OK I need some help putting together a new machine from pricing to tech specs. CONSIDER that I can qualify for both educational and small business deals. I am looking to purchase within about 3-5 weeks, possibly sooner. I wish I could post this in the hot deals area but it's not totally relevent.
I am looking to spend about $700-800 (CPU only). I am undecided as to whether or not I should go for a Dell (4550) deal and add/replace parts or build my own from scratch. I would much rather build my own but I don't think I can keep it under $800 with the parts I want. Lets go over what parts I am looking to put in.
Processor: P4 2.4ghz/533-fsb or 2.53ghz/533-fsb (I would get the 2.4ghz/400-fsb for overclocking but I have cooling problems in my hot & sunny studio). 2.4ghz is a good price but if I can get 2.53ghz for $40 more I would.
Motherboard: Something to accomodate a P4 2.53ghz/533fsb, DDR 333-400 RAM, 8x AGP, USB 2.0, ATA/133 bus, onboard 10/100 ethernet, firewire would be nice but not necessary, onboard sound and video is unimportant since I will be using a Radeon 9700 and Audigy 2 platinum.
The ideal MB would be the Asus P4G8X but that $250+ price tag is too painful.
____
P4 2.4ghz = $170-190
P4 2.53ghz = $200-240
MB/CPU combo = $220-350
RAM: I am kinda confused on this one. Not sure what to get. DDR 400 with a good chipset can outperform RDRAM but not always under every circumstance. You'd have to get the DDR at a very good latency of 2-2.5. The price of even RD 1024/533fsb chipsets and modules have gotten much cheaper now so it may be worth getting the RD1024. The prices of high end low latency DDR is comparable now with RDRAM 1024's. For now I think I would consider DDR 333 low latency chips to be the best bargain. DDR 333, preferably corsair extreme or samsung. start at 512mb, upgrade later to 1gb or 1.5gb. 2x 256mb modules is ok but 512mb module is preferable.
____
DDR 333+ (2700-3500) = $120-180 for 512mb (2.0 latency w/spreader)
Optical Drives: Lite-on 40-48x CDRW, 12x DVD-ROM, and possible future add on DVD-RAM (not getting now).
_____
40-48x CDRW = $40-50
12x DVD-ROM- $30
Hard Drives: (2) 80gb WD 8mb cache 7200rpm ATA/133 drives bought seperately and RAIDed. Any drive preincluded will be set as a archival/backup slave. Will want room for a possible 3rd or 4th drive in the future.
_____
Will purchase seperately ($70-80 a piece A/R)
Case: Preferably a large case with ample cooling (cooling is very critical for me). The Antec/chieftec cases are nice with 2 rear case and 2 front HD fans and plenty of bays. The Chieftec models at newegg.com seem nice with 450 watt foxconn PSU.
The case has to be able to support 2 optical drives and preferably a frontside media bay for an (soundblaster) audigy2 media dock and if there is another bay for a vantec temperature monitor. I gotta have at least 3. I also need to place up to 4 hard internal hard drives. 3 is acceptable.
The 400+ watt PSU and ample cooling is very important. My computer studio gets very hot even with the AC on.
Now the Lian-Li server cases are great but I am not paying $300. I'd love a vapochill refrigerated case but it would also freeze my bank account.
_____
Chieftec case with PSU: $100
Don't want to spend more then $150 for case+PSU
Internal accessories: Want some decent fans in there. I will probably buy seperate fans and some arctic silver compound. I will also get heat spreaders for the DDR if they don't come with it. I also want rounded cables.
_____
Fans = $50-100 total
Cables, compound, etc = $30-50
Video: Radeon 9700 TX preferably (adds on to Dell's for $160-180 but sells retail for $250) but I will get a R9500 Pro ($160) if I build my own.
_____
9500 Pro 128mb = $160-180
Software: XP home or pro if less than $50 for upgrade.
_____
$90-140
Peripherals: I have a decent multimedia keyboards and optical mice, router/print server, printer, monitors, tons of great speakers from monsoon's to klipsch 4.1's.
I am looking at totals around $850-1200 +$50-100 shipping costs. I think it will be like $900-1000 which is a bit too high. This includes one HD but not a 2nd and doesn't include the audigy2 card which I will buy later.
Now here is the Dell options. CONSIDER that I can qualify for both educational and small business deals. I also am looking to buy a 2nd $400-500 range comp (P4 2.0 range, no special vid card) for someone else. Here is a typical example of a Dell I would purchase:
Dell 4550
2.4ghz P4/533 fsb
512mb (2x 256mb) DDR 2700
60gb 7200rpm HD
48x CDRW
Radeon 9700 TX (non pro model)
keyboard+mouse
Win XP
1 year warranty
Price around $600 after rebate.
Sounds semi decent but what's in there? What type of motherboard? It can at least support DDR 333 since thats what it comes with and I assume it has an AGP 8x slot since the Radeon is 8x. What's the PSU? What brand of DDR RAM is it? latency?
The deal would be nice if I dont eventually want to pull the motherboard, replace the case and PSU, and RAM modules out within a few months... If some Dell tech could tell me what the chipset is and what the PSU is I may have no problems with buying one right now. Now I may wait for some crazy rebate deal to get that machine for $400 or less A/R, then it's a no brainer, but right now, I am not sure if I should build my own for a few hundred bucks more. If I could find a place with some great high end barebones setups to save some money, then I would go for it. I just can't find that. All I find are shady Pricewatch dealers. Newegg is cool but they don't have many combos and their prices on that sort of stuff is good, not great.
