Thinking about building my college computer - how does this sound?

Here's the specs I've worked out so far on newegg.com:

• CHENBRO ROC Series PC60211 Mid Tower Case -- 300 Watts Power Supply, ATX, 3x5.25", 2x3.5", 2x3.5"(Hidden), 7 Standard PCI Slots, with one extra fan

• Enermax Thermal Control 8CM cooling fan -- built-in heat sensor. Fan speed varies according to temperature

• SHUTTLE AK31A AMD K7 VIA APOLLO KT266A SOCKET A ATX MOTHERBOARD -- VIA VT8366A/VT8233 Chipset, four 184 Pin Up to 4GB DDR SDRAM DIMM. Onboard AC97 Audio 1 4XAGP, 6XPCI, 1XCNR. Supports ATA 33/66/100 MB/s IDE Interface.

• CardExpert GeForce2 MX 400 64MB SDRAM AGP No TV-Out -- I know it's an old card, but I know I won't be gaming much.

• AMD ATHLON XP 1800+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU

• DDRAM 512MB|64X64 PC-2100 MUSHKIN

• MAXTOR 4D040H2 DIAMONDMAX D540X 40.9GB EIDE HDD 5400RPM -- for MP3s and other miscellaneous documents, so it doesn't need to be fast

• Seagate Barracuda IV 60GB 7200RPM ST360021A Hard Drive -- for applications, so 7200 RPM

• LITE-ON LTR-24102B-01 24x10x40 CDRW

• CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER LIVE! 5.1

• D-Link 10/100 Mb PCI Ethernet NIC Adapter w/Wake on LAN Model DFE-530TX+

Subtotal from newegg.com: $855
Shipping from newegg.com: $ 51.52
TOTAL from newegg.com: $906.52

What does everyone think? I know that all the technology will change by July, when I plan to build the system, but I just wanted to price out what a top of the line system would be right now. I still haven't decided on a 5.1 speaker system, or on a monitor (but, I know I want a 17" LCD to save space in the dorm room). Right now, a 17" LCD w/.264 dp is $499 from TigerDirect.

Give me comments; help me out!

Mike

 

[FrustratedUser]

I whish I had that system!

Why not go down 1 or 2 steps in processor power (XP1600/XP1500) and spend that money on a nicer graphics card. A shame to put that card in this nice system.

 

[FlippyBoy]

verrrry nice the one thing i would change, though, like frustrated said would be the vid card. why not go for a radeon, or geforce2gts?

 

[spartacuskzm]

Though I'm a newbie, I second Frustrated's thoughts. 1 year from now I don't know that there will be much of a performance diff. between xp 1800 and xp 1600, though there will be a huge diff in the G cards.

Just got the first two boxes of my newegg system yesterday...waiting for the rest on Monday!

Mine was:

AMD 1600XP Retail
EPOX 8HKA+ MB
512MB Crucial DDR
40GB IBM HD
AOPEN CDRW2440
Pioneer 106S DVD
Santa Cruz Sound Card
Logitech Z-560 Speakers
VisionTek 6564 GF3 Ti 200
Enlight#7237AZ w/ 340W PS
Enermax FAN 12CMx25

Found out my fan is too big so I need to go buy an 80mm one.

Good Luck!

 

[AgentZap]

Ya you need to come to get a geforce3 instead.

 

[FlippyBoy]

sounds like another great system! the one change i would make your systems would be to get panaflo fans for them. they make some of the best 80mm fans around. you can actually get them cheaper at several places than the fans at newegg. just do a search in the hotdeals forum.

 

[earthman]

Is that power supply up to snuff for this system? Seems light to me.

 

[BeauJangles]

<< Is that power supply up to snuff for this system? Seems light to me. >>



300 watts should handle it no problem.

 

Thanks for the compliments -- having the 'rents around to pay for college and computer will definitely come in handy. I can just tell them that I'm saving a sh*tload of $$ by building it myself instead of going to Dell or IBM.

