Suggestions for really good computer parts for around $1150 please? Thanks

[WyteWatt]

I already have a monitor, cd-rw drive, mouse, keyboard, and power supply. Hope a Antec Truepower 330 watt power supply is enough if it isn't then i guess i got to buy a new power supply. But i do want to buy a new case so please add that too. I wonder if i should go a Seagate 15000 rpm HD ? I guess i should just wait for WD's Raptor and just use my older HD if i want to wait for the WD's Raptor. Maybe i should wait for the R350 too and hang on to my older Geforce 4 ti 4400 video card maybe. I don't care if i go amd or intel. Well at least i don't think. Depends how much of a price difference they are.

Thanks.

 

[WyteWatt]

bump

 

[IamG]

Well, this is what I've decided on. I have a similar config using a 648 board, differnt RAM, etc for like $940

CPU Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processor (Northwood) 2.4BGHz,
533MHz (Retail)
Motherboard MSI 655 MAX-L Expected cost $ 150.00
Memory: OCZ OCZ333512R32 512MB DDR333 PC2700
Rev 3.2 64x64 184 Pin Memory w/Aluminum Heat Spreader Retail

OCZ OCZ333512R32 512MB DDR333 PC2700
Rev 3.2 64x64 184 Pin Memory w/Aluminum Heat Spreader Retail
Keyboard: Microsoft Internet Keyboard & IntelliMouse Combo
Monitors: No Monitor
Video Cards: ATI Radeon 9700 Gold Version AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out, DVI & 7 Games
Retail by PowerColor
Hard Drive: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y060L0 60GB Ultra ATA/133 7200RPM Hard Drive
Floppy Drive 3.5 in Floppy Drive
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Mouse: Microsoft Internet Keyboard & IntelliMouse Combo
Network Interface: Integrated
Modem: Zoom USB External V.90 56K Controller Based Data Fax Voice Modem
Case Antec Performance Plus Series Plus1080AMG Soho File Server Case (Metallic Gray) Retail
w/430W Power Supply
CD or DVD Drive: Samsung SM348 DVD 16x + CD-RW 48x24x48 Combo Drive w/Roxio & PowerDVD Software
Sound Card: Integrated
Shipping Estimated Shipping $ 100.00

Total Cost: $ 1333.96

 

[m1ke101]

Originally posted by: IamG
Well, this is what I've decided on. I have a similar config using a 648 board, differnt RAM, etc for like $940 CPU Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processor (Northwood) 2.4BGHz, 533MHz (Retail) Motherboard MSI 655 MAX-L Expected cost $ 150.00 Memory: OCZ OCZ333512R32 512MB DDR333 PC2700 Rev 3.2 64x64 184 Pin Memory w/Aluminum Heat Spreader Retail OCZ OCZ333512R32 512MB DDR333 PC2700 Rev 3.2 64x64 184 Pin Memory w/Aluminum Heat Spreader Retail Keyboard: Microsoft Internet Keyboard & IntelliMouse Combo Monitors: No Monitor Video Cards: ATI Radeon 9700 Gold Version AGP 8X 128MB DDR Video Card w/TV-Out, DVI & 7 Games Retail by PowerColor Hard Drive: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y060L0 60GB Ultra ATA/133 7200RPM Hard Drive Floppy Drive 3.5 in Floppy Drive Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Mouse: Microsoft Internet Keyboard & IntelliMouse Combo Network Interface: Integrated Modem: Zoom USB External V.90 56K Controller Based Data Fax Voice Modem Case Antec Performance Plus Series Plus1080AMG Soho File Server Case (Metallic Gray) Retail w/430W Power Supply CD or DVD Drive: Samsung SM348 DVD 16x + CD-RW 48x24x48 Combo Drive w/Roxio & PowerDVD Software Sound Card: Integrated Shipping Estimated Shipping $ 100.00 Total Cost: $ 1333.96

yikes..I would look into getting some better memory than ocz....definitely get some twinmos or corsair xms. Even if you are going to get ocz, get the EL DDR, I think its pc3500 or pc3700. Also, Get a bigger hard drive man!

 

[DannyBoy]

For a LOT less you can get a decent nForce2 & fast xp processor for the same speed.

Stay with AMD, screw intel :|

Dan

 

[Markfw]

Ditto MrFitty

 

[Bovinicus]

A new PSU is definitely not needed. I have the same PSU in my system; it provides nice stable voltages and runs quiet. A general rule I got from someone here on the forums is to buy real nice cases, monitor, PSUs, speakers, etc. Any items that are infrequently upgraded should be top of the line. It's a very smart idea in my opinon. Anyway, here is my design from Newegg shipped to the east coast:

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2200+ ($112)
The price/performance ratio starts to take a dive if you buy one too much faster. A 2400+ is also a reasonable buy.

Motherboard: ABIT NF7-S ($125)
Firewire, SATA, nForce2 features, high overclockability (Version 2.0), and a reasonable price make this the board to buy in my opinion. For slightly less features, but still a quality board go with the EPoX 8RDA+. The SATA and IDE controllers make the transition to SATA easier on you.

Memory: Crucial PC2700 512MB x 2 ($160)
1GB of memory is starting to become worth it these days. It will become more necessary as time goes on. PC2700 allows an upgrade path to a Barton later on. Crucial means quality, and a good price.

Video: Powercolor ATi Radeon 9700 ($248)
Save $50 over the Pro version with a barely noticeable performance loss. This should last you for a while; there aren't really any games that make the 9700 drop to it's knees, even with FSAA and AF turned on.

Sound: Onboard
nForce2 audio is superb for an onboard solution. Some people even like it better than an SB Live! 5.1 capability is there if you want 5.1 speakers, but a good 4.1 setup is just as good for gaming. 5.1 really only matters for lots of DVD watching.

