Suggestion and opinion

[Dehcbad25]

Well, I am CompUSA auction member. I signed up a long time. IT is not that bad, since I bought a nice system for my grandmother very cheap. I had been looking lately trying to find a nice laptop with no luck.
But in the accesories I found some stuff interesting. Cheap too, but I am not completely convinced, so I wanted to have some other opinions.
68 Piece Pro Tool Kit (http://compusaauctions.com/Scripts/ListingInfo.asp?LotNo=76758129&SiteCatNo=10677) for 39.46$ I think that is too cheap for a tool set, but it might be a good back up set :D
u-Connect™ Pci to High Speed USB 2.0 2 Port Card (http://compusaauctions.com/Scripts/ListingInfo.asp?LotNo=76758140&SiteCatNo=10677) for 19.04$ (I have a flash USB drive and I tested it, it copies a lot faster with USB 2.0)
Raid Card (http://compusaauctions.com/Scripts/ListingInfo.asp?LotNo=76758101&SiteCatNo=10677) for 29.09$
Or, do you think it is better to invest in a new mobo that includes both things????

[FastGame]

I think you should get a MB with onboard USB 2.0, raid, lan and sound :D

[cash_site]

well just add up the cost of all the pieces, then see what you can get a motherboard for... Newer MB might have some other fancy features too ;) like 800Mhz support for P4, or SATA raid... nice!

[Dehcbad25]

P4???? No way, too expensive:p , plus I am usign AMD
Yes, I was thinking about SATA or at least ATA/133. I didn't actually bought the RAID card because it is ATA/100, so it only gives me RAID, and no other upgrade.
M mobo has LAN, and onboard Audio, but honestely I don't care about the audio. I have an Audigy. It is a good investment, since games actually have better fps when using a not onboard sound card. Jedi Knights II chnaged a lot when I put the card

[FastGame]

Originally posted by Dehcbad25
P4???? No way, but honestely I don't care about the audio. I have an Audigy. It is a good investment, since games actually have better fps when using a not onboard sound card. Jedi Knights II chnaged a lot when I put the card
IMO the onboard sound (Soundstorm) of the NF2 boards sounds better than the Audigy card plus it
uses less CPU than the Audigy so FPS in games is better with Soundstorm ;) If you use the Digital out on Soundstorm it's better than the Audigy2 card.

"P4???? No way" you tell um ;) Dual AMD is real hyper threading & still cheaper :eek:

[zipp51]

$106 for the Asus A7N8X and $126 for the A7N8X Deluxe.These boards will have everything you need for your AMD chip.SATA,USB 2.0 (6), dual LAN,Audio.Note; Supports raid only with SATA hard drives.

[FastGame]

Originally posted by zipp51
Note; Supports raid only with SATA hard drives.
Supports raid with IDE ATA (non-SATA) HD's if they are connected to SATA controlier you just need the IDE ATA to SATA adapters to do so ;)

[Dehcbad25]

well, if only support SATA is OK, because I don't have 2 drives that are the same. I usually just go and buy drives sa they get smaller :p , so I would had to buy 2 drives anyway, since it is going t be difficult to find the same drives.
Still, it is going to be an expensive uprade. I have 1 GB DDR, but PC2100, and I would also have to upgrade the CPU (to take advantage of the new board) + the drives

[Thor]

Using the SATA in the A7N8X D you have to use a matched pair of drives.

[zipp51]

Originally posted by FastGame
Supports raid with IDE ATA (non-SATA) HD's if they are connected to SATA controlier you just need the IDE ATA to SATA adapters to do so ;)

Thanks Fastgame didn't realize that the adapters existed and I am surprised that ASUS didn't include them.Where can I get those little items?:cool:

[FastGame]

Originally posted by zipp51
Thanks Fastgame didn't realize that the adapters existed and I am surprised that ASUS didn't include them.Where can I get those little items?:cool:
The ABIT boards come with an adapter :) I had two but I sent them to Shadow.

You can get them at most online computer stores, Here's one type (http://www.directron.com/ide2sata.html). I like the one's supplied by ABIT because they are fully enclosed and smaller.

[zipp51]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FastGame
[B]The ABIT boards come with an adapter :) I had two but I sent them to Shadow.

Looked through the box and there are just two sata cables for sata hard drives.Also in the manual under Package contents there is no listing for the adapter.Oh well,thanks for the link FG.

[Dehcbad25]

Thor, No I don't have a pair. I know that it needs a pair. I use RAID at the office. You don't want to run server (bussiness) without a RAID system ;)
That is why I said it is no problem the RAID only works with SATA. Since I have to buy the drives, I might as well buy SATA already instead of ATA :D
Probably, I will wait to buy the mobo. I want to concentrate now on studying (I am very delayed, 6 months :p) and I honestely don't have time to be re-installing the OS, so by the time I have time, probably the board will be a lot cheaper, or we will be in SATA 6 :D
I need extra hands, or more hours for each day