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Are These Good Specs?

G

GeorgiaPeach

Member
Hi all!

My two year old low end, eMachines desktop (Celeron 2.7GHz/256MB/80GB HDD) is pleading for mercy, so it's time to clean her up and gift her to someone deserving (and not a power user) who can't afford to get their own.

That means I get to buy a new one! Oh, JOY!!

I am soooo drooling over Core 2 Duo, and I'd like "y'all's" feedback on the below system.

SPECS:
(Pre-configured by local PC shop)

Intel E6400 (retail box w/ fan, 3yr. Intel wty)
ASUS P5B ATX
2GB DDR2 667fsb PC 5300 (shop only uses Kingston or Corsair for 667fsb)
Western Digital 36GB Raptor 10,000 RPM/16M buffer SATA II 3G (Primary)
Western Digital 320GB KS 16M buffer/7200 RPM SATA II 3G (Data drive)
16x DVDRW -/+ & Dual Layer w/Nero software (shop uses NEC, Lite-On, Pioneer, Toshiba/Samsung, or Plextor)
Nvidia FX 7300GS 256MB PCI-e w/DVI & S-video out (supports Vista; dual monitor ready)
10/100/1000 LAN (on board)
Onboard 3D Sound (I'll be upgrading... any suggestions under $60?)
Enlight Mid-tower BK w/450w ATX case

Things to take into consideration:

1. I'm not a gamer (I'm sure Bejeweled, Mah Jong, and Solitaire don't count, LOL), but I am a power user.
2. I need to put Visual Studio 2005 Professional, plus libraries, on the computer.
3. At some point I will also need to put a Java development environment on the computer.
4. I do some web design and I may get into podcasting and hobby-level video editing in my free time, so those software programs will be on the pc at some point, too.

So, what do you think?

Thanks in advance!
 
New pc's are fun 😀


1st

BUILD IT YOURSELF!!!!! This can not be stressed enough. Don't get it prebuilt at some shop, you will likely end up paying more for less, and you won't get the same amount of options. again DO NOT BUY PREBUILT, BUILD IT YOURSELF!!!!!!

Ok now,

How much do you want to spend on the whole thing? I can't do much without knowing that.
 
Thanks, Crescent13...

I thought about building my own, but I really don't have the time to do it -- I'm a grad student and school's already started for me. The shop I'm looking at also builds custom systems, so I'm not stuck with pre-configured choices.

The pre-configured E6400 system posted above is selling for $962.99 out the door, including tax.

The E6600 version (all else is same) is $1,091.38 out the door, including tax.

Is this a good deal for the money? In the OP I forgot to say I don't need a monitor.

BTW, my budget (including tax/shipping/ins) is $1,500. But, that doesn't mean I want to spend every cent! Just because I can (and then some) doesn't mean I should. 🙂
 
The price seems reasonable for a prebuilt system, and if it includes Windows XP, it's great. Have them put a quality power supply in though. I wouldn't worry about the sound unless you are into sound editing as well...you don't really need a sound card to play the beeps Windows makes. Check some benchmarks and decide if the upgrade to the E6600 is worth it for you. The extra power might prove useful if you do enough video editing.
 
You will definitely want the E6600 if you are going to be doing video editing.

The 4MB L2 cache makes a difference in such applications.
 
Raloth - Thanks for your reply. The system does not include an OS, but that's not a problem because my academic department is a part of the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance and my university's a part of the Microsoft Campus Agreement. I have a personal copy of XP Pro SP2. I think I'm going to go with a sound card because if I do any podcasting, etc... I want it to sound good.

I'm going to question them about everything. I want to know the specific components they intend to use... I might end up just having them custom build my system if I don't like their choices. I've spent a lot of hours in these forums for the last week or so, so I've picked up on some things, hehe.

Pabster - Thanks for your reply, too. I don't plan on doing much video editing, but I do want to have the capability to do so should I decide to. I pretty much want a setup that will allow me to do whatever I want... even stuff I haven't discovered I want to do yet, LOL. I think I'm gonna go for the E6600. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: GeorgiaPeach
3. At some point I will also need to put a Java development environment on the computer.

So, what do you think?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

this is a bit off from your original post, but in regard to your third point - eclipse - http://www.eclipse.org/

also about the components in the prebuilt system. one of the best ways to find out if this is a good value system is to check the prices of all the components on an online retailer (i.e. newegg, zzf, etc.) and see what the difference is, which i have already done and the price using the same (or extremely similar) components is very close (less than $50).

if you want considerations on each component:
if you're going for value per dollar, then i would advise against having the raptor drive in the computer, yeah it's really fast, but you won't see/notice much of a performance difference. everything else seemed ok, except possibly the power supply, most people tend to shy away from noname psu's and since the brand name of the psu in that case is not specifically mentioned i am going to assume it is from a noname (or unreputable name) vendor. fortron makes a 450w psu for about $50 and they are fairly reputable and usually considered a good value psu vendor.
 
