Help with components for new comps

[BMW2000z]

Hey guys, I'm building two new computers right now. I've pretty much decided on all the parts, but I wanted to post them up here to see what you think. Please let me know if you have any comments/suggestions, especially if you have personal experience with any of the things i'm buying. Thanks!

Comp. 1
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AMD 64 3200+
Abit KV8 Pro http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-178&depa=0
ECS ATI Radeon 9200 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-134-108&depa=1
1024mb OCZ Enhanced Bandwidth Platinum Edition
Plextor CD-RW PX-W5224TA http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-241&depa=0

Comp. 2
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AMD 64 3400+
Abit KV8 Pro http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-178&depa=0
ATI AIW 9600 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-345&depa=0 (I was thinking of getting the aiw 9200 pro with dvi, but the 9600 aiw is only $10 more and has 8x agp so i'll just use an dvi converter)
Aspire X-Infinity case http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-077&depa=0
Antec 430W True Power
512mb OCZ Enhanced Latency Platinum Edition, Rev. 2
Plextor PX-712A http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-131-326&depa=1 (or the NEC ND-3500A 16x double layer dvd+/-rw drive http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-034&depa=1 ....it's cheaper and does double layer and is also faster...does anybody know if these run quitely and if they're any good?)

 

[LordPhoenix]

What are you going to use them for? 1st question..

Get Radeon 9100 or 8500 or Geforce 4 TI or Geforce 3 TI. 9200 SUCKS. -Btw I'm selling a Radeon 8500 128MB DDR for $45. (OEM).

 

[yankeesfan]

please get a better video card in computer 1 and 2

 

[brunswickite]

Originally posted by: yankeesfan
please get a better video card in computer 1

agreed

the 9200 is a sh1t card...

get a 9600 or even an old geforce 4 ti over that

 

[BMW2000z]

I don't care about overclocking, since nothing will be overclocked. Comp. 1 will be used for business (lots of adobe photoshop and other graphics stuff), and comp 2 will be used for home use, nothing special (watch tv, watch porn, maybe some coding, internet browsing, the usual).

 

[LordPhoenix]

then your gfx cards are fine if you aren't going to game. <-- Lives on Intel Extreme...

 

[BMW2000z]

Originally posted by: LordPhoenix
What are you going to use them for? 1st question..

Get Radeon 9100 or 8500 or Geforce 4 TI or Geforce 3 TI. 9200 SUCKS. -Btw I'm selling a Radeon 8500 128MB DDR for $45. (OEM).

There's no 9100. Do you mean the 9000?

 

[brunswickite]

Originally posted by: BMW2000z

Originally posted by: LordPhoenix
What are you going to use them for? 1st question..

Get Radeon 9100 or 8500 or Geforce 4 TI or Geforce 3 TI. 9200 SUCKS. -Btw I'm selling a Radeon 8500 128MB DDR for $45. (OEM).

There's no 9100. Do you mean the 9000?

there is a 9100, it sucks IIRC

8500 = 9000 = 9100 = 9200

 

[Demo24]

well in comp one it needs a bigger card. in comp 2 thats a waste to buy a 3400 get a 3200 like 1. its to much to pay for such a little increase. use you money you saved there to buy a better vid card for #1

 

[BMW2000z]

Originally posted by: LordPhoenix
What are you going to use them for? 1st question..

Get Radeon 9100 or 8500 or Geforce 4 TI or Geforce 3 TI. 9200 SUCKS. -Btw I'm selling a Radeon 8500 128MB DDR for $45. (OEM).

Comp 1 isn't for me. The guy who it's for has a Radeon 7500 in it right now, and he says it's perfectly fine and wants a cheap card (around $50-60). Comp. 2 is for me but i don't wanna spend too much on a vid card either.

Does anybody use the Leadtek tv tuner? Is it better then the AIW or is it the same?

 

[BMW2000z]

Are the Plextor burners still the best? Is it worth it to make sure to buy a dual layer capable dvd burner? What other companies are good out there for cd/dvd burning? Lite-On is pretty cheap but i hear it's just a worse cheaper version of Plextor? How about NEC and Sony?

Also, who is the best maker of ATI cards after ATI (Sapphire, ECS, Gigabyte, Chaintech, etc...) I've read some reviews that say there's def a difference, and some make better drivers and some are just really crappy. I'd prefer to get an actual ATI card, but if not who is next best?

 

[gotsmack]

I thought you were going to get the BMW case.

the NEC drive is good. I'd stay away from lite-on and I've had bad luck with sony drives reading some of my cds in the past when they play perfectly fine in my other brand cd-roms.

I still think you should get your dad a DirectX 9 card or pay a little more for a Matrox card.