Best Computer for $3000?

[dBTelos]

Atheus, do you mean that 2GB sticks are slower then 1GB sticks?

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: dBTelos
Atheus, do you mean that 2GB sticks are slower then 1GB sticks?

Oh yea, oops

edited.

 

[Miklebud]

He's closeminded, yes. And would have no idea how to read a benchmark of a CPU comparison... He wanted AMD, he got AMD. His choice, not mine. He's been a close friend for 16+ years, so I couldnt just leave him to do this on his own. 4GB vs. 2GB, these are all 1GB Sticks, so performance shouldnt be a problem. He's been on a Radeon 9800/AXP Rig for the past 3 years, anything is an upgrade for him.


And the monitor and case were included in the $3000 price, so keep that in mind.

And any comments on credit are not necessary, he will pay it off in about a week.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Originally posted by: Miklebud
He's closeminded, yes. And would have no idea how to read a benchmark of a CPU comparison... He wanted AMD, he got AMD. His choice, not mine. He's been a close friend for 16+ years, so I couldnt just leave him to do this on his own. 4GB vs. 2GB, these are all 1GB Sticks, so performance shouldnt be a problem. He's been on a Radeon 9800/AXP Rig for the past 3 years, anything is an upgrade for him.


And the monitor and case were included in the $3000 price, so keep that in mind.

And any comments on credit are not necessary, he will pay it off in about a week.

Can I be his friend too?

Well, I'm glad he's happy with what he's getting. But needless to say, he could have been happier.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Miklebud
And the monitor and case were included in the $3000 price, so keep that in mind.

So you did send him to Dell. Good thinking. I would have also. Self-built PC's are for the people who actually built them to use, IMO.

 

[jleves]

My goodness - he can't read a CPU benchmark and gets a new credit card he wants to max out. You should have at least shown him quotes form anandtech and tomshardware showing a mid range core 2 duo decimates anything AMD has to offer at present. I love competition as much as the next guy and love what AMD has forced Intel into. But anyone that dumb shouldn't be given a credit card. Sorry, but this just makes me chuckle. That's like saying I have 100,000 to spend on a car and I won't take anything not built in Korea! Well, you know what, in the end, he deserves what he got Sorry - I couldn't resit the rant.

 

[gramboh]

As said he is a retard for building an AMD system in that budget but oh well it's his money, just make sure you rub it in his face when G80/R600 cards are getting better performance on a $300 Intel C2D than his CPU.

Also why two 160GB 7200.9's? For barely any more cash he could've had 2x 7200.10 320GB which is significantly faster, especially in RAID0. Lots of irrational thought but again its his cash.

For a monitor, tell him to look at the Dell 2407 24 inch LCD (1920x1200).

 

[trueimage]

some of those choices one the purchased system were dumb
why not 2x 74 raptors in raid 0
why two dvd burners? what does that have to do with gaming

a $1500 o/c'd c2d system would beat that
waste of cash (or debt)

 

[Howard]

If he ever asks to borrow money, don't lend it to him.

 

[ryan256]

Originally posted by: trueimage
some of those choices one the purchased system were dumb
why not 2x 74 raptors in raid 0
why two dvd burners? what does that have to do with gaming

a $1500 o/c'd c2d system would beat that
waste of cash (or debt)

Well.... I didn't choose raptors for my system because they don't support SATAII interface atm. Their only advantage is seek times. And since I often work with large video files data throughput is more important than seek time to me.

I do agree with you on the c2d system though. I just bought a new one myself. E6600 @ 3GHz, 2GB DDR2-800, 1900 XTX & 250GB Seagate. Total cost ~ $1400. I'd put my system up against his. Same performance.... 1/2 the price

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: alpha88
Tell him to spend less, or just take a huge cut.

AM2 X2: ~300 bucks
AM2 SLi mobo: ~170
400 GB Seagate: ~120
Seasonic PSU: ~120
2x2GB DDR2: ~500
2x 7900GTO: ~500 (I'd get the GTOs from eVGA and then step up to 8800s soonish)

Looks like about $1500

Why on earth go AMD if hes got a 3k budget? Amd is the budget performance sector now, with Core 2 for the high end. 3k is definitely high end.

