burner and another for DVD reader) as well as 1 3.25" bay. The more the merrier. I might need them if I want to include another drive next time. Oh, anyway, about a 16x/40x DVD reader, does it mean a 16x DVD reading speed and 40x CD reading speed?

I think I've more or less settled the parts I want. I'll just have to go down to Cybermind to have a last look and get it fixed up. However, I'm worried about aesthetics now (I'm a perfectionist when I want to get things done right ). You see, the Antec chasis is black in colour. I don't want to end up having the other hardware parts like monitor, keyboard and mouse being white. That would just make my CPU look out of place. What would be a recommended colour combination? All black? I'll have a look at some pictures of the Samsung monitor and Logitech keyboard+mouse. If they aren't black, it might mean I have to change them...

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Difficult to say as only you knows how hot it gets in Singapore, if you find out you need an extra fan remember to think about noice. Vantec stealth 80mm should move a lot of air without being too loud. Papst also have lownoice fans but they are more expencieve and moves a lesser amount of air. You migh find other 80mm fans at your place, the important thing is dbA (noice), try keep it about 20dbA or at least below 25dbA, and CFM (Cubic Feet air moved pr. Minute), the more the better but keep an eye on dbA.

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That's correct

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I understand you at this but I got to tell you something regarding black monitors. A black monitor can not get the TCO99 -or better- approval mark as it's not ergonomical good for your eyes. When looking at the screen you get light shining directly into your eyes, when looking away from the screen your eyes pass over the black frame on the monitor. That short but huge difference in light hitting your eyes affects your eyes and brain and will make you getting tired leading to headache if sitting more then a very few hours a day at a black monitor. So what do you like, a great looking monitor and high risk getting tired and a headache or a more boring looking monitor and a much lesser risk of tiredness and headache, that's up to you to decide There are people who never experience problems with black monitors but most people do at some point.

Where is the fan usually fixed to?... Mmm, one of these days, I might go and learn how to fix a PC.

I suppose my health is more important. I have problems with my eyes. Don't want to aggravate it further. I suppose I'll go for a beige-coloured monitor then. I've sort of set my mind on getting a system from Cybermind already. In the first place, it was recommended by someone... I'll probably get the Samsung 753DFX 17" CRT monitor. It's 10 bucks cheaper than a black one anyway. I could spend that on a good meal. I must say it would look rather odd standing beside the Antec case though.

As for the keyboard and mouse, I couldn't find anything about them at all on the net, not even on logitech.com. IMO that website's rotten, way to make a website... They don't even show you all of their products.

Keyboard: Logitech Newtouch-II PS/2 - S$15
Mouse: Logitech Optical Scroll Mouse PS/2 BOX - S$28

What do you think about it? Is it good? I wonder about their colour though... What do PS/2 and BOX stand for anyway?

New processors will have more pin's so they need a different socket. You can't use them in your current motherboard.
The size of the motherboard will change also, so a new motherboard may not fit in current case.
PCI-Express is the new standard "bus" for peripherals, which may replace AGP, so for new graphic cards a new MB is necessary.
The FSB speeds for processors will go up also, and will probably not be supported by your current chipset and BIOS.

What exactly does FSB stand for?...

Also, can't I use PCI slots for the PCI-Express graphics cards? I mean, they should usually be compatible with both PCI-Express as well as PCI or AGP, right? I wonder how many people would bother to get a completely new motherboard just for the newer graphics card. I certainly won't unless I'm really lagging far behind technology.

FSB stands for Front Side Bus. It generally controls the speed of everything on your computer, from your processor, to your graphics card.

Btw, I read at The Register that AMD is going to cut prices by the end of this year so that 64-bit chips won't be any more expensive than 32-bit ones, so you might want to wait. Even if it's half-true, you probably don't want to miss out on the next computing wave.

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A PCI-X (short for PCI express) graphicscard only fits in a PCI-X slot for graphicscards, if PCI cards for the ordinary PCI-X slots are backward compartible I don't know, all I know is there is neither motherboards nor cards out there and the speedgain on a PCI-X graphicscard will not be noticable unless the processingspeed on the graphicscard itself is made higher. The new technology will also be quite expencieve at first and I don't think Duan Xuan want to wait at least a year before getting a new computer. It will also take quite some time before programs can't run on the computer he's about to buy. There will also go quite some time before they stop making AGP based graphicscards. You can still get PCI graphicscards even though APG arrived in 1997 (IIRC)

Yes, PCD's right. I can't wait for another year for a new PC already. Mine current one's becoming a fossil already.

My finalised system is this, including prices:

Motherboard: Asus P4P800 Deluxe - S$329
Processor: Intel Pentium IV 3.0GHz 512kb 800MHz - S$299
Memory: PC3200/400 TwinMOS Dual Ch - S$149
HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax+9 80GB S-ATA (7200rpm/8MB cache) - S$143
VGA card: ATI GeXCube Radeon9600XT (256MB + DVI + TV out) - S$299
Floppy: 1.44MB Panasonic Drive - S$18
DVD-reader: 16x/40x Pioneer 120 (region free, which is good) - S$69
DVD-burner: Plextor PX-708A +/- R/RW - S$460 (it isn't listed on the site's pricelist, so I phoned and made an enquiry)
OS: Windows XP Home - S$159
Casing: Antec Sonata Piano with 380W PSU - S$235
Speakers: Creative Inspire 2.1 2500 - S$65 (from my older list)
Monitor: Samsung 753DFX 17" CRT (white) - S$210
Keyboard: Logitech Newtouch-II PS/2 - S$15
Mouse: Logitech Optical Scroll mouse - S$28
Printer: Canon Bubblejet i455 (4800x1200 dpi) - S$201
Scanner: Canon LiDE 30 Flatbed scanner (with USB 1.1, which isn't so new) - S$199
Total: S$2878

Anything missing from there? I'll try to keep the price lower by bargaining a little.

