Buying New System

[Twigstir]

For prebuild AMDs with warranties: Look at ABS and velocity micro:

http://www.velocitymicro.com/
http://www.abspc.com/index.asp

Check out http://www.resellerratings.com/ for them plus Dell.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: Terumo
I'd stay away from proprietary setups. Pure and simple. Less headaches.

100% agreement. Dell is proprietary by design - they want you to come back to Dell if you want to upgrade.

Going with Dell, or any big OEM, severely limits your future hardware choices.



That said, if you don't plan to ever upgrade the PC, Dells can be a good low cost option. Beware - they come loaded with bloatware, so the first thing on your list as soon as you get it booted should be to format the hard disk completely and do a fresh install of your OS.

 

[Terumo]

Originally posted by: tuffgong
update...i went to customize the dell and ended up going over $2000 so looks like its back to plan A especially since im at $1200+tax without the case/monitor at newegg.

i figure its better to get the monitor and case locally since shipping costs are high for those items.

That is better, as even ground shipping for them are a bear (usually like $15 to $30). My 19" monitor weighed over 75lbs and I paid over $50 on freight. :/

 

[Insomniak]

Got stuck with $20 shipping for my 15 inch TFT from, ironically, Dell.

 

[fishmonger12]

ah, i see the dell didn't work out. i've heard of some really good rebates on dells, they are definitely looking into. however, that machine is definitely not worth the pricetag.

terumo i think your perspective is a tad jingoistic towards intel. reading your posts on this thread, it's pretty clear you don't have any experience with recent amd processors. so... should you even be posting?

all the linux servers at my school are running opterons. .

if the amd servers didn't sell, i guarantee sun, ibm, hp, etc. would not carry them. i know just enough about economics to know that . if dell didn't have a business contract the size of texas with intel, they would probably be carrying amd as well. that's a 20% of the desktop market i'm sure they would love to have, and would allow them to compete with alienware and other such enthusiast companies on the extreme end of gaming setups.

 

[tuffgong]

well originally he wanted a gaming notebook...when i said at least 2000 he said no thanks...and now the dell went over so looks like ill be building another system...i can get warranty on the parts individually.

 

[fishmonger12]

yeah, depending on who you buy the parts from you can get a pretty good warranty. i would recommend newegg, although others say it costs a bit more. if i had ordered a motherboard from newegg instead of mwave i would have been able to get a refund for it, due to it have memory incompatibility with memory it should be compatible with. mwave just referred me to gigabyte, who first told me that an a64 couldn't run at 400 mhz memory with 2 dimms filled up, then told me my mainstream valueram wasn't compatible with the board, twice, then finally said there might be something wrong with the board and that i could send it in.

that's one problem with building yourself. fixing your own problems

if you go intel, the likelihood of compatibility problems will be smaller, due to intel manufacturing the motherboard, chipset, and processor. but the likelihood of compatibility problems is relatively small with amd if you just do your research and find out what memory your motherboard manufacturer recommends.

 

[tuffgong]

ya i've been using newegg for over two years...it's the only online hardware retailer i buy from.

 

[Insomniak]

Newegg is great. I picked up my motherboard from ZipZoomFly this time around, and they were excellent as well. I say as long as you stick with the well known guys (Newegg, ZZF, Directron, Monarch, etc.) you'll be ok.

Newegg is the golden stick though.

 

[fishmonger12]

cool. they've treated me pretty well in my limited experience with them. i had to rma a cd-rw drive and they took it no questions asked and a replacement was in my computer in 10 days.

 

[tuffgong]

OK I'm beginning to piece the parts I want to buy together...all I gotta know is whether they are compatible with each other because I haven't been keeping up with all the new releases...

MOBO - ASUS "A8N-SLI Deluxe" nForce4 SLI Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512k L2 Cache, The Only 64-bit Windows Compatible Processor - Retail
RAM - Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - Retail
VIDEO - Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-Bit, TV-Out/DVI, PCI-Express, Model "PX6800TD-256M" -RETAIL
HARD DISK - Two WD Raptor Series 36.7GB 10,000 RPM SATA Hard Drive Kit, Model WD360GDRTL, Retail

For all the other parts I can figure it out, but is this core good enough and would you buy something similar?

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: tuffgong
A relative of mine wants me to build a good system for him that'll be both a good gaming AND app running computer.

My questions is should I go Athlon 64 or Pentium 4? Also should I go the PCI-Express route because I have never dealt with that.

His budget will be about 1500-1800 dollars.

If you don't want to be his 24/7 tech support... Send him to Dell :laugh:
Here, you can even save him a little $$

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Yeah he could probably get a XPS for that amount of money, AND you WILL become his customer service after this. That being said, if you still wanna build it, you could put together a hell of a AMD, AGP system together for around $1200 and make yourself about $300.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Terumo
I don't know how many times I have to say to you: I never mentioned Prescotts either.

You want to compare AMDs with the hottest Pentium 4s on the market, then compare that P4s are hot and underrated (would be considering the cache too).

So disinformation is abound. Nice try, but no cigar.

You know, I actually had to breathe in really deep a few times before I was able to respond respectfully to your posts.

A. AMD Winchesters run 32-40c under load with stock cooling. The Northwood's run 49-65c under load with stock cooling. Lets not mention the abomination which is called Prescott.

B. Why on earth do you assume Intel is faster in applications? Because of it's wasted clock cycles? Ever look at a graph? Hey look.

C. Ok, for people who are stilling saying AMD is unstable.....get your head out of the toilets. The k6 AMD is over and the rest of you trolls heard about it a year ago and think its relevant in the 21st century.

