Buying new computer - opinions please

[MadMax]

Ok I am going to take the plunge and buy a new system now that half-life 2 is not too far away, and DOOM 3 is here almost and I want to replay far-cry on a decent system, and play UT2004 and BFV and .. well you get the idea (been hard on win 98se - 733 - GF2 system)


So I just got a quote, components somewhat influenced by the salesman. Especially the Athlon AMD part of it. What are people's thoughts at the moment about choosing an AMD over Intel, is stability a problem with AMD? Cost wise I think it was going to be several hundred dollars cheaper to go AMD. (No flame wars just the facts maam!)

Ok here's the first quote I've received:

AMD Athlon XP Processor 3000+ (Barton Core 333Mhz FSB)
Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro 2 motherboard (nForce2 SATA GLAN)
2x512MB RAMOS DDR400 PC3200 RAM
2x120Gb Western Digital SATA Hard Drive - 7200rpm
Panasonic 1.44mb 3.5" FDD
Power Color Radeon 9800XT 256DDr TV/DVI Graphics Card
Pioneer DVR 107 DVD-/+RW OEM Drive
52x Samsung IDE CDROM Drive (OEM)
Sound Blaster Audigy LS
AOpen PS/2 Keyboard
MS Intelli-Mouse Explorer (OEM)
6103 ATX Blue & Silver Case
MS Windows XP Pro (OEM)

Total Price $2158


add $60 to upgrade to 3.2Ghz CPU

I definitely want to keep the system under $2500 if possible.

How much extra are we talking for an INTEL CPU do you think?

Critique , advice and URL's to online system builders or good computer stores would be much appreciated, keeping in mind I'm in Melbourne.

Cheers,
Max

[Carcrash]

ok matey to start wif if ya goin for a new system that ones a little outdated....

if u were gunna go amd u would get an athlon 64, especially since they had a 30% price drop a week ago. I've found that ABIT motherboards tend to b the best for not only performance but reliability and features as well. I'd try get a new socket 939 Abit mobo and match it with an athlon 64 3500... as for video card an ATI X800Pro isnt much more than a 9800XT and is considerably better...Try get a dual layer DVD burner and i'd recommend the NEC or Sony ones....also a good cheap alternative to that ram would b Geil... The rest of the system is good....

a lot of ppl will probly question my thoughts because of the price of this stuff but if u know the rite ppl and u can build it yaself it comes in under the budget here....

a good place to go for prices and where i generally buy when i cant b bothered orderin thru work is www.it-rite.com

oh and also, amd dont make a 3.2ghz CPU, they do however make a 3200XP which is wot u would b refering to but it does only run @ 2.2ghz... but remember, MHZ arent everything and thats y AMD compete against Intel so well.....

shame your in melbourne tho, if u were from newcastle i coulda built it for ya. The shop i gave a link for is in Sydney but they do have cheap freight.

Hope this helps...

[MadMax]

Thanks for that advice carcrash, yes you're right about it being 3200. Thanks for pointing out about that, I assumed it meant 3.2Ghz.

The 333Mhz FSB was a concern as most newer stuff says 800FSB, and I assume that's where it's all happening, the shunting of data between memory and cpu, so the bigger the FSB the better.

So changing that system to an athlon 64 3500 + ABIT mobo , ATI 9800 Pro, dual layer DVD writer is going to add more than $350 left to fall into my $2500 limit?

(Note I am keeping my old 17" diamondview monitor and speakers with a big "box" for playing with bass and stuff, not on quote.)

[MrBigglesworth]

www.msy.com.au for most parts but arnt too good on ram and vidcards, other parts youll mostly find as cheap as a computer swap meet. Also to get to the platnium members price list the password and login are msy : msy. I think if your looking to purcahse over $200 of stuff on the day your also eligible for platnium member (check the website).

(EDIT: From site...
2. For New Customer : If you think your first time purchasing will be over $200 at MSY, you can email to member@msy.com.au to request one temporally password for you (price list will be our pass Platinum Member Club price list) (1-7 days ago). IF you can get it do so it can save sometimes $50 off single parts)


Other decent ones www.scorptec.com.au or www.centrecom.com.au

Are you going to build it yourself or need a premade system?

[Carcrash]

the socket 939 AMD 64s do away wif a FSB and implement a hyper transport link which cuts down a few stages between RAM and CPU thus speeding the process along nicely, and it operates @ 2000mhz..... Intel P4s run on a 800mhz FSB.... but like i said before, MHZ dont necessarily mean much these days and it would take me a while to explain y and how things work so i just kept it simple....if u cant afford the X800 Pro still dont go for the 9800XT, get the 9800pro extreme like me, it actually beats the 9800XT in tests and costs around half.... it-rite have them, there prices r about the cheapest ive come accross australia wide unless like me u work for a IT company and can get things @ dealer prices :)

[MadMax]

Thankd for the links BIggsy, thanks for the info carcrash.

I'm leaning toward a prebuilt custom spec PC, never tried building one before. If it would save lots of money I would consider it possibly, but can't see it working out much cheaper if at all???


