Its been 3 years, I need a new system.

[maskey]

Hello all,

3 Years ago I built my system and now I am ready to for a major upgrade. This one gets tossed to the wife for business use.
Currently I have been running with a 300mhz Celeron, 384k Ram, 40GB hd and ATI Radeon 32mb DDR Video Card. I am a part time gamer, mostly MMORPGs (Evercrack and Dark Ages of Camelot) and I plan on renewing my addiction with a subscription to Star Wars Galaxies. Doom III, UT2003 may be played, but I don't think I will make them a mainstay on my computer.

Do I build my own again or should I go the Dell 4550 path? Dell seems to be offering a few good deals and with prices droping on the 10th, they might get better.

Obviously I am not a hardcore gamer, but I would like good performance when I sit down. I would love to do this on a laptop format, but realize that $2000 is the minimum to play with Laptop Gaming.

I am not in a rush and I have $900 to spend (don't need a monitor).

I would like any and all recommendations. AMD and Intel.

Thanks!

Mark

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

384k of RAM, you do need an upgrade. lol

$900 you say.
Let's see what newegg has to say

Intel Pentium 4 2.4BGHz 512K 533MHz CPU Northwood P478 Processor Retail Box $185
Soltek SL-85MR2 Motherboard $97
LEADTEK GeForce 4 TI4200 64M /TV BULK $136
2xDane-Elec DDR 256MB 32MBx64 PC-2100 RAM $156
WD WESTERN DIGITAL EIDE HARD DRIVE 80GB 7200RPM $104
SAMSUNG 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE $9
PLEXTOR PX-W4012TA/SW 40x12x40 CD-RW $95
ANTEC SOLUTION SERIES Model# SLK2600AMB w/ANTEC SMART POWER 300W P4/AMD POWER SUPPLY ATX12V $59

Total with shipping $860.

 

[dszd0g]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski

SAMSUNG 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE $9
SAMSUNG 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE $95

I sense a typo here.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

or if you go AMD 2400XP with ALBATRON AMD KT400 Chipset ATX Motherboard Model KX400-8X motherboard

your total goes up to $869

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: dszd0g

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski

SAMSUNG 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE $9
SAMSUNG 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE $95

I sense a typo here.

It's a rebagged Plextor 40x CDRW lol

 

[newbiepcuser]

PLEXTOR PX-W4012TA/SW 40x12x40 CD-RW $95

I paid 103 dollars for my retail Plextor 48X CD-RW from Dell during those 15% days, I would wait or just get a Lite-on. I should of, save some $$$.

 

[PhaZe]

Check out this combo drive
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=SM%2D332BEA32x12x40

32X CD-Recording, 12X CD-Rewriting, 40X CD-ROM Reading, and 12X DVD-ROM Reading

If you don't mind waiting an extra 20 seconds for a burned cd, you should go with this drive. I read a review that stated this drive is virtually silent when reading media. Some of those other drives are downright annoying. Also, I remember when I had a 5x dvd drive in my first pc without a "hardware" decoder, the quality was the same as my current 16x pioneer dvd drive. So 12x should be fine.

 

[maskey]

Jeffery,

Thanks for the suggestion!

My only concern is that I will still need to purchase the following:

Operating System. Window XP
Sound Card - Is the built in sound good enough?
NIC Card - For DSL Access.
Mouse and Keyboard.

Any other suggestions? What about Dell/Gateway or Other Vendors?

Mark

 

[virusag11]

Operating System. Window XP (home) - $100
Sound Card - Is the built in sound good enough? - If you are going to play mp3s and some evercrack, built in should be fine.
NIC Card - For DSL Access - 10-15$ @ Best buy
Mouse and Keyboard - Varies on quality and functionality

 

[optimistic]

I don't know why but I like whipping up rigs

Here's what I'd build if I got $900 for new rig.

Main Stuff
$199 P4 2AGHz (boxed) w/ Soyo SY-P4S Dragon Lite
- 10/100 Network Card Built-in
- 4 channel hardware sound Built-in (Good enough)
$70 2xCrucial 256MB PC2100
$89 Seagate Barracuda IV 80GB
$120 Gainward GeForce4 Ti4200 (64MB)
$55 SONY CD-RW Model CRX210E1 48x12x48 - OEM
$41 SONY 16X-DVD EIDE INTERNAL (Bare drive)
$8 Floppy 1.44
$10 Pair of case fans

Total So Far: $592 w/o s/h

Other Stuff:
$55 AMS GMONO Model#CF-2029 (WHITE) MID-TOWER CASE- RETAIL
$32 ENERMAX EG301P-VB 300W Power supply
$30 Mircosoft Internt Keyboard & Optical Wheel Mouse

Final Total: $709 w/o OS & s/h

That Fry's P4 2GHZ / Dragon Combo is hard to beat at that price. Lowest price you can find on pw is $260 for the same combo. And you can easily OC it to 2.4B+ if you like. But of course everything is up to you. I chose Sony Optical Drives because they are much more quieter than the LiteOns with the same performance.

