Recommendations for a new system...please

[Earwax]

I'm putting together a new system for my brother, who will be taking it to college in two years. Yes, I know this is a stupid idea, because by that time he will want another system, but my dad also wants to buy a new computer so he can play newer video games.
Basically, I'm working with 1100 dollars left, I have a monitor and speakers already taken care of. I haven't put a system together since June, and it seems like a lot has changed since then. I'm debating between AMD and Intel, whereas before I would have went with AMD hands down.

The emphasis on the system is superb graphics performance now, and long term performance in the future. (He wants a system that will last 4 years and not be horribly slow by the end of that time.) I should also mention that he is going to hold out for the NV30 to come out, whenever that happens, and in the meantime is purchasing a geforce ti4200.

I appreciate any recommendations you can give me on cpu, mobo, PS, and memory. Thanks a lot everyone.

 

[Markfw]

Is that $1100 for one machine ? Whether you go AMD or Intel, there is no way any motherboard available today will be even close to the top in two years, and in todays world, I don't think you can last four years. Try to imagine using a 166 today. And as for video, if you want good performance, why not go ATI9700 pro, then upgrade to R350 when it comes out ? Is someone there an Nvidia fanboy ? I still like AMD also, they are behind a little right now, but I would just get a 2700, and wait for Barton to get affordable as the next step. You need to decide on a platform before you can start building a system.

And yes, it sounds a little funny to recommend the fastest video, whine about a fanboy, and then act like one by recommending a slower AMD. I just hate Intel, and it will be many years before I can forgive their greed in the past.

 

[CaptnKirk]

Here's what I've been building lately - monitor not included: (Newegg & SVC for parts)

CASE W/PWR SPLY CHEIFTEC, W/450W PS 88.00
M/BOARD ABIT KD7 ATX 266DDR LAN & SOUND 99.00
CPU AMD XP1700+ 57.00
H'SINK ALPHA PAL8045T 35.00
FAN Y.S.TECH 8.99
MEMORY CRUCIAL PC2700 - DDR333, 256MB 75.00
MEMORY (2nd) CRUCIAL PC2700 - DDR333, 256MB 75.00
H/DRIVE WESTERN DIGITAL 80GB - SE 112.00
FLOPPY MITSUMI 9.00
CD-RW LITE-ON, 32X 56.00
DVD-ROM LITE-ON, LTD-163 44.00
VIDEO CARD ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 115.00
MODEM CREATIVE LABS V.92 (Broadxent) 19.00
KEYBOARD VIEWSONIC 29.00
MOUSE MICROSOFT OPTICAL 34.00
SPEAKERS 6.1 SURROUND - CREATIVE INSPIRE 108.00
MONITOR TBD
HARDWARE TOTAL > 963.99

OP/SYS MICROSOFT XP HOME SP1 93.00
ANTI-VIRUS NORTON SYSTEM WORKS 14.00

SOFTWARE TOTAL > 107.00

SYSTEM TOTAL> 1070.99

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

No one knows if the GeForce FX will be significantly faster than the Radeon 9700 Pro. If I were him I'd take the Radeon 9700 Pro now . If he's determined to wait for NV30, I'd get him something slightly lower-end than the Ti4200 and save up for NV30. I'd get a Built by ATI Radeon 8500 LE if I were you. They are significantly cheaper than the 4200s, and though they are somewhat slower, on today's games the difference will not be all that apparent. Not that the Ti4200 is a bad choice, in fact it's a very nice choice, but IMHO, in your situation ATI has better products better suited to you.

I'd say get something like this - everything is from Newegg unless otherwise noted:
- Pentium 4 2.4B - $193 (which is actually cheaper than the AMD equivalent, believe it or not)
- Abit IT7 MAX - $131 (845PE-based mobo, with 3 phase power)
- Corsair, 512MB PC3200-C2 - $172 (Googlegear)
- ANTEC Performance PLUS 1080AMG incl. TruePower 430W PS - $128
- Sound Blaster Audigy OEM - $60
- Built by 64MB ATI Radeon 8500LE w/DVD Software - $69 After MIR - From CompUSA
- Lite-On 48x24x48x CD-RW - $60
- Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM - $46
- WD 1200JB (8MB Cache) - $165
=============================
Total: $1024 + shipping and taxes ~= $1100

The reasons I chose the P4:
- Price in this segment is equivalent to AMD + nForce2
- Intel doesn't seem to have plans to change socket 478 for the forseeable future. Socket A is on its way out with the Athlon64
- 3 phase power on this mobo make it good for CPUs above 3.06 GHz when they come out
- I like Intel's retail heatsink, although I haven't seen (or heard) the latest AMD one
- If you're into overclocking, the P4 will likely OC a little better than the AMD, especially if you're lucky enough to get a C1 stepping CPU.

Good luck with the build
*edit* oops forgot to add Windows and Office, that puts me over the budget, also you can add a floppy for a few bucks if you like

 

[Earwax]

Thanks for the advice everyone. If I did go P4, I would probably get the 2.54 ghz or what ever it is, because it seems to be the fastest for the least amount of money, and when I say the system needs to last, what I mean is, perhaps in 2 years he could upgrade to a p4 3.06 Ghz, if he gets a mainboard that will support some of the highest end cpus that are out now.

My only real concern is that I don't know anything about intel mainboards. That's why I am unsure about PS/what mainboard to buy. I'd certainly like one that would be able to use a faster pentium processor a year or two down the line.

edit: The system I am replacing is actually 4 years old, a P2 400... it's almost completely useless now...

 

[xSauronx]

that 400mhz machine is good for web browsing, word processing, email, and solitaire, find a relative who needs one for a hundred bucks or somethin

anyway, whatever you get, in two years it will be aged, in 4 it will be ancient

today intel has a 3ghz processor, and amd has a 2800+ i think

two years ago i bought a k7 athlon 750...i think the 900 was the fastest at the time

in two more years that computer will look like a nintendo compared to a ps2, and in 4 years anything you build today will look the same