My suggestions:

Asus P5W Intel 975X Mobo with Wi-fi (250)
Core 2 Duo E6700 (550) (Or X6800 if he feels the need to near double price for moderate gains)
Wait couple of weeks and get an Nvidia 8800GTX when they come out (600)
2 GB DDR2-800 (350-400) (Corsair is my choice here)
Seagate 7200.10 320GB SATA drive(s) (95 Dollars). You could do 2-4 in a raid 0 for faster booting if your inclined
40 dollars for any Dual Layer DVD Burner (NEC/Plextor/SAmsung) or if your gutsy get a plextor SATA one for 100 bucks to remove cabling
Lian-Li PC-101B case (180)
Seasonic M12 600W power supply - (170)

2290 total. Throw in a Dell 2407 WFP and you are at about 3k on the nose for a dominant system.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: ryan256

Originally posted by: trueimage
some of those choices one the purchased system were dumb
why not 2x 74 raptors in raid 0
why two dvd burners? what does that have to do with gaming

a $1500 o/c'd c2d system would beat that
waste of cash (or debt)

Well.... I didn't choose raptors for my system because they don't support SATAII interface atm. Their only advantage is seek times. And since I often work with large video files data throughput is more important than seek time to me.

Ah, but SATA-II drives do not necessarily support a throughput of 3.0Gb/s. Also, SATA drives current allow a max bandwidth of 1.5Gb/s (187.5MB/s).

Sequential transfer rate peaks at ~88MB/s for the WD1500ADFD Raptor: http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200601/WD1500ADFD_3.html

 

[ryan256]

Originally posted by: Howard
Ah, but SATA-II drives do not necessarily support a throughput of 3.0Gb/s. Also, SATA drives current allow a max bandwidth of 1.5Gb/s (187.5MB/s).

Sequential transfer rate peaks at ~88MB/s for the WD1500ADFD Raptor: http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200601/WD1500ADFD_3.html

True. Its not a full 3Gb/s, but it is higher than the SATA bandwidth since SATA never really hits 1.5Gb/s either.

 

[imported_stev]

Direct your friend to this thread. Seeing this many people disagree with his potential build will hopefully give him some perspective.

However, building an AM2 system with a modest processor and then upgrading in the future when AMD is back on top isn't a horrible idea (not the optimal plan for the short-term, though). I'm new to this game, but it seems to me that there's always a flip-flop in performance of the newest that AMD and Intel have to offer.

Also, if he says he'll be able to pay off that 3k in a week, make sure you're not driving around and he says, "hold up, I gotta make a stop, wait right here" and then he runs out of the bank with a bag of cash, dives into the car, and tells you to gun it.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Having 3k and not getting conroe makes me wanna bang my head on the wall. ><

Tell him to get over himself and listen for a change.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: ryan256

Originally posted by: Howard
Ah, but SATA-II drives do not necessarily support a throughput of 3.0Gb/s. Also, SATA drives current allow a max bandwidth of 1.5Gb/s (187.5MB/s).

Sequential transfer rate peaks at ~88MB/s for the WD1500ADFD Raptor: http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200601/WD1500ADFD_3.html

True. Its not a full 3Gb/s, but it is higher than the SATA bandwidth since SATA never really hits 1.5Gb/s either.

If SATA never really hits 1.5Gb/s how did they measure the transfer rate of the drive?

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: krotchy

Originally posted by: alpha88
Tell him to spend less, or just take a huge cut.

AM2 X2: ~300 bucks
AM2 SLi mobo: ~170
400 GB Seagate: ~120
Seasonic PSU: ~120
2x2GB DDR2: ~500
2x 7900GTO: ~500 (I'd get the GTOs from eVGA and then step up to 8800s soonish)

Looks like about $1500

Why on earth go AMD if hes got a 3k budget? Amd is the budget performance sector now, with Core 2 for the high end. 3k is definitely high end.

My suggestions:

Asus P5W Intel 975X Mobo with Wi-fi (250)
Core 2 Duo E6700 (550) (Or X6800 if he feels the need to near double price for moderate gains)
Wait couple of weeks and get an Nvidia 8800GTX when they come out (600)
2 GB DDR2-800 (350-400) (Corsair is my choice here)
Seagate 7200.10 320GB SATA drive(s) (95 Dollars). You could do 2-4 in a raid 0 for faster booting if your inclined
40 dollars for any Dual Layer DVD Burner (NEC/Plextor/SAmsung) or if your gutsy get a plextor SATA one for 100 bucks to remove cabling
Lian-Li PC-101B case (180)
Seasonic M12 600W power supply - (170)

2290 total. Throw in a Dell 2407 WFP and you are at about 3k on the nose for a dominant system.

interesting, took 'till the second page 'till someone came up with a reasonable enough post for one of the Intel Extreme CPU's with a nice power setup.

yeah, visual I'd say is optional.

