computer novice

[mhan80]

I am planning to buy a computer and I am on a budget so I want the best deal for the money. My budget is $1000 with CA tax and monitor.

First CPU speed? I am planning to get a AMD Thunderbird 800 or 900, is it worth to pay $50 more for a 900 when I dont play games and all I do is compile C++ and type reports, I might do some graphics and games later on.

Motherboard? I am getting mixed suggestions on a motherboard. My boss tells me to get a ASUS A7V, while my brother tells me to get a Microstar MSI k7t pro2a. which is better . If the microstar is better do you think i should wait to get the new model that is coming out the turbo version, rememebr I am on a budget of $1000

Ram? ram prices seem to vary greatly. Does the performance matter if i get generic ram, over name brand such as Kingston, Crucial. I am planning to buy 256mb


Which is a better video card? Radeaon 32mb or Geforce2 mx

Recommend a company for 40 gig HD 7200rpm?


Do you think i should wait for the Rambus tech to take over or the DDR.

thanks for the help

 

[Rand]

Might look at buying the Duron 850MHz, be a bit slower than the T-Bird 800 but it's cheaper and you said your on a budget.
I'd go with the K7TPro2A myself, but you might want to wait for DDR upporting boards.
IBM has some really nice 7200RPM Hard drives, around 40GB.
I'd take the GeForce2MX over the SDR Radeon myself.

Just my opinions...

 

[LXi]

Athlon Tbird 800 $107
MicroStar K7T Pro2A $113
Kingmax PC150 128MB $75
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 45GB $170
Radeon 32MB DDR $140 or GeForce2 MX $100
SB Live! value $50
NIC or modem $30
TEAC or Acer 40x CD-ROM $40
Enlight case(forgot what model) with 300W $80
Keyboard, mouse and speakers $100

$905

You're left with about $95 for a monitor, which is pretty tight.

 

[Spook]

If your not a gamer, it quickly simplifies this mess for you... You don't need the best and fastest of everything... a Tbird 800-900 would suite you fine, if you look @ Pricewatch, you can find some great prices. Watch out though some of the vendors are pretty unscrupulous, Reseller Ratings is good place to weed out some of those vendors.

The Asus A7V is a bit expensive, go for the MSI board, it is know to be very stable and good board.

Memory, you don't have to get Crucial, people looking to stretch the performance of their system will get that. Look for some PC133 Micron Generic Ram, and make sure with the vendor you buy it from they use it with the Tbird. 256Meg should only run you between $105-120.

Maxtor 40G 7200 RPM drive is well know to be good around here, or try the IBM 45G 75GXP is highly recommended as well.

As for the Video board... Well they are pretty close to the same, either way would be good.
Nvidia, is better at drivers... But the image quality is supposed to be better with the Radeon, your call..

 

[Sugadaddy]

If the 900 t-bird fits in you budget, why not? But it won't really feel slower with an 800.

MSI K7T-Pro2A is better than the A7V IMO, and actually costs less. I don't know about the turbo, if it's a kt133A chipset based mobo, I wouldn't wait since there aren't any 133 fsb athlons yet.

Get a name brand ram, but the cheapest you can find, since you won't be overclocking the ram too much with an amd system. Name brand won't perform better, but you'll save yourself imcompatibility problems. Try to get a stick that'll do cas2.

Radeon 32MB DDR is better than an MX, but if you're thinking Radeon SDR, I'd get the MX.

Maxtor make great HD, fast and quiet. If you can get the newer model: diamondmax+60, they have a 40 gb model. IBM are also good, but the 75gxp only come in 45gb (15gb platter instead of 20 for the Maxtors)

Finally, don't wait for DDR, it'll take some time before it's cheap and available, and they have a stable platform. As for Rambus, the only reason to get that is if you're getting a p4, which won't fit in your budget anyways.