comp now or later?

[Gravija]

should i build my computer now(winter or near GFFX release) or later(hammer release, bet they'll be really expensive...)?
im currently looking at a budget of about $2000 w/o monitor,
this is what i have come up with :
now:
Motherboard: A7N8X deluxe
Ram: 512 (2*256) XMS Corsair 3200
Proc: 2800 or 2700+ Athlon XP
Video Card: Radeon 9500 Pro or GeforceFX (depends on what ill have to cut out for it)
Case: Koolance PC601 black or blue (which do you think is better?) with window and 431w enermax PSU
Harddrive: Barracuda V serial ATA 120gb hd
Soundcard: built-in, still open to suggestions
Keyboard/Mouse: some wireless dual optical thing, need suggestions
DVD-ROM: Open to suggestions, would like a DVD/CD-RW combo drive
DVDR (maybe) pioneer A05
Speakers: Creative inspire 5300 5.1 system, any better suggestions?
Windows XP pro
17" LCD: hitachi 174B 16ms response time (where can i get one?)
comes out to be about (last i checked, in nov): $2020, most things i rounded up the nearest $100 upward
if later, im looking for faster proc (barton or hammer) either way i will still have about 2000 to spend (w/o) monitor
i will be using this primarily for gaming, maybe some graphics...
i'd like some suggestions on the comp itself and whether i shoudl buy now or later...
and for those who don't think i need a new comp, i GAME with a Powerbook G4 400mhz with 384ram and an 8mb videocard...i get about 12FPS average in Q3A on LOWEST settings and JK2 won't even run MP, so ha
thanx

 

[andrey]

My guess is that you don't really need a new computer now 🙂

There are better and greater things are always on the horizon, and this is never ending process. If you'll be waiting for some super-duper video card or processor to come out, you'll end up forever. If you need a new computer, get it when you need it.

 

[tjaisv]

Motherboard: A7N8X deluxe
Good choice. nForce2 is the way to go right now.


Ram: 512 (2*256) XMS Corsair 3200
If you want to overclock or scale your RAM I'd suggest getting PC3500, otherwise stick with PC3200


Proc: 2800 or 2700+ Athlon XP
Suggest getting the 2400+, it's only 133/266MHz FSB but with your nForce2 board you can likely overclock to 2800 speeds


Video Card: Radeon 9500 Pro or GeforceFX
I hear Feb is ETA for the GFX. If you don't want to wait I'd go with the 9500 Pro.


Case: Koolance PC601 black or blue with window and 431w enermax PSU
nice case and excellent PSU.


Harddrive: Barracuda V serial ATA 120gb hd
Sweet drive from Seagate, it has 8MB cache too.


Soundcard: built-in, still open to suggestions
Stick with your onboard sound, according to one reviewer it's as good as an Audigy


Keyboard/Mouse: some wireless dual optical thing, need suggestions
according to many folks the Logitech MX series are the best optical mice, check out the review at gamersdepot.com
And definitely get the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro...I feel sorry for people who still use the old ergonomically-lacking keyboards


DVD-ROM: Open to suggestions, would like a DVD/CD-RW combo drive DVDR (maybe) pioneer A05
The popular one right now is the Sony DRU-500A because it supports both DVD-RW and DVD+RW, though the pioneer DVR-A05 is an excellent choice as well if you just want to burn DVD-RW media... vcdhelp.com has a bunch of user reviews


Speakers: Creative inspire 5300 5.1 system, any better suggestions?
the Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 is perhaps the best you can get, but it's kind of expensive at $339


17" LCD: hitachi 174B 16ms response time
Very nice choice for a 17" LCD. There was some alarm over whether or not the monitor supported 24/32-bit color (16.7million colors) because the tech manual states it only does 8/16-bit (262,000 colors); but the forum folks over at
Tom's Hardware proved that it does in fact support 32-bit display.

 

[Kartajan]

NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW. (sorry, I sound like a lunatic.)

