New Computer Help

[innovision]

Alright guys, I'm in need of a new computer. I will have about 4k to spend on it. (that's the upper limit) My AMD 64 3000, with 64 MB Graphix card laptop just isn't doing it for me anymore. I've checked out a number of computers and options, including the Dell XPS system.

First question, The dell XPS system has these options for processors:

-Pentium® 4 Processor 640 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)
-Pentium® 4 Processor 650 with HT Technology (3.40GHz, 800 FSB)
[add $170 or $6/month1]
-Pentium® 4 Processor 660 with HT Technology (3.60GHz, 800 FSB)
[add $420 or $13/month1]
-Pentium® 4 Processor 670 with HT Technology (3.80GHz, 800 FSB)
[add $830 or $25/month1]
-Pentium® D Processor 830 with Dual Core Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)
[add $50 or $2/month1]
-Pentium® D Processor 840 with Dual Core Technology (3.20GHz, 800FSB)
[add $470 or $15/month1]
-Pentium® Extreme Edition Dual Core w/ HT Tech (3.20GHz, 800FSB)
[add $1,130 or $34/month1]

Is it really that much better to pay around 600 dollars more for the extreme edition??

OK, second question, I know there are a lot of computer freaks here they love to do nothing but just check out cool computer shit. I'm asking all of those people to post their dream computers or nice computers in this post and links to where I can find them. Or any information you guys think I should know before making my decision on what computer to purchase.

 

[Hypnos]

I'm really interested in whether the 3 gig Dual Processor is any better than the 3gig with HT Technology.

 

[rocklee]

Alright Inno,

1. First the Extreme Edition is for Hype and its a Dual Core. I wouldn't recommend Dual Core because you're not running a server and most applications right now won't be able to take advantage of the extra processing power. So you get extra power that you will probably never use = waste of money.

So get: Pentium® 4 Processor 670 with HT Technology (3.80GHz, 800 FSB) [add $830 or $25/month1] - Best value

Pentiums RUN REALLY HOT so make sure you get something better than their DEFAULT heat sink.

2. Just so you know, I don't buy my desktops from Dell or anyone. I build them myself. You just end up with a computer that may cost about the same but with higher quality parts.

Seeing the way things are going I would definitely go:

AMD Athlon 64 FX series - 939 pin
MSI or ASUS Nvidia Force 4 Motherboard w/ PCI-Express
Zalman CPU heat sink and Fan
1 GB (2x 512 MB) Corsair RAM with 2-2-2-5 Timing - OR 2 GB (2x 1GB) if you have the cash with slightly not as good timings.
2 Seagate 200 Gig SATA Harddrives RAID 0
High End ATI or Nvidia Vid card (ATI X800 or Nvidia 6800 Ultra) - PCI-Express
Sound Blaster Audigy card
Dual Layer DVD Burner - preferably Lite-On
Antec 550 W power supply
A nice case to put these things in.
20 inch Flat Panel Monitor - DVI support
Nice Keyboard/Mouse
Nice 5.1 Speakers
Nice Headphones with Mic


Also check out Dell (which you have), Alienware, and Falcon.

If you have questions, let me know.

 

[innovision]

I've heard that building can be the better option but I've never done it. I'm looking into that now. Where are some sites that you guys use to find your parts? I'd much rather build than buy from a company, it seems that they jack the price a bit.

 

[rocklee]

For quality parts and good shipping I'd recommend Newegg.com

Some parts may be cheaper elsewhere, but if you get a defective part from newegg, they'll take it back. Normal 3-5 day Fedex shipping is cheap and usually it gets to you in 2-3 days. They also have a very good reputation. I've ordered thousands of dollars worth from them and I'm a very satisfied customer.

I've ordered from Monarch Computers (www.monarchcomputer.com) They're ok, but its usually better if you order it all at the same place and get all the parts at once instead of getting parts from different people and having to wait for that last part to come from some company who shipped it really slow.

If your unsure about a seller online, check them out at www.resellerratings.com. People who have ordered from them will tell you what they think about them. BUT REMEMBER! Your mileage may vary, meaning you may or may not get the same degree of service.


NOTES ON ORDERING PARTS:

1) If you order OEM, meaning NOT RETAIL (newegg will display whether its OEM or RETAIL) the part will come with no cables, no manuals, and no extras. (not even a box sometimes!)
- Example - If you order a OEM harddrive, you get ONLY the harddrive and thats it. No connectors or anything. OEM tends to be cheaper, but if RETAIL is only a couple of bucks more ($1-$5), get the RETAIL one.

2) Make sure you have all the parts you will need. It sucks if you order everything, and you forgot to order the CPU heat sink/fan. You'll have to order that and that will just delay your build.

3) Choose reputable parts! Don't buy generic or non-name brand items. It'll save you alot of hassle later.

4) Make sure the parts will work together! Don't get a AMD CPU and an INTEL motherboard, or a AMD 939 pin CPU and a Socket A motherboard. Make a list of hardware you want and make sure they fit. Go to the manufacturers website and make sure the parts are compatible together.

5) Buy good RAM, theres lots of reputable names out there but they all make different performance RAMs. If you have bad RAM it will only annoy you when some program crashes and you have no idea why. Bad ram will do that. Corsair and Crucial - Favorites among the over clocking community, and Kingston are good names. LOWER RAM TIMINGS ARE BETTER! But make sure your motherboard will support it.

6) I recommend SEAGATE harddrives because they have a 5 year warranty. 5 years is long enough for a harddrive. If it fails in 5 yrs, you call up seagate and tell them and they send you a new one.

