New Computer, help!

[merlinmsk]

ok heres the deal for everyone that can help. we finally decided to get a new computer, and i would like it if anyone here can go to http://www.newegg.com since its the only site i trust and build me a computer up there and post all the parts in here so i may be able to look at them. the limits are...

Limits:
1. Must cost less than $2000
2. Must have a CD/RW and DVD/RW drive
3. Must have at least 160 Gig HD
4. Must have a Radeon Graphics Card
5. Must have an Intel Processor at least 3.0 Ghz
6. Must have a motherboard to run it all
7. Bangin Sound Sytem
8. Will only accept 512 Mb RAM, don't go crazy with 1Gb or higher.
9. Last but not least, a cool case to hold it all in.

so have at it and lets see the results

[Tika]

call dell dude :D

[Greg-VT]

Looks like you already know what you want....

...do your own shopping dude :p ;)


:D

[Grifter]

His user text under his name about sums it up :p

[MaxG]

Doesn't really make sense to have all those good parts and have only 512 megs of ram. Win Xp can take up half of that just by itself.

You got a DVD burner listed so you gonna do any backing up movies? Gonna transfer old VHS tapes to DVD? If so 512 isn't gonna cut it.

Radeon graphics card huh? Into gaming?... 512 not gonna cut it for the newest games... take Farcry for instance recommended is RAM: 512-1024 MB

1 gig is the common performance curve nowadays...
meaning too little ram and you dip into your harddrive too much. Too much ram and performance can degrade because your cpu has to search through too much memory (unless you commonly use over 1 gig in memory)

I'd push that ram up but that's imho.

Oh and it's pretty interesting that newegg.com is the only site you trust. I was a customer of them a few times. About a year (maybe 2) I got a letter from them stating that their computers were hacked into and hackers got all their customers info. Credit card #'s addresses, phone #'s etc. Apparently the hackers were posting all this info on web pages for anyone to see. Newegg contacted my bank who then cancelled that particular credit card.

I've never done business with them since.

[YODA]

Call Dell dude....

...and choose a more suitable avatar please :rolleyes:

[alexxlea]

Yeah, it kind of insults all the hardcore Counter-Strikers such as myself...
Oh and if you actually shop around you can find good prices on everything.
Rebates are your best friend, trust me, I've saved thousands of dollars utilizing the sunday paper and some research.

[JohnnyX]

Why don't YOU come up with a configuration. Then WE tell YOU whether we like it or not. :D

[merlinmsk]

ok, heres what i came up with.

RAIDMAX 10-Bay ATX Mid-Tower Case (Gray) with Front USB 2.0, Model "ATX-847WTP" -RETAIL

Intel "D865PERLL" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU -RETAIL

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9600 Video Card, 256MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "ATLANTIS RADEON 9600" -RETAIL

Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail

Seagate 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST3160023AS, OEM

Samsung 8X Internal DVD+/-RW Drive, SH-W08ARNS , Retail

Rosewill 52x32x52x16 CD-RW Combo Drive, Model C523216, Retail

ALTEC LANSING 251 5.1 Amplified Speaker System -RETAIL

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack SP1a - OEM

Intel Pentium 4/ 3.2C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail

which in turn comes to a grand total of...$ 1,037.48

[Saz]

ok heres the deal for everyone that can help. we finally decided to get a new computer, and i would like it if anyone here can go to http://www.newegg.com since its the only site i trust and build me a computer up there and post all the parts in here so i may be able to look at them.

Would you like us to come round to your house and put it all together for you as well?

:rolleyes:

[JohnnyX]

Send me all the parts and I'll build it for you. :D

[merlinmsk]

no, i can actually put it together myself, but now i can't. we dad went out and bout ANOTHER E-Machines. these things suck! i hate e-machines, they're the worst things eveer (besides Dells). well, better than my 600Mhz processor with Windows ME.

[MaxG]

E-machines are fine. You buy one for about a grand and then spend a few hundred tweaking it... nothing wrong with them. They're like barebones systems...

[JohnnyX]

no, i can actually put it together myself, but now i can't. we dad went out and bout ANOTHER E-Machines. these things suck! i hate e-machines, they're the worst things eveer (besides Dells). well, better than my 600Mhz processor with Windows ME.

So, in the end you really didn't have any say in what you were going to buy. :rolleyes:

[YODA]

no, i can actually put it together myself, but now i can't. we dad went out and bout ANOTHER E-Machines. these things suck! i hate e-machines, they're the worst things eveer (besides Dells). well, better than my 600Mhz processor with Windows ME.
What have you got against Dell?

I am responsible for a network of some 300+ PCs consisting of Dell PCs and other brands. We log all hardware faults and have found the Dells to be statistically more reliable than the other brands we have used. A LOT more reliable. All our new machines are now Dell - and my home PC is a Dell.

[merlinmsk]

my first computer was a Dell. i had nothing but problems from it.

[WhiteWizard]

You would seem to be isolated there my dell is fantastic my entire uni uses dell's as does the 2 other uni's in Glasgow to my knowledge. How long ago was this?

[Tika]

My company uses all dell servers as well as dells for our work machines. And we are a company that is almost all about computers, so we know a little bit about them. (I dont know a ton yet, but the CTO deffinitely does)

[YODA]

my first computer was a Dell. i had nothing but problems from it.
Maybe there was a problem somewhere between the keyboard and the chair :Angel:

[morphus]

Just got myelf a Dell & it's beautiful, sexy & i, i ...love it!

[merlinmsk]

or, maybe the problem was that the OS was Win95. which blows. but even worse is the WinME OS. it just completly sucked.

