Computer building geeks, I need your help

[jipsy]

It has been a while since I have built a computer.

I want the following:

DSL capability (my DSL uses an external modem)
What is the best processor available now?
Ram?
Would like a RWCD rom.
Great video card.
Fairly large hard drive. I need to store a great amount of pics.
Need USB ports (at least 2)
A really good sound card.

Suggestions????????

 

[coqui]

As long as budget is not a problem here is what I would go for:

Abit AT7-Max
AMD 2600+
Crucial PC2100 RAM (at least 512 MB)
Western Digital 7200 RPM 40GB HD (probably want 2)
Lian Li PC-60 Case
Plextor PlexWriter 24X20X48 CDRW
Hercules GameTheaterXP (Sound Card)
Either a Hercules ATI Radeon 9700 or Elsa Gladiac Geforce 4
Enermax 450W Power Supply


If you truly want the best processor out there now then it will have to be the Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz processor which I would then switch the motherboard to Abit IT7-Max. But AMD is coming out soon with a comparable processor.

All in all you are looking at around $1200 if you know where to shop.

BTW what do you plan on having as cooling for this beast of a machine?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by coqui
.....BTW what do you plan on having as cooling for this beast of a machine?

Sounds like a great setup there.

 

[coqui]

Now Dan we all know that that won't be good enough.

I'm thinking a little Liquid Nitrogen will do the trick

Yes people actually do this.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Not bad but why the 40 Gig? Plenty of 7200 rpm 80 gigs and larger available and not much of a price difference...
I still don't trust AMD

 

[ahutton]

I don't like AMD processors either. They have an overheating problem and their fans fail. It's a problem that techs seem to have a hard time diagnosing and so they swap motherboards and all kinds of other stuff that doens't need to be changed.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Personally I always use the retail package Intel's.. you can't beat the fan that comes with them!

 

[coqui]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex
Not bad but why the 40 Gig? Plenty of 7200 rpm 80 gigs and larger available and not much of a price difference...
I still don't trust AMD

He said he wanted a lot of storage. 80GB are approx 30-40 more than 40 GB. I personally like having two separate hard drives to back stuff up.

AMD has been proven in the past four years much more reliable and stable than Intel. That and I like spending $100 less for a processor.

AMD is cheaper.
AMD has proven themselves too. Dell, Compaq, IBM, Gateway, all use them for their flagship models.

Acer, eMachines use Intel as theirs. There's a reason why some brands aren't highly recommended.

As for the cooling, you should never use stock fans (Intel or AMD)

I personally use water cooling which makes my PC stealth and not make a single noise. That coupled with the average temperature of My processor is 70 degrees F. In case you don't know the cooler your processor is the longer and better it runs. A stock fan will make it run at about 125 degress. High end loud fans will make it run 100 degrees.

As to techs misdiagnosing problems, that company will need better techs. I have long troubleshot issues by doing everything possible before diagnosing the problem. (including swapping processors)

As to AMD overheating, they have addressed that in their new Barton Processor core. These have been proven to run cooler than Intel's processors.

Oh and in case anyone cares retail box P4 processor 493.95 at the cheapest for a 2.8.

OEM version 480.

AMD high end processor $199. What would you rather spend?

 

[Saffron]

**Maggie looks left, then looks right** Sorry! I must have wondered onto the wrong thread by mistake. I don't recognize the language over here! I'm lost! Could someone point me in the direction of the plain ol' geeks' thread? That's where I belong.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

So for 30 extra bucks you double your drive size? I'll take that! If you are going to use one for a backup drive that's a seperate issue because that space won't be available.
That's the problem with AMD.. I have been hearing for years that NOW they are better.. they have fixed it!
And then something else happens. Their usual answer to customers that bought the ones that weren't quite right is "oh well"
Intel just keeps chugging along.
Buying the absolute fastest proccessor has never made any sense anyway because of the price curve. I would pick up a P4 2.5 for 230 bucks and be perfectly happy.. I doubt there is ANYONE out there that could tell the performance difference between a 2.5 and a 2.8

Actually test after test has shown that for normal use (not overclocking.. although it isn't bad even then) the stock intel fans that come in the retail product are excellent.

 

[coqui]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex

Buying the absolute fastest proccessor has never made any sense anyway because of the price curve. I would pick up a P4 2.5 for 230 bucks and be perfectly happy.. I doubt there is ANYONE out there that could tell the performance difference between a 2.5 and a 2.8.

This I will agree with you on.

