Need a new PC, would appreciate some help with specs...

[dbax791]

So I need to send this 400MHZ piece of crap on to greener pastures. I'd like to buy a new PC but unfortunately I haven't kept up to date on the latest and greatest in HW. Can anyone help recommend a good place to buy a new PC?

Need the best recommendations for sound/video card, HD, Memory, CDRW. I'll probably keep my monitor. I'm thinkin' 2GHz P4, $ not a problem, the gub'ment is going to be very good to me this year. Also, I don't currenly have DSL, but it might be available here in the future? Do I just need an ethernet card?

I'm not gifted in the art of building PC's so I'd prolly have to order a prebuilt system.

So I just need to fill in the blanks...

Processor P4 2Ghz
Memory ______?
Sound Card ______?
Video Card ______?
CD ROM ______?
CD RW _______?
Network card ______?
HD ______?
Speaker system _____?

Thanks for tolerating this complete newbie question, but I know that there are a lot of folks on here that know there "stuff" and I appreciate y'all taking the time to reply :)

[aglio412]

Originally posted by dbax791
So I need to send this 400MHZ piece of crap on to greener pastures. I'd like to buy a new PC but unfortunately I haven't kept up to date on the latest and greatest in HW. Can anyone help recommend a good place to buy a new PC?



wanna sell the 400mhz 'piece of crap'? if so email me [email protected]

as for building your first pc...tigerdirect.com has some nice starter kits, and you can find some decent ones on pricewatch.com, just make sure you know what motherboard you're getting...alot of the sites on pricewatch use crappy boards.

[jase71]

Gotta tell us what you want to do with it, dbax...

Are you a gamer? Hardcore into games?

Are you an audiophile? Gonna stack up the mp3s?

What you do with the pc will make a huge difference in what specs would be a good fit for you. For example, video cards run from $30-350. If you're not a gamer, a basic $30 card might work. On the other hand, if you're a Quake-head, you'll want something with some horsepower, and you'll be in the middle to upper range of that video card spectrum.

[TommyBoomfiger]

These are all my opinions so they may not be exactly what you want.

Memory: Crucial should be just fine, but i dont know what kind goes with your P4 and mobo
sound card: Sound Blaster Audigy. This comes in many different flavors, but they are all based on the same technlogy. If you want to save money, a SB Live 5.1 will be just fine for most everything.
Video card: Some GeForce3 or Radeon 8500. There are pros and cons to each so do some research before you decide. With current drivers the GF3 seems to be the best for gaming and it will probably stay that way, though there is a slight chance ATI will become better as some reviewers have stated. If you want to use your computer as a tv and/or multimedia center go for the radeon 8500 all in wonder.
cd rom: this also depends on what you are going to do with it, if you are just going to read read cd's with it, any cdrom will do. if you are going to be copying copy protected cds, visit the site of the program you are going to be using for a compatability list. I know clonecd's homepage has a list, dotn know about all the rest. you might also want to consider a dvd drive instead of a cdrom
cdrw: my favorite is plextor 24x cdrw. there are a lot of new cdrw's which are just as good and some say better. also, same as before, different drives will have different results with some copy protections (ie. safedisc2)
network card: intel is my favorite, but they get pricey. if you already have other computers with nic's and a switch or a hub you may want to get the same brand as those. some say that you will get better results in those situations. i use an all linksys network with anywhere from 2 to 5 computers and a linksys switch and get 100 Mbps for all computers.
HD: ibm has always been a favorite for many, but there are some reliability issues around. also excellent are maxtor, quantum and western digital.
Speakers: if you get a 5.1 card and a dvd drive or play games with a 5.1 system you will want a 5.1 speaker system.

Its not too hard to put together a computer yourself. you need a box, power supply, floppy drive and a mother board. the most difficult part is to get all the jumpers on the mobo right, so you just need to read the instruction manual. then install the mobo, install all the cards in the right slots and plug in the power supply. everything has its own slot or connector and its hard to get anything in the wrong slot. make sure you are GROUNDED when touching any of the components and thats about it.
If you want to buy a premade box, try alienware. sorry, i dont have a link, but they custom make thier stuff and have some very good options.

[aglio412]

Originally posted by TommyBoomfiger
If you want to buy a premade box, try alienware. sorry, i dont have a link, but they custom make thier stuff and have some very good options.

www.alienware.com (http://www.alienware.com)

[dbax791]

Originally posted by jase71
Gotta tell us what you want to do with it, dbax...

Are you a gamer? Hardcore into games?

Are you an audiophile? Gonna stack up the mp3s?

