Computers - Gurus & Smart Peoples Enter Here!

[Kirynos]

Alright, I've buckled under the pressure, and I'm going to buy a new comp.

I'd like to purchase something that I can custom build from a reputable source...not like my last computer that I rebuilt after my friend built incorrectly. I'd also like it to be a good price, somewhere in the $1000 - $1500 range. This thing needs to run Office XP and WoW, that's about it.

Any Ideas? Should I just buy something from Best Buy and rip out the parts I don't need?

This is somewhat time-sensitive, because the sooner I get it, the sooner I can get back to leveling in WoW and eventually raiding.

thanks for any help you may provide.

HardPuppet: The Next Generation

Lets see if a raging heterosexual and a geeked out computer can live together without destroying the world. It's time to stop being retarded and get real

Brought to you by Newegg:

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor ($219.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533)
MSI Geforce 7800GT NX7800GT-VT2D256E Lite Video Card ($365.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127189)
MSI K8N Neo4/SLI ATX AMD Motherboard ($128.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130492)
Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($84.50) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144415)
GeIL Value 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory ($201.77) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144322)


Case: KINGWIN MTX425SW Silver/Gray Computer Case ($60.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811170020)
Thermaltake Silent Purepower W0014RU 480W Power Supply - Retail ($59.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153007)

SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1 ($7.99) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821103203)
---------------------------
Just over 1100 bucks with shipping!

:confuse:

[Elkwood]

At that price range u can get a kick ass computer. I personally either mail order it or buy the parts locally.

I go with amd athlon 64 on a 939 socket MB. I personally like msi. Use to run asus alot but had problems with some of the boads going tits up on me.

At this time and date i get the most memory u can. Min. of 1 gig and i think 2 gig is not overly much. 939 is dual channel board so matched sets are the win for it.

I still like nvida cards over ati.

If u are wanting to go with a pre built system i check around your local area for a small computer builders and just buy that way.

[Kirynos]

Elk, you and I must have been separated at birth.

I don't think anyone builds computers in my area... I don't know, I'm sure there's some dayton stores that might.

:confuse:

[Eomer]

I'm not clear on what you want to do here. Do you want to build the computer from parts purchased online? Or are you simply looking to buy a clone from a local store? Or do you want a brand name computer?

[Kirynos]

Well, I'm looking for the best deal. The most bang for my buck, so to speak. I'd rather "not" build it myself. I'd rather have some company build it for me, at least they have a better chance of making it all work out right. No, I've had enough experience with brand name computers (can you say IBM Aptiva) to not like that road, but if one can customize to the exact parts I want, then even that's a possibility.

If you know a builder that's reputable, or parts that just rock on wow (gotta get the nvidia radeon ultra plasma mega xx250++ diamond mega zord XP video card)... share with me your knowledge.

Cuz knowing is half the battle. The other half is beating people with a big stick.

:confuse:

[Mutilate]

Xenias

athlon 64 939
nvidia fx 6400 128mb
2gig ram
shuttle XPC box (350w PS)
some other stuff

$1,100

have to look up the exact parts when i get home its 8am on sat and at school so dont know off top wahts in there. jsut built hers and if you want more info can post later

[Kirynos]

More infoz!

Thanks for the help everyone! I think I'm going to get most stuff from newegg, or something, because I trust them -- regardless of the price. It just means I'll have to build it myself :p

:confuse:

[Kirynos]

Can anyone explain what Refurbished means as far as video cards?

newegg has some refurbished GTX's that are at a pretty good price, considering everything MSI they offer is already OEM.

:confuse:

[Tarissa]

it means they were returned and then are being resold "fixed" and it also means you should never buy them ever!

[Fairplay]

if you just wanna run wow nicely...
all you need really is

p4 2.5+ or equivalent
1gig of ddr ram wahtever brand
ati radeon x850 XT or around that same quality
and of course a motherboard that will let you run all this at full capacity

[Eomer]

nvidia fx 6400 128mb

wtf video card is that? There's no such thing!

As far as refurbished parts go, as long as they have the same warranty as a regular box, sometimes they're a pretty good deal. Just make sure the money you save is at least worth the possibility of having to RMA it.

Best deal IMO is generally going to be building a computer yourself. But since you're not interested in that, the next best bet would be a local cloan maker where you can customize what they put into it.

[Kirynos]

Alright some questions --

MotherBoards with RAID? What is that? That for 2 Harddrives or something?

Onboard Sound / LAN card -- these ok, or too much drain on the cpu?

Onboard nVidia nForce4 is a gfx card, right? If I put in a gfx card, it should supercede it, right?

Look at these 2 motherboards... why is one $50 bucks more?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130492
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130487

Thanks for your help!