MB: good
RAM: good. (I assume planning to o/c, If not- XMS 2700 CAS2)
Proc: good
Vid Card: good, but why not 9700Pro?
Case: good. expensive. if the noise of air isn't too much, and o/c isn't too much- i'd go cheaper like antec sx-835II
HDD: good
Sound: good
KB/ Mouse: Can't offer suggestions. I like corded (no batteries to change..) Planning to run from the living room couch w/ tv out?
DVD-Rom: one word: PLEXTOR combo. (shoot- that's 2 words)
DVDR: good. If you have lots of data to archive (5Gig+), or have a burning desire to make DVD's. otherwise, i'd stick to CDRW.
Speakers: KLIPSCH PRO MEDIA, (5.1 or 4.1 or 2.1- based on whatever you want to do)
OS: good
LCD: sounds good to me. I got the viewsonic VX-800 from newegg myself.

 

[DougFrippon]

all depends on your current system and if you can or not live with it.

Waiting for a Hammer/GFFX system is at least waiting 6 months.. but if you can, It sure can be interesting (drooling...)

 

[Alptraum]

I would just buy now if I were you. There will ALWAYS be something cool coming up in the 6 month or so range. Waiting for something that far off doesn't make sense to me. If it was like a week or something then I could see holding off. But nothing much further out then a month will keep me from buying.

 

[vexingv]

i dont think it'd be a great idea to get a hammer as soon as it comes out since there probably wont be 64 bit support for it from MS and/or 3rd party vendors for awhile...thus making you use it in 32 bit apps....maybe wait for barton w/ the larger L2 cache and FSB

 

[techfuzz]

Motherboard: A7N8X deluxe
Ok

Ram: 512 (2*256) XMS Corsair 3200
Get a single 512MB stick if you plan to overclock, 2 sticks don't overclock nearly as well as 1

Proc: 2800 or 2700+ Athlon XP
Get the best price/performance chip available in the higher end range. Right now that is a 2400+, probably a 2600+ by Feb at the latest.

Video Card: Radeon 9500 Pro or GeforceFX (depends on what ill have to cut out for it)
FX isn't out but the Radeon is.. Your choice if you wanna buy now or wait till later

Case: Koolance PC601 black or blue (which do you think is better?) with window and 431w enermax PSU
Why are you spending so much on the case and powersupply? Unless you ABSOLUTELY have to have the coolest (not temp wise) badest case on your block!
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you don't need that much power. 431W is too much for what you've told us you're putting in your system. You could easily get away with 350W and have more than enough to spare.

Harddrive: Barracuda V serial ATA 120gb hd
Nice choice, but I gotta wonder how much more expensive they are than the regular IDE version and a rounded IDE cable? Even at 150mb/s it's not that much more of a leap from ATA/100/133 speeds. Really up to you and how much you're willing to spend though.

Soundcard: built-in, still open to suggestions
Onboard sound these days has come a long way from its forefathers. I personally though would match up those speakers you are suggesting later on with an add in sound card like an Audigy 2. Sound is often best determined by the listener and not by other people. Some people like myself pay more attention to sound than others and we like to spend a little bit extra.

Keyboard/Mouse: some wireless dual optical thing, need suggestions
DVD-ROM: Open to suggestions, would like a DVD/CD-RW combo drive
DVDR (maybe) pioneer A05
Ok

Speakers: Creative inspire 5300 5.1 system, any better suggestions?
Like I said with the soundcard, you have to decide what is best for you? Are you an audiophile who truely enjoys listening to music, movies, and would take notice of the minute variances in sound quality? You decide. There are lots of high end speaker packages available these days that should suffice for you.

Windows XP pro
Yup

17" LCD: hitachi 174B 16ms response time (where can i get one?)
It may take until after the holidays before enough start showing up on shelves and in stock... 16ms is quite nice! 🙂

Overall its a nice setup your proposing. It's always nice to build a nice brand new system for yourself and turn it on for the first time! I did it a couple weeks ago with a 2400+, RAID, and highly overclocked. I think I'm a MHz junky now! hahah

techfuzz

PS - PM me if you have any questions, I build custom computers a couple times a year and I have got a lot of experience in the matter.