Rate potential purchase

[seti920]

Hi, I've been out of it for a few years. I'm looking at purchasing this, or a similar system from ibuypower.

I really don't know enough to intelligently compare current video cards, or between intel/AMD cpus.

Are there any serious flaws in it, is it unbalanced or unduly bottlenecked in any area? Would be adding more ram and my extant optical drives as soon as it showed up.

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Case ( [New !!!] Raidmax Ares Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Black )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( Standard Case Power Supply )
Processor ( [Socket-AM2] AMD Athlon?64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Motherboard ( GigaByte GA-M55SLI-S4 nForce4-SLI Chipset w/7.1 Audio, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 512 MB [512MB X1] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce 7600GS 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video )
Physics Processing Unit ( None )
Hard Drive ( 250 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
Raid Configuration ( None )
External Raid Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( None )
Fax Modem ( None )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Monitor ( None )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( Logitech Deluxe Keyboard Black )
Mouse ( Logitech Optical Internet Mouse Black )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Build-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black )
Operation System ( None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only )
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner ( None )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( None )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
TV Tuner ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Headset ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
Printer ( None )
Printer Cable ( None )
Wireless Network Adapter ( [Special !!!] Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps PCI Adapter )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support ) =$671
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Thoughts? Different video card, main board? Scrap the whole thing and build from the ground up?

 

[sjandrewbsme]

A couple of comments...

1) The Core2 Duo is the superior processor
2) 512MB of RAM is not enough - I would recommend at least 1024
3) The media card reader is a waste (unless you're getting it for free) - most devices that use cards either have a built in reader (ala a digital camera) or you can buy an external one for like $6
4) Do you need SLI? Unless you're on very short upgrade cycles, SLI doesn't make a lot of sense
5) You can build this system yourself and probably save some cash - any reason you don't want to do this?
6) Do you need a wireless adapter?

 

[LouPoir]

I agree - I would look at C2D - and for sure, get 1gb of ram.

 

[seti920]

Thank you for your insights.

1. Okay. Is there a short answer as to how/why, or it just works better, more efficiently, etc?

2. I have every intention of bumping up to 2; I just didn't want to do it in the configuration options at that time. In retrospect, I'm not going to save anything buying it separately via newegg.

3. Agreed, but it's coming with one. Doesn't cost anything, so I figure it's a net neutral.

4. Generally unfamilliar w/ SLI; to the best of my understanding, it's a way to have two graphics cards working together. Out of my league. However, the boards I was selecting from were all SLI ready [if that's the proper term. Apologies if I'm mangling things]

5. Possibly. I've built before, and may do this one. Part of it is that I'm living in a military dorm, and don't have access to most of my tools that I did in years previous.

6. I need the desktop to speak wireless, yes.

 

[regnez]

Yeah, the C2D architecture is superior to what AMD currently offers. Look up benchmarks and you will see for yourself. C2D blows everything else out of the water right now, especially in price/performance terms.

Also, it is generally not a good idea to stick with the power supply that comes with the case. You may want to look at upgrading that.

And at least a gig of ram, you should really get two. Vista is on the horizon and it is a ram hungry beast. Not to mention there are a lot of games out right now that take more than a gig of ram to run smoothly.

EDIT: One more thing. If you game much, you are not going to be very happy with what the 7600gs offers. You should at least get the GT version, possibly even a 7800 or 7900 depending on your budget.

And all I have ever needed to build a system is one Phillips head screwdriver and nothing else. What tools did you use in the past?

 

[sjandrewbsme]

1. Try going here (http://www.tomsharware.com) and click on the CPU charts to the right. There you can choose to compare processor versus processor in a variety of tests. The C2D is faster in pretty much everything. I don't pretend to know why it's better, I just know what the testing says.

4. SLI allows for 2 nVidia based cards to link together. I have an SLI motherboard and bought it with the prospect of adding another (6600gt) video card when I needed a boost. Only recently have I been pondering a V/C upgrade. I can get a single much much much faster (when compared with two 6600gt's in SLI) 7xxx series card for about the same price as another 6600gt. A lot of this is becoming moot as 6600gt's are becoming a little harder to find. Point being - for the normal user, I don't see SLI holding much practical use. It's meant for people who simply must have the fastest latest/greatest OR people who are upgrading every 6 months or so.

5. You don't need much outside of a phillips #2 screwdriver to build a PC. This will allow you to pick whatever you want (a non SLI mobo for example) and save some cash.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: seti920
Rate potential purchase

3.75 out of 10

 

[seti920]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: seti920
Rate potential purchase

3.75 out of 10

Okay, thank you. So, that setup sucks.

Hmmm.

Have run over the specs with a friend, and am looking at parts for next build.

Would appreciate suggestions of a good PCI-E video card. $250+ ceiling. Not looking for SLI/crossfire.

ASUS M2V Socket AM2 VIA K8T890 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131024

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
- may bump up to a 4600+, depending

Seagate 320 Gig HD, 16 meg cache...

1 or 2 gigs of crucial DDR2

500 W PSU, had to decide on board before I could get it.

Re-using DVDRW and CDRW drives, sound card, wireless. 19" LCD, etc.

Thoughts?