What you do with the pc will make a huge difference in what specs would be a good fit for you. For example, video cards run from $30-350. If you're not a gamer, a basic $30 card might work. On the other hand, if you're a Quake-head, you'll want something with some horsepower, and you'll be in the middle to upper range of that video card spectrum.

Oh, well I'm not a "hardcore" gamer, but I do play sometimes and I want a good video card so I'm not limited by the HW when I do play. And I do burn quite a bit of CD's, but I mostly listen on my home stereo or car stereo, so PC speakers are not a priority.

Thanks!

[xsiled2]

BUY a TUALATIN, they are WAY cheaper and better then p4s

[jase71]

Originally posted by dbax791


Oh, well I'm not a "hardcore" gamer, but I do play sometimes and I want a good video card so I'm not limited by the HW when I do play. And I do burn quite a bit of CD's, but I mostly listen on my home stereo or car stereo, so PC speakers are not a priority.

Thanks!

Ok then... here's a few recommendations.

Processor P4 2Ghz

Memory ______? 256 at least, 512 if it fits in your budget. You won't need the 512 right away, but it'll be that much longer before you need to upgrade.

Sound Card ______? If you don't want to tinker or tweak, or worry about anything, a Creative Labs Soundblaster Live 5.1(good) or Soundblaster Audigy (better) would work. I prefer the Philips Acoustic Edge, but it's a less common card. The Hercules Gametheatre XP is also supposed to be good.

Video Card ______? Tough call. You may have to decide how important gaming is to you. If it's not important, get a Geforce2 GTS, or a Radeon 7200. They'll let you game, but you won't have to drop much in the way of cash on them. A Geforce3 Ti200 would be a good middle ground card if you like to game. I'm partial to the ATI Radeon8500. It's the most bang for the buck in a video card, with superior image quality compared to the Geforce cards. But it's drivers can be more problematic than the Geforces..

CD ROM ______? Any well known brand name. They're cheap, and disposable.

CD RW _______? Plextors are pretty well known as the best. The Lite-On 24x drives are supposed to be nearly as good as the Plextors at a much lower price point. I've got an Aopen 24X I bought that has worked well, but it was an emergency purchase. I wanted the Lite-On.

Network card ______? Might even want to wait on this to see if you get broadband. No reason to plug it in and install it if you won't be using it. I'd wait. If you do get broadband, 3com and Intel nics are probably the best and most common, but for home use almost any Nic at Best Buy/Compusa/Circuit City will do the trick.

HD ______? Biggest you can reasonably afford. Get a 7200rpm drive, but most larger drives will be 7200rpm. Everyone has their brand loyalties with drives. I've had few bad drives, and I've had western digital, maxtor, quantum... everything but IBM. and I'd buy an IBM, just haven't yet.

Speaker system _____? Not much I can say here. I use a set of flat panels with a sub. Nothing fancy, but sounds good.

Good luck! If you have specific questions, fire 'em off, and I'm sure we can all disagree on the right answer!

[dbax791]

Originally posted by jase71


Ok then... here's a few recommendations.


Thanks jase, that helps a lot! Like I said, I'm not looking to scrimp on $, so I'll probably go with the Audigy and the GeForce3 and 512M Ram.:D

[jase71]

Originally posted by dbax791


Thanks jase, that helps a lot! Like I said, I'm not looking to scrimp on $, so I'll probably go with the Audigy and the GeForce3 and 512M Ram.:D

Should be a killer system. But do some reading right up until you actually order it... What's "best" can change weekly, it seems like.

The Geforce4s are just around the corner.. they might be worth considering, depending on price.

But you'll have a killer system... and hopefully a lot of fun! Enjoy! :D

[xsiled2]

look at chosens benchmarks and decide again....

[Tico]

Where are you in AZ?

[xsiled2]

hes in fenix

[DREDD]

My recommendations...

GO AMD...forget Intel. Even if money is no issue intel CPUs aren't as powerful as AthlonXP CPus. The AthlonXp 1900 or 2000+ is great.

memory...I'd recommend Mushkin or corsair. They're both great for overclockers. mushkin even sells PC2700 memory which can clock up to 333Mhz. crucial is also good. Get what you think you need as far as the size.

HD...I'd say maxtor or IBM makes the best IDE drives. Make sure to get ATA/100 interface and get whatever size you think will be enough for you.

