Computer Shopping

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Heya,

I need your help. I now have the money saved for a new computer (woot!) and I havent purchased one in a couple years so I thought I would see the wisdom of the people who may be good at this. I'm trying to spend less then $900 total. I dont need a monitor (as I already have too many). I would also like to stay away from Gateway/Emachines.

Heres What I need/want:
USB2.0/Firewire
2GB (atleast for memory)
CD/DVD (read and write)
400GB+ HDD
Intel Procesor Perferbly dual or quad core
Ability to have dual monitor added (once you go dual you don't go back!)
Plenty of Expandibility in case and expansion slots
Windows XP (Vista is the SUX)

Wanted But Not Needed:
TV Tuner w/ HDTV
Awesome Graphics Card
802.11b/g
The Ability to Clean My Apartment

No, Pinky from Pinky and The Brain paid me off for some of my evil work....

Not really - just ran into some savings bonds I didnt know I have.

Zach,

Are you comfortable with building your own rig? Sometimes you can get pretty good barebones kits at a reasonable price and then add the components as you can afford them.

If you are looking at a pre-built, then yes I would avoid Emachines and gateway.

I use a lot of Dells here at work and they are not the most expandable out there. The HPs I have with the exception of the servers are not very expandable either.


If you want a pre-built system, I would look at the smaller vendors like Sys Computers or a local system builder.

If you know anything about computers, building your own is probably the way to go. You only get what you want and no useless extras , such as "bloatware" (and Vista!). I've found that www.newegg.com gives me some nice deals on components.

I don't know much about the Macintosh camp since I don't use one. They tend to be more expensive and you can't really build them yourself

I am well capable of building my own computer - its just been a while. You know when you had to walk to the computer desk uphill both ways.

So I'm a little worried about the changes in technology.

It has not changed too much in the last decade or so.

Put all the parts together, boot it up and start installing XP and all the drivers.

Only change is in what components are compatable, like getting the appropriate ram and correct cpu socket. It is really about the same.


Now if the last time you built a system you installed an mfm hard drive, then you would be in for quite a shock

Its the compatibility I'm worried about. I dont want to waste money on ordering the wrong parts.

Just a quick idea/suggestion. I spec-ed this out on NewEgg just now. You could always add more RAM later and/or upgrade to quad core down the line. The 8800GT video card listed is currently out of stock, but I recommend waiting for it. The new 8800GT is amazing for the money. I recommend EVGA as they have lifetime warranty for retail products, along with their "Step-Up" program where you can trade up to a newer card within 90 days and they'll apply the full price you paid for the first card. It's just around a C-note above your stated budget, but if you already have an ATX case you could use, that'd make up the difference.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6550 - Retail - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115030

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail - $96.00 (-$40 mail-in rebate through Nov 8th)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145034

Motherboard: Intel BLKDP35DPM LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - OEM - $106.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813121313
(includes 1 IEEE 1394a (Firewire 400) port)

Hard disk: Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136178

Optical: LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE Model DH-20A3H-08 - Retail - $35.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827106077

Option #1
Video: EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130303

Option #2
Video: XFX PVT71JYPF4 GeForce 7950GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $189.99 (-$30 mail-in rebate through Nov 15)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150197

Case: LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811112025

Power supply: ENERMAX EG495AX-VE FMA ATX12V Ver 2.2 485W Power Supply - Retail - $79.99 (-$20 mail-in rebate through Nov 16)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817194015

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64Bit SP2C - OEM - $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116378

Edit: Oops! Forgot the OS. Also brought down the specs a bit on the power supply, and hunted for a different motherboard and hard disk to keep the price down. Added a second option for the video. The 8600 series and below from the GeForce 8xxx family are a bit gutless. For now I'd recommend only the 8800GT/GTS or higher. The 7950 should do fine for now, though it does lack DX10 support. But that likely won't be an issue for a while, and by the time it matters you'd probably want to upgrade anyway.

Video Option #1 (Option #2)
Total before rebates, not including shipping: $1,118.92 ($1,018.92)
After mail-in rebates, not including shipping: $1,058.92 ($928.92)

Went with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883107508