Friend needs help putting together a new rig, $2700 budget

[Atlantean]

I have a friend who is planning to get his family a new computer for christmas, and he is not really sure what to get. Does he go amd or intel? ATI or NVidia? should he get a dvd burner or wait? What type of system should he get, and is amd still all it was a year ago? cause with intel prices being as low as they are now wouldn't an intel chip be better? Oh and he is considering getting a lcd... his son will be most likely using it for gaming, should I talk him out of it?

 

[charlie21]

I put together an awesome system for myself just 2 months ago:

Athlon Xp1800+
256 MB PC2700 Crucial
WD 80GB HD
Antec case w/300W PS
Chaintech GeForce4 Ti4200 w/S-Video out
Toshiba DVD/CDRW combo
Samsung SyncMaster 955DF 19" monitor
Logitech Wireless keyboard/mouse

I've been really happy with it. I do lots of gaming and programming on it, and I can even watch DVD's on my tv courtesy of the S-Vid output. All this cost ~$1100 w/out OS. Comparable P4 system would have been 150-250 more. I was looking into a DVD burner, but I'm going to wait for the prices to fall a little more and the standards to settle before I make that jump. If your friend is comfortable building a system, I would recommend something along those lines for your best bang/buck. But I am always leery about building computers for people, because when something goes wrong, you become tech support. Especially since it's going to be a family system, when the 4 year old puts a PB & J in the floppy drive, it's best to have a warranty. If he's a techie, tell him to build an Athlon system. Otherwise, have him call Dell and get the holiday special.

Charlie

 

[Wuzup101]

For $2700 into a desktop you can buy a whole hell of a lot...

AMD XP 2800+ $400ish
Mobo of your choice KT400 based probably under $200
1gig pc3200+ DDR under $400 (2 512mb dimms)
DVD burner under $350
CD burner under $100
2x 120gig WD SE HDD's (8mb versions) $300ish for both
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro under $400
Sound of your choice under $200
Case and assorted others $200

Alright so most of those things were a bit high all estimates rounded up.... but you know what I am saying... you can build one hell of a machine for that price...

 

[Wolfsraider]

try this on for size
(forget the lcd unless its a must have imho they still aren't ready for gaming ymmv)


Cases (Computer Cases, ATX Form)
►WOW, Blow-Out Special: CHIEFTEC Server Chasis (Aluminum Workstation Tower with Plastic Front Cover) Blue w/acrylic window **Now with 2 x Front USB2.0 and 1 x Firewire IEEE1394 ports**450W AMD approved Power Supply, Powered by Foxconn (Austin) Front Accessible: 4 x 5.25", 2 x 3.5", Internal: 4 x 3.5". Compare to Antec PLUS1080 and Save Weights Only 18LBs! more info>
* (Includes FedEx Saver Shipping) N82E16811125200 $89.00

CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
Lite On 52x24x52 CDRW Model LTR-52246 Retail Buffer underrun error free & automatically adjust writing strategy plus running OPC to meet various burning condition.
$70.00
Hard Drives
►Hot Item! WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY

OEM(Drive alone) 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty --* Works With PC & Mac *-- more info>
N82E16822144122 $112.00 x 2
$224.00
Memory (System Memory)
CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 512MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 With Heat Spreader
Specifications:
$185.00
Motherboards - Intel
ALBATRON INTEL 845PE Chipset ATX Motherboard Model PX845PE PRO IIS Retail (Silver PCB Board) **Highest FSB 667 (166Mhz), Memory speed up to DDR439 Tested by Anandtech.com**
$132.00
Processors
Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8 GHz Northwood 512K Socket 478 Processor 533MHz Processor Bus Retail
$389.00
Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum (Model SB0240P) - RETAIL
$172.00
Video Cards
ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB TV/DVI 8X AGP RETAILRADEON? 9700 PRO is the world's fastest* and most advanced graphics board.
$339.00
Monitors - CRT
SONY 21" CRT MONITOR Model CPD-G520 RetailThe Multiscan® G520 is ideal for the demanding corporate professional.
$705.00

Subtotal » $2,305.00

add:
Sony DVD Recorder Drive Model DRU500A Retail The amazing new DRU-500A burns DVD-R/-RW, DVD+RW/+R, and even CD-R/CD-RW discs
Specifications:
Speed: 2.4X max. DVD+R Write; 2.4X max. DVD+RW Write; 4X max. DVD-R Write; 2X max. DVD-RW Write; 8X max. DVD-ROM Read
Random Access Time: DVD: 200ms CD: 160ms
Buffer Memory: 8MB
Buffer Underrun Protection Technology
Interface: ATAPI EIDE
OS Support: Windows® 98SE/2000, Windows ME and Windows XP
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for $365.00 when in stock


hth


mike

 

[Bovinicus]

Since your friend can afford to buy a more expensive CPU, Intel can offer comparable performance for the price. When it comes to lower speed CPUs, AMD is still the best in terms of price/performance. I would suggest an Intel system.

The 2.4GHz P4 seems to be the sweet spot right now. It's only $8 more expensive than a 2.26GHz P4.

The 845PE chipset is the one to go with at this point. I'm guessing no one in the family plans on overclocking? If so, the motherboards made by Intel are pretty good.

With a budget like that, there is no reason not to go with the Radeon 9700 Pro. Possibly even the AIW Radeon 9700 Pro. It just depends if he wants VIVO and video editing capabilities.

The onboard sound of the Intel motherboard is suitable. If the person is an audiophile, then perhaps the Philips Acoustic Edge would be the way to go.

The onboard ethernet controller is excellent. There is definitely no need to replace it.