I think I'm going to build it myself, because other people suck. And I can trust the parts from newegg (hell, i don't have any other place to check other than pricewatch)

[Kirynos]

What size power supply should I purchase? 350W is ok? Screw that, i found some Cases that fit me.


Another question -- Anyone know much about ENET (http://www.enetshoponline.com/bfcochddrpc4.html) for RAM? Got their price from Pricewatch, and I'm not sure if the ram is any good, but they are 4Star company and BBB certified...

:confuse:

[Kirynos]

On a different note -- should I buy a copy of Windows XP for this computer, or use my old? I can't even use that computer anymore so...

:confuse:

[Kirynos]

E-D-I-T : Please Read and Respond

Please Please Please make comments and give advice on the parts. If you know where you might get it cheaper, let me know as well. I kinda went with Brand Loyalty, but I am willing to try anything as long as you have had no problems with your suggested brands.

Newegg Prices:

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor ($219.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533)
MSI Geforce 7800GT NX7800GT-VT2D256E Lite Video Card ($365.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127189)
MSI K8N Neo4/SLI ATX AMD Motherboard ($128.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130492)
Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($84.50) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144415)
GeIL Value 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory ($201.77) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144322)

Case 1 ASPIRE X-CRUISE -BK Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window ($65.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144151)
Case 2 KINGWIN MTX425SW Silver/Gray Computer Case ($60.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811170020)
Case 3 A-Top XBlade AT859A-SV Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window ($62.50)-Multiple Colors- (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811105114)

SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1 ($7.99) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821103203)
---------------------------
~1100 bucks

:confuse:

[Tarissa]

You want integrated Ethernet, no intergrated video card, NO RAID (raid sux for consumers), 1 gig of memory, for a new computer I'd try to get 2 for the future

edit: its worth noting that most motherboards have an optional raid controller on them, but don't buy or spend more for a mb that has raid vs. one that doesn't.

oh, you also want integrated sound

[Andaas]

MotherBoards with RAID? What is that? That for 2 Harddrives or something?

RAID is for using multiple hard drives as a single logical drive.


Onboard Sound / LAN card -- these ok, or too much drain on the cpu?

I've found most onboard sound works fine, although if you plan on using Teamspeak/Ventrillo while gaming you may run in to some sound performance issues.


Onboard nVidia nForce4 is a gfx card, right? If I put in a gfx card, it should supercede it, right?

Nforce is Nvidia's motherboard chipset, and is not a video/graphics card chipset. Both of the motherboards you list will require a video card to operate.


Look at these 2 motherboards... why is one $50 bucks more?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130492
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130487

The more expensive motherboard has SATA II and some additional LAN and other features that I don't even know what they are.

[Kirynos]

Ok, new questions... does that WD hard drive work on the mb I want to buy? it says SATA 3.0gb... but not SATA II or whatever.

:confuse:

[Kirynos]

The cases each have good parts, but I think the Kingwin will win out.

:confuse:

[Tarissa]

Ok, new questions... does that WD hard drive work on the mb I want to buy? it says SATA 3.0gb... but not SATA II or whatever.

:confuse:

don't worry about sata 1 or sata 2. one is just faster, but they're all backward compatible.

it's important to note that by 'faster' i mean theoretically faster. like raid, the general consumer isn't going to notice if his drive is sata of ultra ata.

the only reason i want a sata system myself is for those nice tiny cables vs. the huge ugly ribbon cables

[Fenudwin]

As far as getting the lowest price on any of this, my method is to always 1st check www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com) to see who has something chepest, then check www.resellerratings.com (http://www.resellerratings.com) to see if they have a good reputation. Fen/Tiffan

[Tarissa]

My general rule for buying a CPU is - see what the best cpu is, and go back 4. That'll be the best bang for the buck

[Andriana Duskrose]

I find AnandTech's buyers guides pretty useful. Take a look...

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2535&p=2

[Thuggo]

Commodore 64's FTW.

You can probably play the original Bard's Quest.

[Andriana Duskrose]

Commodore 64's FTW.

You can probably play the original Bard's Quest.

Jump Man too.

[Syana]

the only reason i want a sata system myself is for those nice tiny cables vs. the huge ugly ribbon cables


Yes, tarislut likes tiny cables. You saw it here!

[Kirynos]

Still more questions -- I think I'm going to buy my stuff at Newegg still, because the prices are pretty adequate...

1a) it looks like the Case PS is gonna be 450W -- should I buy a separate one, or is the supplied PS going to suit my needs (ie, is that enough Wattage)?
1b) what about more fans -- stock heatsink + fan or go with something thermaltake (I already have some arctic silver to apply the heatsink with)

2) Windows XP -- my current CD is from my college, not a retail version, but a legit one. It has it's issues though, so I wonder if I should just get a new copy?

3)Can you tell me what SATA cables look like, and are there some in the motherboard (they have a pic with all the parts)

4) Diagnosing a problem -- I don't know if my DVD-RW drive is broken or not, seeing as my computer "sees" the drive, and I can open the drive, but any DVD's that go in cannot be viewed (it keeps 'seeking' on the disk). At first, it would say there's some IO error, but now the computer breaks down all the time, I don't know why yet. The CD-RW drive works fine, still. I'd like to just rip out the DVD-RW and put in my new comp, but would anyone comment on the possibility (or identification) of a broken Drive?

5)Once i do buy this badboy, will anyone help me OC it? :D

:confuse:

[Eomer]

1a) I'd imagine that 450W would be sufficient if 1) it's quality and 2) you don't have many hopes for overclocking. Stable, clean power is a must if you want to OC. I am too lazy to look into what case you're buying, but my suggestion would be to get a quality 520W or higher PSU, and a case that comes without one.

My computer consists of an A64 3500+, 1gb of OCZ VX memory (takes stupidly high voltages), 4 250gb SATA HD's, 1 200GB SATA HD, a Hauppauge Tuner, Blue Gears sound card, Geforce 6600GT, DVD-RW, and about 7 fans. My OCZ Modstream (Powerstream? I forget) 520W PSU seems more than up to the task of handling all that, and I've got a fair shitload of stuff crammed into that case.

1b) Again, depends what you want to do in terms of OCing. My Athlon 64 3500+ is quite happy running at 2420mhz on stock cooling, but it certainly could be cooler (run at load at about 55C). The stock HSF that comes with A64's is decent enough, you can always get a new HSF later if you get the OC bug really bad.

2) I don't see why you'd need to if it's a legit version that will let you get all the latest updates and service packs.

3) They're pretty small, thin cables. Maybe 5/8" wide and 1/16" thick. Generally come in red, I think. Your motherboard will come with at least a couple.

4) Could be a broken drive, could be a number of other things. Try it on the new comp and see if it still acts goofy. If it does, then you know it's the drive (which probably isn't worth fixing).

5) I can offer advice, but first I'd recommend you read through OCing guides available at Anandtech.com and on the Hardocp Forums. They'll give you a lot of info you'll find handy to know. Perhaps too much info, really. Unless you're going for the absolute max overclock, it's generally pretty simple to bump things by 5 or 10% with little fuss.

[Kirynos]

Ok thanks Eomer & everybody... this is very enlightening. I think I'll go with what I have now, and once I put it all together, see if OC'ing is needed.

[travoid]

Thats pretty close to what I'm running now and it works great. I only have 1 gb of ram and a geforce 6200 128mb video card and I can crank up the graffics settings and not get any noticeable slowdown.
A 450watt power supply should be fine, thats what I have. I talked to an asus customer service rep who recommended I have at least 430W with the mb proc combo i had, so don't go with the smaller one. Your video card might draw a little bit more power than mine however. I don't have any extra fans, the one on the powersupply, processor, motherboard, videocard, and case seem to keep it pretty cool. If your worried about it maybe just get a case with good ventiallation and a fan on the side.
If your XP CD will install windows theres no reason to buy another one, just make sure you download service pack 2 as soon as you get online.
Just avoid the mistakes I made when I was building my comp this summer.
1. Don't let your coworker convince you that you needed to buy registered ram. You don't, and your mb probably won't support it. (Incidently if anybody uses reg ram, I have a 512 stick of transcend ram that i have no use for and can't return to newegg. I'll hook you up cheap!)
2. Make sure when your putting in the motherboard you don't put any screws in holes that don't have posts behind them. I did that and almost fried my mb.
If you don't want to build it yourself, you can probably pay a local computer store to put it together for you. That what i finally ended up doing when i couldn't figure out what the hell i was doing wrong.

[Maegwin]

You want integrated Ethernet, no intergrated video card, NO RAID (raid sux for consumers), 1 gig of memory, for a new computer I'd try to get 2 for the future

edit: its worth noting that most motherboards have an optional raid controller on them, but don't buy or spend more for a mb that has raid vs. one that doesn't.

oh, you also want integrated sound

Until your onboard sound dies because you tried to update your motherboard bios and fail miserably. Then you have to go buy a sound card anyways.

Not speaking from experience or anything...

[Tarissa]

Wouldn't a bad bios mean a new motherboard anyway!?

[Kirynos]

Thanks everyone for the comments :)

:confuse:

[Kirynos]

I went ahead and picked up Thermaltake Silent Purepower W0014RU 480W Power Supply - Retail ($59.00) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153007) for safety's sake. Funny, the PS is in no way "silent"...

:confuse: