Author Topic: Need advice on a computer purchase  (Read 56982 times)

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Chucara

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #30 on: March 09, 2008, 12:47:48 AM »
I wouldn't get a Bluray player just yet. First off, are you really going to watch movies on your PC? (Scratch this remark if you plan on hooking it up to a HDTV)

Second, the movie selection is nowhere near DVD yet, but that'll change (well.. maybe). And while they don't cost as much as they did two months ago, they will continue to drop on price as Bluray become more popular.

Find me a online store that ships to the US, and I'll put together what I'd buy today.

For comparison, my desktop is currently:

CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz @ ~3.3 GHz
MB: ASUS P5KC
VGA: 8800GTS 768MB
RAM: 2x1024MB Cellshock PC6400
HD: 2x 500 GB Western Digital (can't remember the model, but I recommend WD above all other brands for quality/cost ratio)
Monitor: Samsung Synmaster 226BW
Keyboard: Logitech DiNovo Edge
Mouse: MX Revolution
OS: Windows Vista Business, Windows XP Pro (both free from school)
DVD: Sony

I've never been happier with a computer, it runs smooth and overclocks so easily it hurts. While I could assemble a computer with the same specs for half the price, I really recommend quality hardware over cheap or noname brands.

The above is bought to be a good overclocker, so you could find cheaper RAM, MB and VGA. The keyboard and mouse is a taste thing, but I really recommend ergonomic (broken) keyboards - they make a HUGE difference if you type a lot. I don't know if you use a digitizer(and accompanying mouse), but otherwise the MX revolution is a very nice mouse, although quite expensive.

Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #31 on: March 09, 2008, 05:01:19 AM »
I wouldn't get a Bluray player just yet. First off, are you really going to watch movies on your PC? (Scratch this remark if you plan on hooking it up to a HDTV)

Second, the movie selection is nowhere near DVD yet, but that'll change (well.. maybe). And while they don't cost as much as they did two months ago, they will continue to drop on price as Bluray become more popular.

Sorry. I should have explained better. Say that's a computer that I want and it's $1400.00 and $200.00 of that is due to the addition of a BluRay player. Well... I don't like that. I'd rather omit the $200.00 and have it go toward a better graphic card or more memory. So the gist is... I see computers that I like but they have features I don't need or at least I don't want if it makes them more expensive.

=)


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Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #32 on: March 09, 2008, 05:05:45 AM »
Find me a online store that ships to the US, and I'll put together what I'd buy today.


If anyone can find one for Chucara, I would appreciate it. Anyone that I find will be though Google and I don't know the best bang for the buck websites. eg. Alienware is good but $2500 to spend I have not.

So this is where I am. I thought about building a computer but I'm a bit overwealmed. I'm not sure if a processor will work with a motherboard which will work with a harddrive which will work with this ram.

I may just put the 'surrounding' parts piecemeal and buy the computer last. I take it BlueCross's monitor is good?

I think a $1200.00 computer is what I'm looking for but I'll entertain up to $1500.00. Thanks everyone.
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!


Chucara

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #33 on: March 09, 2008, 05:18:33 PM »
Short compatability guide:

Motherboard: Should be socket 775 for Core 2 Duo, it should also have a SATA port for each hard drive you want (I dare you to find a socket 775 motherboard without at least two SATA ports). It should also have a PCI-E port for graphics (most if not all C2D cards have these)
Harddrive: Should be SATA (SATA 1 or 2 doesn't really matter)
VGA: Should be PCI-Express, and should preferably have two DVI outputs, allthough one DVI and one VGA will do too.

Oh, and we forgot sound card. Most onboard cards are quite good these days, so unless sound is a focus for you, you'll do fine with that. (You can always upgrade if you change your mind)

I'd get Vista, but that is all a matter of taste.

Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #34 on: March 09, 2008, 06:33:37 PM »
Short compatability guide:

Motherboard: Should be socket 775 for Core 2 Duo, it should also have a SATA port for each hard drive you want (I dare you to find a socket 775 motherboard without at least two SATA ports). It should also have a PCI-E port for graphics (most if not all C2D cards have these)
Harddrive: Should be SATA (SATA 1 or 2 doesn't really matter)
VGA: Should be PCI-Express, and should preferably have two DVI outputs, allthough one DVI and one VGA will do too.

