[frantique]

Community and humour are my expertise at Geekstogo (some wouldn't agree with the latter but that's ok cause he's probably busy stuffing his face with bananas!).
I am not at all technical, although I've learnt such a lot here. I am desperately in need of a new desktop and have been doing a lot of searches to get ideas and opinions - whilst these have been extremely helpful, all in all I've become a bit confused and as I would like the system to last me for quite a while I'd like to 'get it right'. I wish I could build my own, however that is not an option, although I could get it put together locally if I received enough help with all of the 'bits' I'd need to purchase.
The two local shops leave a little to be desired in my mind and I would rather not purchase their ready built systems.
At this point I use the computer to hang out here and surf a bit, some admin work, some study. Do a bit of desktop publishing. Maintain a small database. Have large files of photos, though don't personally do any videoing (may do so in the future), don't use at this time to view TV or movies (may do so in the future). Don't do any gaming. To some extent my use has been limited by the fact that the current system is way out of date with little option for upgrade, so I would like a system that can handle some media stuff (good sound, video playback, etc).

I am contemplating the system below and would opt for 2GB ram. Please also check out the 350B4 and give me an opinion. I really don't know what I want! I want to try to optimise my future needs and I don't even know what they are.

http://www.pc-expres....au/prod741.htm

I realise you're all pretty busy (and also pretty!!) and I'd greatly appreciate any advice, suggestions and help offered.

[thenotch]

This price can be easily beaten if you wanted to put the system together yourself or knew someone who could do it for you.

I priced a system from NewEgg out and before shipping and including (and upgrading some of the items) it came out to $787 including the MS Home OS.

The speaker system would be better, the motherboard would be better, the video card WAY better, the monitor is a quality Acer LCD and it would be housed in a QUALITY Antec case...

Here is what I came up with for that price:

* Antec PERFORMANCE TX TX1050B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply
* ASUS P5PE-VM LGA 775 Intel 865G Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
* Intel Pentium 4 641 Cedar Mill 3.2GHz LGA 775 EM64T Processor Model BX80552641
* pqi POWER Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
* LG 18X DVD±R Super-Multi DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model GSA-H42N-BK
* Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
* BIOSTAR V6202AL26 GeForce 6200A 256MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card
* Acer AL1706Ab Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor
* Cyber Acoustics CA3001WB 14 watts 2.1 Speaker
* Logitech 967738-0403 Black USB Standard Deluxe 250 Keyboard
* Logitech 953686-0403 Sea Gray 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel PS/2 Optical Mouse
* Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack

So I guess if you don't mind spending the extra $200 to have someone else do it and you are OK with a lower end mainboard, speaker, graphics card, and unknown monitor then it's an OK deal...

[frantique]

Thenotch thank you for your response. So what your are saying is that the specs of the system I am looking at consists of a 'lower end' mainboard, speaker and graphics card? This is what I need to know. I would prefer to spend the money and get better equipment, only thing is I really don't know what is better.

[thenotch]

Well the board isn't terrible, but it's not along the lines of an ASUS, MSI or Gigbyte IMHO.

The graphics is on-board graphics, which means it shares it's memory with your system memory. OK if you aren't really worried about anything fancy, but if you start messing with graphics and playing games your video card becomes a sticky point.

The speakers are built into the monitor... they are going to sound like crap. The ones I priced are cheap and come with a sub-woofer.

Also, there is no mention about the case, other than it has a 500W PSU. The Antec case I quoted is a consistently high-quality, reliable case and the PSU is Antec made as well. Reliability is the key here.

You could add a few more things to this system to enhance it (a better sound card, 5.1 speakers, modem, etc) and probably still be under the $1000 that the system you mentioned has for their price.

Now, you ARE without warranty mind you since this is a custom built system. So, that is a factor to take into consideration.

[warriorscot]

You do have a warranty on all of the parts you just have to troubleshoot yourself and the parts warranties are usualy longer than the one on a system its not unusual to get a 3 year warranty on most hardware.

The notch's system is good but i would maybe suggest trying to go AMD either 939 or AM2 it will get you a newer system for usually at least here a similar amount of money as the AMD chips prices rock bottomed when Intel released the core 2s and for low to mid end systems they are great buys if you are on a budget and offer good upgradability. If you put it together yourself which we can help you with you almost always end up with a better system and better all round quality.