512MB of memory is a good amount to go with. PC2700 of the CAS2 variety should fit the bill. Might as well just get a 512 stick so he has room for expansion.

I like the Western Digital JB series of hard drives (The ones with 8MB buffers). Go with the Seagate Baracuda IVs if he wants a silent system. Buy the largest one that fits in the budget (200GB?)

For the CD writer just get a Lite-On drive. High quality and cheap.

I like the Antec Tru power supplies. A 330W should do the trick, but the 380W will ensure that this system can be upgraded long into the future.

The case doesn't really matter. Just make sure it has halway decent airflow, and that the intake fan isn't restricted by lack of holes in the cases exterior.

LCDs are still not the greatest choice for games. However, if they can stand the ghosting, by all means. They are better in a lot of ways, I just can't stand the ghosting (Even on low switching time LCDs). A high quality 19" monitor should leave them happy.

Some nice speakers would be a good idea too. I like the Logitech Z560s. Nice booming bass, loud, and crisp.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: Atlantean
I have a friend who is planning to get his family a new computer for christmas, and he is not really sure what to get. Does he go amd or intel? ATI or NVidia? should he get a dvd burner or wait? What type of system should he get, and is amd still all it was a year ago? cause with intel prices being as low as they are now wouldn't an intel chip be better? Oh and he is considering getting a lcd... his son will be most likely using it for gaming, should I talk him out of it?

For a normal consumer:
1. AMD or Intel? does not matter, a system with either cpu will fit his needs nicely.
2. ATI or Nvidia: does not matter, see above.
3. DVD burner; I am going to wait and let the industry choose a standard.
4. Intel: if he wants Intel tell him to get Intel, see number 1.
5. LCD for gaming: LCDs look cool but for gaming I would get a good quality 19" to 21" CRT.

 

[cutty]

$2700 for a PC? That's way too much!!!
Good to be rich!!!
Since he has so many cash to burn, my suggestion is to get dual display.
I don't recommend LCD, I'll take two CRT monitors (it requires a large desk, I know. If he doesn't have one yet, he can buy one with the $2700 budget also). If he consists with LCD, maybe one LCD and one CRT?

 

[LouPoir]

$2700 for a PC - Yikes - You can get it all - top of the line.

 

[lorlabnew]

For that money, I'd buy the fastest CPU Intel offers (3GHz currently?), gig of PC1066 (or better) and AIW-Radeon9700Pro, the rest of the stuff whatever the preferences for use would be. I'd get some large CRT instead of flat panel, since $2700 isn't enough budget to include quality large hig-res flat panel display. Other than that you can't go wrong if you just shop the most expensive stuff from the pricelists 🙂

Also, I'd think about SCSI HDD's instead of IDE at this point.

 

[cutty]

Sorry that I really can't agree with you on CPU. Though he has planty cash to burn, but what can he get for the extra $300 by upgrading P4-2.8GHZ to P4-3.0GHZ? I think it really doesn't worth the money. SCSI harddisk is OK if the money is enough, but I'll consider to buy dual display first.

Originally posted by: lorlabnew
For that money, I'd buy the fastest CPU Intel offers (3GHz currently?), gig of PC1066 (or better) and AIW-Radeon9700Pro, the rest of the stuff whatever the preferences for use would be. I'd get some large CRT instead of flat panel, since $2700 isn't enough budget to include quality large hig-res flat panel display. Other than that you can't go wrong if you just shop the most expensive stuff from the pricelists 🙂

Also, I'd think about SCSI HDD's instead of IDE at this point.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: LouPoir
$2700 for a PC - Yikes - You can get it all - top of the line.

In retrospect it is amazing what competition has done to the computer industry. Eight or nine years ago a top of the line system cost $5,000 to $6000. For $3500 you could get a mid level system from a local shop.

 

[lorlabnew]

Originally posted by: cutty
Sorry that I really can't agree with you on CPU. Though he has planty cash to burn, but what can he get for the extra $300 by upgrading P4-2.8GHZ to P4-3.0GHZ? I think it really doesn't worth the money. SCSI harddisk is OK if the money is enough, but I'll consider to buy dual display first.

Originally posted by: lorlabnew
For that money, I'd buy the fastest CPU Intel offers (3GHz currently?), gig of PC1066 (or better) and AIW-Radeon9700Pro, the rest of the stuff whatever the preferences for use would be. I'd get some large CRT instead of flat panel, since $2700 isn't enough budget to include quality large hig-res flat panel display. Other than that you can't go wrong if you just shop the most expensive stuff from the pricelists 🙂

Also, I'd think about SCSI HDD's instead of IDE at this point.

I think 3.06GHz is the only with HT Technology support; just to have that feature may be useful in the near future.... I mean, with his amount of cash I'd get only the latest & best core components (motherboard, RAM, CPU), that way the system will stay on the top for much longer... dual display may be neat as well ... but I think that it can be always added later and for less. I'd definitely push myself to buy the fastest CPU/chipset/RAM combination which currently market offers, and then use the remaining cash for the rest of the stuff according my particular computing needs.

But don't wanna argue; either way his system will kick ass if he'll spend $2700 on parts... 🙂

 

[dpopiz]

geez! for $2700 I would think you could get a really fancy high-end p4 and still have tons left over. spend the extra on a high-quality 18" LCD! I just built my friend a p4 2.4B northwood, 512mb pc2700, 80gb wd-se, 48x burner, ti4200 128mb for $930 so think what you could do with $2700!!!

 

[dethman]

$2700? buy a loaded system (see above) and keep the extra $1200 or so. 😀