Need help from PC gurus

[LouSiffer]

Thats the way I feel about TD vs. New Egg, I like the TD site better. The one thing I like about New Egg is they have Gigabyte boards.

The biggest issue I have with TD is that you can look under their RAM selection for example and it shows a bunch of options, but, I doesn't show everything. You do a search for a board and they will show you recommended RAM that did not show up in your intitial search.-Lou

[Carbuff]

Newegg rules! Ive spent a ton of money there. But thats because Ive bought a ton of stuff from them over the years. I would still build an amd system, its cheaper and fast enough.

[bibz]

Intel really does have the performance edge though. Getting brand specific I only trust gigabyte motherboards, but evga has a very good reputation (dont get there stuff here). I'd go corsair ddr2 ram, 3 isnt necessary in this case. And a good powersupply will help the system last alot longer (corsair/seawhatevertheyare) but adds cost obviously.

[OnlineStageGear]

I have customers that will want me to match Tiger Direct prices. All I do is go to NewEgg and what costs $500 on Tiger Direct will typicly cost $420 on NewEgg. Then I get another $60 to put it all together and Install XP or Vista depending on what they wanted. $140 for a couple hours work.

Matt

[Newc]

Dunno if it's LiveOneCare or my dual-layer Sony DVD/R/RW, but it doesn't work. Hasn't worked in about 2 years, when L.1.C. first started generating BSoDs to tell me my subscription "only" had 2 months left

It shut my PC down whenever I loaded a disc in the tray.

And yes, I have several HDs. At one time I had 6 internal hard drives and the DVD drive, plus 3 externals. The internals ranged in size from 60GB to 250GB. They crapped out one by one, even though I had a 500W power supply in the case - I thought it'd be plenty to power everything.

Anyway, I replaced all the internals except the 180GB C:\ drive with 2 1TB externals and wiped the old drives out.

Maybe a month later, I'm looking at replacing the whole thing


Like I said before, it's been years since I've looked at the latest hardware specs. When I built my first one in '97 I read up on what was "now" and what was coming, and built a machine that exceeded the recommendations of most PC games for about 3 years - faster processor, more ram, bigger HD, better video card, better sound card, etc.

Once games caught up to my system, I upgraded and built another that was 3 years ahead of the curve.

Did that until 2003/4 and then stopped keeping track of everything. Replaced bits and pieces here and there, including the whole mobo/cpu/ram a couple of years ago using the aforementioned online configurator.
Now I'm back to being a square-one n00b

Anyhoo, my current system had 2 EIDE slots (2 drives per cable, of course), built-in SATA (which I never used), 8 USB slots (I think 2 were USB 1 - got an error about that on a flash drive once or twice), 3 PCI + 1 AGP, almost-3GHz CPU, 2GB DDR (expandable to 4GB). Can't tell you what Socket it was - like I said, last I read about was the P4/P5 and the Xeon.

The other thing is how many vendors there are now. TD has gotten huge since the early 90s selling replacement NES controllers and repair kits and used games, Newegg's prices aren't any better on a lot of things than CDW, which as I recall were about $50+ higher than the place I used to buy from.

[Spivonious]

I've had horrible experiences with Tiger Direct's service, so I won't buy anything from there. I've had nothing but good experiences with NewEgg, and when I left a good review for them on another site, they sent me a t-shirt and hat just out of the blue. Newegg's prices aren't always the lowest (although they usually are) but the service makes up for it.

With that said, here's a breakdown of Intel's naming scheme for the Core 2 Duos (unless you do 3D modeling, CAD stuff, quad-core isn't worth it):

E1000 - Core 2 Duo with 512KB L2 cache (2x256KB), marketed as Celeron
E2000 - Core 2 Duo with 1MB L2 cache (2x512KB), marketed as Pentium
E4000 - Core 2 Duo with 2MB L2 cache (2x1MB)
E6000 - Core 2 Duo with 4MB L2 cache (2x2MB)

Anything with an "X" in the model name has an unlocked multiplier for safer overclocking.