7) KEEP ALL YOUR RECIEPTS in the motherboard box. In fact just place all the default software and extra pieces or screws in the motherboard box. That way all your manuals and stuff are in one place. If something breaks, you know where the reciept is and how to contact the manufacturer. (of course this implies that you keep the motherboard box somewhere safe)

8) GROUND YOURSELF during hardware installation. You don't want to short out all that new hardware! ALSO follow installation instructions! Read them carefully, this will also save you LOTS of headache! And keep you from damaging your new parts.


Do a little research and it'll take you a long way. You get the machine you want for the performance you want at the price you want. Its a little difficult in the beginning but you'll be happy in the end. Be patient and double, triple check everything.

Let me know if you have questions.

 

[Hypnos]

Hey Inno...

Just send Rock 2 Grand and tell him to build you something nice.

 

[spliT]

My computer was built by a local shop and I love it. If I run into a problem and can't fix it I take it there and it's back that afternoon. I also know a very good site with cheap prices that I lost once I remember the name of it. I was a ltitle shady on the build-your-own route by now I really like it.

 

[Puppet]

It's nice to see that we have such a diverse pool of talent in the forums. Everything from computers to poetry. Good advice Rock. I'm coming to talk to you on my next upgrade.

 

[rocklee]

It's nice to see that we have such a diverse pool of talent in the forums. Everything from computers to poetry. Good advice Rock. I'm coming to talk to you on my next upgrade.

No biggy Puppet! Just let me know what you have and somewhere online there is a computer part for you =) I just built my uncle a small form factor computer (its about as big as 2 OLD playstation2s stacked on top of each other). He wanted a computer he could watch TV on and also do simple internet surfing and that won't take up too much space. Its fun to do but it does take alot of time. It took about 7 hours to put together the computer and install all the necessary software on it (windows, windows update, MSoffice, Nero, etc...) But its rewarding at the end when you see the computer up and running =)

 

[Crisis]

Hey IM me at "PuNx HeatoNJr" or "Shinbo VT" and I can go indepth on individual parts. I can do for you what I do for some distance customers of mine which is get your budget and some other key information from you and then build you a few systems via a parts list. The parts list also includes prices per part, final shipping costs, and the reseller the parts are comming from (although 75-80% of parts I order come from NewEgg).

If you don't know how to build a system I can also provide you with instruction or I can build the system and ship it to you. I posted waaaaay back on PuNx that I would gladly help anyone here free of charge with IT work.

Lastyl, I can also get you the system you want from different vendors so if you want hardcore warranty status on the system you can get it though them.

 

[Intro]

Hypnos, you should get in on this!

:twisted:

 

[Hypnos]

Gotta have money to build a computer.

 

[Crisis]

Here is a current standing dream machine for me....

CPU: AMD FX-57 Processor

Motherboard: ABIT Fatal1ty AN8

RAM: Corsair XMS 2GB DDR400

Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro or the 2 ZS

Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 (what I have)

Monitor: Dual ViewSonic VX924 5ms response time LCD

Video Card: BFG GeForce 7800 GTX

Case: Koolance PC3-724BK, Black with a Prometeia Mach II GT mod.
(Note: the Koolance would be just for VideCard, North Bridge, and HD’s)

Keyboard and Mouse: This is just your own pref.

Mouse-pad: Steel Pad 4S

Hard-Drives:
-RAID-0 Western Dig Raptor 36.7 SATA for Apps
-2 to 4 Hitachi Deskstar 7k250 250GB.

Optical Drives: Two Dual-Layer DVD-/+RW Drives. (I have a good bit of DVD ISO's, so being able to burn two at once is very handy)

OS: XP Pro 64Bit Edition

And last but not least a TV Tuner card, either the HDTV card from ATi or a card using ATis 550 Pro chip (PCI).

 

[rocklee]

Yea Heaton's custom dream rig is nice.... If you want the best for 4k, thats what I'd get too!

Gimme gimme gimmeeeeee

 

[Crisis]

Since you guys don't read long posts I figured I'd make another post for this little explanation of some things in my rig parts.

Why not SLI?
Because SLI basically sucks. You're adding twice the cost more than twice the heat, more that twice the noise (if you have fan cooling) for no where near twice the performance. It's not needed and it has a lot of issues, too immature at this point for me to want to deal with that in a system.

Speakers:
Analog is the best audio quality you can get. So you want speakers with the best analog rating and that would be the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra’s 115dBa of THX certified audio quality (that’s not the loudest they go, just the loudest THX). I have these speakers….I have never cranked them all the way because I am actually afraid of breaking shit…they have knocked pictures off walls and things off of tables.

Why no dual processor?
Because for a gaming rig it’s not needed. You will almost never reap the rewards of dual-proc unless you are running a server, with an actual server OS.

Why not Intel?
Cause Intel sucks and the EE’s blow.

WTF is Prometeia and Koolance?
Koolance makes pre-modified water cooled cases. I have had friends with them and used a couple on builds. I ran my own Innovatek custom water cooling before, but moding your case in preparation for it is such a hassle, getting a pre-modded Koolance is really nice and easy and reliable. Prometeia is a vapor condensation cooler. Think hooking up your refrigerator's condenser to cool just your CPU, we’re talking below 0 degrees Celsius.

Hard Drives:
-Why not SCSI or the 76GB Raptor drives?
I only store some applications and the OS on the C drive, so I don’t need a lot of space there. SCIS is loud as hell, hot as hell, and has a shitty life span.
-Why not all 400GB? Because one, that’s HUGE access times on the drive, lowering the drive to 250GB gives you much better performance. Also, you have 400 gigs in one spot…that drive dies….you see why I have 5 HDs in my system as is.