The 1.33g Athlon is out, just a little more $ than the 1.2...
I don't know about how it works with Paris, but check-out the Iwill KA266R mobo. I got top-notch advice that it's the best mobo on the market for the big Athlons.
Just my $.02...

Shane,

Though I'm a Mac/Paris user, your list seems to be the most recommended for a PC/Paris rig. Specifically, the MSI 6195 has had great success (I'm not familiar with the mobo SonofSmaug recommended - probably well worth a look as long as there is a non-DDR version - probably too expensive for the minimal gain over PC100/133 RAM, but that's a judgement call). Maxtor drives seem to be the most consistent, fast, reliable, and the best deal too (esp. 60G 7200s). Don't run ATA 100 for now - drop the controller down to ATA66 - ATA100 doesn't work correctly on most mobo's so far. Plextor CD burners are also the most highly recommended, though I've never had even one problem or coaster with my HP8100i CDRW - sorry I don't have a list of the definite problem drives. I'll leave the rest for a PC/Paris user.

Dedric, a few concerns about a PC/Paris system...
I've been warned that Athlons are generally not as stable as Pentiums for audio, in general. Is that the case with Paris? As you know, I have a Mac G4-400 now, but when I go to my new recording app, I want to go PC.
I really want to go with a 1.5Gb T-Bird on an Iwill KA266(R?). Since the DDR SDRAM is now only $58 for 256Mb, it's now viable.
A little advice please...

SoS - I've heard the same thing, but from PC/computer consultants (not pro audio people), but the opposite from most every Paris/PC user. Don't know if it is just the nature of true pro audio needs vs. Intel's marketing, but good Athlon configs run circles around good Pentium configs (same CPU speed). There are Paris users running Pentiums (II, III, and even a couple of IVs, but IVs seem to need optimization from the apps to run near the full CPU speed). Athlons are actually reportedly MUCH more stable and faster than comparable Pentiums. For Paris, Athlon is by far the best PC choice. Some audio apps may really be coded with Pentiums in mind (i.e. not truly cross-platform) but being a true cross-platform app, Paris has the benefit of running with any newer PC or Mac processor, and that is where you find which processor really works best for audio, IMO at least. I trust the PC Paris users that are advising Athlons. Other multitrack audio apps may not run as well on Athlons (or PIVs for that matter), although I have heard some recommendations for Athlons from Logic users.

The mobo's I've seen in the past (not the newest) are MSI6195 (discontinued - old model), ASUS ???, etc. Just stay away from Raid and ATA100 controllers, as neither work correctly so far on most high end mobo's. ATA66 will easily churn out over 80 tracks with Paris anyway - I would think the ATA100 controllers will catch up eventually. Raid is nice, but the mobo Raid controllers seem to be problematic in general, and not necessary anyway. That is one nice thing about Paris, the simpler the config (high-end mobo, fast Athlon, Maxtor 7200 Diamondmax Plus drives) the faster and more powerful the system.

Originally posted by SonOfSmawg:
Dedric, a few concerns about a PC/Paris system...
I've been warned that Athlons are generally not as stable as Pentiums for audio, in general. Is that the case with Paris? As you know, I have a Mac G4-400 now, but when I go to my new recording app, I want to go PC.
I really want to go with a 1.5Gb T-Bird on an Iwill KA266(R?). Since the DDR SDRAM is now only $58 for 256Mb, it's now viable.
A little advice please...

Thanks for the great news, Dedric. Athlons are far superior machines to Pentiums, and it would suck to have to pay more for an inferior product. I also appreciate the Raid advice.

Here's the config I ended up with. Seems
to work fine with Paris. No problems so far after optimizing.

Abit KT7A
Athlon 850
Maxtor 20G and Maxtor 40G 7200 rpm
Matrox G450 dual head 16 meg ram
Plextor CD-RW
400W PS