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Building a college computer. help me futureproof it.

BeauJangles

BeauJangles

Lifer
Well, maybe not "futureproof", considering that's simply not possible.

My budget is around 1500 - 1700, including an LCD (so figure $1000 - 1100 for the computer). I want to go P4, simply because I find them generally to be extremely responsive and they also run cool. I, however, am an AMD guy. I have simply no knowledge about P4s, mobos, etc. That being said, I'm thinking about getting a 2.5 or 2.8 ghz CPU and I'm wondering what motherboard to pair it with. I know Intel just released a new chipset, but I'm not sure it's going to be worth the money.


I will be using this computer for moderate gaming, web browsing, etc. I really want a good deal of power, even if it goes unused. I also don't want to drop $400 for a CPU or for a motherboard. Currently, I'm thinking about 1 gig of DDR (some of the hot deals make this about $120), a Radeon 9600, 120 gig HDD.

Basically, what are you recommendations about the motherboard? Should I wait until Canterwood comes out and buy a generation behind (if significant price cuts are expected) or should I buy canterwood when it comes or should I just buy now?


Thanks a lot guys!

Beau
 
Ok, I would go for an AMD system with about a 2700 equivalent (I say that because you could OC a 2100) with an Asus nForce2 and you would have a snappy system.

Second, you might not have done your research but unless you plan to heavily OC the 9600 stinks, it is outperformed by the 9500-np. So I would either get a 9500 Pro, 9700 or 9700 Pro.
 
I second the motion to go with AMD... problems with heat are a thing of the past. Get a good copper heatsink and fan for $30 and you'll have no problems. I can't wait for my $137 XP2500 Barton core CPU to get here (should come today.) And my $144 Asus A7N8X Deluxe should come tomorrow or Monday. I'm hoping to get at least XP3000 speeds out of the CPU.

By the way... my XP1700 @ 1667 (XP2000) is holding my GeForce4 Ti4200 back right now. I can increase the clock speed of the GPU and RAM and don't see much difference... if I increase the speed of the CPU, I see a bigger difference. So hopefully my gaming performance increases dramatically when I upgrade to the XP2500... I'm excited 🙂

Only thing I'm not looking forward to is having to call Microsoft when I get the new motherboard installed.
 
Hmm... I've always had AMD systems, and i was thinking about giving Intel a shot. Right now, it seems Intel holds the performance crown and, to be honest, I really want a change from AMD. I'm not saying they are bad CPUs or anything, I've just had bad luck with them.

As for the Radeon, I didn't think the 9500 was still available. If it is, I would clearly take that as my graphics card.
 
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Hmm... I've always had AMD systems, and i was thinking about giving Intel a shot. Right now, it seems Intel holds the performance crown and, to be honest, I really want a change from AMD. I'm not saying they are bad CPUs or anything, I've just had bad luck with them.

As for the Radeon, I didn't think the 9500 was still available. If it is, I would clearly take that as my graphics card.
Click to expand...

If you do go the Intel route, please come back to tell us what differences you notice.
 
Edit: Was posting this whilst you made your Intel post, but here is my suggestion anyway.

Here we go!

Asus A7N8X Deluxe - $140
Athlon XP 2100+ B - $87
WD 120GB SE 8MB cache - $130
1GB (2x512MB) Corsair XMS PC3200 - $230
FIC Radeon 9500 Pro - $175
Lite-On DVD 16x - $34

Total = $796 + shipping (you can find all of this on www.newegg.com - very good prices and inexpensive 2 day shipping)

As for the rest, you now have a lot to work with. You could get a 52/24/52x CDRW for around $50, a good set of speakers, and a case. I'd recommend an aluminum case with preinstalled fans. It'll be light, and you'll need that if you're lugging it in and out of a dorm. It will also keep your system nice and cool.

As for an LCD, what were you considering?
 
Well, I'd say buy the best monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, and case/power supply you can afford because those are likely the only components you'll still be using 4 years from now. Allocate your funds based on that and use the rest to buy the other components that people have suggested.
 
Good idea... definately go with an optical mouse, so if you don't have desk space, or you have a pizza on the computer desk, you could use the mouse on your lap if you had to =) If your college experience is anything like mine, you'll want the computer as far away from the keyboard as you can put it, or in a cabinet where it will be protected from beer. A spill proof keyboard would be a nice feature too.
 
I agree with the AMD vote and 2100+ or Barton 2500+ idea but I have to say that I would purchase an ABIT NF7-S Revision 2.0

Revision 2.0 ironed out some problems that the previous revisions had and produced possibly the ultimate overclocking board for the Nforce2 so far. It also has a clear area around the CPU for the SLK-900U and bolts on without any troublesome capacitors in the way if you so wish to use such a large heatsink.

I believe they are having troubles with SATA RAID and there are a few issues with small cases, some plugs may be awkward to pop in if you have a medium sized tower.

Im planning on getting the NF7-S when I get my paycheck next month.
 
just buy a dell

400-500 should get you a nice system

spend more money on a
monitor (dell 20" lcd)
speakers (some nice ones with METAL grills - won't get damaged)
comfortable chair (aeron)
 
do both... get the ~$675 dell p4 integrated p4/sound/video/ethernet onboard, 2.0 ghz celeron , 128mb ddr, 30gb 7200rpm, 18" 1800FP TFT.

then spend 1K on a badass rig🙂

Nforce2/845xx

what get the corsair PC3200 either way!
 
Asus P4SDX Sis 655 Board -$135
Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHZ OEM-$220 (get it from outpost.com and you might end up with muli-vid C1😛)
SLK800U + 80MM fan $45
TwinMos 512MB PC3200 x 2 $244 from memoryx.com
Sapphire Radeon 9700 PRO - $300
SB Audigy 2 -$78
WD 120GB SE HD-$130
Antec Lanboy Chassis w/350W PSU-$90
Lite-on 16xdvd-$35
Lite-on 52xcdrw-$50


Total from newegg w/out s/h and tax = $1327
 
If you arent overclocking, I second the Dell. You simply cannot beat some of their hot deals. The 4550 uses an Intel 845PE board, has 5PCI, 1 AGP slots. Just add in some of the extras, like more RAM, better sound card, and better Harddrive (their 18" LCD's are also cheap and great).

Dell deals also come and go quite fast, and they seem to be getting better all the time. I ordered this system last time:
Dimension 4550
2.66Ghz P4
Radeon 9700 TX
128MB DDR
60GB 7200 rpm HDD
16X DVD
Intel 10/100 NIC
WinXP Home

For around $500 after rebates. Add in a 120GB HDD, 1 GB DDR, 1800FP LCD, and you're still well under budget. Canterwood is definitely a really good thing, it is quite expensive, and you'd have to wait for its lower priced cousin, the Springdale to come out. Unless you absolutely need it right now, Canterwood/Sprindale definitely seems to be "the next best thing"
 
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