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MageofFire
Griller of Molerats
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Posts: 1594
Location: Monastery of Innos |
| Building a PC. Any suggestions? |
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My dad has agreed to help me build a PC. We're not looking at anything that will rival Alienware, but will be CONSIDERABLY better than our old PIII 933 with 384mb RAM and a GeForce 2 MX/MX400 with 32mb of RAM. The price range should be somewhere between 800 and 1500 dollars for the entire system. Right now we're still shopping around for components, but if you find a good deal somewhere, please tell me. Any help here will be appreciated! 
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Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:43 pm |
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Northchild
Fearless Paladin
Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 232
Location: New York, USA |
The first thing that you need is a supplier with a great reputation and return policy. I suggest looking at www.newegg.com. The site www.resellerratings.com has information about various online merchants that you will need for comparison shopping. Just because a merchant offers a part for less than others doesn't mean that this part will end up costing you less over the long run.
What are you using the PC for primarily?
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 3:10 am |
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Jung
Most Exalted Highlord
Joined: 19 Jun 2002
Posts: 411
Location: Texas |
I've had good luck with http://www.zipzoomfly.com (formerly googlegear), but I suggest buying locally if possible. There is nothing more disapointing that having to wait a couple of weeks to exchange a part.
You can buy a pretty awesome system with $1500!
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"You two are a regular ol' Three Musketeers." |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 3:31 am |
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Joeman
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 03 Jan 2004
Posts: 254
Location: USA |
I am not a fan of Intel. I always like AMD. You used to be able to get a cheaper system if you build your own. I don't think it's the case anymore. Right now you can totally customize your PC from any vendor, and the cost will be about the same. Plus you get warranty and technical support if something goes wrong.
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Arguing over the internet is like competing in special olympics. Even if you win, you are still retarded. |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 3:59 am |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
First thing you should say is if your system should come with monitor or if you mean just "PC". |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 5:40 am |
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mkreku
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 112
Location: Uppsala, Sweden |
Depending on how much you have to spend, I'd say AMD Athlon XP 2500+ is a good processor choice, mainly because it is extremely cheap and very overclockable. If you have lots of cash I'd personally go for a AMD FX 3200+ with nforce 3 motherboard.. (LOTS of money)
But ok, best three buys right now:
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ processor
1 Gb 400Mhz TwinMOS Twister DDR (reliable, cheap memories with lots of overclocking potential)
Any brand ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 Mb (very fast card that's really dropping in price, try Sapphire or Powercolor)
I wouldn't buy less than 160 Gb hd. There are even som really cheap 250 Gb drives out there now.
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Swedes visit NordicGamers for the latest game reviews in swedish! |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 9:33 am |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
quote:
Originally posted by mkreku
I wouldn't buy less than 160 Gb hd. There are even som really cheap 250 Gb drives out there now.
Ups, who needs 250 Gb disk at home? I can not imagine how to use it. Well probably someone... :]. |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:03 am |
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Lintra
Elf Friend
Joined: 23 Apr 2002
Posts: 9448
Location: Bermuda, the triangle place with SANDY BEACHES |
quote:
Originally posted by Danicek
quote:
Originally posted by mkreku
I wouldn't buy less than 160 Gb hd. There are even som really cheap 250 Gb drives out there now.
Ups, who needs 250 Gb disk at home? I can not imagine how to use it. Well probably someone... :].
@Dani - I recall thinking the same thing about a 1 gig hard drive not too long ago *grin*
I think it is one of those Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy math things ... had Mr Adams know of PCs at the time he wrote them he would've had a branch of math to cover the phenomina ... no matter how big the hard drive, with in 2 to 3 years it is filled to capacity and groaning under the load ... similar to restaurant math!
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:51 pm |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
| Re: Building a PC. Any suggestions? |
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quote:
Originally posted by MageofFire
My dad has agreed to help me build a PC. We're not looking at anything that will rival Alienware, but will be CONSIDERABLY better than our old PIII 933 with 384mb RAM and a GeForce 2 MX/MX400 with 32mb of RAM. The price range should be somewhere between 800 and 1500 dollars for the entire system. Right now we're still shopping around for components, but if you find a good deal somewhere, please tell me. Any help here will be appreciated!
First of all you should carefully gather the necessary infos, to make sure you get the best bang for your buck.
You should wait for another month because thereīs usually a price drop in late February.
