Need advice on a computer purchase

[AcdQueen89]

vista is only really a bitch because it comes with too many preset settings that eat up ram like its oxygen. once you get used to it and figure out your settings it isnt that bad unless the computer demands that it updates itself. then you have to go reset nearly half the settings again. updates for me seem to be only once a month, but some could just be the comp brand updates and not windows. firefox runs awesome.

[Brugdor]

For the 8600 gt Nvidia card will 256 be the number to get or is there a fairly pressing need for the 512 model?

More ram on the card always helps but if price is an issue don't worry about it. If you can afford the 8800 series then do that as they are beefier.

[BlueCross]

OH... pity you aren't here to help me with my equipment!

Um... 

*cough*

[Doombot]

But yeah, a lot of these places will provide support for their setups. And you have plenty of Villagers willing to help you choose, so just let any of us know and we can rig up a system for you based on the site of your choice.

That would be awesome. If some people could put together something they think I would like then I have a good start if not outright buying that system.

So this will be a little vague but here goes. Go with the suggestions on hardware that were suggested. Intel 2, 2 gigs of ram, two 500 gig harddrives (at least), 512 mb for the Nvidia card, the ability to run two monitors. I don't need speaks since I have a fairly nice system over here. I like my monitors to be big so if there's any suggestions on those. Right now I have my old flat panel monitor (but it's melted on the top) so I just need a big monitor for the main display and the melted one for menu items (told you the computer was fallout looking). Unsure about Vista or XP. You'alls call on that. I don't need a BLUray player or a HDDVD player but something able to play DVDs would be nice.

So I think I got all the suggestons from everyone. Thanks in advance. I'll continue to look on my own as well.

[BlueCross]

OK, if I wuz gonna build ya da BC/ENU Spezial, this is what I would go for:

CPU  Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz 4M 1333M 775 Retail                                   $208 
M/B  Intel DP35DPM Aud/GbLan/SATA/1394 ATX                                           $123
RAM  4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 PC6400 800MHz Matched Pair HyperX Kingston  $189
HD   2x Seagate 500G 32M 7200 SATA II                                               $276
VID  eVGA GeForce 8600GTS 256M TV-Out/2DVI                                            $169 
Case+Power  Supply Antec Atlas 550W Server Black ATX                         $143
http://www.enuinc.com/cas-antec-047.jpg
Monitor  20" Widescreen KDS K-20MDWB 20 5ms DVI Widescreen          $209
http://www.enuinc.com/mon-kds-lcd-001.html
DVD Pioneer DVR212D 18x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Black SATA                     $ 39
OS  MS Windows Vista Business 32bit OEM 1-Pack                                    $154

for a total of $1,511.

My first pass was over $1900 so I downgraded the CPU and video card a bit (but they are still good).
The monitor is a 20" wide LCD which I own, and is fabulous.
I used a rather large power supply because I don't want no steenking puny ones!
RAM type/price can vary widely.
I went with Vista (against my own recommendations) because it can probably use the extra RAM more efficiently.

Also, these are all ENU prices (no shipping, remember?) and should just be used as benchmarks against the system you build or buy.

((edit))
Also, I assume others may have corrections, improvements, etc to the above list, which I encourage.  That way when it blows up in smoke I can say "See!  It wouldn't have done that if Chucara hadn't added the Mobile Coffee Cup Holder!"

[BlueCross]

Oh... did you want a keyboard and mouse?

[Doombot]

Oh... did you want a keyboard and mouse?

Well... I'll want to buy one of those ergonomic keyboards since I find they're easier to type on and there's 4 years of soda spray from hilarious UV postings on the keyboard.

[BlueCross]

[Hoopy Frood]

http://bp1.blogger.com/_1tk0c4Dzgbs/RdXUCYXVJsI/AAAAAAAAAl8/mG6iXuvWWzc/s1600-h/dirty+keyboard.jpg

That site doesn't allow offsite linking. You're post looks blank to at least me, and probably a few others.

[Silver Dragon]

Hmm, you might want to wander down to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of this month's issue of Maximum PC;  The cover story is "Build Your Own No-Compromises $1500 PC - 13 Easy Steps Anyone Can Follow!", might have some good pointers to take into consideration (I haven't read it yet, just picked it up on the way home tonight).

[Killmod]

As far as the photoshop thing, I'm currently on an ancient PC. I can't really make out the ancient people who crafted it by reading the hieroglyphics on the side, but I know that it's a pentium 4 2.8 ghz (current retail value about 60-70 bucks), and it runs photoshop without a single glitch. Even when I'm doing massive vector drawings. Illustrator, on the other hand, tends to choke it like a red-headed stepchild who stepped over the line one too many times with his boy band music at three in the morning.

<Stone Age Celeron 300 mghz running Gimp. Har har har :laugh3:

Although this doesn't have anything to do with hardware, I recommend you look for efficient software. Even though you shouldn't have any problems running anything on the new system, you may still want to check up on some free software if you find that you're having performance issues. I have managed to last this beast 10 years strong by finding software that uses low CPU power.

[Doombot]

Still looking around and I've decided that I'm undecided.

Many of the computers that I'm looking at have items I just don't need or want at the expense.

eg. Blue Ray would be nice but I'd rather that 200 dollars that gets me a blu ray play go into ram or a nicer video card.

I probably could put together a computer but I just don't want to deal with the fuss. All my 'putting together' fuss is reserved for my upcoming MAME cabinet.

SO... what online custom shops do you recommend?

In the meantime, I'll go to FRYs and see what options are there.

And in the back of my mind, I wonder...

When was the last time I played a game on the PC besides Heavy Metal or Popcap games?

[Brugdor]

When was the last time I played a game on the PC besides Heavy Metal or Popcap games?

But then when was the last time you had a PC that could run decent games? 

Aeoncraft is who I went with for my last purchase. I can't recommend them really. I've had a couple of issues since I got it. The main problem with them is that you can expect zero tech support if something does go wrong.

You may recall that I had a bad stick of ram in the machine when I first got it. Luckily I had gone with the higher end gaming ram upgrade on my system and that meant I got to deal with Corsair's tech support. My first call was to Aeoncraft though and I remember calling early (they are West coast). Some guy answered the phone sounding like I woke him up and said, "Oh they aren't open yet." Needless to say this didn't fill me with confidence in their tech support. Corsair was great though btw, I highly recommend their ram and their tech support. As soon as we discovered it was indeed a bad stick they had me send it to them. I had my new stick within a few days.

[Doombot]

But then when was the last time you had a PC that could run decent games? 

This is true.  I wanted to play Lord of the Rings, Portal and that cartoon looking orange box game but I didn't have a working DVD player.

Acer is my company of apathy. I bought a computer and other equipment from them and it broke on the first night. Their customer service was horrible. =(

[Brugdor]

This is true.  I wanted to play Lord of the Rings

Great.

*prepares self for a day of helping Doomsie with her noob after which I'll never see her in game again*