quick component check for an order

doing an order and build for a friend soon and looking at this setup, everything compatible what do you all think??

Asus A7V8X-X-Lan 333MHz FSB Socket-A Motherboard

http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/products/Product.asp?fromwishlist=true&id=469

AMD Athlon XP2800+ Barton (2.083GHz) 333MHz FSB Socket-A Processor- Retail Boxed

http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/products/Product.asp?fromwishlist=true&id=565

256MB DDR333MHz PC2700 184-pin DIMM

http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/products/Product.asp?fromwishlist=true&id=615

Any problems there???

 

I didn't see a brand name for the RAM which is one of the most critical components, along with PSU and mobo....make sure you get a known reputable brand like Kingston, Crucial/Micron, Corsair, etc. (even it costs more, well worth it!).

PS. I don't recommend covering fast DDR RAMs with heatspreader/sink unless you got effective and direct fan to cool them down fast, heatsinks without a connected fan just traps the heat and cooks the component even worse!

The rest looked good but again be careful with the RAM and PSU!

 

So you'd just keep the processor and motherboard but change the ram to kingston? How about this one - http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=2542 ???

Also, the PSU used is going to be a standard 400W supplied with the black zorro case with side window, I guess you'll know the one I mean!

What did you mean about the heatsink thingy??

 

Yes, the RAM you picked looks ok although a few more pointers:

~ The CAS Latency settings on the RAM should be supported by mobo at the default/chosen bus speeds for maximum compatibility. Meaning if you RAM's CAS latency is 2.5 but at 166MHzx2 bus setting mobo only will utilize CAS latency of 3 then it is a loss on RAM's at the very least, worst case scenario? Possibility of system crashes or application errors when running hardcore graphic oriented programs such as new 3D Games. For better performance the CAS latency value should be less and that is why top brand RAM manufacturers generally comes with 2 different versions of the same type RAM: economy and performance versions. Performance versions usually have the tag 'ultra' or 'hyper', where the standard one would be kind of like the one you picked but like I said nothing wrong with the standard version for general computing, ok?

For dual-channel'ing do not buy separate RAM modules even if they are same make/model, always make sure they were a 'matched' pair and stated so!

For PSU, I do not know about that case brand....too many on the market for anyone to know or evaluate them. You can often tell if the PSU is a crappy one or not by mere looks of it. Check the consistant/average Watt output and the maximum, make sure it is adequate for what you are going to have in the case. Make sure +3.3Volt settings is at least 30A (or higher) and +5Volt is 34Amp (or higher). AMD/Pentium Approved PSU is always the prefered PSU given that the Wattage'd suffice. AMD/Pentium recommended is not as solid but still OK as well....
Don't worry about the heat spreader statements I made earlier as long as you have a good cooling in the case..

 

OK right didn't get a word of that about the ram lol i might up it up to 512mb anyway not sure. I just looked for a simple motherboard didn't want anything too fancy and I've trusted Asus for a while now.
My PSU has served well for the few months it's been used and never had any failures with it. I guess it's ok I'll take a look at it later, thanks for the input though.
Oh yes, and also have great cooling, 5 fans, front, side, 2 at back and one on top.

 

I think you have selected pretty decent components and I always favor stability/compatibility over looks/performance. I think it will be a solid rig and yes, Asus despite the extra cost is a sound choice.
You should never go cheap when buying these: RAM, mobo, PSU...also as long as you got good cooling system you are in good shape. The rest of the components are not directly contributing to the overall system reliability as long as they work and are compatible! It may sound odd but it will sink in...in time.

 

It's a solid MOBO for the money, I have one I setup for the kids, works great.
The Kingston Memory is thier value series (Ecconomy stuff,slower timings Cas latency 3)
Lifetime warrenty.

If your going to run XP, 512mb memory would be alot better.

You can run pc3200 DDR on this mobo, usually you can get for around the same price as pc2700

 

Ah ASUS you've already answered the question I was about to ask about running pc3200 i wasn't sure if i definitely could. It said something like if using pc3200 then you can only use up to 2gb of it, did i interpret this correctly?

Also, this is probably a fairly obvious question, but the friend of mine is like me, stuck on a pentium 3 motherboard & processor, so will a reinstall of xp be required when changing this hardware?

 

For CPU change it would not matter at all, however for mobo yeah, big time since you install the mobo drivers on the HD, changing the mobo but keeping the same HD could cause problems/erros, etc. At times I tested it by rebooting XP in safe mode and uninstalling/removing drivers that were no longer valid such as mobo drivers and anything that was integrated on the mobo (audio, NIC, etc) and afterwards boot in normal mode and install the new ones, it seemed to work fine too but nothing like a clean install!