Intel P4 3.2Ghz PIV HT CPU
Gigabyte 81PE1000 motherboard
1GB PC3200 400Mhz DDR RAM
2x120Gb SATA Hard Drive - 7200rpm
1.44mb 3.5" FDD
ATI 9800Pro 128Mb Graphics Card
Pioneer DVR 107 DVD-/+RW OEM Drive
52x IDE CDROM Drive
Sound Blaster Audigy LS
Keyboard
MS Intelli-Mouse Explorer (OEM)
Case
MS Windows XP Pro (OEM)

Total Price $2260

Still want to get graphics card up to 256Mb I think.


Not looking too bad.

Cheers,
Max

[BladeRnR]

This would be my build - a little more but I've factored in WinXP Pro, a quality case, a quality PSU (You should NEVER overlook this in a build), and a quality Keyboard & Mouse. When building a PC I go for quality rather than try to save a few bucks up front:

Intel P4 2.8Ghz PIV HT CPU - $265:00 (Easily clocked to 3.4Ghz).
ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe - $275:00 (Infinitely better than the Gigabyte).
1GB CL2 Corsair PC3200 400Mhz DDR RAM - $399:00
2x120Gb Western Digital SATA Hard Drive - 7200rpm - $290:00
1.44mb 3.5" FDD - $20
ATI 9800Pro 128Mb Graphics Card - $359:00
LG 4120B DVD/RW OEM Duel-Layer - $175:00
Liteon 52/52/32 CD/RW - $42:00
Sound Blaster Audigy LS - $95:00
Logitech Elite Keyboard - $69:00
Logitech MX500 Optical Mouse - $65:00
Antec 1080 AMG Case - $199:00
Antec Truepower Power Supply - $175:00
MS Windows XP Pro (OEM) - $240:00

Total Price $2668:00

As for building it I'd be MORE than happy to do it for you since I'm in Melbourne and we could go shopping for the parts. These are COmputer & Parts Land prices and I haven't even shopped around yet. If you want a 256Meg Video Card then a 6800GT would be my current choice. Bang for buck it cannot be beaten (Which is why I just bought one). $770:00 and it has 16 rendering pipes unlike the X800 which has 12. It can be clocked straight to Ultra speeds right out of the box (Again as I've done). All ready for Doom 3 :)

E-mail me bladernr@bigpond.net.au if youwant to talk. I'm on 3 weeks holiday as of now!

Cheers

Blade

[MadMax]

Ok here's the system I've ordered, just in time for HL2 :D

Thankyou to the guys who made suggestions, critique and supplied URLs, and especially a big thankyou to Bladernr who has been giving a lot of advice and assistance via email.


: Intel P4 2.8 Ghz HT CPU
: ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe Non-Wireless LAN version mobo
: 1GB CL2 Corsair PC3200 400Mhz DDR RAM
: 2x120Gb Western Digital SATA Hard Drive - 7200rpm
:1.44mb 3.5" FDD
: Leadtek Geforce 256 Mb 6800GT graphics Card
: LG 4120B DVD/RW OEM Dual-Layer DVD writer
: Lite-On 16xDVD-ROM
: Sound Blaster Audigy LS
: Logitech Elite Keyboard
: Logitech MX500 Optical Mouse
: Antec 1080 AMG Case with Antec Truepower 480 W Power Supply
: MS Windows XP Pro (OEM)

Cheers,
Max

[PtP]

Nice setup Max you will be happy (would have been happier with an ATI card though) ;)

[[WTF]hakenspit]

Yeah ATI the card to get.....*hugs 9800xt* *curses trauma and his x800*

[MrBigglesworth]

Very Decent rig might have to get one too :P, mind telling us what was end total cost?

[MadMax]

I am paying $2,900 for it, but if you decided to shop around and buy the parts from about 3 or 4 places, namely MSY , CP&L , delta and empire IT and build it yourself, you could potentially knock off about $200 to $250 from that.


Cheers,
Max

[[wtf]trauma]

Looks like a good computer, it will eat up Doom3 and HL2 no probs :)

[BladeRnR]

Nice setup Max you will be happy (would have been happier with an ATI card though) ;)

hehe you love ribbing me don't you? Checkout this very unbiased review of the X800 Pro vs 6800GT then get back to me :)

http://www.elitebastards.com/page.php?pageid=5915&head=1&comments=1

Cheers

Blade

[PtP]

Wooot I got a bite

There is still some sting in the old dog eh?

BTW I love the way they do their animated comparisons, very smart. And I bought my card for future games not old games that are now living in my garage with the other junk that I dont want anymore. Bring on HL2 and we will see who is laughing. ;)

[BladeRnR]

Wooot I got a bite

There is still some sting in the old dog eh?

BTW I love the way they do their animated comparisons, very smart. And I bought my card for future games not old games that are now living in my garage with the other junk that I dont want anymore. Bring on HL2 and we will see who is laughing. ;)

pffft that wasn't a bite old man that was a nip!

I don't think the HL2 gap will be as big as you think but I'm sure eager to find out!

Get back to you when I have an R500 :)

Cheers

Blade