Your posts are presumptuous and if you didn't know any better, I'd say boarder line rude.

 

[Melchior]

The one thing about Intel I would find more advantageous in everyday usage is probably HT. I think for a lot of everyday users, (who dont game) a 2.4C would do quite well.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Melchior
The one thing about Intel I would find more advantageous in everyday usage is probably HT. I think for a lot of everyday users, (who dont game) a 2.4C would do quite well.

Can you name a program that uses more than one thread please?

 

[tuffgong]

I tried that $500 off Dell coupon but they already have a $200 off coupon so it won't let me do it.

 

[tuffgong]

Well then...how about this...

Does this look like a good system? It comes out to about Two Grand

ANTEC Performance Plus Case with 430W Power Supply, Model "PLUS1080AMG" - Retail
Specifications:
Case Type: SOHO File Server
Color: Antec Metalic Gray
Material: 1mm SECC Steel
Drive Bays: 5.25" x 4/0, 3.5" x 2/4 (external/internal)
Expansion Slots: 7
Front Ports: 2xUSB & 1xIEEE1394
Power Supply: 430W
Cooling System: 3x80mm installed Fans
Mainboard Compatibility: up to Extended ATX
Dimensions: 20.6"x8.1"x18.6" more info-> N82E16811129115


ASUS "A8N-SLI Deluxe" nForce4 SLI Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64FX/64
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce4 SLI
FSB: 2000 MT/s
RAM: 4x DIMM DualChannel DDR 333/400 Max 4GB
Slots: 2x PCI-E X16(SLI mode: x8,x8), 2x PCI-E X1, 3x PCI
Ports: 2x PS/2, 1x LPT, 10x USB2.0(Rear 4), 2x RJ45, 2x SPDIF out, 1x IEEE1394, Audio Ports
IDE: 2x ATA 133 with NV Raid 0/1/0+1
SATA: 4x SATA2 3.0Gb/s with NV Raid 0/1/0+1, 4x SATA with Raid 0/1/0+1/5 by SI3114R
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC850 8-Ch
Onboard LAN: nForce4 built-in Gbit MAC, MARVELL GbitLAN
Onboard 1394: 2x 1394 ports
Form Factor: ATX more info-> N82E16813131517


XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, Dual DVI/TV-Out, PCI-E, Model "PVT45GUD" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset/Core Speed: nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT/350MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 256MB GDDR3/1000MHz
BUS: PCI-Express x16
Ports: TV-Out(S-Video/Composite) + 2x DVI
Support 3D API: DirectX 9.0c(Shader Model 3.0), OpenGL 1.5
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048X1536@85Hz
Cable/Accessories: S-Video/Composite Cable, Power Cable, 2x DVI to VGA Adapter , Manual, Driver CD, Games


AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache, Socket 939 64-bit Processor - Retail
Specifications:
Model: Athlon 64 3000+
Core: Winchester
Operating Frequency: 1.8GHz
FSB: Integrated into Chip
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/ 512KB
Voltage: 1.5V
Process: 90 nm
Socket: Socket 939
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Warranty: 3-year MFG


CORSAIR XMS Xtreme Memory Speed Series, Xtra-Low Latency 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Platinum Heat Spreader, Model TWINX1024-3200XLPT - Retail
Specifications:
Manufacturer: CORSAIR
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184-Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-2-2-5
Support Voltage: 2.75V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: two 64M x 64-Bit
Special Features: Plug-n-FragTM Auto-Configuration - Boots automatically using the Xtra-Low latency values of 2-2-2-5


Alps Silver 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model DF354H168F, OEM
Specifications:
Capacity: 1.44MB
Average Access Time: 3 ms (track to track)
Interface: 34 Pin Standard Floppy Connector
Form: 3.5 inch
Media Type: All Standard 1.44MB & 720KB 3.5 Floppy Diskettes
Features: High reliability attained by the employment of a direct-drive motor


Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD740GD, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 74GB
Average Seek Time: 4.5 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 10000 RPM
Interface: Serial ATA
Features: High Performance SATA Interface


SAMSUNG 910T-Silver 19" LCD Monitor -RETAIL
Specifications:
Panel Type: a-si TFT/PVA LCD
Native Resolution: SXGA 1280x1024
Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm
Brightness: 260 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 1000 : 1
Response Time: 25 ms
View Angle: 170 / 170 (Horizontal / Vertical)
Input Connectors: 15pin D-Sub, DVI-D
Dimensions & Weight: 16.4" x 16.7" x 7.5" (WxHxD), 15.7 lbs
Manufacturer's Warranty / Phone No.: 3 years parts, labor and backlight / 800-726-7864
Dead Pixels Policy: Replacement or Refund for 8 or more DEAD PIXELS ONLY! more info-> N82E16824001161


SONY 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Model DDU1613, OEM
Specifications:
Read Speed: 40X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: E-IDE / ATAPI
Buffer: 512KB
Access Time: DVD-ROM: 80-220ms, CD-ROM: 165ms
Data Transfer Rate: 1,800 ~ 3,600 KB/s CD, 8,788~21,632 KB/s Single Layer DVD, 5,586 ~ 13,520 KB/s Dual Layer DVD
Features: Compatible with all CD formats, Mounting: Horizontal or Vertical.


NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Sliver w/ Software Model ND-3520A, OEM
Specifications:
Write Speed: 16X DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 4X DVD+R DL, 16X DVD-R, 6X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW
Read Speed: 48X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 2MB
OS Support: Windows XP/ 2000/ ME/ 98SE
Features: High speed writing performance.