BTW I've been using AMD for over 3 years now and haven't had a problem yet. I could list over 100 people I know personally who also use AMD and have had more problems with Intel than AMD.

Yes I am a big advocate for having system files on one drive and my personal files on another which is why I recommended 2 hard drives. That way if you have to format, all your personal stuff is still safe.

Also you say the stock fan is fine but if jipsy is looking for a high end system, I'm assuming there is a perfomance level desired.

I've been informed you are a linux geek (which I applaud) but for the users using Windows, any little thing helps. Espescially if jipsy plans on using this for photo manipulation or even games. I personally have spiked the temperature up to 95 degress on some high end games I play which with a stock fan may have locked it up (espescially when you play for hours on end like I sometimes do)

Of course if you have very good air flow inside the case (rounded wires, water cooling, or even peltier devices), it wouldn't matter as much.


BTW back to the original purpose of this thread. Jipsy, is this the price range you are looking for or do you want more/less?

Let me know since I havn'et heard from you in a while. Also I can break stuff down pricewise if you want since I have some good sources for equipment.

www.pricewatch.com is also a good place to look for computer hardware.

 

[mjenni27]

I would have to go for the watercooled P4 2.8 But only because I think it would be great to have the cutting edge for the change. In reality, I do not know of many people who NEED that much power.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Actually I am an MCSE and more of a window's geek than a linux geek but it never hurts to diversify
I think we need to define some terms. There is a high end system for a "normal" user which is what I was assuming.
Then there is the water cooled, multiple SCSI drive system for us real geeks.
I am sure there are plenty of people that are happy with AMD but if you are the one who is not.. and it seems to happen more often with AMD than Intel, that's just my experience.
On the drives if I was going to run a dual drive system I would put in a 20 gig drive for the OS, more than enough room.. and an 80 gig for personal storage, about the same money as 2 40's....
Or maybe one of those motherboards with the REALLY cool IDE raid controller built in
OR better yet an Adaptec SCSI card with a Seagate Cheetah 18 gig 10K rpm for the OS and a regular 80 gig IDE for the personal storage... NOW we are having fun!
I like pricewatch.com, have found some real deals there over the years!

 

[coqui]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex
Actually I am an MCSE and more of a window's geek than a linux geek but it never hurts to diversify
I think we need to define some terms. There is a high end system for a "normal" user which is what I was assuming.
Then there is the water cooled, multiple SCSI drive system for us real geeks.

Hehe now I know where to go when I need help when I get my MCSE.

Actually I'm getting Novell Certified first because that's what my company uses.

About a normal high end user, jipsy was asking for parts so I didn't assume this was your average user.

Although for normal users who want systems with quality parts that are pre-built, I would skip Dell and Gateway. Go here:

http://www.falcon-nw.com/
http://www.alienware.com/main/main.asp?

Now these are some sweet systems if you can't build your own.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

We have some customers that are still using Novell.. fortunately my boss knows that stuff! I can get into SYSCON if someone puts a gun to my head!
I guess that's kind of the point... she didn't really say how much she wanted to spend.... or the purpose of the system so we really don't have all the info.

 

[Serena]

I have no idea what you all said, but next time I get a computer, I'm talking to you guys first.

 

[coqui]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex
We have some customers that are still using Novell.. fortunately my boss knows that stuff! I can get into SYSCON if someone puts a gun to my head!
I guess that's kind of the point... she didn't really say how much she wanted to spend.... or the purpose of the system so we really don't have all the info.

Yeah true. So what are you looking for jipsy? I can price out a system from $500 to $10,000 depending on what you really want.

That's of course if you want Quad XP+ or Quad Xeons. hehe. I love this stuff.

And Serena, computer hardware is my passion so any time you want help ask away.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

You had to pick 10,000 dollars.. I just put in a server on my "real job" for 10k, you think it would run pretty good wouldn't you? It would if the darn slot 0 SCSI controller didn't corrupt data so bad that Intel decertified it!!!!!!!
Doesn't matter how much you spend, it is always SOMETHING!

 

[mjenni27]

Oh, go ahead price the multiple processor. Throw in the board with RAID. And make sure that the modem is the high-end dsl.

A guy can dream can't he LOL

 

[coqui]

Originally posted by mjenni27
Oh, go ahead price the multiple processor. Throw in the board with RAID. And make sure that the modem is the high-end dsl.

A guy can dream can't he LOL

Hey well the motherboard I said initially is RAID compatible (0, 1, & 0+1)

And it is ATA Serial compatible for those looking forward to that.

Now if only helenabear would let me build any PC I wanted.....oh well.