HELP!!!!
Thanks alot for any advice.
I am looking to spend about $700-800 (CPU only). I am undecided as to whether or not I should go for a Dell (4550) deal and add/replace parts or build my own from scratch. I would much rather build my own but I don't think I can keep it under $800 with the parts I want. Lets go over what parts I am looking to put in.
Processor: P4 2.4ghz/533-fsb or 2.53ghz/533-fsb (I would get the 2.4ghz/400-fsb for overclocking but I have cooling problems in my hot & sunny studio). 2.4ghz is a good price but if I can get 2.53ghz for $40 more I would.
Motherboard: Something to accomodate a P4 2.53ghz/533fsb, DDR 333-400 RAM, 8x AGP, USB 2.0, ATA/133 bus, onboard 10/100 ethernet, firewire would be nice but not necessary, onboard sound and video is unimportant since I will be using a Radeon 9700 and Audigy 2 platinum.
The ideal MB would be the Asus P4G8X but that $250+ price tag is too painful.
____
P4 2.4ghz = $170-190
P4 2.53ghz = $200-240
MB/CPU combo = $220-350
RAM: I am kinda confused on this one. Not sure what to get. DDR 400 with a good chipset can outperform RDRAM but not always under every circumstance. You'd have to get the DDR at a very good latency of 2-2.5. The price of even RD 1024/533fsb chipsets and modules have gotten much cheaper now so it may be worth getting the RD1024. The prices of high end low latency DDR is comparable now with RDRAM 1024's. For now I think I would consider DDR 333 low latency chips to be the best bargain. DDR 333, preferably corsair extreme or samsung. start at 512mb, upgrade later to 1gb or 1.5gb. 2x 256mb modules is ok but 512mb module is preferable.
____
DDR 333+ (2700-3500) = $120-180 for 512mb (2.0 latency w/spreader)
Optical Drives: Lite-on 40-48x CDRW, 12x DVD-ROM, and possible future add on DVD-RAM (not getting now).
_____
40-48x CDRW = $40-50
12x DVD-ROM- $30
Hard Drives: (2) 80gb WD 8mb cache 7200rpm ATA/133 drives bought seperately and RAIDed. Any drive preincluded will be set as a archival/backup slave. Will want room for a possible 3rd or 4th drive in the future.
_____
Will purchase seperately ($70-80 a piece A/R)
Case: Preferably a large case with ample cooling (cooling is very critical for me). The Antec/chieftec cases are nice with 2 rear case and 2 front HD fans and plenty of bays. The Chieftec models at newegg.com seem nice with 450 watt foxconn PSU.
The case has to be able to support 2 optical drives and preferably a frontside media bay for an (soundblaster) audigy2 media dock and if there is another bay for a vantec temperature monitor. I gotta have at least 3. I also need to place up to 4 hard internal hard drives. 3 is acceptable.
The 400+ watt PSU and ample cooling is very important. My computer studio gets very hot even with the AC on.
Now the Lian-Li server cases are great but I am not paying $300. I'd love a vapochill refrigerated case but it would also freeze my bank account.
_____
Chieftec case with PSU: $100
Don't want to spend more then $150 for case+PSU
Internal accessories: Want some decent fans in there. I will probably buy seperate fans and some arctic silver compound. I will also get heat spreaders for the DDR if they don't come with it. I also want rounded cables.
_____
Fans = $50-100 total
Cables, compound, etc = $30-50
Video: Radeon 9700 TX preferably (adds on to Dell's for $160-180 but sells retail for $250) but I will get a R9500 Pro ($160) if I build my own.
_____
9500 Pro 128mb = $160-180
Software: XP home or pro if less than $50 for upgrade.
_____
$90-140
Peripherals: I have a decent multimedia keyboards and optical mice, router/print server, printer, monitors, tons of great speakers from monsoon's to klipsch 4.1's.
I am looking at totals around $850-1200 +$50-100 shipping costs. I think it will be like $900-1000 which is a bit too high. This includes one HD but not a 2nd and doesn't include the audigy2 card which I will buy later.
Now here is the Dell options. CONSIDER that I can qualify for both educational and small business deals. I also am looking to buy a 2nd $400-500 range comp (P4 2.0 range, no special vid card) for someone else. Here is a typical example of a Dell I would purchase:
Dell 4550
2.4ghz P4/533 fsb
512mb (2x 256mb) DDR 2700
60gb 7200rpm HD
48x CDRW
Radeon 9700 TX (non pro model)
keyboard+mouse
Win XP
1 year warranty
Price around $600 after rebate.
Sounds semi decent but what's in there? What type of motherboard? It can at least support DDR 333 since thats what it comes with and I assume it has an AGP 8x slot since the Radeon is 8x. What's the PSU? What brand of DDR RAM is it? latency?
The deal would be nice if I dont eventually want to pull the motherboard, replace the case and PSU, and RAM modules out within a few months... If some Dell tech could tell me what the chipset is and what the PSU is I may have no problems with buying one right now. Now I may wait for some crazy rebate deal to get that machine for $400 or less A/R, then it's a no brainer, but right now, I am not sure if I should build my own for a few hundred bucks more. If I could find a place with some great high end barebones setups to save some money, then I would go for it. I just can't find that. All I find are shady Pricewatch dealers. Newegg is cool but they don't have many combos and their prices on that sort of stuff is good, not great.
HELP!!!!
Thanks alot for any advice.
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