Ordering system... Last minute changes?

[Matt2]

Hey everybody. Well, I'm off to good old San Diego to go to school! It's gonna be a welcome change of scenery from my boring N. California town. So as a house warming gift, I am building this system for myself as I can't take my current P4 2.4GHZ rig or my dad would sh1t a brick.

So here's what I got:

ATI Radeon 9700 128mb
Shipping- Free
TPrice w/ tax- $204.00

Athlon XP1700+
Shipping- Free
TPrice w/ tax- $47.63

Lite-On CDRW 52/24/52
Shipping- $6
TPrice w/ tax- $51.96

Maxtop 350w Case
Shipping- $10
TPrice w/ tax- $59.54

Epox 8RDA+ nForce2 mainboard
Shipping- Free
TPrice w/ tax- $90.93

Micron DDR PC3200 2x256mb (Dual Channel)
Shipping- Free
TPrice w/ tax- $80

TR2TT(designed by Thermaltake) TR2 M2.
Shipping- $6
TPrice w/ tax- $18.39

D-Link DFE-530TX NIC
Shipping- $6.00
TPrice w/ tax- $16.24

Intelli optical mouse + Keyboard
Shipping- Free
TPrice w/ tax- $33.79

1.44mb Floppy Drive
Shipping- $5
TPrice w/ tax- $11.91

Logitech Z640 5.1 Speaker Set
Shipping- Free
TPrice w/ tax- $70.36

Total Price- $678.60 (Includes tax and shipping)

Any suggestions? I went about 78 bucks over budget so keep that in mind when you make suggestions. Did I pick ok memory for dual channel?

Thanks a lot for your input!

 

[CastorTr0y]

Yea man, that looks like a pretty nice system for me with your budget😎

 

[Chaotic42]

Looks good, but where is the hard drive?

 

[JZilla]

What about 1 stick of 512mb instead of 2 256mb. The difference in performance is very small, and it might be better for future upgrades.

You do know that the 8rda+ has an onboard NIC?

Other than that it is a nice system.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Looks good, but where is the hard drive?

I am gonna be using a Maxtor 40GB 7200 RPM ATA100 drive that I already have.

I know it's small, but I'm gonna have to use it until I come up with some more money or else I'd have to cut a corner somewhere else, like the video card.

What about 1 stick of 512mb instead of 2 256mb. The difference in performance is very small, and it might be better for future upgrades.

JZIlla-

I actually thought about that myself. How much of a difference does dual channel really make? I was thinking if I got one stick of 512mb PC3200, it would be more cost effective and smarter so that I could upgrade to 1GB of RAM with another stick of PC3200 512mb and THEN run dual channel... what do u guys think?

Oh and I know the 8RDA+ has an onboard NIC, I got another one in case the roommate decides to bring his own computer, then we can have a small little home network, that way he's not on my computer all the time.

Thanks for the input. Any other words of wisdom? My mom and dad are buying the monitor, it's probably gonna be an LCD. WHat is the best 17" LCD thats reasonably cheap?

 

[JZilla]

I think the difference would be under 5%. I say get 1 stick of 512mb.

How much can the lcd cost? Since your getting a R9700 Pro I take it your a gamer. Then any of the 16ms ones should do well.

I am not familiar with that Maxtop case, but you can get an Antec SLK3700 for $65 newegg dollars.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: JZilla
I think the difference would be under 5%. I say get 1 stick of 512mb.

How much can the lcd cost? Since your getting a R9700 Pro I take it your a gamer. Then any of the 16ms ones should do well.

I am not familiar with that Maxtop case, but you can get an Antec SLK3700 for $65 newegg dollars.

ok, 1 stick of 512mb it is. See, it does help to ask questions! 😀

I am a gamer, but definately not as hardcore as I used to be. I spent about an hour deciding on whether i should get the 9500 Pro or the 9700np, I decided on the 9700 based on the fact I'm gonna be a poor college kid with no money to upgrade!

The LCD has no maximum price as of yet, but lets try and keep it under $500 preferably around $400, that way I ahve some head room. IS that reasonable for 16ms LCD or am I looking at a $600 monitor?? Can you guys direct me to the best 17" LCDs?? I am LCD illiterate, I thought I'd never leave the realm of CRTs.

Thanks

 

[JZilla]

The famous Hitachi CML174 can be had for $450 at monitorsdirect.com. This is a 17" with 16ms response time. It is backed by a 3 year warranty, has free shipping.

But that is just one of many. Other 17" 16ms monitors include:

Viewsonic VP171 and others
BenQ FP767 - no dvi
Acer AL732 - many have faulty dvi connections, dont know if this has been fixed
Planar PX171 - great warranty according to forum members here
NEC 1760NX and 1760V - and others if I remember correctly
LG 1710B

But point is they should have the same picture quallity all of them. So make your choice based on the various features and warranty. Another option could be the Samsung 172T. But do some footwork and check out lcds in a shop. This is mandatory when buying a monitor, or keyboard/mouse, or speakers and so on.

IMO the Hitachi is rather boring looking. I have narrowed my summer lcd purchase down to the Viewsonic VP171, NEC 1760NX, Samsung 172T, or maybe the new Samsung 192T (19", review on front page) if the price is right (which it probably isnt).

 

[Matt2]

Hmm... I knew this would happen. These monitors are on the fringe of out of my price range. It will take a special kind of asskissing to get one of these.

I've narrowed my choices to the NEC 1760NX, Viewsonic VP171 and the Hitachi CML174.

I dont know much about the NEC, but I have heard bad things about both the viewsonic and the Hitachi...

Where can I get the LB monitor? I cant seem to find it. Also, that Samsung 172T is a bit pricy for 25mb response time isnt it? Is it worth it?

 

[JZilla]

How can you have narrowed your choice down so quick?

I haven't heard anything bad about the Hitachi. Several people have said that Viewsonic isnt a good brand anymore. NEC should be ok, some people here have it.

The Samsung is pricey, but you always get what you pay for. I can slightly see ghosting on it, but I doubt that I would notice it during gameplay.

I dont think LG is very well known in th us.

The question is: Are any of these monitors worth the asskissing?

Do a search, lcds have been discussed alot recently.