System Recommendations

**ufcrusher** · 05-16-2002, 06:07 PM

I am going to need to either purchase or build a system for my fiance within the next few months and was wondering what y'all would recommend.

I realize that I can probably get more bang for the buck if I build it myself, but dont have a tax id anymore so I cant just call up techdata and the like to get, to get the components cheap.

To be honest with the exception of gaming she doesnt do anything that is going to be system intensive. That said, I always try to going cutting edge, just to improve the longevity of the system. (Speaking of which its time to upgrade my desktop too..its slower than sheit now)

So what would y'all recommend and how much is it going to set us back.

Thanks.

**RatBastard** · 05-16-2002, 08:11 PM

I find that building a system gets you more... Not only in quality of parts, but in the knowledge you gain by doing it.

You know exactly whats in the machine, how they are connected and what drivers you are using.

Just my $.02...

Rat.

**bachviet** · 05-16-2002, 09:38 PM

Get the P4 1.6A system and you'll be happy! I'm more of an AMD fan but I would wait for the Hammer, which will be released @ the end of this year!

**Showtime** · 05-16-2002, 10:02 PM

cheap hi end system:
-Frys had the full retail P4 1.6a northwood for $120(new egg for $130+ship) + you have to buy a mobo with it. I bought a MSI 645 ultra 333 for $89 = $210+tax
-Ti4200 64mg is coming down to the $150 range(wait on card if you can).
-DDR ram, you only need 256 crucial or corsair 2700(333mhz) for around $100.
-250watt+ case(access micro 300 watt for $50 shipped).
-HD,CD,Floppy use old one or find a sale. Dell has nice CD/rw for under $100 shipped.

The build is based around overclocking but you dont have to.
The worst I've read a Pentium 1.6a oc with a decent mobo is 2.2ghz. The stock retail fan is good to 2.4/5+ and its fairly quiet.
The ti4200 is just out and already people have it benchmarking at ti4600 speeds

.
256 DDR is good for ocing and gaming etc.

If you have old parts it can save you a lot of time and money. You can use old parts til better replacements go on sale.

W/out oc'ing your looking at 8000+ 3dmarks.
Oc'd this is a very hi end kick az set up. P4 2.2ghz+, ti4600(oc'd to), 333mhz+ DDR= 10k+ 3dmarks.

Using old parts you only need the cpu, mobo, card and ram the initial cost should be under $500. Vid cards should be dropping fast and hopefully memory continues to slide.

You could always build AMD too.

good luck either way
-jel

**NuTs62** · 05-17-2002, 01:10 AM

build yourself a brand spankin new system, and hand your old system down to your fiancee.

afterall, she doesn't need anything fancy right? be sure to decorate it with a nice wallpaper, and wipe it clean, make it look new.. if anything, get a new case so she wont know it was your old one.

**PoloM1** · 05-17-2002, 02:16 AM

I think you should reformat your current computer, give it to your fiance and build yourself a new system. I just gave my girlfriend an old computer I had lying around and she loves it.

Here are the specs:
K-6/2 350Mhz
6 gig ATA 33 Hard drive
onboard video and sound
64 Meg Memory

These specs are horrible for today's standards but she's happy with it and it gets the job done, on top of that, after reformatting, I was kinda impressed by it's speed (considering how crapy the system is). If you don't want to hand off your computer, I would say to build a small little system such as this and it will only put you back a couple hundred at the most.

**bachviet** · 05-17-2002, 06:45 AM

That's what I did with my Athlon 700Mhz! My gf needed a faster computer and I gave her mine. I then used the community computer (@ home) until I got my AXP in March!

**~~Cantacuzene~~** · 05-17-2002, 10:58 AM

The Hammer is the 64 bit chip right?

**ufcrusher** · 05-17-2002, 12:02 PM

Well she likes having faster systems, and has a problem with stepping down in power. She is constantly using my GHZ laptop and/or her 850mhz laptop from work. As such, the system is going to have to be at least 1.6ghz processor so my 500mhz desktop is not going to cut it. (Yes, I realize she doesnt need a processor that fast, but that is what she wants and I told y'all that I needed to replace my desktop.)

So a little more along those lines, is the mobo that Jello mentioned any good. I have had problems with some system components I bought at Fry's. (One of those BYO Barebones that came with case, mobo, and chip) Or is there a better board that you can go with to ensure upgradability in the future.

Thanks again.

**sbp** · 05-17-2002, 12:34 PM

Originally posted by Cantacuzene
The Hammer is the 64 bit chip right?

Yep

**Showtime** · 05-17-2002, 01:01 PM

FYI I got the 645 board because its an overclockers board with very little bells and whistles. Supports 333mhz DDR for better performance. Its been very stable for me. It only has adjustable voltage for the cpu 1.5-1.6volts

. I need 1.7+ volts for 2.4+ghz so I have to connect some pins for higher ocing.

I had a MSI 845 Ultra ARU. Great board! It has all the bells and whistles(raid, more bios options, extra ide's, etc). Cost $149($60 more). Bios options for ram voltage, agp voltage and I believe a higher cpu voltage. If your not going to raid or add a bunch of drives you can probably save some $.

B4 that I had a px4-266(?) via made board. Very stable and very bad for ocing. Don't buy unless you have no plans to oc and get a great packaged deal.

Frys has 15 days returns on cpus and you should check cuz its different for components and ram etc. I learned a lot from the last 3+ months of building and ocing those 3 systems. As far as making the returns I told em why it wasnt performaning. Exp: bought 333 ram and the board has no settings for it (845 supports 266) so I want a board that does(645). They give store credit w/ little hassle in my experience.

You mileage will vary but with good people like ChosenFool to guide ya.......
-jel

ps: dont know if the deals still going, new egg has the 1.6A for $130 though.
ps2:a lot of what was done can be found in the overclockers section under my 3dmarks.

**~~Cantacuzene~~** · 05-17-2002, 01:20 PM

The 64 bit chip isnt designed for home use. As far as I was aware the clock speeds were much lower than what you can get now. The pentium version is already out and it started at 800 mhz. I dont see how its worth it.

**Ladogaboy** · 05-17-2002, 03:09 PM

Originally posted by Cantacuzene
The 64 bit chip isnt designed for home use. As far as I was aware the clock speeds were much lower than what you can get now. The pentium version is already out and it started at 800 mhz. I dont see how its worth it.

Isn't the hammer supposed to be starting out at around 1.8 GHz?

**~~Cantacuzene~~** · 05-17-2002, 04:01 PM

Originally posted by Ladogaboy

Isn't the hammer supposed to be starting out at around 1.8 GHz?

Maybe, but that is still slower than what we have available now. AMD and Intel arent designing the 64 bit procs for home use, that will be a few years down the road.

**sbp** · 05-17-2002, 04:34 PM

Originally posted by Ladogaboy

Isn't the hammer supposed to be starting out at around 1.8 GHz? :confused:

Yeah it is.

The Hammer is a 64-bit extension to Intels 32-bit x86 architecture. AMD has to convince software makers to use x86-64 code. Even if that doesn't happen, the Hammer won't be useless-it will have no problem running current 32bit code unlike Intel's IA64.

The Hammer is going to be be released at the end of the year and be in high performance desktops. Basically AMD's future cpu are going to be based on the Hammer core {mobility solutions as well}.

**Aristo** · 05-17-2002, 04:39 PM

Occasionally Dell has some pretty good deal on computer parts. In fact I just did some minor upgrade thru Dell's deals. I barely play games but use the system more on computer science/eletrical engineering projects. I will list my system as a reference.

AMD Athlon XP1600+ (it outperforms P4 2GHz on some tests)
EPOX 8KHA+ (VIA KT266A chipset. receives lots of awards from the web)
Crucial PC2100 DDR 256MB. (there is a deal currently going on Crucial for like $40ish plus free shipping. GRAB THEM)
Lite-on 16X DVD (got it from Dell for like $40)
Lite-on 40/12/48 CDRW (got it from Dell and couple it with DVD drive to waive off the shipping, btw, this is one of the fastest burner in the market)
GeForce2 GTS (yeah, it's "out of date" but it provides enough performance on FPS plus they are cheap now. If you are willing to spend a little more, get the GeForce3 or GeForce4 TI4200 or you can buy mine so I can upgrade to GeForce4 HAHA)
Creative Lab Live! Value. (no need to go to audigy IMO)
Sony Floppy (you should already have a floppy drive)
A realiable 350watt + power supply. (You would need this. AMD is power hungry)
Case (I have Antex SX830)
LinkSys NIC

The total would be below 1k for sure.

Once again, I highly recommend you to take some advantages of Dell.