Time for New Main Computer, where to buy? What to get ?recommendations

[CalamitySymphony]

Dell is almost always cheaper if you can get Coupons and Deals than even Self Made computers.

Granted, a Dell would have inferior performance, BUT a better price/performance ratio.

This is mostly attributed to that fact that Dell sleeps with Intel, which automatically makes their processors inferior to the current batch of better AMD ones.

Not true for a laptop though. Dell is probably the best place to get the best laptop for the least amount of money. If you are willing to wait, I would wait for January/February and pull out all the stops for a killer Dell Laptop... (Dual Core Pentium M, 7800GTX or even better!, 100 gig 7200 RPM HDs, 2 Gigs of Ram etc)

 

[aatf510]

7800gtx - By who?
EVGA 7800GTX KO if you want the best, 3dFuzion 7800GT for best price/performance

2gb ram - Any specific type?
Are you overclocking? If not, any name-brand (Corsair, Crucial, OCZ etc.) 1GB sticks with a 2.5CAS or better would do. If o/c is very important, Crucial DDR500 1gb sticks or OCZ DDR500 1gb sticks.

AMD x2 4400 or 4800 ? benefits?
My 4400+ does 4800 speed zero voltage increase. Also, spending close to 1k on CPU doesn't seems to work with your budget.

DFI MB or Epox? which one?
DFI unless you want to save a few bucks.

Dell 2405 LCD - Is this good for FPS games?
It's a gorgeous display for still images, but blurs like crazy with moving stuff. Some people find it ok for FPS, I personally would wait a little longer.

250 gig HD? which one and why?
Maxtor for speed, Seagate for reliability and longer warranty, Samsung for quietness.
I personally would get a Maxtor Maxline III (the server series) for speed + reliability.
Also, it seems that 300GB drives only normally $20 more expensive than the same 250GB model.

Burners ive got a benq 16x dual layer external one so prob not big priority. What might be good internal dvd? Any other recommendations? Please keep the ideas going
BenQ DW1640 is getting many recommendations (but seems to be picky on some media), NEC 3540A works well because it has loads of user modified firmware (but extremely slow to ready up to read a disc) . Plextor 716SA if you simply want the best.

 

[VINMAN]

thx for all the info. I already got a Dell laptop last year on good deal, its an inspiron 9100 with p4 and ati 9700 128mb, widescreen. Very nice 🙂 i use it for all my work stuff now. Im looking to replace my main gaming box at this point so please keep recommendations coming

thx
Vinman

 

[VINMAN]

so any other case recommendations? how about cooler for the AMD chips? the standard one it comes with enough? i have a Viewsonic p225fb 21crt already so if the LCD wont cut it on FPS games maybe just stick with that. Keep the recommedations coming? need to price out soon to see what "equiv" dell etc system is. Any other system builders other then Dell that make good gaming system? know alien ware etc do but they just seem overpriced.

thx
Vinman

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: VINMAN
Ok I have built all my computers since old 386 days but now I?m just not feeling like spending the time getting all the parts and then getting it all to work right etc.

My last computer that I built about 2 years ago now was an XP2700 AMD with AIW9700 that I?ve been using since and I think its time to get new one. So I haven?t really been paying much attention to the latest and greatest so I?m looking to the knowledgeable users of the Anandtech forums for some advice.

I am looking for a new comp that will let me play the latest and greatest games as well as do video stuff as well (editing , conversion, etc) So what kind of setup would fulfill these requirements? I know AMD is generally better for gaming but it comes up behind I?ve seen on doing things like Video stuff so not sure oh how much of a gap we have there. Where would be best price/performance be for this? Where to get this from Dell? Alienware? etc. Oh hell if someone makes a good enough case for putting it together myself and can show me I?m going to save alot of money I might even go that route again. I'm not sure nowadays you can save that much putting it together yourself and + u usually get a nice warranty on a predone system. So I?m sure everyone has a point of view on this so let me know. I?m looking at getting this done in next few months

Thx for what I?m sure will be lots of good advice

-Vinman

Stay away from any of the companies that use Intel. Intel has REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY went down lately. Their current processors suck as do their dual cores. Their highest Dual core can be beat by the lowest X2 AMD. (Dont hold me to this. I BELIEVE it can)

 

[tjaisv]

Excellent recommendations thus far.