I'll think about that video card substitution - once again, I'm definitely not a big gamer and don't think I'll be playing many, if any games at school. But, maybe when I finally get that high speed 100Mbit connection...

Question: I've got an old Gateway P166 MMX system laying around my house. Can I reuse all the old IDE cables from it in my new system? I'm pretty sure I'm going to use the floppy drive from it for my new system, but will all the cables still apply? Thanks.

Mike

 

[FlippyBoy]

those cables are only good to ata33. you're gonna have ata100 drives in your system. they will work, but you will lose some performance (as your harddrive's maximun throuput will be reduces to 33megs/sec).

 

[Ben50]

why are you getting a 40gig 5400rpm and a 60gig 7200rpm hd? If your college is like mine (Iowa State) there will be tons of movies, mp3s, and other stuff to download so you will want a bigger data drive and less for applications. Right now I only have about 15 gigs of applications but I have around 40 gigs of movies and music. Right now I'm considering buying a 100 gb 5400 hd just to have more space for files. Other than that, just make sure you buy a lot of cd-r's so you can save space

As for a 17in LCD, I have a planar 17.4in LCD and it is wonderful. It has great image quality and you can get it very reasonably from dell when they have one of their 20% off deals.

For speakers, I have the boston acoustics ba4800s which are very nice. The only gripe I have with them is that they aren't powerful enough to blow out my neighbors (especially when they are playing crappy rap music with the subs cranked up) but other than that it is a very good speaker system for around $100 dollars.

If you don't have one already, you should definitely get a printer to go along with your computer. There are usually printers on campus but its so much nicer to be able to print it from your own room. Plus I charge other people a dollar if they want to print something out so I make some money that way. Think about it, if its 3:00 am and you just finished your research paper, do you really want to walk to the nearest printer? no you want to print the damn thing and get some sleep right now. Whatever you get, don't let people print any time they want for free because you will be doing it all the time.

With your video card, I would suggest getting video out capability. Especially if you decide to put a dvd drive in your system. Also, get a dvi card and a dvi lcd monitor like my planar. It is much better because everything is adjusted automatically to the correct values so the image looks very clear. As long as you run the lcd in its native resolution, it will look better than any crt will ever look. As for ghosting in games, I can see it sometimes but it doesn't affect my gameplay

That's about all I can think of. Oh yeah, make sure you get a good OS to go with all that good hardware (not windows ME!!!!) and you should be fine. Have fun in college, I know I am.

 

I've been thinking - should I get an ATI all in wonder card instead of a normal video card so that I can watch TV on the LCD screen? I think that would be pretty cool. But, let me know what y'all think. Plus, it would be cheaper than buying a new TV and a nice Video card at the same time.

My dad works at the University where I'll be going (University of Michigan), and can get XP pro for $45 (I'm still not sure whether XP pro in the educational version has unlimited licenses or not...anyone want to help me out?), but either way, $45 is a good deal even if we have to buy 2 CDs.

What is a DVI LCD monitor? I'm guessing it's a sort of standard that makes it easier to adjust and to have the right settings. Am I right?

Thanks.

Mike

 

[KeithP]

If I was in college I wouldn't even think about a desktop computer. A laptop would be a lot more useful.

Just my $ .02 worth.

-Keith

 

[Ben50]

DVI is a digital connection for LCDs that makes the picture a little bit better. I think DVI stands for digital video input. A normal vga signal has been converted to analog because that is what crts use for a signal. If you use a vga output for an LCD, it will have to convert the signal back to digital which results in a loss of quality. The DVI connection outputs digital directly to the monitor so it doesn't have to convert it twice. DVI connections do other things too that make it better but I can't remember them off the top of my head. Do a search on the internet or here in the forums if you want to learn more.

As for watching TV on your monitor, I wouldn't recommend it when you can get a decent TV for pretty cheap. Maybe your roommate will already have a TV so you can use that.

