Computer for college next year -- need help deciding

[bmd]

My parents offered to get me a computer as a graduation gift this year that I will use at college next year. I'm not really sure what I should get or whether I should buy pre-built or build my own.

If I was to get something now (tell parents what to get now, before graduation in June), I was leaning towards a P4A (not sure what clock speed) and overclocking the FSB on an I850-based mobo. If I were to do this, what mobo would you recommend? Any point in going higher than a 1.6A if I plan on OC'ing it? Or would I be better off going for an Athlon XP based system?

I could also wait (possibly to even some time after graduation) to decide what exactly I want them to get. Is there anything I should really wait for that is on the horizon (but would be readily available by say July or early August)?

The final issue is pre-built vs. build it myself. I have never built a computer myself, but I think I would definitely be able to build one if I tried, as I have read a number of guides and consider myself fairly knowledgable (at least competent enough to hook things together correctly). If I was to get pre-built I was looking at Sys (www.sys.com) and Abs (www.buyabs.com) as possible choices because their prices are great and you can more carefully customize than most other computer vendors.

Should I tell my parents what I would like to get part by part and cable by cable and tell them where to buy it online (or just put it all in the shopping cart myself)? Or should i just tell them the specs I'd like and point them to Sys / Abs? Not sure exactly where they stand on me knowing exactly how much it costs, but I think they are ok with me knowing what it costs and deciding what i want.

Thanks for your suggestions / advice / comments / opinions etc.

 

[Ganryu]

Dude, get a Dell!

 

[Davegod75]

I'm a senior in college and have always wished i had a laptop. Don't count our a laptop

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

You're in a situation I was in a month or so ago. In the past I bought from a local computer store, then gateway, and then ebay, and finally I built my own this last time. I was pretty worried about it at first, but it sounds like you've been reading some stuff and looking around, which personally helped me a great deal. I would never go back to buying pre-built after I did this one, I definately know exactly what I have and it was kinda fun putting it together anyway.

As for the Northwood vs. XP, there's some arguments on both sides for which is better and stuff, but my last two computers have been an athlon 1.4 tbird and a 1800+ XP and I've had great performance with them. I would definately reccomend the XPs expecially if you want to save your parents some dough ( so they have more to send you later )

I've been buying in stages with upgrades as I get more cash for my system and have found ( with advice from the forums ) that newegg is a great place to get parts online. You're probably familiar with them, but if you're not, heres a linky newegg

Prior to building this system, the most complicated thing I had done on a computer was install a cd burner and add some ram, but after a few snags I got my new system up and running without any major problems.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it and I hope all goes well at college. I'll be blasting some music at UW-Madison in the fall once I get my newest sound upgrades from newegg of course.

 

[bmd]

<< Dude, get a Dell! >>


Hmm... how about not

And yes, I was planning on getting most / all of the stuff from Newegg if I decided to build it myself.

 

[hopeless879]

AMD has their Thouroghbred processor coming out in May/June I beleive, you may want to wait for that. Its basically an AthlonXP with .13 micron spacing. Not sure on the overclockability of it.

I would definately make your own computer. You learn alot, know exactly whats inside of your computer, and people say "Oooohhhhh" when you tell them you built your computer.

 

[ed21x]

with the little amount of space available in most dorm rooms, make sure to get a flat screen LCD and a tv tuner card if you're not getting a tv. also, a nice solid 2.1 sound setup is essential

also, a black system is kinda cool...

 

[bmd]

I'm pretty set towards getting a desktop at the moment, but I suppose I could still consider and look at my options as far as laptops go. I would like to be able to play games (RtCW, CS, Max Payne, others...) if I happen to have time so I'm not sure an LCD monitor is really the way to go. I was planning on getting nice speakers though, as having a nice sound system is of course a must .

 

[MWWInc]

P4 1.6A is a nice OCer (2+ Ghz on most easy). Also, if you're gonna go with RDRAM, I'd say get a Asus P4T-E. But I must warn you, you will have no upgrade path with and RAMBUS solution vs DDR. Otherwise, performance and price are pretty darn close.

 

[spanner]

My suggestions would be to buy it from the custom configurators, i.e you pick all the parts and they build it and test it . Or even better, build it with a friend who knows what they are doing. Plunging right in to building your own computer can spell disaster or at the very least can be a painstaking ordeal (software wise more so then hardware wise), you need to see it done atleast once. As for a laptop, its a personal preference, i hate the tiny screens and the tiny keyboards and the tiny little excuse for a mouse and most importantly the fact that it is not as enthusiast friendly,but it may be the thing for you.

 

[astroview]

I don't think the laptop is good unless you fit the bill for one. They are good for students that commute or in professional schools like law or business. In those cases you want a light one too, so thats bad if you're a gamer.

I second buying an LCD for space reasons with a TV Tuner. My monitor is too big for my dorm room I feel.

 

[gsaldivar]

Buddy, go for the LAPTOP.

