New Computer. Need comments.

[Guest]

Well, for the last couple weeks I have been frantically reading web sites and searching through pricewatch.com's info trying to find the best bang for your buck computer stuff at the best price. I have come up with this list, although it is a little incomplete. I have almost everything figured out. Here it is..
New Computer List


Memory
256MB PC133 SDRAM. $65 at Neutronet.com. Part Number = 391455. Comes with 15-day warranty.

Case
http://www.a-pro.com/ Part Number = CS-909EXP/35FT $130

Motherboard
Asus A7V-133 $142 at allstarcomponents.com

CPU
AMD Athlon T-bird 1200MHz $268 at allstarcomponents.com, $265 at bzboys.com

Cooler/Fan
Swiftech MC370-0A - $65 at pcboost.com

Hard Drive
IBM DestStar GXP Series 7200RPM 45GB - $170 at ecmore.com

Sound Card
Sound Blaster® Live!™ Platinum 5.1 - $167 at beatprice.com

Graphics Card
Guillemot Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS - $277 at compuplus.com
Or ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 32MB DDR 4X AGP - $255 at newegg.com

DVD-Rom ======= Suggestions??????/

CD-R/Rom ======= I would get the HP if i decide i want it more than the dvd.

NIC
3 Com Fast Etherlink 3C905B-TX - $35 at axiontech.com

Floppy Drive ====== Whats the fastest/best/most reliable??

Monitor=====I want a 19 inch, but not toooooo expensive.





If you guys could give this a quick look over and tell me if you see anything that is stupid/incompatible let me know. Can I get the ATI AIW AND the prophet? Thanx

BTW, this is my first time building my own computer... I want performance even if it will be a little expensive. I honestly want to know if you think there is something completely wrong with this list, because I don't know any better. I also plan on overclocking this bad boy to 1400mHZ using the instructions on this site. Thanx again, and please let me know what you think.


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by SiiLT on 02/04/01 08:59 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

I think except the mobo u can get everything u'r getting cheaper...

 

[flavio321]

one of the most important thing about shopping online is the shipping and handling. if you buy all your stuff from many different places, you'll end up paying more. try to narrow it down to 2 or 3 places.

If you can't beat 'em kill 'em
athlon "SLOTA" thunderbird 700@1050mhz

 

[dhlucke]

There should almost be a new section for these kinds of posts.

First off, from my own experience, don't get a DVD drive. Why spend more for a drive that there is practically no software for. Besides RIVEN, I have yet to use it enough. After I got my DVD-Rom drive though I really saw the power of the video and went out and bought myself a full blown entertainment center. IMOP that's where the DVD should be.When my VCR broke I didn't replace it. The biggest problem for me was that my P2400 from Dell couldn't even handle The Matrix even with a decoder card.

Floppy drive - they are so cheap that it doesn't matter unless you want a 120mb floppy. Problem there is that 120MB isn't much, and that's why you should get a CD-burner. Go for HP. I've bought 3 hp cd-rw (8100,9110,9400?), and they're great. Took 1.5 years to get my mail-in rebate though.

motherboard-I have the a7v and I love it. For OC I suppose that's perfect. I didn't OC mine though.

sound-any reason you're paying so much for a sound card? I just bought a oem soundblaster live for 40 bucks or so. Who cares about all the extra software?

For 19" I love the KDS trinitron, but it's expensive. Nonetheless I give it high marks. I've bought 2 of them and they're great. $430 with shipping is about right.

I didn't look up the case you have there, but that seems extremely expensive. I hope that powersupply is awesome.

 

[IntelConvert]

It's one thing to try and get the best prices on those components, it's another to buy from reputable dealers. So rather than be swayed by price alone, I suggest you check out the dealers you are considering at www.resellerratings.com (I prefer dealers with a rating of 6 or better and would never consider a dealer with a rating less than 5).

BTW, make sure that 1.2GHz T-bird has a 266MHz FSB!