 

[MrHelpful]

If you're not going to be gaming:

From Newegg.com

AMD Duron 1GHz OEM - $60
Thermaltake Volcano II - $8
ECS K7S5A - $57 (integrated LAN)
IBM 20GB 60GXP - $77
Maxtor Vulcan D540X 80GB - $136
Lite-On 24x10x40 CD-RW - $80
ATi Radeon VE 32MB OEM /w DVI - $48
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - $65

Enlight EN-7237 /w 300W PSU - $60
Sunon 80mm 39CFM case fan - $5 (put this in front bottom of case)

Logitech Z-560 4.1 speakers - $140

From Crucial.com with 15% Anandtech Discount (top thread in GH forum)

(2) Crucial 256MB PC2100 SDRAM - $99

Total - $835 plus shipping (if you want a monitor, I suggest the 17" Samsung 700NF - less than $250 locally, or 19" Samsung 900NF - around $400 locally)

 

[MrHelpful]

If you'll play games in the future:

From Newegg.com

AMD Athlon XP 1700+ retail - $170
ECS K7S5A - $57 (integrated LAN)
IBM 20GB 60GXP - $77
Maxtor Vulcan D540X 80GB - $136
Lite-On 24x10x40 CD-RW - $80
Gainward/CardExpert Geforce 3 Ti200 - $170
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - $65

Enlight EN-7237 /w 300W PSU - $60
Sunon 80mm 39CFM case fan - $5 (put this in front bottom of case)

Logitech Z-560 4.1 speakers - $140

From Crucial.com with 15% Anandtech Discount (top thread in GH forum)

(2) Crucial 256MB PC2100 SDRAM - $99

Total - $1059 plus shipping (if you want a monitor, I suggest the 17" Samsung 700NF - less than $250 locally, or 19" Samsung 900NF - around $400 locally)

 

[MrHelpful]

Jump, please enable Private Messages. The setting is located on the Profile page.

 

[foofoo]

watching tv in a cramped dorm room or apartment on a 17" lcd monitor is just fine, ditto for movies. i would reccomend the ati aiw radeon for this. i have one hooked through the dvi output to a viewsonic vg181 and it's a great all around machine. plus it can game well. (just make sure that you use the old drivers, the new ones give a lot of static/artifacts in the display, shame on ati)
just my 0.02
good luck

 

private messaging enabled, everyone.

message me to your hearts' contents.

Mike

 

[Jerboy]

<< Thanks for the compliments -- having the 'rents around to pay for college and computer will definitely come in handy. I can just tell them that I'm saving a sh*tload of $$ by building it myself instead of going to Dell or IBM. >>



Actually not that much. Compare the price of pre-loaded system vs. putting it together and purchasing the OS and softwares you need that you don't already have.

Pre-built systems are surprisingly cheap these days.


Also I woudn't bother with going about GF2. You will not need anything like Radeon8500 or GF3 unless you're a hardcore gamer

 

[Scootin159]

<<

<< Thanks for the compliments -- having the 'rents around to pay for college and computer will definitely come in handy. I can just tell them that I'm saving a sh*tload of $$ by building it myself instead of going to Dell or IBM. >>



Actually not that much. Compare the price of pre-loaded system vs. putting it together and purchasing the OS and softwares you need that you don't already have.

Pre-built systems are surprisingly cheap these days.


Also I woudn't bother with going about GF2. You will not need anything like Radeon8500 or GF3 unless you're a hardcore gamer >>



But they tend to use proprietary parts & also tend to skimp on the quality of some components (onboard sound ?), plus you can count overclocking out.

 

[scoobydooby]

I'd like to second MrHelpful's first setup. If you're not gonna be gaming then what's the point of all the power? You don't need an XP 1800+ to use most programs. Hell, a 1 ghz duron would be great for gaming as well, I have a 1 ghz athlon at the moment and it can run any game I throw at it at high res no sweat. It's all in the graphics card. Please let me know if this is wrong and you'll be using it for some 3d modeling programs or whatever else needs lots of processor speed. hope this helps
Scoob

ps: you're a senior in high school, like computers but don't like gaming?!?! what's wrong with you?!?