matterbug wrote:
Well, we're ordering a new computer- and I'm not a very technical person, lol. So, I'm going to post with what we have right now, and let me know if you think anything should be changed.
I plan on using it for gaming also, just so you know.
Dell XPS 600:
Pentium® D Processor 820 with Dual Core Technology (2.8GHz, 800FSB)
- Don't know, the jury is out on some of the tech boards on dual core since there's so few games/programs that are 64 bit and can really take advantage of the dual core ... YMMV Operating System:
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD WMCE
- Don't really like OEM versions of software - you get the company's version, not the full retail version. Not really mad for MC Video Cards:
256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800
- depends partly on who made the card, but in general nVidia is good and at least you should be able to get the up to date drivers from the nVidia site. Memory:
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2 DIMMs
- Good, to me 1 gig is standard. You may want to swap out whatever generic ram they're using and get Kingston, Corsair or OCZ (depending on your budget) Hard Drive:
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
- Way too much IMHO. The bigger the HD, the more chances of it failing. Think of a harddrive as being a sandwich- 1 layer=most stable; 2 layer=still fine; 3 layer=you start to get "tilt"; 4 layer=good chance of the sandwich falling over and apart, etc. I have a 5 yo custom with an 80 gig and with 3 people using it, still have about 80% free. I don't trust any HD over 100 gigs. Just my .02 CD or DVD Drive:
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive DVDCDR
(Question here- is it worth it to get the double layer writing drive, if I only plan on making CD's, not DVDs?) - Good to have both, I think. DVDs are more expensive, hold alot more. good if you want to back up your entire HD, things like that. But if you decide to do general back-up (which you should regularly), a 50 pack of CDs are around $20 - even less when you find a sale. Get a cheap CD "jacket" holder at the $1 store. That said, I prefer separate drives. Gods forbid only having one and having it go. Floppy Drive and Media Reader:
13 in 1 Media Card Reader
- Something I want in my next build!Modem:
No Modem Requested
- Depends, I always want one on the off chance my cable would go out. That way I could just sign up for a dial up service trial and cancel if needs be. Monitors:
Featured Upgrade!! 20 inch Ultrasharp 2007FP Digital Flat Panel
-for gaming, watching movies/videos, great. I think a 20" for general surfing would make my eyes bleed. Sound:
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1
- Good. Creative SB is about it for sound cards these days. Much better than the standard on-board audio. Speakers:
Dell AS501 10W Flat Panel Attached Spkrs for UltraSharp™ Flat Panels
- Sounds ok, I don't worry about speakers, there's a few sets floating around the house from old (dead) computers. Keyboard:
Dell Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse
- Just make sure you set the wireless up right. I tried wireless and for some reason kept getting interference (old house wiring I think). That's something you could always swap out. Plus keyboards only last that long. Optical mouse is a must. (Logitech makes a nice wired USB 2 for around $16 if you should need to swap that out - and no batteries needed). Mouse:
Mouse included in Dell Wireless Package
Office Software (not included in Windows XP):
Microsoft Office Small Business Ed.- Basic plus PowerPoint and Publisher
-Depends on your needs, sounds sufficient as long as it has Word, if you need something like that for school or whatever.Miscellaneous:
Award Winning Service and Support
Premier Warranty Support:
Dimension XPS, Specialized Support
Hardware Warranty:
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
(Question- How many years of warranty should I get?) Good luck getting any service - read some reviews on Dell (and other "big name" computer service). There are 2 schools of thought - just stick with the one year and pray that anything that's gonna happen happens in 365 days, not 366. Other people say go for the longer one, but these warranties are expensive and from personal experience with Gateway, most are not worth the paper they're printed on. Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed):
PC-cillin Internet Security: AntiVirus, Firewall, Spyware removal 15-months
-Good deal as long as it works well (I've never tried that brand) and you can configure everything easily (unlike McAfee firewall). Of course, you're aware that you can get lots of that for free. Dell Digital Entertainment:
No preinstalled software
- I have no idea what that would be. Adobe Software:
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
- is now Version 7, so you'll need to update that. This also, to me speaks to how up to date the drivers are for all the hardware (BIOS, etc.) if something that simple isn't the latest version that's been out for a while. Dial-Up Internet Access:
No ISP requested
- always a good move, less junk to have to uninstall and clear yourself. Memory Keys:
128MB Dell USB Memory Key (Going to be used for mainly carrying word documents from home to shool)
- As long as it works! And you could get something that holds more for about $15 to $25 if you find this is something you'll use.Total Cost: $2,127
- Gulp ... that seems high for a non-custom (actually a custom would probably be less and have better hardware) - you're paying for the name. Let me know how this is. Your help is greatly appreciated!
I'm in the miserable position of knowing that my custom, going on 6 years, needs more than just a few upgrades - I am going to need a new mobo, cpu, which means new PSU, graphics card, RAM ... I can salvage my HD, DVD player/CD Write/Floppy (yes we use it) ... and I am thinking dual core Athlon - cheaper, new chips run cooler, get a 939 board so I'm more "futureproof". So I'm thinking until I can afford the money and the time out of getting a cheap "for now" that I can upgrade and then network. The cheapies I'm looking at are:
http://www.emachines.com/products/produ ... prod=T6528
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883102669
(both would need upgrading - PSU/GPU/RAM)
Dell, Gateway, HP, Compaq, eMachines (owned by Gateway) all use cheap off the shelf components. Some are "branded" so you can only replace with their components, which again are cheaply made but expensive to buy.
This is a site (got in an email from eMachines) that many of these companies use for replacement parts - PCFactoryOutlet.com - take a look at prices, then go to newegg.com and search for similar products.
In your new computer, do you know what the PSU wattage is? If it's stable? What is the motherboard manufacturer? You'll probably never be able to find out who made the RAM, but I would think especially with DDR2, using a good name brand would be very wise.
One last site, I can't say that I'll ever build my own, but they have a guide to building a gaming computer for
$500 -
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/10/14/the_/index.html
If you don't have one, you'd need a case, which would add about $100, I'd up the PSU to at least 400 watts (many video cards say minimum of 350 watts). And an o/s - retail IS better in this case. So the price would probably be between $600 and $700.
Personally, if you have to go name brand (which there is nothing wrong with, just watch the prices so you don't get hosed), I'd go for something like this:
http://www.emachines.com/products/produ ... prod=T6532 $529. Uses the Windows Media Center (if that's the o/s you want), 1 gig ram, I know who makes the motherboard and it's not bad - it's an MSI
http://www.emachineupgraders.info/dir1/ ... 7207.shtml,
it's an Athlon (just my preference), has the media card, has the DVD/CD combo. Unfortunately, alot of (to me) usless software that I'd personally uninstall.
Monitor/GPU/PSU: check newegg.com, tigerdirect.com or google for good prices if you have to have that 20". And you'd need to buy a video card - the integrated probably wouldn't do much for you. I'm still trying to find out what PSU's are ok for eMachines - especially size, the cases are small but the PSUs are always weak in these. I'm going to estimate the cost for the eMachine, a monitor, decent video card and PSU at about $1,000.
Just to confuse you a little more, check out this site:
http://www.abs.com/app/ult_compare.asp
Looks to me to be at least retail hardware and you can configure systems. Just for giggles I selected the Ultimate M5 Vortex (Athlon) and configured it ... total cost $1,352 plus shipping.
http://www.abs.com/app/ShoppingCart.asp ... N=SHIPPING
If that link works, you can click the re-configure to see what I added. I can't afford it, but that system would serve us well!
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) and measure the psu to see what I can upgrade to. Still should only run around $700 to $750 total.