OS - I'd also go WinXP Pro x32 and x64 and Vista on triple boot option, that's just me though. to provide the flexibility of gaming for a system that already cost that much.

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: fire400

Originally posted by: krotchy

Originally posted by: alpha88
Tell him to spend less, or just take a huge cut.

AM2 X2: ~300 bucks
AM2 SLi mobo: ~170
400 GB Seagate: ~120
Seasonic PSU: ~120
2x2GB DDR2: ~500
2x 7900GTO: ~500 (I'd get the GTOs from eVGA and then step up to 8800s soonish)

Looks like about $1500

Why on earth go AMD if hes got a 3k budget? Amd is the budget performance sector now, with Core 2 for the high end. 3k is definitely high end.

My suggestions:

Asus P5W Intel 975X Mobo with Wi-fi (250)
Core 2 Duo E6700 (550) (Or X6800 if he feels the need to near double price for moderate gains)
Wait couple of weeks and get an Nvidia 8800GTX when they come out (600)
2 GB DDR2-800 (350-400) (Corsair is my choice here)
Seagate 7200.10 320GB SATA drive(s) (95 Dollars). You could do 2-4 in a raid 0 for faster booting if your inclined
40 dollars for any Dual Layer DVD Burner (NEC/Plextor/SAmsung) or if your gutsy get a plextor SATA one for 100 bucks to remove cabling
Lian-Li PC-101B case (180)
Seasonic M12 600W power supply - (170)

2290 total. Throw in a Dell 2407 WFP and you are at about 3k on the nose for a dominant system.

interesting, took 'till the second page 'till someone came up with a reasonable enough post for one of the Intel Extreme CPU's with a nice power setup.

yeah, visual I'd say is optional.

OS - I'd also go WinXP Pro x32 and x64 and Vista on triple boot option, that's just me though. to provide the flexibility of gaming for a system that already cost that much.

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: ryan256

Originally posted by: Howard
Ah, but SATA-II drives do not necessarily support a throughput of 3.0Gb/s. Also, SATA drives current allow a max bandwidth of 1.5Gb/s (187.5MB/s).

Sequential transfer rate peaks at ~88MB/s for the WD1500ADFD Raptor: http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200601/WD1500ADFD_3.html

True. Its not a full 3Gb/s, but it is higher than the SATA bandwidth since SATA never really hits 1.5Gb/s either.

If SATA never really hits 1.5Gb/s how did they measure the transfer rate of the drive?

I'm not sure if you're just toying with these kids or not, but you can obviously pinpoint the flow of data through the cable alone if you wanted to get super scientific. Otherwise, benchmark hard drive performance yourself using utilities available for download, but not limited to how you can measure the speed.

1.5Gb/s and 3Gb/s in my opinion are scam-related marketting. Why the hell would you think to release your standard as a speed that has the looks of a symbolic detail, possibly specifying a performance difference in functionality or even magnitude of deliverance? I mean, it's both ironic and allusional, that the undetermined who do not know how to perform personal research won't be able to provide ample information for how speed is actually measured.
Pathetic as it is, NCQ technology alone fits into the puzzle when you learn how to enable the enhancement from the drive to the controller(s) onboard, and will realize the performance benefits only if you understand how the technology works.

Furthermore, I can't say but think that SATA marketting is garbage. You hear of them calling it SATA-II, then you hear from the creators that they want a name change from SATA I/O. Backwards compatible, what a benefit, at least.

I think the problem is, the move from IDE, to SATA, eventually to SATA600 (perhaps), to SCSI and fibre channel technology, etc. will become much more difficult if end users keep on letting the companies release information to confuse them. There will be a company that will get it right, much like how Microsoft copied Macintosh computers on trying to aim at the target market towards consumers who wanted a "friendly" computer.

Now you can't assume everyone is stupid, but you gotta consider all the marketting that these companies are trying to scam you with. Too many to name.