[Johanna]

If you go on the Tiger Direct site and look at the "bare bones" systems, you can sometimes put together a sweet deal if you don't mind shopping for your odds and ends. Usually you specify certain criteria, then you get choices of what to add or upgrade, and the site calculates the price as you go along. It might be fun for you to just explore the possibilities? Most hardware already comes with a manufacturer warranty, and you can't get better tech support from, say, Dell, than G2G, of course. I wouldn't worry about that stuff. Any defective parts can be returned to New Egg or Tiger Direct for a no-fuss refund, and though I've seldom had to do it, it has never been anything more than a delay. If you already own an OS you can skip buying one on a barebones and save some more money. The system Thenotch assembled is a sweet computer for what you said you plan to do with it, and has expansion capabilities.

Intel vs. AMD is "Fords and Chevys" as quickly as the technology is developing. I like AMDs, but I would look for a price to give me the most bang for my bucks. This is a really good time to buy computers and parts. The manufacturers are in a transition, too, and want to dump inventory.
Johanna

[The Skeptic]

Since you are not sure what your future needs will be it is important to have good quality basic system. Everything else can be added later, according to need. Looking at the specs I would suggest to add the extra money and go for Pentium D. One thing I dont like is the memory ehich is only DDR 400. Modern boards must support DDR2 and if the AsRock can't do that then I would choose another board. Also memory modules should be of DDR2 type. 1 Gig is enough to start with. If you find in the future that it's not sufficient you can add it latter. The same with video and audio cards. For your needs, as described in your first post, the onboard video and audio can give excellent service. Latter on, if the necessity arise, you can add cards to your liking. I would definitely buy reasonable quality exteernal speakers. The ones in the monitors are good for nothing.

[frantique]

Thank you thenotch, warriorscot, johanna and The Skeptic for your valuable advice. Things are getting a little clearer. Following your suggestion johanna I checked out a site here in Australia that does pretty much the same thing in terms of choosing the different components. I have kind of used your system, thenotch, as a guide. I'm sure there are many more and I'll look into them a bit tonight. In the meantime what do you all think about the specs in the link below. (Remember this is in AU$ so it would roughly be around US$1120 for Core2duo 6300).
http://www.msy.com.au/SYSTEMS/P3.pdf
I've taken on board your suggestion The Skeptic, about upgrading as I need it rather than trying to put together the 'best' system now. They have cheaper systems, however, the video card seems to be integrated and the ram is DDR, so I opted for the better choice. These are the basics (also have AMD) :
http://www.msy.com.a...TEMS/Value1.pdf

[warriorscot]

Yuck Via integrated gfx they are using REALLY cheap motherboards not to good, and it does seem expensive even taking into account that Oz is the most expensive place to buy computers i know of but still its a bit much for what you get before upgrades. I would go and budget but i dont know what are good sites in Oz none of the people ive helped from down there have ever used the same place twice try and find out what is a good one and what ship to you etc. etc. ask around or search for a reliable store in aus so we can get an idea of current prices.

[frantique]

How about this one http://www.jw.com.au/system_view.asp?id=3&...ce+T510+Package

or this with an upgraded graphics card http://www.pc-expres...au/prod1090.htm

or there are some AMD packs half way down this page http://www.ticomputers.com.au/

I'm still searching - there must be lots of business doing this.

[warriorscot]

Its hard to find ones that do it well and cheaply your better finding places that just sell that parts you can also compare prices with them and try get an idea of the price ranges. I looked at parts prices and i have to say the prices seem like highway robbery i knew they expensive but either that shop gouges people or they are getting more expensive i put together a quick system and it was allot more than i expected, cases were 4 times what they are here.

[frantique]

I am thinking I may be going about this the wrong way. Instead of coming up with systems that I would like you to check out and comment on for me (which is very time consuming for you and also doesn’t serve to assist or help out other readers of the topic who may be in the same boat as me), perhaps I need to learn more about what I want. Would it be better if we list the various components and you advise what would be the optimal minimum requirement I would need for each. I can then do some searches and come up with a couple of options for you to critique. Please bear in mind that I don’t have any idea at all about the different components.
There is a good site I can access that gives competitive prices for stuff from 260 aussie stores (online and shopfront), however I need to know what I am looking for. I’ve checked some of thenotch’s components out – his same processor I can get for AUD$115 (US$91) and monitor for AUD$253 (US$201) and hard drive for AUD$152 (US$121).