Laptops are generally more expensive than desktop computers - if you're parents are willing to foot the bill, let them get the more expensive one for you.

You always can piece together a deskop system later if you want, but in my opinion, you'll be at a disadvantage these days entering college without a laptop.

 

[ronnaZ]

the system that i recommend is-
AMD T-bred (releasing this June)
mobo equipped with usb2
512/256 DDR
19" monitor

 

[Jizzler]

If you have the cash laying around for a nice laptop(desktop replacement level), go for it!

If you still want that desktop, the guys over at EvilCON will put togethor whatever you want.

 

[Sukhoi]

If you want to overclock a P4 I'd go with an i845 DDR mobo.

Anyway, I'm in the same situation as you. I've pretty much decided to go with a P4 2.0A. I'm getting an Antec case with their new PSU, which should allow me to have a really quiet and cool system.

Edit: I'd have to suggest a Samsung 700NF/900NF monitor. I've never seen one in person, but I've heard they're awesome.

 

[Siddhartha]

Concerning the choice between AMD and Intel: either solution will fit your needs nicely. You might save a couple of hundred dollars depending on if you overclock or not.

Laptop vs desktop:
I have both and I only use the laptop during the two or three weeks a year I am on the road. I find that my desktop is more functional: faster, easier to use, work on, and upgrade.

Though as someone wrote the laptop would take up alot less space. Geez my Thinkpad has a smaller footprint than my keyboard.

 

[ElFenix]

the laptop you can take to class and type notes on. unless you're a gamer its the way to go (nice inspiron 4100 or something of that nature). you can even game on the desktop replacements, but they're sort of a pain to carry around.


<--- getting laptop for law school eventually

 

[CTho9305]

a lot of my friends would rather have desktops, people with desktops would rather have laptops. personally, i'd say get a desktop, as most of my friends dont actually move their laptops anywhere...

 

[Ben50]

Check with your college to see if they have wireless network access. If they do, definitely get a laptop. Otherwise just stick with a desktop.

 

[gsaldivar]

"...Check with your college to see if they have wireless network access. If they do, definitely get a laptop. Otherwise just stick with a desktop..."

Huh?

I'm not knocking wireless networks (our campus is fortunate to have one), but IMHO this shouldn't be the deciding factor in deciding on a laptop vs. desktop purchase.

Even among laptop users - those who actually use the wireless network on our campus are a tiny minority...

 

[RickH]

Get the desk top--it's much easier to use and cheaper. Someone will steal the laptop if leave it for a moment. RRRRRRRR

 

[Ben50]

<< "...Check with your college to see if they have wireless network access. If they do, definitely get a laptop. Otherwise just stick with a desktop..."

Huh?

I'm not knocking wireless networks (our campus is fortunate to have one), but IMHO this shouldn't be the deciding factor in deciding on a laptop vs. desktop purchase.

Even among laptop users - those who actually use the wireless network on our campus are a tiny minority... >>



Well I don't know about you, but I think it would be awesome. Our campus is slowly implementing a wireless network and I really want a laptop to utilize it. Just think, you're sitting in a really boring lecture class so what do you do? With a wireless connection and a laptop, you could be playing multiplayer internet games or chatting with friends. If I could be playing warcraft 3 instead of sleeping through class, it would be a lot more fun and I would probably go to class more often. Now I know what you're thinking, you're thinking that you should be listening and taking notes in class. But some of the electives that they make you take are so easy that you will die of boredom if you actually try that hard in such an easy class. Now you could always not go to class but I've found that just going to class will help you improve your grades. Even if the only thing you pay attention to are the announcements, at least you'll know when the tests are and when homework is due. Plus you'll always be there for those damn in-class quizzes that many profs like to throw at students.

 

[RickH]

Ben50--- Can you give me you Dad's e-mail address? He might be interested in your thoughts on higher education. RRRRRRRRR

 

[hypeMarked]

<< P4 1.6A is a nice OCer (2+ Ghz on most easy). Also, if you're gonna go with RDRAM, I'd say get a Asus P4T-E. But I must warn you, you will have no upgrade path with and RAMBUS solution vs DDR. Otherwise, performance and price are pretty darn close. >>



Newbie here -- What does he means by this?

 

[MWWInc]

I simply meant that Intel's upcoming chipsets will be focused on dual-channel DDR, not RDRAM. So you could theoretically re-use your processor and DDR-RAM if you upgraded to a next-generation Intel chipset mobo. RAMBUS's next thing is QRSL (Quad Rambus Signalling Level), which is a whole new memory technology, and doesn't seem to have as much support behind it as DDR-II from Intel. However, there is a SiS RDRAM chipset coming out "soon", but that's another question mark.

Of course if you plan on keeping your mobo/proc/RAM until you upgrade the whole thing again, then all this don't matter too terribly much. Blah.

edit: Here's an Abit pointpoint that has a good overview of upcoming chipsets. You can also check out more roadmap info here.