Okay, so I've NEVER shopped for a computer.... until now. We've decided that we're going to blow approximately $1000 (not enough, I know) to get a new PC.
What are the current specs these days? I'm not looking for a super hot gaming machine, because I just don't do that on my PC. I would however, like really smooth high speed internet and a nice flat monitor.
Could anyone please pitch in here with what's acceptable in terms of CPU, amount of RAM, etc. that a good, but not awesome computer would have these days?
Also, what are the pitfalls dummies would be victimized by? What should someone NOT go ahead and get?
Industry standards......
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vynsane
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oh, my... you really don't NEED $1000 to get a new pc, but it helps... and you CAN get an AWESOME computer for that amount of money (even canadian...)
okay, first... the time is ripe to go 64 bit. windows vista (the progeny of windows xp) is just around the corner, which will take advantage of 64 bit computing. you want to get a motherboard that supports a socket 939 cpu - that's an AMD board. anything that supports 939 will let you have between 2 and 4 gigs (although i've seen some that support
of RAM. 1-2 gigs should support you in all that you need to do, and make is screamingly fast. i would, however consider getting a board that supports more than 2 gigs, and have room to breathe in the future. there is such a thing as a future-proof computer these days.
hard disk space is incredibly affordable now. i just got a 200 gb drive for $82.
video cards are where you could really blow a lot of money, but i always find that the middle of the road cards are very affordable for what they offer. $100-$150 is a good amount to spend on a vid card that will support you for a couple of years. by that time, you can upgrade with another $100-$150 if you feel the urge, but i don't even think it will be necessary.
believe it or not, the screen is where you'll spend the most amount of money... i've got a 19" flat panel samsung and it cost me $750 a couple of years ago. the price HASN'T gone down all that much since. but i LOVE this screen. whatever you do, make sure it supports DVI (digital video interface) - not just D-SUB (aka VGA, aka analog) - the quality of color and clarity of words is TOTALLY different on DVI. make sure you get a graphics card that supports DVI while you're at it. the new computer that i just finished has a graphics card that supports TWO DVI's - which means i can hook up two flat panels to it and the will both be crisp and clear... i can't wait...
pitfalls: do NOT buy a pre-manufactured PC from any PC manufacturer (dell, compaq, whatever...) if you want something that will do what it says out of the box, get a MAC. the only good PC is a self-built PC.
go to http://www.NewEgg.com and click around... read the reviews. that's really all you need to know. if the people on there like it, it's gold.
just remember: motherboard: socket 939 and graphics card: DVI
okay, first... the time is ripe to go 64 bit. windows vista (the progeny of windows xp) is just around the corner, which will take advantage of 64 bit computing. you want to get a motherboard that supports a socket 939 cpu - that's an AMD board. anything that supports 939 will let you have between 2 and 4 gigs (although i've seen some that support
of RAM. 1-2 gigs should support you in all that you need to do, and make is screamingly fast. i would, however consider getting a board that supports more than 2 gigs, and have room to breathe in the future. there is such a thing as a future-proof computer these days.hard disk space is incredibly affordable now. i just got a 200 gb drive for $82.
video cards are where you could really blow a lot of money, but i always find that the middle of the road cards are very affordable for what they offer. $100-$150 is a good amount to spend on a vid card that will support you for a couple of years. by that time, you can upgrade with another $100-$150 if you feel the urge, but i don't even think it will be necessary.
believe it or not, the screen is where you'll spend the most amount of money... i've got a 19" flat panel samsung and it cost me $750 a couple of years ago. the price HASN'T gone down all that much since. but i LOVE this screen. whatever you do, make sure it supports DVI (digital video interface) - not just D-SUB (aka VGA, aka analog) - the quality of color and clarity of words is TOTALLY different on DVI. make sure you get a graphics card that supports DVI while you're at it. the new computer that i just finished has a graphics card that supports TWO DVI's - which means i can hook up two flat panels to it and the will both be crisp and clear... i can't wait...
pitfalls: do NOT buy a pre-manufactured PC from any PC manufacturer (dell, compaq, whatever...) if you want something that will do what it says out of the box, get a MAC. the only good PC is a self-built PC.
go to http://www.NewEgg.com and click around... read the reviews. that's really all you need to know. if the people on there like it, it's gold.
just remember: motherboard: socket 939 and graphics card: DVI
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jjreason
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Okay, so I got a price list from a local builder. For $999, here's what I get:
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 754 Processor ($210 to move up to Athlon)
256MB DDR PC3200 Memory ($100 to move up to 512MB)
5.1 Audio
10/100 Networking
80Gb 7200rpm Hard Drive
CDRW/DVD Rom Combo Drive ($85 to add a burner)
17" LCD Flat Panel Display
2pc Speakers w Sub
Mouse, Keyboard, Windows XP, Open Office Software Suite
Care to comment? I don't know if that CPU fits in the socket you're talking about or not - I guess I could ask the store. Also, there's no mention of which type of video the vid card supports - again I'd have to confirm with them.
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 754 Processor ($210 to move up to Athlon)
256MB DDR PC3200 Memory ($100 to move up to 512MB)
5.1 Audio
10/100 Networking
80Gb 7200rpm Hard Drive
CDRW/DVD Rom Combo Drive ($85 to add a burner)
17" LCD Flat Panel Display
2pc Speakers w Sub
Mouse, Keyboard, Windows XP, Open Office Software Suite
Care to comment? I don't know if that CPU fits in the socket you're talking about or not - I guess I could ask the store. Also, there's no mention of which type of video the vid card supports - again I'd have to confirm with them.
