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

TylerHHS · Post by **TylerHHS** » Tue May 31, 2005 6:40 am

Riot-Talk to me in journalism some time and I'll let you know what to get.

I run an ATI 9600 128 MB and it works great with Doom 3.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:34 pm

My cousin is one of the lead programmers at nVidia, too bad he can't me the latest thing for free lol.....

I'd like to spend in the range of $600-900 or so.

I'm gonna go to a computer shop today and get a price estimate. Ideally I want 3.2 ghz or AMD 64 I guess, 1gb RAM (I don't really understand the whole get dual 512 stuff), and a GeForce 5600+. I'll also be getting a new flat screen monitor rather than this 19" behemoth I use now. This thing nearly broke my arms trying to carry it to and from LAN parties.

seveneleven · Post by **seveneleven** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:47 pm

Try this site www.jscustompcs.com i got a comp thats slightly outta your spending...but hey

N-Spire 400 Watt ATX P4 Ready Power Supply +$38.95
Nemesis Black Midtower Gamer's Case w/ 400 Watt Power Supply & Front USB 2.0 +$99.95
Western Digital 120 GB 7200 RPM IDE Hard Drive w/ 8mb Cache +$105.00
Extra Hard Drive - Not Selected
SATA Hard Drive - Not Selected
SATA Hard Drive - Not Selected
1024mb (1GB) PC3200 DDR-400 SDRAM Memory Lifetime Warranty +$129.95
Extra DDR Memory - Not Selected
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 7.1 24 Bit Sound Card +$39.95
Logitech Optical PS2/USB Wheel Mouse +$15.95
Modem - Not Selected
Netword Card - Not Selected
CD Rom - Not Selected
Asus Black 52x32x52 IDE CDRW Drive Retail Boxed w/ Nero 6 +$37.95
DVD - Not Selected
DVDRW - Not Selected
128mb DDR GeForce 6200 LE AGP 8x graphics card w/ TV out +$145.00
Optional 2nd Video - Not Selected
Floppy - Not Selected
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition OEM w/ SP2 +$115.00
Symantec Norton Antivirus 2005 OEM Security Suite w/ 1 year warranty +$39.95
SpyBuster Spyware Removal Utility +$39.95
Creative Silver/Black 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker Set, Retail Boxed +$75.00
AOpen USB 104 key keyboard +$14.95
This is your Custom Designed AMD 64 Gaming Journey System™
Gigabyte K8NS Ultra 939 Athlon 64 nForce3 Ultra ATX Mainboard w/ Sou, S-ATA, Gb Lan +$159.00
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (64bit Socket 939) CPU w/ 3 Year Warranty +$245.00

Ryan Dognaux · Post by **Ryan Dognaux** » Tue May 31, 2005 4:33 pm

Tell me what you guys think -

*BASE_PRICE: [+769]
*CASE: HOT NEW! Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display [-15] (Black Case w/Blue Face)
# CPU: (939-pin) AMD™ ATHLON™64 3200+ CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology [+46]
# CD: COMBO DRIVE (16X DVD-ROM & 52x32x52 CD-RW)(BLUE COLOR)
# FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 6in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer
# FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS [+9]
# FLOPPY: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE (BLUE COLOR)
# HDD: 160GB 7200 RPM ATA 100 HARD DRIVE
# IEEE_CARD: IEEE 1394 CARD AND DRIVER
# KEYBOARD: Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard (BLACK COLOR)
# MOUSE: Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse (BLACK COLOR)
# MOTHERBOARD: (939pin Sckt)MSI RS480M2IL ATI Radeon Xpress200 Chipset SATA PCIE w/Video,LAN,USB2.0,EEE-1394,&Audio
# MEMORY: 1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR
# MONITOR: FujiPlus FP568 15" TFT LCD Monitor
# NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
# OS: NONE - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY
# POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY PLUS ONE-YEAR ONSITE SERVICE
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
# SPEAKERS: Logitech S100 2.0 Stereo Speaker Set (BLACK COLOR)
# USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports
# VIDEO: ATI RADEON X600 XT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD

All that and a bag of chips for $1,037.

