"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
P. Fritz wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
P. Fritz wrote:
" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
...
wrote in message
ups.com...
Harry Krause wrote:
JimH wrote:
Based on the reported performance results of the last system you
put
together I would appreciate your comments and opinions on this
system I plan
to put together with my son:

MSI K8N Neo4/SLI motherboard (w/built in SoundBlaster Live chip)
Althion 64 3000+ CPU, Socket 939 version
2 GB DDR400 Corair Ram
256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX video card
Antec Performance TX640B Series Case
Plextor PX-716A dual layer DVD 16X
Maxtor 300GB DiamondMax hard drive
Viewsonic 17" Thinedge VP171B LCD flat panel monitor
Windows XP Professional OEM

He already has a decent keyboard, speakers and optical mouse. I
will also
add a DVD player so he can record copies of the DVD's he owns.

I can do this for around $2,000.

Any suggestions or comments?

PS (I know this was previously posted but I never received any
feedback
from you).


Jim, I don't really know much about the Athlon chips, other than
everyone says some of them are really fast and capable. If your kid
is
going to do a lot of CAD work, I would contact the CAD publisher and
ask
if a dual processor CPU would be helpful, or, in fact *which*
processor(s) work best with the software. Same with the video card.
Some pieces work better than others for CAD.
Dual processors are helpful, as are fast video cards, IF you are
doing
3d modeling, CAD-CAM interfacing, etc. For most 2d and 3d drafting, a
decently quick machine will do nicely.
The Plextor is the same one I have. It's fine. I would go for a
10,000
RPM "C" drive of 75 gigs for the OS and programs, and use that 300
gig
drive for storage. That's pretty much what I did.

I think your monitor choice is too small for CAD work. In fact, I
would
go for a 20 or 21" glass tube monitor. They're not that expensive
any more.
17" works fine. You're almost always zoomed into a specific small
area.

Would you recommend LCD or CRT?
Definitely the LCD. The CRT flicker is hard on the eyes. and they
bigger screens (mine is a 21") take up a lot of desk space and are a
pain in the ass to move. By the biggest LCD you can afford ;-)


You must have a cheap CRT. Mine doesn't visibly flicker. But there's no
doubt the glass tubes take up a lot of real estate. And they still
display "better" than the LCDs.

The flicker doesn't have to be visible to still cause eye strain. Look
at the screen through a digital camera display, and you will see the
flicker.

My 21" screen is over 20" wide and 20" deep

I rarely look through my digital camera display to use my computer
monitor.

Either do I, but it shows the flicker going on. Even though you don't
"see" it, it is there and leads to fatigue for people that sit in front of
a screen all day