Video...I'd have to say GeForce 4 Ti6400 or Ti4400. These will be released this month very soon. best you can get now

Motherboard...Probably have to say a Via KT266A...the fastest AMD motherboard you can get and some come with 6channel sound which rivals the PCI soundcards from turtle beach or creative labs. Or you can try a N-Force board and get about the same performance. And probably more stability overall. VIA chipsets have a bit of trouble with soundblaster cards. Or you can just get AMD 760 chipset and sacrifice some speed for rock solid stability.

That's about all i can think of right now...other than the OS which is simply personal prefrence.

[Ladogaboy]

Well, I would say, go with AMD as well, but you seem pretty bent on Pentium. With that said, if you go for a P4, go for a 2.0 or 2.2 GHz and make sure that it is a (? right name?) Northwood core. I can't remember if that is the right name, but anyway, it is their newer core. In fact, the 2.2 GHz is so fast that it can actually compete with the AMD XP 2000. Also, good thing about the 2.2 is, you can overclock it which ,IMO, is the only thing that really makes it worth it.

As for video, I'd say to go with either the Ti500 or Ati 8500. The reason I would suggest avoiding the G4's right now is because no one has really done any reviews of them yet. Who knows, they could have some very major problems. :shrug:

For memory, I'd say Crucial is fine for you.

Maxtor is good on hard drives.

I'd also suggest getting a RAID card with your system. You'll notice the performance.

I agree with chosen, don't waste your time on a CD-rom, just get a DVD-rom. Lite-ons are supposed to be great for their speed/performance to price ratio.

I'd also say, go with the Audigy. It comes with a firewire port, and that might come in useful.

Goodluck.

[Heihachi]

LOL.. I agree... PENTIUM???? What the.. Yeeup.. you're right.. you HAVEN'T been keeping up w/ the times....

Funny how you say P4 2.0GHz for sure...

[jase71]

Ah..

Don't jump on him too hard for buying a P4. There's a lot to be said for buying something you're comfortable with, and that you trust. It can keep you from hating your pc if you have problems with it.

I'm an AMD guy. I wouldn't buy a P4 unless they were giving them away. BUT, I'd buy a P4 if I were building a pc for someone who isn't at all a techie. I'd buy a P4 for someone who doesn't want to tweak or touch the inside of his pc. I'd buy a P4 for someone who doesn't follow the industry enough to keep up with what the latest, greatest hot chip is all the time.

Better to buy what you're comfortable with, regardless of which brand that is, than to buy something you're not sure about.

I once talked a friend into buying an Athlon, against his wishes. He had troubles with it, unrelated to the cpu or motherboard. But the experience turned him so Anti-AMD that there's no talking to him. He didn't trust it from the start, so when something went wrong, he gave up, and looked for the easy scapegoat. He'll never, ever buy an AMD again. I'd have been better off letting him buy what he wanted. Now I don't push people toward one or the other.

[DREDD]

for the money I saved on buying an AMD CPU over an intel I could get some more RAm a new HD and a game or 2 :-)

[qmanchu]

I hope I'm not speaking out of line so here it goes.

I don't think we should overwhelm dbax791. Like he said, he's been "out of the loop" for a while. I'm not sure we should be recommending certain processors just because they overclock any better. He certainly never showed any interest in overclocking. Seeing as how he's held onto his P400 this long, it might be safe to assume he's looking for another long-term investment here as well. I mean, what's good for a overclockin' hard-core gamin' freak might be overkill for someone with more modest needs.

Also, I don't think there's anything wrong with recommending AMD as long as it's appropriate for his situation. I don't think he ever said he was anti-AMD or pro-Intel. As a matter of fact, I don't think he ever mentioned a preference. I assume he mentioned P4 just because he was familiar with it. But jase71 has a point -- if he comes on and mentions a preference or makes his decision, we should respect it and allow him to live with his decision.

Now, back to the subject at hand...

P.S. If I'm assuming too much on the part of dbax791, please accept my apologies now. :hihi:

[DREDD]

All i said was that even though intel CPus cost more that doesn't make them better...AMD Athlon CPus may overclock well, but they outperform Intel CPus clock for clock without even touching the multiplyer etc.

So I suggested AMD so he could get better components like maybe more RAm or an extra HD or maybe even a DVD Burner :-)

[qmanchu]

Sorry DREDD, I wasn't referring to your posts. It was just a suggestion for everyone (myself included) before they made recommedations. Sorry if my message came across as criticizing anyone in particular. It certainly wasn't the intent. :)

[dbax791]

Originally posted by qmanchu

P.S. If I'm assuming too much on the part of dbax791, please accept my apologies now. :hihi:

Nope, you pretty much nailed it right in the head.:D I'm not looking to overclock or anything, just want a PC to last the next 3 years. So that's why I want to try to load it with lots of memory, and late-model sound/video cards. I do want to be able to play the latest games, but I'm not gonna be checking fps or anything like that.