For your case i'd go with a Lian Li "PC-V1100 Plus" (or if u prefer black, a PC-V1100B Plus). You won't be disappointed.

 

[VINMAN]

seems like a nice case but at 200+ more dollars then the antec one someone mentioned what is the benefit?

 

[VINMAN]

so any other ideas? cases? coolers, whatever

 

[VINMAN]

 

[VINMAN]

any more recommedations or suggestions?

 

[k0balt]

Here is the case I would recommend (Antec p180):

http://www.provantage.com/FP_98848.HTM

Quite a lot more expensive than the other one you were looking at, but in my experience, worth it... Awesome air flow and nice and quiet...

Just a thought...

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: toattett
7800gtx - By who?
EVGA 7800GTX KO if you want the best, 3dFuzion 7800GT for best price/performance

2gb ram - Any specific type?
Are you overclocking? If not, any name-brand (Corsair, Crucial, OCZ etc.) 1GB sticks with a 2.5CAS or better would do. If o/c is very important, Crucial DDR500 1gb sticks or OCZ DDR500 1gb sticks.

AMD x2 4400 or 4800 ? benefits?
My 4400+ does 4800 speed zero voltage increase. Also, spending close to 1k on CPU doesn't seems to work with your budget.

DFI MB or Epox? which one?
DFI unless you want to save a few bucks.

Dell 2405 LCD - Is this good for FPS games?
It's a gorgeous display for still images, but blurs like crazy with moving stuff. Some people find it ok for FPS, I personally would wait a little longer.

250 gig HD? which one and why?
Maxtor for speed, Seagate for reliability and longer warranty, Samsung for quietness.
I personally would get a Maxtor Maxline III (the server series) for speed + reliability.
Also, it seems that 300GB drives only normally $20 more expensive than the same 250GB model.

Burners ive got a benq 16x dual layer external one so prob not big priority. What might be good internal dvd? Any other recommendations? Please keep the ideas going
BenQ DW1640 is getting many recommendations (but seems to be picky on some media), NEC 3540A works well because it has loads of user modified firmware (but extremely slow to ready up to read a disc) . Plextor 716SA if you simply want the best.

where does western digital fit in there? thats all i've ever used.

 

[rohbshop]

check out Ibuypower.com or Monarch(which everyone here seems to reccomend). I priced stuff out at Newegg piece by piece and it didnt come out much cheaper than the configurations I did from Ibuypower, factoring in the $100 off coupon. Monarch is a little more expensive but a better selection. Both seem to have positive and negative comments about them, but Monarch is rated higher in general although I think many of those ratings are from people purchasing individual parts. I've viewed other websites and these seem to be the best bang for your buck computer making companies. I purchased from Alienware a while back, my computer box came opened, one of my fans wasnt plugged in, my CD ROM drive went bad after a year or so, and they were just seemed very overrated with all their hype.

I believe Dell only builds Pentium stuff so I havent really looked that way.

 

[The Linuxator]

VINMAN
Member

Posts: 113 -------------->|} HOLY *****
Joined: 10/13/1999----->|} ^

 

[VINMAN]

yes i have been around for a LONG time back when Anand was just some kid no one ever heard of 🙂. I just dont have the time to surf and post about everything 🙂

thx for the suggestions ill check out those other sites for done ones. keep the suggestions coming

thx
Vinman

 

[VINMAN]

bump

 

[VINMAN]

threw this together on that cyberpower website, hows this look? whats missing? seems good for less then 2k?