[Tika]

Win ME is the worst operating system ever. MS just realized that it was 2000 and the latest OS they had was win 98 so they threw the piece of junk together.

[Commander Zigg]

Don't get a Dell. I'm sorry for not agreeing with some of you, but Dells are evil. For one, look at their choice of hardware. Pentium and NVidia. E-Machines are better, because they use AMD cpus, but they still use NVidia graphics cards. Plus, where my computer is concerned, I only trust work that I do myself, so I got all my parts and built it myself. That way I know exactly what's in there and exactly what software is installed. I might be a bit paranoid, but that's me. You can also get a LOT more value for your money if you build your own, or have somebody like NewEgg build it for you. Oh, and if you decide to install Windows on it, do not install XP, sure it may be flashy, but it eats up RAM like nothing else, and does too many things on its own without notifying you. I have Win2k installed on my box, and it hasn't given me too much trouble, although still enough to make me curse like a sailor (nothing new). Oh, and if some of you want to know why I prefer AMD over Intel, it's because I like it when my games run smoothly. AMD processors work by processing bits and pieces of data and a time, and firing those small bits and pieces out rapid-fire style. Intel processors take big chunks of data, and take more time before pumping them out. Therefore, AMD processors provide a smoother experience. However, Intels are good for other things...

[WhiteWizard]

I still think the Pentium chip is far better than the AMD but of course thats just my opinion

[Nrv4evr]

are you saying nvidia is bad? it's only one of the most supported video cards in the world...but if you say so.

[Commander Zigg]

Windows is the most supported operating system in the world. Does that make it a good operating system? Hell no.

[WhiteWizard]

Considering the multple things that windows tries to do i'd say they aren't doing too bad to be honest :)

[Tika]

Windows ME sucked. I love XP though :)....

[Samurai_24]

Don't get a Dell. I'm sorry for not agreeing with some of you, but Dells are evil. For one, look at their choice of hardware. Pentium and NVidia. E-Machines are better, because they use AMD cpus, but they still use NVidia graphics cards. Plus, where my computer is concerned, I only trust work that I do myself, so I got all my parts and built it myself. That way I know exactly what's in there and exactly what software is installed. I might be a bit paranoid, but that's me. You can also get a LOT more value for your money if you build your own, or have somebody like NewEgg build it for you. Oh, and if you decide to install Windows on it, do not install XP, sure it may be flashy, but it eats up RAM like nothing else, and does too many things on its own without notifying you. I have Win2k installed on my box, and it hasn't given me too much trouble, although still enough to make me curse like a sailor (nothing new). Oh, and if some of you want to know why I prefer AMD over Intel, it's because I like it when my games run smoothly. AMD processors work by processing bits and pieces of data and a time, and firing those small bits and pieces out rapid-fire style. Intel processors take big chunks of data, and take more time before pumping them out. Therefore, AMD processors provide a smoother experience. However, Intels are good for other things...

First off, Dell's are reliable, and come with a warranty. Most users don't have the technical skill to build a machine from parts. I like AMD's because of their price, and I use one, but I would much rather have an Intel (that I use at work). But that arguments will never end. For a home user, Windows XP is much better than Win2k. XP is built on the 2000 engine. The minimum requirements for XP Home are a 233MHz cpu, 128MB Ram, 1.5 GB hard drive space. Any of todays new computers by far exceed these requirements, so I wouldn't worry about RAM performance. I have both OSs and I would gladly take XP over 2000 Pro any day of the week for a gaming machine. Besides, more and more software and drivers are being written for XP. What you're saying is kind of like saying "Don't upgrade to Windows 98 from Windows 95, it takes more memory."

[Saz]

I still think the Pentium chip is far better than the AMD but of course thats just my opinion

Actually, AMD are superior in most benchmarks to intel CPU's. Research it if you don't believe me.

[Saz]

The minimum requirements for XP Home are a 233MHz cpu, 128MB Ram, 1.5 GB hard drive space.

In theory. In practise however, its crap.

I have XP Home on a 300Mhz cpu, with 10GB of HD space, and 128mb of RAM, and its so slower than a comtase sloth :(

[Samurai_24]

In theory. In practise however, its crap.

I have XP Home on a 300Mhz cpu, with 10GB of HD space, and 128mb of RAM, and its so slower than a comtase sloth :(

LOL :) Yeah, I'd rather run Windows 98 on a box that slow as well. I like the thought of the comatose sloth. I'll use that in conversation somewhere I'm sure. :D

[WhiteWizard]

Yeah but nobody is ever truely independent in these things the AMD chips have come a long way of course but from what i've seen my intel vastly outperforms my friends AMD

[WhiteWizard]

In theory. In practise however, its crap.

I have XP Home on a 300Mhz cpu, with 10GB of HD space, and 128mb of RAM, and its so slower than a comtase sloth :(
Thats because your just foolish enough to try that ;)

[YODA]

XP runs fine on my Intel P4 3Ghz with 2x160gb hard drives and 1024mb RAM :Angel:

[WhiteWizard]

XP runs fine on my Intel P4 3Ghz with 2x160gb hard drives and 1024mb RAM :Angel:
really imagine that :D

[merlinmsk]

ok, laugh at this. my first computer that i had in my room and that still works today is.....

123 Mhz Intel Pentium 1 processor
24mb EDO Ram
1mb Graphics card(type too old to recognize)
Win95 OS(hardly any problems with it compared to WinME)
1.5GB HD(my gawd, that thing was puny!)

imagine trying to do school work on that!

[WhiteWizard]

that machine should be perfectly adequate for school work actually :)