Thanks, Shader.

Since I checked this thread, a few hours ago, things have changed. The local PC shop I was thinking of getting the pre-built system from changed their prices -- the price is now $200+ more than it was a few hours ago for both systems (E6400 & E6600). To their credit, they did upgrade 1 or 2 components (like from a 16x DVD burner to an 18x), but the price change they made totally doesn't justify such a large price hike. Now, it's actually cheaper for me to buy the parts separately and build it myself -- that is if they haven't hiked up the prices of their individual parts, too.

If their component prices stayed the same, I'm going to take my list and go pick up the parts early tomorrow afternoon. The couple of components I want that they don't have are carried by their competition, which just happens to be on their same block. I've compared both shop's prices (as of yesterday) with NewEgg, TigerDirect, etc.. and they are significantly less expensive (plus saving on s/h is a bonus). Hopefully, I'll have my new system built by early evening.

I'll post my proposed system in a few minutes for everyone's review.
 
-- UPDATE --

Turned out the local PC shop has 3 different Core 2 Duo pre-configured systems... one for professional video editing, one for business, and one for corporate. The price increase I saw was on the pro video editing system, which was the one I posted above.

Their pre-config'd systems for business (non "corporate") use are more in line, component wise, with what I need... and the price is very good. So, here is what I'm thinking of buying Wednesday afternoon. Please share your thoughts.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
ASUS P5N-SLI (Conroe ready)
1GB DDR2 667FSB PC 5300 (2x512MB)
Western Digital JS 160GB 8M buffer 7200RPM
1.44" floppy disk drive
Toshiba Samsung 18x DVDRW -/+ & dual layer w/ software
Nvidia 7300 LE 256MB PCI-Express (dual monitor, Vista ready)
AOpen Black Mid-tower case w/ True 350w power supply (3 year wty)

Subtotal: $846.60
Tax: 7%
Total: $888.09
(No s/h because it's a local outfit)

What y'all think? Is this a solid and compatible setup? I know some of you have your preferences about certain parts, etc... but I'm a full-time graduate student and don't have time to build my own, plus I need it NOW and can't wait. I am going to have them add a sound card, though (<$60).

Thanks!
 
I suggest:

E6300
DFI motherboard, around 190$, overclocks quite a lot, around 390 or so i think with multiplier 9x
4 X 1GB DDR2 800 RAM
300GB RAID SATA II NCQ
7300GT(not GS)
 
Originally posted by: akshayt
I suggest:

E6300
DFI motherboard, around 190$, overclocks quite a lot, around 390 or so i think with multiplier 9x/q]
How are you going to get a 9x multiplier with an E6300?
Click to expand...
 
I got my Core 2 Duo System ordered and will pick it up later today!!!

FINAL CONFIGURATION:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (not gonna do video editing, after all)
ASUS P5B Motherboard
Kingston 2GB DDR2 667fsb RAM (Is 1GB really enough for a non-gaming STUDENT?)
Western Digital KS 250GB 16MB buffer 7200rpm
Toshiba Samsung 18x DVD-RW -/+ & dual layer w/software
Nvidia 7300LE 256MB PCI-Express
Antec Sonata II Piano w/450watt power supply (black)

$1001.16 out the door.

LIFE IS SWEET.
 
Originally posted by: GeorgiaPeach
I got my Core 2 Duo System ordered and will pick it up later today!!!

FINAL CONFIGURATION:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (not gonna do video editing, after all)
ASUS P5B Motherboard
Kingston 2GB DDR2 667fsb RAM (Is 1GB really enough for a non-gaming STUDENT?)
Western Digital KS 250GB 16MB buffer 7200rpm
Toshiba Samsung 18x DVD-RW -/+ & dual layer w/software
Nvidia 7300LE 256MB PCI-Express
Antec Sonata II Piano w/450watt power supply (black)

$1001.16 out the door.

LIFE IS SWEET.
Click to expand...




Awesome choice! :thumbsup:
 
Thanks, Crescent13... I learned from the best right here on AnandTech! 🙂

I know a good bit about computers in general, but the last time I bought a PC was early 2004. A high end system for the non-gamer was a P4 rocking 2.8GHz, hehe. 😉 So when it came time for me to get a new system I had to learn a lot -- and FAST! So much has changed in 2 years! Oh, wait... that's Moore's Law isn't it? Hehe.
 
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