System for student

[tooocoool]

Hi guys, I have a few questions and need you guys help me out.

1-I am going to be a freshman this autumn and I chose computer science as my major. So I think i will need a whole new desktop system. Do you think it's a good idea to buy a customized system using online vendors like IBUYPOWER or CYBERPOWERPC, or buy components separately and build it myself ? Which way is more economic ?

2-If I go with the latter, can you guys give me some sites where have good deals ?

3-Since my budget is around 1k or less (excluding monitor), Which processor of the followings is the best-bang-for-the-buck: Phenom II X4 9xx, Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition, Core 2 duo E8500, Core 2 quad Q9xxx, core i7 920 ?

4-Some advice for my problem ?

And you guys can give me some good builds as reference (I dont need to run games at highest settings)

Thanks

 

[gkay09]

1. Yes it is way more economical to build the PC on your own...and that too you are taking computer science as your majors so you should try your hand at building your own PC...
2. Best sites around
newegg.com, tigerdirect,...
3. Best to go with the Phenom II 940
4. Wat problems???

Well here is a start...

CPU+ MOBO...940 + GIG 790GX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165047

RAM - GSKIllz 2X2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

HDD - 1TB WD BLACK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

CASE - Forum's new fav CM 690
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

PSU - Corsair 750TX (Enuf power to crossfire later...)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Graphics card - 4870 1GB(Yeah very powerful for ur needs...but why not go for it)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

Cpu cooler - Xig
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

Totals to $886
So well below the $1k mark...
I have not added OS...so after adding still it will be below that $1k mark...

Enjoy assembling

 

[dirtmountain]

You'd be better off building it yourself in my opinion. Both IBUY and CYBER use some low quality parts unless you're familiar enough with their builds to option into higher quality parts, and then they charge you a premium for taking that option. You can build a nice system for $1,000 and the knowledge you'd gain by doing it yourself would pay off in the long run. Here's a i7 build that makes your budget only if you include the $50 in rebates and don't include the $23 in shipping (to me) it's emphasis is on computing power, not gaming and i had to go with some low cost options to do it. (Giga mobo with limited RAM, quality 500w power supply which isn't enough for SLI or crossfire, budget HD4850 graphic card, budget case)

CPU - i7 920 $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
mobo - Gigabyte UD3R $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128386
RAM - 2x3GB DDR3 1600 $90 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381
Case/PSU combo $110 Antec300 and 500w Earthwatts
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.176613
GPU - HD4850 $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272
HD - 640GB WD black SATA $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
burner - Liteon SATA $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106266
Operating system - $100 Vista premium 64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

$1,049 before rebates and shipping. This is not the system to get if gaming is a priority.

 

[p00p00head]

Definitely build your own system dude. You cannot call yourself a CS major unless you build your own system.

Now, regarding your build, are you going to play games or study hard? If you're going to attempt to be social and get good grades while you're in college, I'd strongly advise you drop the graphics card and opt for a cheap $400 build. None of the programs you'll be using for computer science requires heavy graphics power.

On the other hand, seeing as that you're going into CS...you're not going to give up gaming.

CPU + Mobo Combo deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165028
$211.99

GPU:

For cheap build, Saphire Radeon 4670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102820
$59.99 MIR
Medium buid, Powercooler Radeon 4830 (sick after overclock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129
$79.99 after MIR
More than you'll ever need build, Radeon 4850 x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809
$279.95 after MIR

Power Supply, depending on which build you go for:

Cheap/Medium build:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023
4850x2 build: at least 600w

For everything else (Monitor, case, DVDROM, hard drive) it all depends on what you want. That can range from $250 - $500 in my estimation.

Total cost ~ $700 - $1000?

Definitely go for phenom II, it perfectly fits what you're looking for.

 

[Why_Me]

Seeing how your a student, you can pick up a copy of Vista for cheap. Better to do it that way then to pay more.

http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?products_id=81 $25.99
Centurion 5 Black w/Silver Trims ATX Mid Tower, W/Window, W/O PSU - Refurbished

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-750w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178325.html $104.99 Price After Rebate(s): $79.99 Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130221 $189.99 ($169.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)
MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121288 $164.99 ($134.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $99.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $24.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

Total: $1,003.90 *(not including shipping and rebates) $928.90 w/mail in rebates

 

[dirtmountain]

At least you should list that the great price on the i7 920 is for "in store pick up only"

 

[Why_Me]

At least you should list that the great price on the i7 920 is for "in store pick up only"

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't notice that. I thought that cpu was like way cheap. Anyways, I fixed my post up there, and put in a oem i7 and changed up on the case. I'm still almost $4 over the OP's budget though.

 

[tooocoool]

thanks guys !
So I think I will go for AMD Phenom II 940 Black Edition. If I want to overclock it, which fans and/or heat sink and mobo are best ? (I think I have no need to run SLI or Crossfire and I want my comp to last for 3 years.

Is there anyone here used to study at McGill University in Canada with Computer science major ? How do you find the Uni ?

 

[p00p00head]

thanks guys !
So I think I will go for AMD Phenom II 940 Black Edition. If I want to overclock it, which fans and/or heat sink and mobo are best ? (I think I have no need to run SLI or Crossfire and I want my comp to last for 3 years.

Is there anyone here used to study at McGill University in Canada with Computer science major ? How do you find the Uni ?

You should check out gkay09's suggestion for the mobo + cpu combo if you want to go for the 940. Stick some nice cheap ddr2 memory and a Radeon 4800 series card and you have the AMD 'Dragon' platform. The stock cooling that comes with the 940 is actually pretty good: nice heat pipes, quiet fan, easy to install. I wouldn't worry about buying extra cooling unless you want to push it past 3.8 ghz.

The mobo that comes with that combo (790gx) is a very nice compliment to the chip. If you don't want to save on the combo or if you have a thing against Gigabyte (I personally love their boards) grab another 790gx based board. Once you overclock this system, you'll be getting amazing performance and the best bang for the buck right now (except maybe the e5200 cuz it's so cheap...).

I don't know about McGill University but as a fellow CS major, I wish you good luck in your first semester of class. If you can survive the first weeder class, you'll be alright.

 

[MykC]

If this is going to be your only computer, I'd say go with an laptop with a ATI mobile 3300 videocard (if you game), if you don't then it doesn't matter what type of GPU inside. I'd personally got a tablet PC and find it quite useful as I've made the transition to totally paperless (almost).

There isn't going to be anything really intensive required of your computer from any CS course (at least the program through Dalhousie) and if there is, theres going to be hardware in the computer labs to get it done. Even the 3D engine classes didn't require any real hardware power that couldn't been done on a Voodoo2.

 

[ahslan]

I absolutely agree with MykC...if this computer is going to be your only comp, I would definitely get a tablet PC instead. I have become a total believer in tablets...it has totally replaced paper for me. I currently have the best of both worlds by owning a cheap tablet pc and a cheap gaming pc...I bought my fujitsu T4010D tablet off ebay for $220 and built myself a gaming desktop for $400...

Too bad you missed out on the most amazing tablet PC deal ever not too long ago...lenovo were selling their tablet laptops for $650 or so...which is ridiculous!