ok computer people, help me out, want to build/buy a new computer

[Buddy_Christ]

and i don't want to break the bank on a new one either.

to build a computer, i need motherboard, CPU, RAM, video card, case. this is what i was looking at -

Motherboard -
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-462&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

CPU -
i was looking at somewhere in the 2.0ghz range. that'll run me anywhere from $60-80 for a decent one.

Video card -
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-181&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

RAM - i'm clueless on what to get, but 512mb would be enough for now.

Case - that's easy.


Now for a prebuilt, i was looking at the Dell Dimension 4700. 2.8g processor, 512mb ram ($50 upgrade), 40gb hard drive, CDRW/DVD Rom drive ($60 upgrade, or a $90 upgrade for CD/DVD burner), free upgrade to a 17" flat panel, 128mb Radeon X300SE upgrade (dual moniter support, SVideo output, $60 upgrade), onboard 5.1 sound. Total is $769 BEFORE the $100 mail in rebate. bump that to $699 after rebate if i do the CD/DVD burner (dual layer).


soooo.......

i don't necessarily need a new moniter, i have 3 CRTs already. the Dell does't look too bad with a few upgrades. however, if i build a computer, i know i can do it for half the price of the Dell and still have something good (but won't have a new moniter).


so what to do? if you're going to suggest building one, gimme a combo of parts. I don't do any gaming.

 

[vansmack2000]

http://arstechnica.com/guide/system/index.html

usually has some good ideas

 

[digger]

What DO you plan to do with it? 'Cause a 2GHz CPU is probably a waste of dollars unless you want to frag zombies with it. I'd go for an Athlon, about two steps off the high end, and use the money I saved to buy more RAM.

You definitely want that half-gig of RAM.

We buy a lot of those $700 Dell boxes at the day job, and they've been pretty painless. They run XP fine, but be aware they are "Legacy free" -- meaning that you _can't_ plug in a PS/2 keyboard or mouse.

If you tell us what you want it to run, you'll get better advice.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

What DO you plan to do with it? 'Cause a 2GHz CPU is probably a waste of dollars unless you want to frag zombies with it. I'd go for an Athlon, about two steps off the high end, and use the money I saved to buy more RAM.

You definitely want that half-gig of RAM.

We buy a lot of those $700 Dell boxes at the day job, and they've been pretty painless. They run XP fine, but be aware they are "Legacy free" -- meaning that you _can't_ plug in a PS/2 keyboard or mouse.

If you tell us what you want it to run, you'll get better advice.

ok, lemme see here....

main uses - video (lotsa porn), music, basic stuff, no gaming

i need a vid card upgrade on the current computer and it must have an S-Video output along with dual moniter support. the one i found and posted above fits my needs.

the current computer is an AMD 950, 1gb PC133 ram, SoundBlaster 16PCI, GeForce2 video. i can bog it down, which is annoying. the current setup (minus the 100g hard drive) will be used for the kids. it also has a CDRW drive and a DVDROM drive.

so basically since i need to upgrade the vid card and i'd like to build a 2nd computer, why not make it fast enough that i won't have any desire or need to upgrade it for a few more years? i've had the current setup for almost 2 years now and it's served me well.

definetly looking for 512mb ram. that's going to be necessary just to run XP smoothly and other apps at the same time. don't really care to overclock unless someone with an extreme amount of knowledge walks me through it and it's a "safe" overclocking.

is that a bit clearer as to what i'm looking for?


good to see ya back digger i'm not an expert in this stuff by any means, but i am smart enough to assemble the computer and make it work. it's the picking out of parts and separating the good stuff from the crap that's difficult for me.

 

[Mr. dB]

What DO you plan to do with it? 'Cause a 2GHz CPU is probably a waste of dollars unless you want to frag zombies with it.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Do you mean that 2GHz is more technology than he needs, or not enough?

 

[Buddy_Christ]

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Do you mean that 2GHz is more technology than he needs, or not enough?

i think he's saying that a 2ghz is more than i need unless i'm gaming.

 

[Mr. dB]

i think he's saying that a 2ghz is more than i need unless i'm gaming.

In that case, I'll mention that 2GHz is now three-year-old technology.

My system is a 2GHz P4 that I assembled three years ago this month. At that time, 2.2GHz P4s were high end and 2.4s were just beginning to ship.

This three year old system still performs quite well, and is nowhere near the end of its useful life yet. In my opinion, you don't choose processor speed based on current needs, so much as on price vs. performance. You always pay a premium for this year's fastest model, but the price drops a lot if you're only two or three tiers down from the top. The trick is to find that sweet spot where you get the most performance for the money. Then you'll end up with a system that will continue to work well with the latest software and toys for as long as possible before it becomes obsolescent.

In short, the higher end you go, the longer it'll go before it becomes a dinosaur.

I haven't been looking at new hardware, 'cause my old system is still plugging along. But in P4 systems, I think that price/performance sweet spot is around 3GHz right now. I'm not familiar enough with Athlons to comment there.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

yeah, but a 3g might run more than i'm willing to spend. the Dell i was looking at is a 2.8ghz though, not bad.

 

[digger]

Sounds good. 950 is a little low, yeah. I can see why it would bog down. I think anything over 2GHz is going to give you all the CPU you can use.

Nice thing about backing down two notches off the high end is that it saves major money. I'd be real happy with 2.4 - 2.8GHz and "year-old" tech.

Fergit overclocking -- that's for gamers. The bottleneck for video won't be the CPU anyway. I underclocked my dual PII server; makes it stable as a table. Starting a game over when you crash is no biggie; starting a video session over is a pain in the ass. Stability = happiness.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

Hey Digger, you know your stuff....think you could help me find a motherboard, processor, and ram? the ASUS board looks like it only has 1 IDE slot and 1 other slot (floppy) and i need 2 (2 hard drives, CDRW, DVDRom).

I've had a lot of people tell me to avoid Celeron at all costs, but i have another friend who said they're full of shit. If i used that Asus board, i'd have to get a Socket 478 processor (i think) and i'm limited to Celeron.

ok, lemme put it this way....i dunno what i'm doing. gimme parts, i'll assemble and make it work. tell me to pick out parts, i'll buy crap unless there's someone there to smack me every time i pick out crap.