Itīs probably best to shout for a system slightly above average because low end PC are always standing on the brakes somewhere.
The two things you shouldnīt save money on are 1.RAM and 2. power supply. In both cases buy brand products, not noname.
Itīs also clear that you buy 2*512 MB of the fastest in-spec memory for your platform.
The sound card depends on your speakers. If you have good speakers a SB Audigy might be an idea. If your speakers suck you can save this money and go for onboard sound because you wonīt hear the difference.
The CPU choice is not that important. Check price lists, use your pocket calculator and choose the CPU above 2.5 GHz which has the best price/performance ratio.
Graphics card: very important. I heard Radeon 9800 Pro can be bought for 239$. I would start considerations here.
HDD: doesnīt really matter. Buy as big and fast as you like.
DVD burner: Yes. A second DVD drive is nice to have but you can save money here if you want.
Noise: some fans are extremely noisy. Choose carefully and your ears will thank you. This doesnīt necessarily mean silent coolers are more expensive.
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 1:13 pm |
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XeroX
The MasterCopy
Joined: 13 Dec 2001
Posts: 7125
Location: The Netherlands |
A mianboard with SATA would be very good. SATA works a lott faster then IDE
On those mainboards you can store (standard) 4 * SATA and 4 * IDE, the old ones could only have 4* IDE so you can conntect more cd/dvd players and harddisks.
The harddisk on SATA work faster and are at the same pricerange as the IDE harddisks.The IDE harddisks work under ATA-133, the S-ATA harddisk under S-ATA-150.
I think right now the Pentiums are faster then the Athlons.
If you need a screen and want a TFT think about Iiyama, if seen a lott of screen beside eachother in a store and all the Iiyama jumped out of how clear the screen is. A firend got a 17 inch TFT from Iiyama an it's a beauty and i got a normal 19 inch Iiyama. But those are expansive a 17inch TFT here is jut below ?500.
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 1:55 pm |
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Sir Markus
Counselor of the King
Joined: 11 Jan 2002
Posts: 369
Location: Columbus, Ohio USA |
Here are some of my favorite websites for hardware info. FWIW I think the AMD chips give better value for the money.
This website gives up to date street prices for various computer components:
http://69.20.62.194/default.htm
This is mainly a review site but also has an extremely active forum for asking questions about hardware:
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/
Good luck. building your own PC is not that difficult and is definitely the way to go especially for gamers |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:46 pm |
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Jung
Most Exalted Highlord
Joined: 19 Jun 2002
Posts: 411
Location: Texas |
quote:
Originally posted by XeroX
A mianboard with SATA would be very good. SATA works a lott faster then IDE
On those mainboards you can store (standard) 4 * SATA and 4 * IDE, the old ones could only have 4* IDE so you can conntect more cd/dvd players and harddisks.
The harddisk on SATA work faster and are at the same pricerange as the IDE harddisks.The IDE harddisks work under ATA-133, the S-ATA harddisk under S-ATA-150.
SATA has advantages, but being faster isn't one of them. At least until drives get fast ernough to take advantage of the faster interface.
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"You two are a regular ol' Three Musketeers."
Last edited by Jung on Tue Jan 20, 2004 6:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 3:23 pm |
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mkreku
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 112
Location: Uppsala, Sweden |
SATA is indeed a faster interface between the computer and the hd, 150Mb/s theoretical top speed, where the IDE could only reach the theoretical max of 133Mb/s. In reality the differences between the two isn't noticeable, but since they're the same price and all new motherboards support SATA, I'd still recommend you to buy them.. Just to be cool.
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Swedes visit NordicGamers for the latest game reviews in swedish! |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 6:08 pm |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
6 months ago many onboard serial ATA controllers made trouble. Are these problems fixed?
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Webmaster GothicDot |
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Tue Jan 20, 2004 7:17 pm |
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MageofFire
Griller of Molerats
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Posts: 1594
Location: Monastery of Innos |
quote:
Originally posted by Danicek
First thing you should say is if your system should come with monitor or if you mean just "PC".
I would take advice on buying moniters, speakers, and other miscillaneous stuff as well as PC components. Thanks for all the advice folks! 
_________________
OMG! WTF?! MONKEYS!!!!
=Member of numerous usergroups=
=Active in none of them=
Mediocreties, I absolve you! |
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Wed Jan 21, 2004 12:41 am |
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