Good luck, and I don't know much about the Dell deals to make a comparison.

 

[maskey]

Thanks Optimistic!

I happen to have a Frys about 40 minutes from me.

Guess I will do some research there tomorrow.

Mark

 

[optimistic]

Woohoo! You gotta decide quickly if you want to do the 2.0A w/Dragon route for $200 or go for 2.4B w/ motherboard for $80+ more. Because the motherboard & hard drive deal ends this Thrus in LA. But they usually put it back on sale every other week.

 

[BostonCard]

A different approach:

I'm a big fan of the small form factor PCs from shuttle. So, let's see if I can configure a system for you around the Shuttle flex ATX system. Note that a new barebones system around the nVidia nForce 2 motherboard will be coming out soon, which may impact prices and/or choices.

From NewEgg:
Shuttle SS50 SiS 650 P4 400MHz Socket 478 $249 (for $50 more you can go with the SB51 Intel Chipset)
$249
Power supply
Included
Case
Included
Graphics
Included
Sound
Included
Monitor
From prior system
On Sale! CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM
$81.99 x 2 = 163.98
Intel Pentium 4 1.8GHz 256K Socket 478 Processor 400MHz Processor Bus
$134.99
Seagate 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive OEM Barracuda IV ST360021A
$94.00
Samsung SM-332B/DSV BLACK 32x10x40 CDRW and 12x DVD COMB
$95.00
Total: $736.97
Minus Windows XP.

To get this budget to work, you have to accept using the crappy built in graphics. In a year or so, when you are ready to upgrade your system, just pop in your graphics card of choice.
You also stated that you want to get Windows XP. If you look at the HotDeals forum, they describe a way that you can sign up with Microsoft to get a NFR copy of Win XP pro for $39.99., bringing your total to:

$776.96 + tax and shipping

If you are willing to wait a couple of weeks, you can have a look at the nForce 2 based Shuttle system. The built in graphics and sound on that system will be comparable to a middle range graphics and sound card. The higher price of the barebones will be partially upset by the availability of cheaper AMD CPUs.

P.S. With Intel having just announced price drops, which will take effect on Nov. 10 (if I remember right), I'd wait a week to do your system and save $20 or so, regardless of which solution you use.

Good luck.
BC

 

[wyvrn]

Those systems look cool, thought about building one as a second system behind my laptop.

Originally posted by: BostonCard
A different approach:

I'm a big fan of the small form factor PCs from shuttle. So, let's see if I can configure a system for you around the Shuttle flex ATX system. Note that a new barebones system around the nVidia nForce 2 motherboard will be coming out soon, which may impact prices and/or choices.

From NewEgg:
Shuttle SS50 SiS 650 P4 400MHz Socket 478 $249 (for $50 more you can go with the SB51 Intel Chipset)
$249
Power supply
Included
Case
Included
Graphics
Included
Sound
Included
Monitor
From prior system
On Sale! CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM
$81.99 x 2 = 163.98
Intel Pentium 4 1.8GHz 256K Socket 478 Processor 400MHz Processor Bus
$134.99
Seagate 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive OEM Barracuda IV ST360021A
$94.00
Samsung SM-332B/DSV BLACK 32x10x40 CDRW and 12x DVD COMB
$95.00
Total: $736.97
Minus Windows XP.

To get this budget to work, you have to accept using the crappy built in graphics. In a year or so, when you are ready to upgrade your system, just pop in your graphics card of choice.
You also stated that you want to get Windows XP. If you look at the HotDeals forum, they describe a way that you can sign up with Microsoft to get a NFR copy of Win XP pro for $39.99., bringing your total to:

$776.96 + tax and shipping

If you are willing to wait a couple of weeks, you can have a look at the nForce 2 based Shuttle system. The built in graphics and sound on that system will be comparable to a middle range graphics and sound card. The higher price of the barebones will be partially upset by the availability of cheaper AMD CPUs.

P.S. With Intel having just announced price drops, which will take effect on Nov. 10 (if I remember right), I'd wait a week to do your system and save $20 or so, regardless of which solution you use.