Intel has updated all of these with processors fabbed on a smaller process (45nm vs 65nm) which will generate less heat, but the architecture stayed pretty much the same. These are the E5000, E8000, etc. I haven't been keeping up with the latest releases, so someone can correct me if I missed something.

More L2 cache = more speed, since the processor won't have to hit system RAM as often. I have an E6600 at home and an E2180 at work, and the E6600 is noticeably faster.

For the motherboard, I'd try to find a board by Gigabyte or Asus or Intel with the P45 chipset.

You'll want to go with at least 2GB of RAM, preferably 4GB to keep the system ready for the next 4-5 years. DDR2 is fine, but if you find a good deal then going with DDR3 won't hurt.

For video card I'd go with something with the Radeon 4850. It's currently the best bang for the buck, although if you want to spend a little more, the 1GB version of the 4870 just got a great review on Anandtech.

Similarly to Lou, if you PM me a price you're looking to spend I could put together a nice system for you.

edit - btw, both of the barebones you posted have 3 year-old motherboards in them.

[Newc]

Thanks for the info.

Pricewise I'm thinking between $600 & $700, with $750 as an absolute max (I mean, if it's $751, then that's ok, but you know how it is, "just another buck" can become another 100 )

The only 3D stuff I run regularly is Poser 7 and Bryce 6. I don't have Max - might get it later, might not - I've tried it before but really only used it for Poser conversions - never could get into actually using it like a Pro.

Quadcore is not a necessity, but I wouldn't mind a board that I could upgrade to it later if needed.

2GB Ram is fine, with the option to go to 3 or 4 later.

The only game I'll be playing on it is Oblivion, specifically with the Construction Set, so a mega-intense video card is not a requirement. Might go for a Hauppuage video capture card like a friend of mine has, but again, that's not a requirement. 1280x1028 resolution or its HD equivalent (1280x768? 820? whatever), though I'm still using a 15" flatpanel SVGA monitor.

Sound card is covered - SB Audigy Plat Pro.

USB is where I'm gonna need the beef: 2 printers (large format and regular inkjet), scanner, keyboard (USB optional on that, but it does light up only when in the USB port ), probably up to 4 external hard drives. I can do hubs if I have to. Front, back, whatever.

DVD RW is a necessity.

All that stuffed inside a case that I can get into and out of easily and everything plugged in that needs to be plugged in (I can't chase down front USB hub pins )

That's about all I can think of.

I doubt I'll go back to packing the case with drives, so a huge power supply (500W) isn't needed.

[Ben...]

the only game you're going to play is Oblivion? You're a champ! That game's so fun. Get some mods for it though. It makes run so much smoother.

[LouSiffer]

With those details, I would configure it like this going through New Egg:

MoBo: $126.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128344

CPU: $189.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036

RAM: $50.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227178

Case & PSU: $114.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153084

Video: $89.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102715

Hard Drive: $84.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

CPU Fan: $19.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134

Grand total of $677.93.

The DVD drive is going to cost you $20-30 more depending on your brand preference. I Personally pay a little more for Plextor drives.... these are about $40.00.

This is matching the MoBo to the CPU as well as matching the the 2 GB RAM to its maximum factory output for best performance.

The Mobo has 8 USB 2.0 connectors on back and 4 internal to be routed to the front panel, of which, the case is not " purty ", but, it has the 4 USB 2.0 terminals on the front as well as a Fire Wire port.

The MoBo will work with the Quad Core as well, and the Quad core is actually the same price, it has a higher Cache, but, a lower FSB. Arguing over which is better to have a bigger Cache vs. a bigger FSB is like two guys arguing Ford vs. Chevy... people will make valid points on both sides. In this case, I would rather have a dual core with 6MB Cache and 1333 MHz FSB vs. a Quad with 8MB Cache and a 1066 FSB. Again, someone else can make a completely valid and opposite point. But, if you want to go Quad Core, the price is the same as the Dual Core above.

I know you said you do not need a lot of video, but, with a good video card doing all your designing, it helps relieve the RAM. Also, this card has dual monitor capability, which you might find useful in your programs.
Also, here is all the MoBo specs: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...ProductID=2842

Hope this helps.-Lou