 

[Guest]

Make sure your RAM is CL2 and made by a reliable company (Crucial, Mushkin, etc.)
If you really can't live without a DVD-ROM, the Pioneer 16X is a good choice.



- Better go Green than Blue!

 

[tfbww]

Unless you're a budding musician, I wouldn't spend the money on the SB Platinum. If you want 5.1 channel, then go with the XGamer. If you are only going to use 2 speakers + subwoofer, stick with the SB Live Value.

DVD is an up-for-grabs question. There is the possibility that software will use it. Encyclopedias and similar programs can and do put it to good use. Games less so for the time being. Do you want to play movies on it? Hook it up to your TV? If the former is a yes, then get a hardware decoder. If the latter is yes, make sure your video card has TV-Out w/ an svideo output.

I would get the Plextor CDRWs (I think they just released a 16x10x40). They have some cool functionality called "Burn Proof" which prevents buffer underruns that can result in you making a bunch of coasters. It also allows you to multitask while burning which is very nice, IMO.

 

[Guest]

I would pick the TDK VeloCd or the Plextor CD-R. Two great choices. Altough I've think its more expesive, the software that comes with the VeloCD is more robust. Burn-proof too, of course.
They come for around $220-235 in pricewatch.com

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all the comments. For now I just listed the cheapest place I could buy those parts kinda as an estimate so I can know how much it is going to come up too. I will find the right place to buy them from later when I finalize what I want to buy. I don't think I am going to get a DVD player because I have anormal DVD player and a Playstation 2 already. My family's computer already has a CD-RW so I am not sure if i want to get one yet. We don't use the one we have now all that much. One of the things I am really concerned about with my list is the video cards. There are so many of them and they are all so differently priced. I want to be able to get previews of whats on the TV and stuff like that so thats what attracted me to the ATI AIW but how will that perform with games such as Quake, unreal, diablo etc.? The 3d prophet seems really expensive but I have heard good things about it so I am stuck. If i got the prophet how easy would it be to install both later down the road?

As for the sound card, well, I practicly spend all my free time on the computer and when I am on it i am listening to music. I was under the impression that the Platinum was actually different then the X-Gamer/MP3 but if all it is iis a different software package then your right...its not worth the extra money. I just care about the performance.

Would some please explain to me what ATX is all about?? From what I have seen it seems to be somekind of international standard/protocol?

How much longer until AMD releases its new processors? If its soon I might want to wait.

Also, what are the things I need to look for to make sure the memory/CPU/motherboard are all compatible. Thanx for all the help.

 

[crapple0]

a few comments/answers:

DVD drive...it's not much more expensive than a comparable cd-rom, so I'd go for the DVD, when software does start to come out on DVD (for example, MSDN subscription is switching to DVD to reduce the number of discs--currently at about 100).

Video Card...any 32MB GeForce 2 GTS. If you need TV-Out, get one of those too. From what I've seen different brands make little difference in performance. A 64MB or Ultra GeForce 2 don't seem to justify their own price.

ATX, from what I know, is just a standard on motherboard size, power requirements, connectors, etc. All new PC equipment should be ATX-compliant. Only stuff I've seen that's possibly not is some of those cram-it-into-the-smallest-possible-case Compaq's or IBM computers.

Your case does seem outrageously expensive. Look at the 300 Watt Enlight 7237 case (~$30).

The 266 FSB Athlon-C is out to OEM's...which means it should be on the street in March or April. Speaking of which, you might also want to invest in a DDR motherboard and memory. The motherboards are about $170, and the memory seems to be running at about 2x the price of PC133...still dirt cheap.

Always remember though, that reading things like tomshardware will always make you want to wait for the next great thing. You just have to put your money down at some point and just get what's out.

~Crapple0

 

[Guest]

One thing you've forgotten, A operating system. If u dont have one already you need to get one before you buy all the hardware. I dont know what OS you should use but dont use windows ME it is a piece of junk. And u cant use the OS from a brand comp like HP or DELL cause there windows version doesnt have the complete set of drivers. Believe i learned the hard way and it took me awhile to figure out what was going on