Merk · Post by **Merk** » Tue May 31, 2005 5:34 pm

I will be more than happy to build you your new machine at no charge at all. I built my own gaming computer with parts ordered off of newegg.com and it hasn't had a problem at all if that tells you anything of my ability to safely build a computer. Hell, it's really not that hard at all, I can teach you yourself how to do it.

Just talk to me on AIM if you need any help from me.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Tue May 31, 2005 5:45 pm

Merk wrote:I will be more than happy to build you your new machine at no charge at all. I built my own gaming computer with parts ordered off of newegg.com and it hasn't had a problem at all if that tells you anything of my ability to safely build a computer. Hell, it's really not that hard at all, I can teach you yourself how to do it.

Just talk to me on AIM if you need any help from me.

IU PROJECT?!?!?!

We'll see. Nathan is looking to get one too, maybe we'll have twin computers =P I'm going to a shop today to see what's up.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Tue May 31, 2005 7:41 pm

At the PC Shoppe, I got this estimate:

$800-850 for a AMD 754 pin 64 Bit 2800, Nvidia 5900 card, and 754 pin motherboard.

$1050-1100 for a AMD 64 3500+ 939 pin, 6600 card, 939 pin motherboard.

And then I tried that website again and came up with this:

CASE : X-BLADE II Mid-Tower 450W Watt w/ Side-Panel Window (BLACK COLOR)
CPU : (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 3500+ CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology
MOTHERBOARD : (939-pin Socket) GigaByte GA-K8NSC-939 nForce3 Ultra Chipset AGP8X w/LAN,USB2,
MEMORY : 512 MB PC3200 400MHz DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value RAM)
HARD DRIVE : 80GB 7200 RPM ATA 100 HARD DRIVE
Hard Drive 2 : NONE
VIDEO CARD : NVIDIA Geforce 6200 256MB 8x AGP w/ TVO, & DVI
Optical Drive : NONE
Optical Drive 2 : CD-RW 52X32X52 (BEIGE COLOR)
MONITOR & LCD : NONE
SOUND : ESS 3D WAVETABLE SOUND PCI
Price: $822.00

Looks like pretty much the same stuff as the 2nd computer estimate but for 200-300 less. Verdict?

Potter · Post by **Potter** » Tue May 31, 2005 7:48 pm

Riot wrote:Verdict?

do it yourself = cheaper.

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Tue May 31, 2005 8:25 pm

Potter wrote:
Riot wrote:Verdict?
do it yourself = cheaper.

Yeah, but I'd rather spend 50 dollars more and save hassle and frustration.

djfooboo · Post by **djfooboo** » Tue May 31, 2005 11:17 pm

If you are running MMORPG's I would definately go with 2 Gig RAM IMO.

Spazz · Post by **Spazz** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:17 am

djfooboo wrote:If you are running MMORPG's I would definately go with 2 Gig RAM IMO.

At -least-. Some of the stuff I've been beta testing has been EATING my old and decaying 512 POS RAM.

Ryan Dognaux · Post by **Ryan Dognaux** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:29 am

Riot wrote:Looks like pretty much the same stuff as the 2nd computer estimate but for 200-300 less. Verdict?

Verdict - The internet is awesome.

I'll probably be placing my order within the next week or two

And don't build your own system unless you're motivated to do so. It seems Potter is really motivated to do that... but for the rest of us, get it from the intraweb.

Green Tea · Post by **Green Tea** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:12 am

Ryan Dognaux wrote:
Riot wrote:Looks like pretty much the same stuff as the 2nd computer estimate but for 200-300 less. Verdict?
Verdict - The internet is awesome.

I'll probably be placing my order within the next week or two

And don't build your own system unless you're motivated to do so. It seems Potter is really motivated to do that... but for the rest of us, get it from the intraweb.

I somewhat disagree.. I think the building your own computer is a better option. Not only is it cheaper... it's also a learning experience (plus it's 100x easier than it used to be) pretty much you just have to plug things into wherever they fit. And then install windows. if you have a SATA drive, it's a little more difficult though. You'll need to do some advanced options in windows setup to install 3rd party drivers.... but I have faith in you!

Spazz · Post by **Spazz** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:29 am

Oh, check out TigerDirect. That's where I get most all of my computer stuff. Check out their overstock stuff if you've got some money to waste sometime :p

Riot · Post by **Riot** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 6:44 am

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...