Looking to buy new computer, need help with the tech details

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 9:09 am

I think this is probably my best deal:

CASE : X-BLADE II Mid-Tower 450W Watt w/ Side-Panel Window (BLACK COLOR)
CPU : (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 3200+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD : (Sckt939)MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4 Chipset SATA Raid PCI-E w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
MEMORY : 2048 MB (512MBx4) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value RAM)
HARD DRIVE : 80GB 7200 RPM ATA 100 HARD DRIVE
Hard Drive 2 : NONE
VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 6200 Graphics with TurboCache supporting 256MB 16X PCI Express VIDEO CARD
VIDEO CARD 2 : NONE
Optical Drive : NONE
Optical Drive 2 : CD-RW 52X32X52 (BLACK COLOR)
MONITOR & LCD : NONE
SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Price: $865.00

$865 and that includes Windows XP and Microsoft Word and that stuff I'll need for the actual work I'll need to do at College. 2GB RAM, good graphics card (I think), big enough HDD for me, and I think a pretty high-performance CPU. Not sure about that Motherboard, but I'm sure it'd be fine.

Spazz · Post by **Spazz** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 3:25 pm

Riot wrote:So I should go originally with a 1GB RAM stick, and then buy another 1gb off eBay or something? I don't have any clashing parts or anything in that setup, do I? I know some stuff isn't compatible...

Unless you're running a UNIX port, you've got nothing to worry about with compatibility now-a-days. Windows will take most anything you have and knock it around a bit, then make it work.... then crash out and take the entire system with it.

Oh, if you need an OS, I've got a business edition of Windows XP Pro that's actually legal. :p It'll save you a hundred bucks here or there.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:11 pm

Well, admittedly, that would be cool. Not having to buy Windows XP would bring the total down 90, to $750. That's really good for what specs that thing has. If I bought that, will it be usable right out of the box right? Atleast nothing I couldn't handle?

Spazz · Post by **Spazz** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:13 pm

You'd be able to run most any bideo game you wanted. Not all of them with super twinked out specs, but at least looking very nice. Let me know when you or someone you know is gonna be in Indy and I'll make a backup for you. :p

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:20 pm

Not sure if anybody I know is really ever in Indy, but thanks for the offer =) Hopefully I can figure something out. Apparently, somebody I know at school can give me their dad's office window disk too, but I dunno.

Potter · Post by **Potter** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:23 pm

i have windows xp professional that was made for installations on 1000'es of comps so you dont have to register the cd key. ask if you need it fo free.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:33 pm

If I were to buy a computer without Windows, pardon my ignorance, but what would I do to install these versions of XP? Would you be giving me a CD or what? Through the mail then?

Potter · Post by **Potter** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:46 pm

ya i guess we could mail it.

Ryan Dognaux · Post by **Ryan Dognaux** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 5:20 pm

Riot wrote:So I should go originally with a 1GB RAM stick, and then buy another 1gb off eBay or something? I don't have any clashing parts or anything in that setup, do I? I know some stuff isn't compatible...

When buying ram, just make sure it's the same number of pins and it's the correct model.. er.. type.. or whatever of ram.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 5:21 pm

I think I'm gonna be buying the 2gRAM one on the site you showed me, so I think if they let me choose it as an option, the pins should be correct. Hopefully, or I'll be pissed =D

Ryan Dognaux · Post by **Ryan Dognaux** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 5:46 pm

Riot wrote:I think I'm gonna be buying the 2gRAM one on the site you showed me, so I think if they let me choose it as an option, the pins should be correct. Hopefully, or I'll be pissed =D

Haha yeah that would suck, alright you're good then. Just keep in mind if you ever do, count the pins on the bottom of the ram. Very basic, but you wouldn't believe how people screw stuff up.

djfooboo · Post by **djfooboo** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 6:04 pm

Riot wrote:Things about a compy box

CASE: If that style is your thing fine, I would go with a different case though, sans power supply. L&Cs don't have a very good reputation, and power supplies are something you don't want to skimp on

. Antec is probably the best quality power supply you can get for the money. Look for a case that has 120mm fan openings, 120s run slower, move more air, and are quieter then 80s.

Super LANBoy is on sale at xoxide.com 64 bucks http://www.xoxide.com/sulaca.html
Also a G5 clone 59 bucks http://www.xoxide.com/xoxide-x-handler-case-silver.html

CPU: Your best bang for buck right now is the 3000, you won't notice any difference, plus with that mobo, you can clock it to at least 3200 on stock cooling, no problem.

MOBO: The motherboard is top notch, believe you me! The nForce4 chipset is very tried and true.

MEMORY: Kingston value all the way baby! (As long as you don't Oclock it) Both are backed by a lifetime guarantee, so the choice is yours.

HARD DRIVE: Go SATA, go Maxtor DiamondMAX 10, freaking 16MB cache. Plus they start @ 200GB. Once you have a nice computer, you WILL fill this easily.

VIDEO CARD: You will be limited on this factor, the rest of your setup is killer. I haven't played around with a TurboCache, but I hear they suck at playing games, read some reviews for more about that.

OPTICAL DRIVE: Why black, you usually pay more for black, plus you have a door on your compy. Also be wary of no name brands, you will make a lot of coasters with them.

SOUND: A cheapy sound card is going to give you better quality than on-board. The motherboard creates too much electrical interference for OBS to sound good. NForce4 may be a different story though, IDK.

If you have any questions, or just want to talk computers, just AIM me.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 6:41 pm

This is kinda what I've decided on:

CPU: AMD 64 3000+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD : (Sckt939)MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4 Chipset SATA Raid PCI-E w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
MEMORY : 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair XMS High Performance Memory w/ Heat Spreader)
HARD DRIVE : Seagate 80GB 7200RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache
Hard Drive 2 : NONE
VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 6600 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
VIDEO CARD 2 : NONE
Optical Drive : NONE
Optical Drive 2 : COMBO DRIVE (16X DVD-ROM & 52x32x52 CD-RW) (BLACK COLOR)
MONITOR & LCD : NONE
SOUND : HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Price: $709.00

No Windows or Monitor. I'm getting a burned copy of Windows from my friend tomorrow, so I'm hoping that will work. Good specs for the money? I think so.

hascoolnickname · Post by **hascoolnickname** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:17 pm

That looks sweet- seagates are super nice, and I would choose AMD over Intel any day.

djfooboo · Post by **djfooboo** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:24 pm

Video Card brand: Read reviews on different models of the same GPU, there can be major differences between brands.

Memory: Eh, overated unless overclocking.

Hard Drive: Seagates, silence is golden.

Case: WTF, you need one of these.

Good stuff though :thumb