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I have been convinced that a 3Dfx video card is a must in order to meet the objectives I set myself. One choice seems to be to get a good 2D card (Matrox Millenium seems to be the best) together with a 3Dfx card such as Diamond Monster 3D or the Orchid Righteous 3D. However, I have just seen UK offering of the Hercules 128/3D which includes a version of the 3Dfx chip.
I have just upgraded the old Pentium with an Orchid
Righteous 3D (3Dfx) graphics card. This makes such a huge
difference in framerate
It seems to me that the quality of the monitor for the purposes that I use the machine is crucial. Fortunately, the change in monitors in use over the past 4 years has been relatively slow, with 14" standard monitors being replaced by 15" ones. My thoughts are that I will by the best 17" monitor that I can afford to fit in with budget constraints. What I need is more advice on what the characteristics of good and bad monitors and how to find out which are good and which are bad.
One thing I would like to achieve is a Flat Screen.
The Iilyama MF-8617E seems to show a good balance between capability and cost and is currently favourite.
Something which supports the new Ultra IDE mode. Just over 3GB in size.
12 to 16 times.
Standard 1.44 unit seems fine for most purposes now. There are 120Mb floppies mentioned, and these could be used for backup (see below), but to date this technology has been slow to catch on and availability of units and software to support them seem non existent.
Should I be giving more thought to this possibility?
I need a unit to take backups of software and files. On my last configuration I used a tape, but the access to retrieve files (especially when you don't know their name) is slow. I would prefer a large removable random access device.
The Iomega ZIP drive seems to work well (I have an external version at work), and I propose that I should use this. I don't know the difference between and internal and external versions. Can anyone enlighten me?
One slight worry is how long will I still be able to purchase new blank disks?
My feeling is that sound is currently not that important. Games don't use the wavetable capability of a sound card - that's for music freaks. In that case the simplest SB16 compatible card will do.
The Creative Lab sound card appears to have an IDE port on it which cannot easily be disabled.
Do not want something to big and powerful as the rest of the family will complain. A small, but good quality pair is what I need. Must be able to plug headphones in (either to the speakers or to the sound card)
I have a microphone, but at the moment I am not sure if it works (cannot get it or any other microphone to work with my current SoundBlaster 16 card, but I suspect the card is at fault.
The case choice is still a little confusing. Firstly, I do not want a desktop chassis for this PC. I like the monitor to be relatively low on the desk, and if the case of the desktop variety then this gets in the way. My ideal case would be as small a tower that I can get away with.
However, to cater for final expansion requirements then it should support:
I think this is catered for my a mid tower.
Are there any cooling considerations?
How does the motherboard fasten to the case.
Where do keyboard, mouse port, serial port and line printer port connectors come. Do these have to be purchased separately and what about the cable between these and the motherboard?
What brackets do I need to fasten the hard disk and CD-ROM drive in place?
What Cables do I need between hard disk and motherboard?
A standard keyboard should be fine. I like one with a "hard" feel.
I like a mouse which is heavy, as I find that the small light mice quickly get to a point where they are always slipping. I have always liked the Microsoft Mouse as it has always worked without slipping on a reasonable mouse mat.
I currently have a Microsoft Sidewinder Pro which I propose to use.
I currently have an external USR Robotics Sportster capable of 33.6Kbs. I intend to use this on a serial port.
| Name | Make | Model | Budget (ex VAT) | Supplier (when order placed) |
| CPU | AMD | K6-PR2-233 | £350 | |
| Memory | 64Mb 60ns SDRAM | £330 | ||
| Motherboard | Uses 430TX | £150 | ||
| Operating System | Microsoft | Windows 95 | £100 | |
| Video Card | Hercules | Stingray 128/3D | £200 | |
| Monitor | 17" | Diamontron Screen | £510 | |
| Hard Disk | Qantum | Fireball ST 3.2Gb | £200 | |
| CD-ROM | Goldstar | 16 | £75 | |
| Floppy Drive | Sony | 1.44 | £15 | |
| Backup | Iomega | ZIP drive internal | £110 | |
| SCSI for Iomega ZIP | Iomega | Zoom | £25 | |
| Sound Card | Creative Labs | SB-16 | £60 | |
| Speakers | Trust | Soundwave 30W | £20 | |
| Microphone | £0 | Use existing | ||
| Modem | US Robotics | Sportster Voice | £0 | Use existing |
| Keyboard | 105 Key Win95 | £25 | ||
| Mouse | Microsoft | Intellimouse | £40 | |
| Joystick | Microsoft | Sidewinder Pro | £0 | Use existing |
| Case | ATX Midi Tower | £75 | ||
| Cables Brackets and Screws | £15 | |||
| £2300.00 |
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page last updated 9th November 1997
© 1997 Alan Chandler