New Computer (need advice)

[GodOfRhythm]

Hey guys, I know a little about computers, but I'm far from a hardcore mofo...

Right now I'm on my old trusty 2.53 Ghz P4 with an Nvidia FX5200 (baaad videocard).

I can use my old case/shell and screen, so I guess the new things I'll really need are:

Motherboard (with processor)
Videocard
RAM


Anyone want to give me the low-down on what's the best (at a reasonable price)?

I'm thinking 2gig RAM but I'm stumped on the processors and videocard

Pentium or ...?
Nvidia or ATI?

[DonP]

I used to be into building computers but gave up a few years ago with my last being dually Xeons. As I got out of the computer hobby I got more into guitars.

https://www.overclockers.com

https://www.hardocp.com

https://www.tomshardware.com

https://www.anadtech.com

https://www.2cpu.com

[jackson1]

GOR, have a look at the following link. It is an ongoing thread at the Digidesign forum (Pro Tools) on the best Windows DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) system for audio recording. It is a huge thread, but pay attention to the VERY FIRST post in that thread. That post is updated constantly, reflecting the most recent recommended config. You might say "I don't need an audio PC"... but give it a read anyway. The config they recommend is a very capable, economic, overall good config. There's a lot of cool info to read too. This is the one:

DUC DAW machine thread

Edit: I bet it does not hold the latest hot steaming super hardware, but hey, that will only make it more cheap but still capable.

[sk8boardbob2]

Buy from newegg.com, they have some the cheapest prices on the net. As far as a video card goes, I would get a Nvidia 6600, ones on newegg can be had for about $100. It's better than shelling out $400 for a 6800. Or you can wait till March or May when the 9000s debut.

[ABSOLUT CHARVEL]

the wife just bought me one with a Trig hard drive. she told me i should not run out of room for porn & music! i up for the challange though ... and it is a media so i can watch Tv while i'm working on it

[Thrust]

I'll be buying/building a new computer in the upcoming weeks. I'm now using an old AMD 1.3G w/ 512mb RAM. It's SLOOWWW!! However, I'm giving some serious thought to going Mac

[Spivonious]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 or Core 2 Quad Q6600 (both <$300). If on a tight budget, go for the Pentium E2000 series chips (under $100).

Any motherboard made by a reputable manufacturer (Asus, Abit, Gigabyte, DFI, etc.) with the Intel X38 chipset. Make sure it takes DDR2 ram and not DDR3. DDR3 is the future, but right now it is very expensive. A good board should run anywhere from $150-$250, depending on the features included.

At least 2GB of DDR2 RAM, preferably 4GB. Should run you more than $150, even for 4GB.

Right now best bang for your buck in video cards is either the HD3850 (256MB or 512MB) (<$200) or the 8800GT (512MB) (<$300).

[Spivonious]

the wife just bought me one with a Trig hard drive. she told me i should not run out of room for porn & music! i up for the challange though ... and it is a media so i can watch Tv while i'm working on it

Do you mean a terabyte? Or does this hard drive calculate sines and cosines?

[GodOfRhythm]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 or Core 2 Quad Q6600 (both <$300). If on a tight budget, go for the Pentium E2000 series chips (under $100).

Any motherboard made by a reputable manufacturer (Asus, Abit, Gigabyte, DFI, etc.) with the Intel X38 chipset. Make sure it takes DDR2 ram and not DDR3. DDR3 is the future, but right now it is very expensive. A good board should run anywhere from $150-$250, depending on the features included.

At least 2GB of DDR2 RAM, preferably 4GB. Should run you more than $150, even for 4GB.

Right now best bang for your buck in video cards is either the HD3850 (256MB or 512MB) (<$200) or the 8800GT (512MB) (<$300).

I already ordered it yesterday, but I'm glad it's pretty much the same as you advised.

The market is a little different here. I went for the best middle-of-the-line processor: Core2 Duo E6550 (the Quad was $155 more)

Anyways this is what I got:

This case: http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...ws/aopenh600b/ (in Black with the 400w powersupply)
Intell Core2 Duo E6550
Gigabyte GA-P35 (ATX 775) (passive cooling and non-electrolyte transformers) (7.1, digital audio out and 8 usbs)
3 Gigs of DDR2 Ram (Passive cooling)
A Generic DVD Rom
The latest NEC Dual Layer DVD burner
WD 7200rpm 500gig SATA 3g / 16mb cache (pretty quiet!)
Geforce 8600GT 512mb DDR2 HDMI Sparkle with Passive Cooling (though it's only at 128mb, but what the hey, it's more than enough to play a couple of games and watch some HD blu-rays when I get a blu ray player in a couple of months) (9000 line is coming soon, so I'll splurge the cash on one in a couple of months)


The ATI 3850 had a disgusting backorder, so I passed on that.

This baby's going to be silent as a mofo, which is a nice relief from my current buzzing and humming desktop.

Should be here by wednesday or thursday.

Thanks for all the help guys!

[ABSOLUT CHARVEL]

Do you mean a terabyte? Or does this hard drive calculate sines and cosines?

i stand corrected. as much as i have TeraPatrick on the brain, i should remember that

[GodOfRhythm]

i stand corrected. as much as i have TeraPatrick on the brain, i should remember that

Hehe, I was wondering what you meant with 'Trig', even googled it. :ROTF:

500g's internal is more than plenty for the moment, my real data storage is done with my 3 external mybook HD's anyways (700 + 500 + 500) and I got enough space in the case to put some more in there if need be.