[The Skeptic]

You know, many times it looks funny to me the way people look at computers. It's like soccer fans. One will love ATI the other will consider it rubbish and will go for nVidia only. One will consider Asus as a great motherboard and others will consider it no better then the others. There are so many brands, all made in Taiwan (or in their factories in china) that it looks to me sometimes as if there is one little Taiwanese factory stemping billons of boards under million names.

If you are price conscious (like most people in my country) don't take brand names too seriously. I know that it sounds like heresy but a generic 500w power supply unit that cost less then 20 us$ will give a service as good as one costing three times as much. If you are not a gamer, and it seems that you are not, and you only want a reasonably priced computer for everyday use, then don't take too seriously the whole matter. You should note that most computer problems are software related and even the best computer will succumb to a nasty virus.

Since technology advances so fast your best performance computer of today becomes an old horse two years down the road.

I'll tell you what I think you should have and I really don't care much about brand names.

• A box with a power supply unit of about 500w.
  
• Pentium D 3.0 gig CPU you don't need more then that.
  
• A motherboard with FSB speed of 800 or more, supporting hyperthreading and DDR2 ram. The motherboard should have audio, video and communications card integrated into it. Don't worry about sound or video quality, you will be amazed how good they are). All the specs that I mentioned here combine to a standard, modern, motherboard. nothing special.
  
• A hard disk which will suit your needs (I, for example, could manage with 20 gig but don't tell it to anybody). A 160 gig will give you ample space.
  
• 1 gig ram. (I manage with 512 MB,no problem)
  
• A DVD R/W drive.
  
• A floppy drive. This looks like old fashioned but I love it and many times it's indispensable for solving problems.
  
• Descent speakers. If you like to hear music while working then this is important
.

That's it. Take it easy and don't worry too much about the hardware. You can always add more memory, add a better quality sound car or video card.

Regards

Always Skeptic

[warriorscot]

I think that might be a good idea, then youll know what to look/ask for and nobody is going to try and sell you anything you dont need and you will see the bargains.

Well CPU wise on your budget you wont afford a core 2 an AMDx2 or a pentium is the best bet the x2s 3800+ to a 4200+ is i think the best CPU it will be faster than any pentium you can afford and should be cheaper for you the prices are really low which means you could get a current gen AM2 cpu and motherboard and are just in your price range and would offer the most modern system, but the old p4s might be a little cheaper but i think it would be worth it to get an X2 it would last you longer and the newer 65nm ones operate with very little heat output so they make for a quiet system and of course they are dual core.

The antec cases were very expensive the best budget case i usually reccomend is a sonata II as its a nice good looking and very quiet case that comes with a quality PSU but it was quite expensive not anymore than other cases but still more than i expected but if you should around you might get it cheaper.

Ram i shouldnt imagine you will need more than 1Gb and a pair of 512Mb sticks are cheap enough anywhere i wouldnt reccomend getting less than 1Gb though. Corsair is one of the best names for cheap value ram that is also high quality but selection isnt what it could be so really whatever you can get hold of that is compatible(probably/hopefully DDR2 of some sort).

You dont need powerful gfx so a cheap card if you can find one will do but even 3 year old cards are expensive in Oz twice ive seen old x850s for money that could by 1950s here.

Hard drives are easy varying sizes and prices whatever you can find that is cheapest the one allready picked by the notch is good although a 200 or 250 might save you a little.

For your OS i dont know what you are going to pick but for what you use it for you could easily enough get away with using linux as your main OS and save you some cash that you would have had to spend on windows.

PS i have to disagree with the skeptic when it comes to a generic PSU, get them at your own risk you can get lucky and get a reliable one but personally a quality PSU is worth it to get the protection because PSUs are one of the few parts that can cause damage to a whole system i dont think its worth gambling on.

[thenotch]

warriorscot, on Mar 16 2007, 02:46 PM, said:

PS i have to disagree with the skeptic when it comes to a generic PSU, get them at your own risk you can get lucky and get a reliable one but personally a quality PSU is worth it to get the protection because PSUs are one of the few parts that can cause damage to a whole system i dont think its worth gambling on.

I also agree.. your PSU is not something to take for granted... for peace of mind and safety you are better off getting a PSU with a good track record. Sure, a cheap one might work great without a hitch, but like warriorscot stated, if it does go south on you you could potentially fry EVERYTHING in your system.. i'll spend the extra $$$ for a quality PSU.

I also would say that a Pentium D processor is not necessary. AMD makes quality processors that are cheap and speedy. Look at your requirements and match that up with what the Intel or AMD processor can offer you.