You definitely need to focus on graphics. Do not skimp on the graphics card! I would think about this:
AOPEN Model# H700A Case w/350W POWER SUPPLY ($85)
AMD Athlon 2500+ Barton ($180)
Thermaltake VOLCANO 7 Variable Fan Speed Control. ($15)
MSI K7N2G-ILSR Motherboard w/ nVidia Soundstorm APU ($130)
2 X 256 (512 Megs)CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 256MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 With Heat Spreader OEM (x2 @ $81 each) ($162)
ATI Radeon 9700 PRO ($299) (You might have to hunt for this deal, but they are out there. Try your local retailer. Best Buy has them for $299.)
WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE ($102)
MITSUMI D359M3 FDD 1.44MB 3.5INCH - OEM ($8)
Lite On 48x24x48 CDRW Model LTR-4824S ($47)
LITE-ON XJ-HD166S 16X DVD ROM Drive ($35)
Monitor Viewsonic 19" CRT E90f+SB PerfectFlat Monitor($245)
Total Price: $1306 + tax and shipping.
This system features a fast processor that runs on a 166 mhz FSB, which is good. It has the best 3D graphics card. The motherboard has the very best on-board sound. The RAM is fast. The hard-drive is fast and has 80 Gigs of storage. You could go to a 60-gig hard drive or a non-"Special Edition" 80 gig, and save some money. The case is average and the 350 Watt power supply is sufficient. I wouldn't go any cheaper on the case.
You would have a fast CD-Burner and DVD player. You could take off one or the other and save some money on the initial buy. They both will function fine as a regular CD-ROM drive.
Now, you could choose a different monitor and save some money. I would highly recommend you scout some monitors and look at them. I like the perfectly flat monitors, others don't. A 19" monitor will be a significant upgrade for you, and they are cheap.
You could go with cheaper RAM, and maybe save $40. You would lose 3-5% performance. You could go to an Athlon 2400+ and save $47. This will cost you another 7-10% performance and some overclocking headroom (if you're into that sort of thing.) =)
Now, this system is missing one thing: Speakers. Speakers range anywhere from $29 to $299, depending on whether you want sub-woofer, surround sound, 3D Sound, etc. That's entirely up to you, though I would strongly recommend you buy powered speakers (speakers with their own amp.) The Soundstorm APU is great, but it needs to be amplified to be clear. Anticipate spending at least $50 if you want some decent speakers.
Please do not go cheaper on the graphics card. The 9700 PRO will play great for Galaxies, which features some of the newest graphics engineering on the market. This system will play great, and you will really appreciate the 19" monitor. You could save $50-$60 going to a 17" monitor, and upgrade your processor to a 2600+ 333FSB Thoroughbred B core and still be in your price range. You could keep using your old monitor, and get a nice set of speakers and an Athlon 2700+. Of course, a new monitor will survive through multiple upgrades, whereas the processor will be obsolete in eighteen months no matter what you buy. (You could also buy an Athlon 1700+, overclock it to 2600+ speeds, buy everything else I listed AND a nice set of speakers. You would want to buy a better fan/heatsink than the one I listed, and spend some time reading in the overclocking forum to make sure you don't blow anything up.)
Anyway, if I was a retailer, I would call this a "satisfaction guaranteed" system for the things you said you wanted to do. In fact, this system would rock on everything that's out there, and probably everything that's coming in the near-future. I have always believed you should spend as much as you can whenever you upgrade, and your system will be "future-proof" a lot longer (Like, 3 months longer hehe).
<-----Insert witty sig line here.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Twitch on 03/08/03 03:48 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram