Dual Athlons

[rabidmonkey]

A friend of mine is looking at building a new computer, and I'm helping him out. One of the options he's considering is a Dual Athlon MP setup, which I have never directly dealt with. Probably will be running a RAID 0 IDE array with 2 drives. He doesn't need anything spectacular in terms of drive bays (3 external 5.25" is fine). What are some case recommendations (obviously I'm going to need a 460W power supply, so keep in mind the case either needs to come with that or nothing at all, or some cheap-o powersupply he can just ditch)? Cheaper is better here, but quality is also important. Was hoping to spend $100-ish or less on just the case (ps separate).

Rabid

 

[rabidmonkey]

forgot to ask - recommendations on where to actually purchase these recommended cases? would need to be shipped to alexandria, VA.

 

[Scootin159]

I'd wait and get that MSI 760MP board that will be able to use a Pentium 4 powersupply. Those type of power supply are much easier to come by. Plus the board is expected to be much cheeper.

 

[rabidmonkey]

Something to consider, but you can always say &quot;why don't you just wait for <...>?&quot;. I'm looking at putting together a syst

em built out of what's available today. When the board is available, and it's stability proven, then it will be considered.

 

[mikef208]

What will be the use of this computer?

 

[rabidmonkey]

He works with graphics &amp; photos (a la photoshop), video editing, gaming. Not sure exactly. Again, this is not the only option he is considering, but it would be nice to know for future reference.

 

[iownj00]

monkey - it wouldn't be much of a wait for a dual mobo from MSI, and the cost will be have of the currently available Tyan. If mid-August is outside of your scope, then scrap the dual Athlon idea.

 

[rabidmonkey]

like i said...there is always something new and exciting just around the corner. There are several other mobo manufacturers reportedly working on dual athlon solutions, which will likely be released just a little bit after the MSI, if he wanted to wait just a few more months... None of this has to do with case recommendations, which is what I was hoping to get here in the Case/cooling forum. This computer isn't for me, and the decisions aren't really up to me. I just was wondering if there were any particular cases that were or were not suitable for a dual athlon rig. Will the 460W power supply (from NMB for example) mount in a standard mid/full tower case? Will the boards receive adequate cooling? I'm looking at something like the Antec SX1030, because I have the 1030B and I really like it.

 

[phatstyl]

a fellow forum member, Russ has a store that sells the IDEAL combo
the Enlight 7237 mid-tower/Enermax EG451P-VE
goto compucheap.com
click on components in the left frame
click on misc in the top frame
its $113

 

[MichaelD]

The Antec 1030/1040 is one of the best midtower case out there in it's price range. Almost perfect (nothing is &quot;perfect&quot airflow and four fans + ps fan STOCK without cutting holes. More than enough room for your system. 4 ext 5.25 bays and 5 internal (6, if you lose the floppy..but everyone needs a floppy) 3.5 bays.

This case rocks. I'm running a 1.1GHz TBird, GF2GTS, 3 Hard Drives and various PCI cards. Case temp never gets above 26C and my CPU temp never breaks 50C even under the most severe circumstances.

As far as the Duallie Athlon MP's go, I don't think his intended usage will take full advantage of their capabilities. Now, if he's got $$$ to burn and just wants bragging rights, well, more power to him! Right now, there's but one mobo/ps combo that' available (read: $$$) I'd wait until August.

 

[rabidmonkey]

thanks phatstyl

michaeld- i love my antec 1030, but I wasn't sure if the dual athlon setup would work in it for some reason, like if the additional power supply required would mount properly, etc.