Need Computer Advice

When you say "including other components" in addition to RAM, what exactly do you mean? Does it mean that Video card memory is included in that 4 gigs?
Yes.

So Windows XP should work with 4 gigs of RAM? When you say each operating system can use up to 2 gigs does that mean I could have two apps running simultaneously, each recognizing 2 gigs to total the 4 gigs of RAM?
No. Any 32 bit OS can adresses a maximum of 4 gigs of RAM. After all the memory taken by other components, the max addessable memory is about 3.5gigs. There isn't 4GB for apps to use.
 
some of the items i'm currently looking at to build my own system (prefer to build vice buy already made) are:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (good price to performance here $200)
If want Quad get the Q9300 about 300.

Motherboard: Gigabyte EP35-DS3R (about $145) or new ASUS ones ($200-400). Might want to go the the Overclockers web site to look at good comparisons of current boards. At this point am staying away from Abit until they decide if stayin in this market or getting out.
 
Hi ,

:hmm: Gary a Q . why dont you but a comp from like Fijitsu or so , .... :confused:

low price , high end , and cheap , ... where are you from :confused:

and you get two or three years of warranty and all it allready installed , ...

Have a nice day :)
 
Abgar my info must be wrong then I was always told there is no sense in putting more than 2gigs of RAM in XP because it will not be recognized.
Gary if you have the money to spend buy the best GPU graphics processing unit you can afford. That will help you with not only gaming but also in 3D apps. Also I'm not sure if you are aware of this but some people have been having problems with some of the 3D apps running on 64 bit systems.
 
Last summer when my other computer died after faithfully serving me for 4 years, I built my own for the 1st time. All I did was look online for a decent box with a motherboard with a lot of expansion slots.. Then I got on NewEgg.com to find the biggest, quietest, most badassed parts I could fit into it. and NewEgg is awesome because you can cross refference a LOT of qualities.

07-19-07_0322.jpg

07-19-07_0106.jpg

07-19-07_0153.jpg

07-19-07_0323.jpg

07-19-07_0744.jpg


I only paid around $700 for all this. I had bought the monitor 6 months prior for $220. DealDetectives.com also has a good search function for inexpensive things.
 
OK. This is my list of components for my new computer. Unless someone screams; "Wait. Gary!! It's a cookbook!!" these are the components I will be getting. I've cut corners on a couple places and gone almost all out on a couple others. I hope I've cut corners and splurged in the right places.

Things I already have for the computer:

1. OS: Windows XP upgrade disk (NON OEM)
2. 500gb 7200rpm SATA HD (Seagate)
3. External DVD/CD burner (Pioneer DVR-X152)
4. Wireless network adapter (Netgear WG311v3 PCI adapter)
5. Plenty of internal CD-ROM drives. (though with IDE cables)
6. 19" Flatscreen Monitor
7. 3.5" External Floppy Drive

Things I'm purchasing for the system:

CASE: $30.00
Power Up ATX Mid-Tower Case - Black, Front USB
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3509676&CatId=32


MOTHERBOARD: $10.00 (part of a combo deal with processor)
BIOSTAR A770 A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138106


PROCESSOR: $235.00
AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103249

VIDEO CARD: $189.00
EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318


POWER SUPPLY: $110.00
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005


RAM: $45.00
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098


TOTAL COST = $619.00
 
Any chance you could easily fix the links so they work?

And don't bother with the floppy drive. Seriously, 3.5" floppy disks have been sucking since 2000, back when the 600 MHz P3 was top of the line.

I thought i could build my last pc without a floppy drive. which meant i had to stop the building of my pc and wait for the one i ordered after i found out that i really did need it in the first place and didn't have a working spare.
 
Well, need it or not I've got one. I've had it for a few years. It still works and it's external so I can plug it into a USB. And I can set the bios up to boot from it if need be. :)
 
Part selection looks good.

Video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130359
Same card, but with a better cooler, and for less money.

Case:
You need a couple 120mm fans to go with that case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185006
Those are my favorite 120mm fans that I've tried. They're pricey, so feel free to pick out your own.

RAM:
I would consider either saving a few dollars with cheaper ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609027

Or paying a couple dollars extra for faster ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161063

Edit: Just to make sure you're not expecting it, that motherboard is not going to be overclocking that processor, at all.
 
I won't be doing any overclocking so the motherboard, hopefully, won't be a problem. I wanted the processor and the motherboard is practically a give away with it so I'm going to give it a try. If I hate it, hopefully, I can buy a better one later when I get some more $.

Thanks for the other component suggestions. I'll go with the video card. The fans are a little pricey with shipping and everything. I may see what my local PC store has (CompUSA in my case).

What about this RAM? Would either of these be good bets? They're a little cheaper with mail in rebates.


Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148076


CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034
 
I will NEVER buy SEAGATE drives again. My old computer was exclusively on those. They all failed.
 
Get crucial it's cheaper.

Concerning HDD, i've got return rates for a major french e-tailer (lower is better):
- Seagate : 1.5%
- Western: 1.7%
- Hitachi : 1.8%
- Samsung : 2.5%
And for 500gigs HDDs:
- Western : 1,2%
- Seagate : 2%
- Samsung : 2.1%
- Hitachi : 2.5%
Never buy the Samsung SpinPoint P 200 Go IDE and the Samsung SpinPoint T 300 Go IDE (more than 4% return rate)
These stats are for HDDs 6 to 18 month old.
 
Back
Top Bottom