Oh, and we forgot sound card. Most onboard cards are quite good these days, so unless sound is a focus for you, you'll do fine with that. (You can always upgrade if you change your mind)

I'd get Vista, but that is all a matter of taste.

I would think any reasonable sound card will be just fine for me. I DO want two hardrives. I usually keep my Photoshops, Video and Music on the secondary drive. I saw two versions of the Nvidia 8800 card. One was about 250 and the other 350. I suppose the 250 dollar will be just fine for me?
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!


Brugdor

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #35 on: March 10, 2008, 02:48:51 AM »

I would think any reasonable sound card will be just fine for me. I DO want two hardrives. I usually keep my Photoshops, Video and Music on the secondary drive. I saw two versions of the Nvidia 8800 card. One was about 250 and the other 350. I suppose the 250 dollar will be just fine for me?

It's always best to look the exact card you saw up online just in case. Sometimes these companies pull some shenanigans and short you clock speed on the memory or GPU. Just make sure it has gotten good customer reviews at places like Newegg.com and such.
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Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #36 on: March 10, 2008, 06:06:17 AM »
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).

I picked it up! =)
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!


TK

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #37 on: March 10, 2008, 02:21:39 PM »
There are 9 distinct models in the 8800 family and two fundamental architectures, the first architecture comprises the old 320/640mb GTS cards with 96 stream processors and the 768mb 128 stream processor GTX/ultra cards, the difference between these two was core and memory speeds these were G90 range, there was also a highly limited 112 stream processor GTS card.  The second architecture is the G92 range this comprises four distinct models; the GT with either 256mb or 512mb and 112 stream processors, the GTS with 128 stream processors and the GS with 96 stream processors, 384mb and a crippled 192bit memory interface. (all the other cards have a 256 bit memory interface)

The 8800 ultra is the top flight card but the G92 8800gts is just a few ticks behind the GTX, the 512mb GT is the best price/performance card on the market just now and the GS is being given a hard run from the lower specified 9600GT.

Buy a GT and make sure you spend the little extra on the 512mb version and totally avoid the GS, good card but it occupies an odd position in the lineup now.

Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #38 on: March 10, 2008, 05:33:20 PM »
There are 9 distinct models in the 8800 family and two fundamental architectures, the first architecture comprises the old 320/640mb GTS cards with 96 stream processors and the 768mb 128 stream processor GTX/ultra cards, the difference between these two was core and memory speeds these were G90 range, there was also a highly limited 112 stream processor GTS card.  The second architecture is the G92 range this comprises four distinct models; the GT with either 256mb or 512mb and 112 stream processors, the GTS with 128 stream processors and the GS with 96 stream processors, 384mb and a crippled 192bit memory interface. (all the other cards have a 256 bit memory interface)

The 8800 ultra is the top flight card but the G92 8800gts is just a few ticks behind the GTX, the 512mb GT is the best price/performance card on the market just now and the GS is being given a hard run from the lower specified 9600GT.

Buy a GT and make sure you spend the little extra on the 512mb version and totally avoid the GS, good card but it occupies an odd position in the lineup now.

Thanks for the info! =)
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!


Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #39 on: March 10, 2008, 07:18:43 PM »
And another update.

I'll still consider the assemble the computer at home option. I think the thing that was making me wonder was making sure that everything works together. I'd do your suggest Bluecross but I think I'll take my computer down to $1200.00 with shipping. So if I'm able to get everything delivered to Vegas then I'm sure I can put it together.

Of course having everything already assembled is the other option I'll consider.

ALso... I want another monitor that's at least 20". It will be the main monitor and my old 17 will be for menus and such.
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!


BlueCross

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #40 on: March 10, 2008, 09:08:57 PM »
And another update.

I'll still consider the assemble the computer at home option. I think the thing that was making me wonder was making sure that everything works together. I'd do your suggest Bluecross but I think I'll take my computer down to $1200.00 with shipping. So if I'm able to get everything delivered to Vegas then I'm sure I can put it together.

Of course having everything already assembled is the other option I'll consider.