Good luck.
BC

 

[TonyB]

Those other systems are nice, but if stability and performance is what you desire then you should get this:

P4 2.53GHz
ASUS P4PE-L
512MB DDR333
GEFORCE4 TI4200
80GB MAXTOR 6Y080L0
LITE-ON 48/12/48 CDRW
1.44 FLOPPY
CASE + SPARKE PSU
MS KEYBOARD/MOUSE

The most important piece of hardware in here is the motherboard and a lot of people like skimping on that by buying some sub-$80 board. If you desire stability and reliability above all else, I would personally put in the extra $$ and get an ASUS board and skimp on some other part of the system instead; like the cd-rom or something. It will save you a lot of greif in the future.

 

[JSSheridan]

Here's an idea I just wanted to kick around a little bit. Supposing there is going to be another 3 year period between this upgrade and your next upgrade, you might want to consider getting the best video card you can now, the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro. A P4 2.4B might still be respectable three years from now, but I'm fairly sure that the GF4 TI4200 won't be. Of course, the 9700 Pro likely won't be respectable three years from now either, but there is still the advantage of it having DX9 hardware. If you can fit it in your budget, why not? That's just my $0.02. Good luck putting it together. Peace.

 

[dszd0g]

JSSheridan, the price/performance isn't there on the Radeon 9700 Pro. It isn't a good fit for a tight budget system. Maybe if the Radeon 9700 (non-pro) were out, that would most likely be a really good buy -- especially if one overclocked it.

 

[maskey]

Wow, this is good stuff.

I have to admit, the Shuttle systems look very nice. If it had decent graphics I would probably lean that direction. I read it had an AGP slot. What cards are going to fit in that box? (Nevermind...just read the Tech Report review and they plugged a ATI 9700PRO in that slot. Impressive review at http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2002q4/shuttle-sb51g/index.x?pg=1 )

Regarding the 9700 Pro: I love this card and its potential. I don't love its $349 price. Anybody have any news on the 9500? I just watched clips of Doom III and I guess I will need something able to handle "self shading".

Tony B, you make a great point on stability. I plan on skimping on other areas to make sure I don't *cheapen* the foundation of the system. I have a CDRW now and don't use it, so I will probably shift money from there to the motherboard.

It looks like I am definitely going to wait 30 days to see how pricing is affected during the Holiday Season. Intel Price drops are on the 10th and it looks like a few other new products are coming out (NFORCE 2 Shuttle) that might make it worthwhile to wait.

Thanks,

Mark

PS. Based on the TechReport Review I could do this:

$349 Shuttle SBG1
$185 2.4BGHz 512K 533MHz CPU Northwood P478 Processor Retail Box
$100 256K PC2700 Memory
$104 Western Digital 80MB HD
$45 LITE-ON LTD-166S16X DVD ROM Drive - Retail48X
$30 Mircosoft Internt Keyboard & Optical Wheel Mouse
$99 Windows XP

$912 Total (no shipping) and deal with GF MX graphics.

Then save up $150 more to buy a decent video card or $300 when the 9700 Pro drops in a few months.

I have to admit TechReports benchmarks made me look twice at the Shuttle.

Damn. Now I know why I have not done this in 3 years. No matter what you set as your budget, its always comes out $300 more expensive.

Mark

 

[BostonCard]

Originally posted by: maskey
Wow, this is good stuff.
...

Damn. Now I know why I have not done this in 3 years. No matter what you set as your budget, its always comes out $300 more expensive.

Mark

That's why I have always advised people to pick a budget first, and then buy or build the best computer possible for that budget. Had it been a few weeks ago, I would have recommended the Dell Dimension deal, but that seems to have passed. No matter, sooner or later there will be anothe deal, as good or better than the first.

If you feel like you want more in your system, you have three options
1) Cannibalize as much as you can from your current system (though that means your wife might be out in a lurch for a while, but she can wait)
2) Make do with worse specs for now, knowing you can upgrade later. Thus, if you get the shuttle system, you can put in a spare (or new) CD-ROM, a smaller hard drive, less memory, and make do with the built in video card. You can then add to it as time goes by. Note that the shuttle is not particularly upgrade friendly, so you will have to add by taking out current components (except the graphics)
3) Wait until things get cheaper. Since we are at an inflection point with prices, (as you said, with nForce coming out, and Intel lowering prices next week) figure out what you are planning to get and wait until prices hit the sweet spot and you can get them.
Good luck!
BC