By the way, one more question regarding monitors. I've already decided on a CRT one, but I've heard some people say that LCDs are more eye-friendly. How true is that?

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One of the differences between a CRT and a LCD monitor is that the CRT monitor constantly refreshes all of the screen while the LCD monitor only refreshes the things that has changed. AFAIR the highest refreshrate on a LCD monitor is 72Hz, that would seem to be a bit slow for many people but as it's only the changes that is refreshed it gives a much more flickerfree picture than a CRT running at 72Hz except when playing games or seing a movie where you will see ghosts and blurr. Now all CRT monitors if TCO99 approved can run the refreshrate at 85Hz at the default resolution wich is 1024x768 for a 17'' monitor.

[This message has been edited by Proconsul Creaticus Dania (edited 02-09-2004 @ 09:42 AM).]

So the constant refreshing of the screen is bad for the eyes? It can't be that bad, can it...

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Depends on your eyes and the monitor. I for instance need a CRT monitor running at atleast 85Hz and a LCD at atleast 72Hz. A CRT at 60Hz makes me feel sick within half an hour while the person normally sitting at the monitor might never experience anything. Some of my friends have their monitor running at 60Hz and claim they can't see it flickering. I've tried sitting at one of the first TFT monitors made by IBM running at a refreshrate at 60Hz, to me it was flickering the other people at the place either said it didn't flicker or that they could only see it if the looked for flickering.

To your eyes and brain the refreshing of the screen works something like turning on and off a light shining directly into your eyes. If the light is turned on and off fast enough your eyes and brain won't note it.

As you see, if you only look at the refreshrate when doing wordprocessing, a TFT/LCD monitor is better than a CRT. If playing games or watching movies the picture is quite different. It looks like a TFT/LCD monitor has to cost at least the double of a CRT having a comparable screen area (15'' TFT/LCD = 17'' CRT) to have the same good colors and brightness but you will still have problems with ghosts and misty/blurred areas around and following fast moving objects in games and movies.

[This message has been edited by Proconsul Creaticus Dania (edited 02-10-2004 @ 06:01 AM).]

My current one is a CRT and I have no problems with it at all. Looks like it should be ok.

Anyway, what do you think of the finalised system?...

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Looks good
I suppose "Memory: PC3200/400 TwinMOS Dual Ch - S$149" is 256MB of RAM (1 or 2 sticks?). With WinXP it's important for reasons of speed not going below 256MB of RAM and it will love you for getting 512MB of RAM

Oh, sorry, I forgot to state the amount of RAM. It's 512MB of memory running on Dual Channel, that means two 256 chips I guess. If I have the cash in the future, I'll throw in another 512 memory chip in.

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Good, just make sure if you want to continue running as Dual Channel to install 2x 256MB PC3200 Dual Channel sticks using the 2 black RAM sockets if you add 512MB RAM When you get the computer the RAM should be installed in the 2 blue RAM sockets else the computer will not run as Dual Channel.

Ok, I'll open up my casing to have a look when it arrives. I'll go and place an order this Saturday if I'm free.

Anyway, is it possible to have 2 256MB chips for Dual Channeling while having another card (or maybe more) without Dual Channel?

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Sorry for not being clear in my former post

As I know there are quite some confusion about Dual Channel RAM I have choosen to make a 'graphical' outline of what works and what not.

Socket1 to 4 are the sockets on the motherboard. DC means Dual Channel RAM. A is a set of Dual Channel RAM. B is an other set of Dual Channel RAM. C is a single block of RAM either non-Dual Channel RAM or from a set of Dual Channel RAM.

#1:
Socket1 DC-A
Socket2
Socket3 DC-A
Socket4
Computer runs in Dual Channel mode

#2:
Socket1 DC-A
Socket2 DC-B
Socket3 DC-A
Socket4 DC-B
Computer runs in Dual Channel mode

#3:
Socket1 DC-A
Socket2 DC-A
Socket3 DC-B
Socket4 DC-B
Computer does not run in Dual Channel mode.

#4:
Socket1 DC-A
Socket2 C
Socket3 DC-A
Socket4 and/or C
Computer does not run in Dual Channel mode.
Edit/ If C is two blocks of RAM from the same set of Dual Channel RAM you have illustration 2 from above. /end Edit

Above setup for Dual Channel RAM is for this particular chipset, other chipsets will have a different setup for running Dual Channel RAM so check with the manual for your motherboard. Note that one thing is common in all cases: Do not add non-Dual Channel RAM and do not mix up the sets of Dual Channel RAM. The two blocks (or sticks) of RAM in a Dual Channel set are 'identical twins' so to say. When the set is split and paired with other RAM they do not work as Dual Channel RAM. So, if you have two sets outside the motherboard, make sure you keep the sets separate so you don't mix them up.

[This message has been edited by Proconsul Creaticus Dania (edited 02-11-2004 @ 09:16 AM).]

I'm not sure if the retailer will give me the manual for the motherboard, but I'll ask anyway...

Are there just 4 slots (for 2 sets of memory sticks) only? I thought there would be more. For Configuration4 in your "illustration", would the 2A Dual Channel memory still be registered in the computer and the C chips treated as individuals? Or will the computer fail to register any RAM?

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The manual is part of what you pay for.

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On motherboards the size of yours there is normally 3 or 4 slots. Max size of RAM/slot is normally 1GB.

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The computer will register all blocks of RAM in all 'illustrations' but only the 2 first configurations will have the computer run in Dual Channel mode.

Edit: Added a line under illustration 4 in my former post

[This message has been edited by Proconsul Creaticus Dania (edited 02-11-2004 @ 09:15 AM).]