Item Unit Price x Qty Total
Athlon 64 X2 PCI-E Custom Build Configurator (NO MONITOR)


*BASE_PRICE: [+729]
CAS: CoolerMaster TAC-T01 Wave Master Aluminum 420W Case [+80] (BLACK COLOR)
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CD: PIONEER DVR-110 DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER [+10] (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: NONE
CPU: (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 X2 4400 CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [+190]
CABLE: Round Cable Upgrade for Hard Drive, Optical Drive & Floppy Drive [+19]
FLOPPY: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE [+10] (BLACK COLOR)
FREEGAME1: Free "Half-Life 2 Bronze" Download Coupon
FREEGAME2: NEW !!! Free "Bet on Soldier: Blood Sport" with any AMD Athlon 64 FX and X2 Desktop or Turion Notebook
FREEGAME3: NEW !!! Free "Nero 7 Ultra Edition" with any AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Based PC or up
FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 6in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
HDD: (SATA150) Maxtor 300GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive [+79]
HDD2: NONE
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD (BEIGE COLOR)
MOUSE: PS2 INTERNET MOUSE W/ WHEEL (Special!!! BEIGE COLOR MICROSOFT USB INTELLIMOUSE)
MONITOR: NONE
MODEM: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: (Sckt939)EVGA nForce4 SLI Chipset SATA RAID Dual PCI-E Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
MEMORY: 2048 MB (1GBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY [+195] (Corsair Value Select)
MP3PLAYER: NONE
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 [+135]
PRO_WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU [+19]
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY
RAID: NONE
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY PLUS ONE-YEAR ONSITE SERVICE [+39]
SCANNER: NONE
STRAP: NONE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: 600WATT PMPO SUBWOOFER STEREO SPEAKERS
TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
UPS: None
USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBHD: NONE
VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card [+462]
VIDEO2: NONE
WIRELESSCARD: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card [+19]
WIRELESSPOINT: NONE
ZIP: NONE
_PRICE: (+1986)

 

[CalamitySymphony]

If you want to avoid the hassle of building by yourself (You could save over 500 dollars, the way I am looking at your Cyberpower config), that should be OK. Though I'm not too sure about the eVGA motherboard, haven't heard too much about it. You may want to lower the X2 to a 3800 (they all overclock a good deal anyway).

But your money and peace of mind, so its up to you 🙂

 

[VINMAN]

ya not sure on that MB either but this looks like it has all the pieces and its going to be configed and setup with a warranty. Can a similiar system be pieced together for how much less? what is the best price/search etc for computer parts nowadays? froogle, pricewatch ? keep the recommendations coming

thx
Vinman

 

[VINMAN]

anyone have any other info?

 

[VINMAN]

ok here is what i have so far, Let me know your thoughts , Especiall on that monitor as its on sale for that price, seems like good price

thx
Vinman



Motherboard
DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
-----------------------------

Cooling

Will get Retail version so that comes with CPU cooler, do I really need some fancy HUGE one? I don?t think im going to OC much if any


System Memory
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Platinum System Memory
-----------------------------
Graphics Card
Geforce 7800GTX

Which one? Is it really worth paying premium for OC versions?


-----------------------------
HDD -1 For OS and fast usage apps (games)
Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM ------------------------------
HDD ? 2 for Mass Storage and other apps
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 7200RPM (6B300S0) OEM

------------------------------
DVD Drive
Pioneer 16x DVD+RW/-RW DVR-110 OEM

------------------------------
Computer Case

Antec SLK3000B Atx Super Mid Twr No Psu

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006O...encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

This looks like a solid, not to flashy case. And Amazon has it cheap with no shipping charge.

Power Supply
------------------------
Not sure what PS to get though? How much is needed? Do u need a 600w ?

------------------------------
Monitor

-----------------------------
Should I get the Dell 2405 ? Looks real nice and right now its
$779.35 + Free Shipping
But that expires today so might need to get it NOW. Let me know thoughts ASAP

I already have a Viewsonic P225fb im using now but been wanting to get LCD and this seems as good time as any.


Sound Card

Will just use the one on the MB unless someone can tell me why not. Been using onboard ones for 2 years now just don?t know what advantage would be with SB ones.
---------------------------