Hee hee and I'm definately not going to get into an Intel vs. AMD argument here :P

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!!!

[dbax791]

Originally posted by aglio412


www.alienware.com (http://www.alienware.com)

dig..dig..dig up the ol' posts...

Update, thanks very much aglio, jase and everyone else for your advice. I did go to alienware and just ordered a new pc. Yeah I went a little on the high end, but I like to do this only once every 3 yrs or so...

Qty: 1 Custom
~ Case: Dragon Full-Tower Case (340-Watt PS) (Space Black)
~ Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 2.0GHz 400MHz FSB w/ 512KB
Cache
~ Memory: 512MB RDRAM Non-ECC(PC-800)
~ First Hard Drive: 40GB Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 7200RPM 2MB Cache
~ Video Card: IN STOCK - NVIDIA® GeForce4 Ti 4400 w/128MB Dual
Monitor
~ Video Cooling: KoolMaxx Video Cooling System (Standard Chrome)
~ Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy 5.1 Gamer
~ DVD-ROM: 16X /48X DVD-ROM Drive w/Software MPEG-2 Decoder
~ CD-RW: PlexWriter 40X/12X/40X CD-RW - IDE - White
~ Modem: US Robotics V.90 56K Internal Voice/Fax/Data
~ Ethernet NIC: Intel® PRO/100 S Desktop Adapter
~ Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support
Request System
~ Warranty: Aliencare Toll-Free 1-Year 24/7 ONSITE Warranty
~ Games: Game On! 3-D Extreme Bundle (6 full titles)
~ Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition


So now I need to buy a new monitor - I saw some threads about the Samsung Flat screen 19" that I'm thinking about. Also, I need some semi-decent speakers - don't want to go high end here. I really don't think I need 5.1 for my den, any suggestions?

[bachviet]

I suggest AMD Athlon XP also instead of the P4! It's as fast if not faster except on the memory (PC800 RAMBUS)! Get the new KT333 motherboard and PC2700 memory (OCZ) and overclock the XP! Don't get anything over XP 1800+ though 'cauze you could OC it to run as fast as XP 2000+!

[jase71]

The Samsung flatscreens are really nice... I used to have a 900IFT that was gorgeous. I loved that monitor more than life itself. :P

Dummy me sold it with a system, and I've regretted it ever since.

If you're looking for a good deal on a 19", check out the LG Studioworks 995E. I got one from Dell for $178 shipped using one of their coupons during a free shipping promo. Picture quality is very close to the Samsung. Crisp and clear, with good color. Only drawback is it doesn't have the perfectly flat screen of the Samsung.

I kinda miss the flat screen, but it's not the end of the world. However, if money isn't the deciding factor, definately choose the flat screen. ;)

As far as speakers go, your best bet is probably to watch the deals page for one of those killer deals on Logitechs that come up every so often. Better to get speakers that are slightly better than you need rather than slightly worse. No one ever complains that their speakers sound TOO good. Crummy speakers can drag the whole experience downhill fast.

[dbax791]

Originally posted by jase71
The Samsung flatscreens are really nice... I used to have a 900IFT that was gorgeous. I loved that monitor more than life itself. :P



Yeah - I'm not sure if it was you or someone else that recommended it in monitor thread, but I think I'm gonna go grab one here.

Oh, and thanks again Jase, your answers to my questions helped out a lot. As you can see from my system, I took a lot of your direct advice in choosing it. :D

[jase71]

No sweat. PC shopping with other people's money
is always fun. ;)

Looks like you'll have a great system. Should be a heck
of a lot of fun. I'm a little jealous. I just built my
Athlon XP 2 months ago, and I'm getting the itch to
start over again already.

[qmanchu]

Just in case you haven't purchased a monitor yet, Amazon is sell the Samsung 955DF (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004Z9FF) for $227 shipped. Not exactly hot but not too bad either. Hope it helps. :)

[xsiled2]

poop on the samsung monitor get the new herc its NICE :D

[dbax791]

Originally posted by qmanchu
Just in case you haven't purchased a monitor yet, Amazon is sell the Samsung 955DF (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004Z9FF) for $227 shipped. Not exactly hot but not too bad either. Hope it helps. :)

:angry: :angry: :angry: Dammit why did you have to post this when I was out of town? I just bought the 955DF today at BestBuy B&M. I paid 299 with a 50 rebate for 249, but if I would of seen this I woulda done it in a second.

GRAAAAAAAH!