LAN: Onboard
A good quality NIC for free.

HDD: Western Digital 1200JB ($139)
Fast, cool, good price, and a 3 year warranty make this drive an excellent buy. Don't look past the 3 year warranty, HDDs can fail, no matter who the manufacturer is.

DVD: Lite-On 16x ($40)
Hardware DVD support from the 9700 must be taken advantage of. Plus, on-the-fly copies are nice to be able to make. This one is cheap and good.

Case: Kingwin KT-436 ($160)
This is a good area for you to skimp. I just think this case is l33t, I won't hold it against you if you go with something more economical =). It's quiet, has windows, and 5 fans already. Aluminum cases are great. I also like the Thermaltake Xaser II because it is a full tower and this is a mid tower, but the removeable motherboard tray makes up for it. Xaser also has temp LED and a rheostat. The Kingwin gets better temps though, and it is quieter.

Speakers: Logitech Z-560 4.1 ($139)
A really nice setup for a price that can't be beat. I don't know that the Klipsch 4.1s warrant the $70 or so increase in price. The Logitechs are supposed to sound pretty damned good. You might want to goto Best Buy and listen to them there.

HSF: Coolermaster HAC-V81 & 2500-4800RPM 80mm ($12)
Nice and cheap HSF. However, the fan speed is variable, and it has an 80mm fan. So, slightly aggressive overclocking can be done, or a quiet system can be had. It's your choice.

Total w/shipping: $1175.97

This system should prove very upgradeable, but it shouldn't need to be upgraded for quite a while. The only possibility is that the heatink may have to be replaced, but maybe not even. The .13 micron XPs run real cool. Plus, it does have a copper core. Also, you PSU should last a long time. 330W from a quality PSU goes a long way.

 

[WyteWatt]

Bovinicus thanks. I am thinking about getting a Lian-Li PC 61 case maybe. I was looking at coolmaster cases too but they are a lot more expersive plus i really don't like the cooling on the newer coolmaster cases. Didn't look at the older coolmaster cases. I just like all the fans the Lian-Li PC 61 has. With the 2 front fans top blow air in with speed control, top fan to blow hot air out i believe, and a back fan under the power supply to blow hot air out too. The more expersive coolmaster which does look nice only has 2 case fans. One case fan on top that suppose to be a fan to blow air in which seems stay to me. Sense hot air rises why would you have a fan to blow in on top and not in the front you know. Then it has one fan in the back below the power supply to blow hot air out.

If i can't get exactly what i want with the amount of money i have i may save it up and wait so i can get really good stuff all at once. I was thinking about going crazy with ram and getting 1 to 1.5 gigs lol.

 

[WyteWatt]

Not sure yet but i may get really good earphones instead of really good speakers. Which good earphones would you recommend ? Also just to let you know my currect processor i have right now is a Athlon XP 1800+

Should i keep that processor or still upgrade it ? Also is there a big difference between the 266 fsb vs the 333 fsb on amd processors? I saw how the Athlon XP 2500 + i believe it is starts having the 333 fsb.

 

[CaptnKirk]

Bovinicus put together a really nice system package there, but I would make a few tweaks as follows :

Case - Either of these are wonderful, I have both - each has features that are great:
Lian-Li PC-7 $ 107 & Free Freight, Aluminum Case. SEE IT
CheifTech $ 93 - Free Freight, Aluminum Case NO POWER SUPPLY. SEE IT

Motherboard - the Big Three are Abit, Asus, & Epox, all have some 333 FSB available now, the 6.1 built in Sound, LAN, USB 2.0, and FireWire work well & save bucks:
ABIT - Bovinicus chose this NF-7S, nice board. SEE IT
AT7-MAX2 is an option, $ 40 more, and has a BIOS update that takes to the 333 FSB. SEE IT

ASUS - A7N8X Dlx It's the in thing now, comes with RAID & all the tricks @ $ 155, the A7N8X, is the ame board without RAID @ $ 120. Heres the DLX, no raid on the other one

EPOX - EP-8RDA+, about $ 110. SEE IT

Processor - three ways to go here each has merit for your future plans.
Option 1 XP1800 Retail for $ 72 & Free Freight. The listed motherboards have the over 13X multipliers, so the AMD can be run as if it were an XP2400 level CPU, comes with heatsink & fan, 3 year warranty.
If you run this you can wait down the prices of the new high price stuff until the XP2800+ or the XP3000+ Bartons are more reasonable.
Option 2 Bovinicus' choice again, solid decision.
Option 3 Bite the Big One Entry level for the Barton 333FSB is the XP2500 for $180 Free Freight, Lets you go onto the 333 FSB performance right now, but you can still wait out the $ 600 Flagship - until it gets reasonable.
Think about it, $ 180 is what the XP2100 cost last year as a Palimino, we've moved to the Thorobred, and now to the Barton in 9 months.

Heatsinks - My opinion is that the best all around performing chunk out there is the ALPHA PAL8045 for $ 35, which uses the 4 hole ZIF mount to mechanically secure the heatsink down without using that damn clip-on thing. (Obviously I don't trust clip-ons) but if you must have a clip-on, I guess the ThermalRight SK-7 is the way to go for $ 20. Either one needs a good fan, and after many fan configuration changes, the best I have found is the Y.S. Tech Adjustable

Only other thoughts go to the Video Card, and again Bovinicus' Choice is solid but I couldn't find it at the price he listed, he'll have to come back with the source for it.
Crucial has their version of it for $340, and NewEgg has some other choices, including the ATI 9000PRO for $ 123, which should be able to do anything you need for it to do for a couple more years.

Hope this helps, just expands the options.