ALso... I want another monitor that's at least 20". It will be the main monitor and my old 17 will be for menus and such.

I'm not sure you can do what you want to do (another monitor, shipping, semi-original specs) for under $1200.  :(
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Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #41 on: March 12, 2008, 06:23:04 PM »
And another update.

I'll still consider the assemble the computer at home option. I think the thing that was making me wonder was making sure that everything works together. I'd do your suggest Bluecross but I think I'll take my computer down to $1200.00 with shipping. So if I'm able to get everything delivered to Vegas then I'm sure I can put it together.

Of course having everything already assembled is the other option I'll consider.

ALso... I want another monitor that's at least 20". It will be the main monitor and my old 17 will be for menus and such.

I'm not sure you can do what you want to do (another monitor, shipping, semi-original specs) for under $1200.  :(

Then perhaps we should move back to the original specs. Since Ram is SO cheap these days... how about a configuration with 3 to 4 gigs. I need a reminder? .75 gigs gets 'wasted' on drivers and such because only 3.25 is noticable?

I may just go ahead and get the computer piece by piece so $1500.00 isn't that bad if I spread it out over time. SO if I want a 20 inch monitor what should I get?
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!


Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #42 on: March 14, 2008, 05:41:42 PM »
Ok. So I think I'll go ahead and buy the monitor and the keyboard for right now. I looked at Bluecross's monitor and it looks awesome. I might just get that one. I also might need a few more inches so what about a 22" monitor. Are they too big? A friend had one I think and view webpages just seemed a little 'off'. I'm not sure if it was a 22 or not.

I looked at Chucara's keyboard and while nice (actually very nice), I don't need something from the 22nd century. I alway want a ergonomic board. Suggestions?

SO I'm STILL looking for a computer but I'm getting the monitor and keyboard and mouse for right now.

OH! The mouse... I seem to have trouble with wireless mice. They've never been fully responsive to me. eg. They'll hang or not move quickly or just something there seems to be a lag time. I don't put them next to wireless equipment so I don't know why. I've always gone back to wired mice. Suggestions for mice?

Thanks!
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!


BlueCross

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #43 on: March 14, 2008, 06:29:10 PM »
You might find the extra two inches a bit spendy for what you get.  You don't need two more inches, do you?

Mice: I ALWAYS get optical USB mice; no need for a mouse pad (unless you have some goofy shiny surface).  Either Logitech or MicroSoft, whatever is cheaper at the time.  Some guy in our office bought a couple of Belkin optical (USB) mice and they seem fine as well.

I think the biggest deal is to make sure you can return stuff within 30 days, no questions asked.  *nods*
"for the record, I'm not some kind of psychotic provincialist." - Than (ed: Cit. required)
"I lost my game of NT: Garry's fault. Global warming: Garry's fault. End-of-the-Universe: Garry's fault. See it always fits. Anyway, what is Garry up to? No good I bet." - Laszlo
"As for your French, it's probably better than the average English-speaking Frenchman's Finnish! (Or something.)" - wa
"I'm back at Thunderfalls now and every minute thinking of poking a bandit in the eye with a fishhook." - Preyveil
"and yet still nothing has made it to BC's signature!"-KMD

Doombot

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Re: Need advice on a computer purchase
« Reply #44 on: March 14, 2008, 08:31:55 PM »
You might find the extra two inches a bit spendy for what you get.  You don't need two more inches, do you?

Mice: I ALWAYS get optical USB mice; no need for a mouse pad (unless you have some goofy shiny surface).  Either Logitech or MicroSoft, whatever is cheaper at the time.  Some guy in our office bought a couple of Belkin optical (USB) mice and they seem fine as well.

I think the biggest deal is to make sure you can return stuff within 30 days, no questions asked.  *nods*

Yes. Always get an optical.

I think 20" might be good then. I'll need to get two monitors so two 20" should be fine.
Will I get Night Owl points for quitting but not as much for getting fired?
Will I still be a member of the Owl's Pals? I'd hate to turn in my card. It's got a real owl feather under the lamination and everything.


Night Owl: Oh, indeed. I quit many a job ...better than being fired. You can keep your card... in fact, you get double points for quitting!