What's the best computer I can get for aprox 1000$?

[AntMan]

I need to build a new awesome system, and think about the future in doing it, I plan to someday upgrade to a ddr mb type or what not, but for the time being I need a new comp now I guess. Here is what is needed:

Case
MB
CPU
Memory
DVD-ROM/CD-ROM
Cooling Products
HD
SCSI?
Video Card
Maybe a cheap Moniter


No Software or any sort of CD-RW Drive needed.
Computer will be used heavily for programming, win2k server services, and a good amount of gaming.

I need good products too, I saw that someoen posted about some AMD pricecuts, I just hope I can take advantage of those. I would prefer t-bird for the performance, and as fast as I can go for buck.


Thanks in Advance
ANTMAN
jhurd@austin.rr.com

 

[Henry Kuo]

just go ahead to our Buyer's Guide. I can't agree more with the setup we made there.

 

[blurredvisionx]

AMD TBird 800 = (current) $170
ABIT KT7 = $140
GeForce 2 MX = $115
128MB Mushkin Budget RAM = $140
30GB IBM Deskstar = $140 (I swear I seen one of these this cheap somewhere, just can't remember where)

The rest is pretty much up in the air.

 

[AntMan]

I'll prob end up going more than I originaly planned, and go no moniter, so full out system. But here is what I've come up with, basing alot of it off the AnandTech Buyer's guide:


-T-Bird 800 (Is 800 the way to go?, I mean I wouldn't mind paying the additional cost for a 1ghz, is there a performance improvement?)

-ABIT KT7 (Might go KT7 Raid, not sure quite yet)

-256MB Corsair or Mushkin PC133 SDRAM (2x128MB DIMM?s) (This one im not sure on what I've decided yet, I want to go 512, but that's prob alot more than I need for what im doing. Also what advantage does this memory have over Mushkins Budget Ram, huge noticable dif?)

-Creative Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator 2
-SB Live Value
-Havent't made up mind on case yet

-IBM Deskstar 75GXP 45GB or 15GB(Does anyone know where I can get both the 15/45GB versions for the price anandtech listed?)

-Cooling, im a pure idiot when it comes to cooling, how much can you clock a 800, 850, 1GHZ, and what cooling products do I need to buy.?

And last I dont have a clue where a good all around place would to buy these products for cheap, so if you know of one, it would save me alot of trouble of paying 15 dif shipping prices, from all around pricewatch.com

Sorry for all the annoying questions, thanks to the people that already replied so fast to the original post, and thanks in advance to anyone else who gives a helping hand.


-ANTMAN
jhurd@austin.rr.com

 

[blurredvisionx]

Of course if you get a better processor, you will get a performance increase. It's really hard to say if you'll actually need it or not, though. As for the Mushkin RAM, if you get the budget RAM, you are set with excellent RAM. But, if you plan on overclocking, you might want to go for the higher priced. I have no idea of the difference, but probaly the differences include the manufacturing process and/or latency. The thing of going for a GeForce 2 is a good idea, I didn't know you were looking to spend that much for a video card. Also, you can get a 15GB IBM Deskstar for about $100, but I would assume the 45GB version would give you more for your buck. As for the KT7 vs. KT7 w/RAID, if you are going to get a Deskstar, you might want to spend the extra $20 or so dollars to take full advantage of the ATA100 hard drive you'll have. Also, remember if you get the RAID, you might want to get just 2 15GB hard drives, because if you set it up for striping, essentially, it'll show up as one 30GB drive, as well as increased drive access speed. I had a friend with this setup, and after running a disk bench program, had a 69 MB/s throughput!!!

 

[AntMan]

Thanks Blurred, no one happens to have a link of a vendor that sells the IBM Deskstar 75GXP 15GB version, for a good price do they. I do want to take advantage of the striping, and in turn want two of those 15 GB 75GPX's.

So there are no problems with buying the budget ram if you dont plan to overclock? and if you do? go for a higer priced version? Im not sure about overclocking quiet yet, depends on how expensive good cooling products are.

Thanks ALL for the help

AntMan

 

[blurredvisionx]

I am getting this straight from PriceWatch, and it listed a $103 Deskstar from West-Tech. There is another website, but it lists as *Limit One*.

And for Mushkin budget RAM, as long as the Mushkin name is on it, buy it. They are a quality product, and just because it says budget, don't let it fool you. Very good RAM.