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vynsane
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<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by jjreason</i>
<br />Okay, so I got a price list from a local builder. For $999, here's what I get:
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 754 Processor ($210 to move up to Athlon)
256MB DDR PC3200 Memory ($100 to move up to 512MB)
5.1 Audio
10/100 Networking
80Gb 7200rpm Hard Drive
CDRW/DVD Rom Combo Drive ($85 to add a burner)
17" LCD Flat Panel Display
2pc Speakers w Sub
Mouse, Keyboard, Windows XP, Open Office Software Suite
Care to comment? I don't know if that CPU fits in the socket you're talking about or not - I guess I could ask the store. Also, there's no mention of which type of video the vid card supports - again I'd have to confirm with them.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
seriously talk to them about going for a socket 939. the 754 is not going to be upgradeable. is it an additional $210 to upgrade to the athlon??? that seems pretty steep. i would also think about having a separate dvd drive from the burner. it just makes life easier, especially when copying cd's. make sure the motherboard they are using has one 8x AGP slot (for vid card) and more than 3 PCI slots, because you want to be able to expand. go with the 512meg of ram. it's nearly a necessity, although once again that's pretty steep...
i assume these guys are putting this all together for you, including software install?
i'm putting together a couple of systems for you on http://www.newegg.com - i went a little overboard on price with the first one, but i'll be able to tone it down...
<br />Okay, so I got a price list from a local builder. For $999, here's what I get:
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 754 Processor ($210 to move up to Athlon)
256MB DDR PC3200 Memory ($100 to move up to 512MB)
5.1 Audio
10/100 Networking
80Gb 7200rpm Hard Drive
CDRW/DVD Rom Combo Drive ($85 to add a burner)
17" LCD Flat Panel Display
2pc Speakers w Sub
Mouse, Keyboard, Windows XP, Open Office Software Suite
Care to comment? I don't know if that CPU fits in the socket you're talking about or not - I guess I could ask the store. Also, there's no mention of which type of video the vid card supports - again I'd have to confirm with them.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
seriously talk to them about going for a socket 939. the 754 is not going to be upgradeable. is it an additional $210 to upgrade to the athlon??? that seems pretty steep. i would also think about having a separate dvd drive from the burner. it just makes life easier, especially when copying cd's. make sure the motherboard they are using has one 8x AGP slot (for vid card) and more than 3 PCI slots, because you want to be able to expand. go with the 512meg of ram. it's nearly a necessity, although once again that's pretty steep...
i assume these guys are putting this all together for you, including software install?
i'm putting together a couple of systems for you on http://www.newegg.com - i went a little overboard on price with the first one, but i'll be able to tone it down...
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jjreason
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That would be awesome. I don't know what they'll do in terms of shipping to Canada - but at least I could have a look and print them out to get comparable prices. I do have a good friend over in Vancouver that's right into building - I might be able to toss him the money and get it done right that way as well.
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vynsane
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k, i hope you still need some advice, because i've got a pretty smokin' rig built up for you at newegg...
jjreason's rig
all you need is a case. i figured you should pick that out for yourself. i chose black dvd/dvd burner drives for you, just as a starter on the safe side i figured you'd go black, but it can easily be changed.
basically, it comes to ~$890 ($1,059.84 CAD) but you've got a dvd-rom, dvd-burner (nega-multi-format...) 200gb hard drive, motherboard, 1gb of ram, a socket 939 amd athlon 64 3200+, 17" Acer flat panel lcd, good vid card and sound card (not top-of-the-line, but you can always upgrade them later, if necessary...) and WinXP SP2.
jjreason's rig
all you need is a case. i figured you should pick that out for yourself. i chose black dvd/dvd burner drives for you, just as a starter on the safe side i figured you'd go black, but it can easily be changed.
basically, it comes to ~$890 ($1,059.84 CAD) but you've got a dvd-rom, dvd-burner (nega-multi-format...) 200gb hard drive, motherboard, 1gb of ram, a socket 939 amd athlon 64 3200+, 17" Acer flat panel lcd, good vid card and sound card (not top-of-the-line, but you can always upgrade them later, if necessary...) and WinXP SP2.
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jjreason
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Vyn, the video card you recommended is out of stock. I've added another one to my wishlist - same company, valued at approx $10 more than the first one. Could you check and see if it would be compatible? http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wis ... dleExist=N
EDITED: Bah, a quick checkout attempt (so see if I could figure out what shipping was going to cost) has discovered a flaw. They don't offer international OR Canadian (what, we're not fucking international anymore???) shipping options at this time. Piss.
EDITED: Bah, a quick checkout attempt (so see if I could figure out what shipping was going to cost) has discovered a flaw. They don't offer international OR Canadian (what, we're not fucking international anymore???) shipping options at this time. Piss.
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Slicker
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Why don't you take it somewhere to get it built? I know that in my area at least there's a shop that'll put your computer together for free even if you didn't buy the parts from them. My roommate bought all of his computer parts off of the internet and literally took them to them in the boxes they got shipped in and they put it together for him free of charge.