What's the best I can get for $1500.00? And where?

[gentryholdings]

During the summer I'm planning on buying a PC. I will be using it for gaming and schoolwork. But a lot of gaming. Now, I'm not a genious with computers but I do know the basics. Can someone explain to me what the motherboard speed and make is about, and the difference between the video cards. And where do you think I should shop. I don't mind buying one online.

Thanks!

 

[Jonty]

Hello

Well, where to begin? Basically, you have three options for your new PC . . .

1. Buy all the components and build your new PC yourself
2. Configure and buy your system online
3. Buy your PC from your local PC store

Personally, I'd favour the first two options, as they allow the greatest amount of customisation.

If you're going to build your own system, then you'll need to amass a lot of different parts (e.g. CPU, RAM, Motherboard, Graphics card, Sound card, Hard drive, Disk drive, Case, Speakers, Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse to name but a few things). Assembling a PC isn't as daunting as one may think. Shuttle produce what are called 'barebone' systems. You essentially get a case and a motherboard (complete with integrated surround sound, graphics and network support as standard). These kind of systems aren't for everyone, but they may be a good first step to building your own system, and you get a full-colour manual explaining how and where to plug everything in.

Alternatively, places like Dell (love them or hate them) and Alienware allow you to configure your own system and purchase it online. The latter company, Alienware, make tailormade systems specifically optimised for gaming. They use the best, so expect to pay out accordingly. It should be noted that buying online like this will not be as cheap as buying the components yourself and assembling the system at home.

With regards your questions about motherboards, there are a few things to look out for. Firstly, you need to keep in mind whether you're buying an AMD or an Intel CPU, as motherboards do not support both manufacturers. For AMD's Athlon XP range of CPUs, your best motherboard solution would be based around the nForce2 chipset. Various manufacturers support this standard (Asus being a popular brand), and you get benefits like integrated Dolby Digital surround sound (so no need to buy a soundcard), integrated graphics (good, but a graphics card would really be needed), integrated network support (so no need for a separate network card) and much more. Your best bet is to simply search sites like FiringSquad, Tom's Hardware and just read some reviews before making your choice.

With regards graphics cards, you will really want to choose between nVidia and ATi, whose cards are usually produced by third-parties (such as Gainward, Creative, MSI etc). At the moment, ATi's Radeon 9700 Pro and 9800 Pro cards offer the best performance, although you will have to pay accordingly. The ATi Radeon 9500 Pro is designed as a budget card, but, for the money, offers fantastic performance. nVidia's GeForce FX family is the only real rival to these cards, but if we're being honest, they're perhaps not as good as ATi's offerings (you may be able to pick up a GeForce 4600 on the cheap, though). Things to look out for on a new card are it's onboard RAM (128Mb is what you should look for, certainly no less than 64Mb), whether it supports DirectX 9 (DirectX 8.1 at the minimum) and a lot of other, more technical things.

As for somewhere to shop, I'm afraid I'm not particularly aware of where's good to buy in America. That said, there are a lot of retailers out there, so just shop around and never go with the first place you see something just for convenience If you can, try and buy most of your parts from just one or two stores, thus you can save on shipping costs.

Well, if you weren't confused before, I'm sure you are now hee hee. Seriously, though, if you have any questions please feel free to post again.

Kind Regards

 

[.Cask]

Sweet jebus. I hope you got paid for writing that.

 

[Jonty]

Originally posted by .Cask
Sweet jebus. I hope you got paid for writing that.

hee hee Actually this post is my longest

Kind Regards

 

[gentryholdings]

Dell

Thankyou for that response!

I have a question about Dell, I can't find the "build your own computer" section on their website.

 

[Jonty]

Hello

What Dell and co. actually do is allow you to choose from one of several base systems, all staggered in terms of performance. You can then add or upgrade components as necessary.

For example, if you go to this first selection page you can see three types of sytems. Decide which you would like and scroll down, pressing the 'Choose xxxx' link appropriately.

On the new page, more detailed specifications will be available. To start customising your system based around the range you selected, just click the yellow 'Customise' link.

Alternatively, you can choose one of Dell's 'recommended' systems (the link to which is next to the yellow 'Customise' button). These are Dell's own configurations of the range you selected.

Also, be sure to check out the (impressive) offers (e.g. free shipping, free 512MB Memory Upgrade, free 2nd Bay DVD Burner). These represent very good value for money, but they can be time limited and/or available for online orders only, so don't miss out. That said, there are always some kind of special offers available.

Hope that makes sense?!

Happy Easter!

 

[gentryholdings]

Ok, for $1704.00 including tax and shipping and full installation of all parts, I can get the following. I need to install my own OS but they fully patch the bios and test the machine for 72 hours.

BOARD: [NFORCE-2] ASUS A7N8X-DX DELUXE W/USB2.0+10/100 LAN+5.1 SOUND+IEEE1394 + 8X AGP MB (+ 79)
CABLE: ROUND CABLES FOR FLOPPY / HARD DISK / CD / DVD / CD-RW / DVD-RW DRIVES (+ 19)
CARD_MEDIA: INTERNAL 6-IN-1 FLASH MEDIA READER/WRITER (+ 29)
CAS: [SILVER] RAIDCOM ALUMINUM 8-BAY 420W CASE + WINDOW + NEON LIGHT .... [AS SHOWN] (+ 99)
CDRW: [SILVER] 52x24x52 CD-RW DRIVE (+ 10)
CPU: [NEW!!!] AMD BARTON ATHLON XP 2800+ [512K CACHE] SOCKET A CPU (+ 749) --- [requires nForce-2 MB]
FAN: CERTIFIED CPU FAN, HEATSINK & 2 EXTRA 3-COLOR LED LIGHTING CASE FANS [as shown] (+ 19)
FDD: [SILVER] MITSUMI 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE (+ 9)
HDD: MAXTOR 80 GB 7200 RPM ULTRA ATA-133 HARD DRIVE (+ 7)
KB:
PS2 104 KEY WINDOWS 98 KEYBOARD
MEMORY: [DDR333] 1024 MB PC2700 MEMORY (+ 99)
MEMORY1: UPGRADE TO =CORSAIR DDR400= EXTREME SPEED HIGH PERFORMANCE MEMORY + HEAT SPREADER (+ 39)
MODEM: PCI 56K V.90 FAX/MODEM W/VOICE
MONITOR: PERFECT-FLAT VIEWSONIC 19-INCHES A90F .21 DPI HORIZONTAL SVGA MONITOR (+ 239)
MOUSE: PS2 INTERNET MOUSE
SOUND: 3D STEREO SOUND ONBOARD
SPEAKER: 480 WATTS PMPO 3 PCS SUBWOOFER SPEAKER SYSTEM (+ 6)
TEMP: [SILVER] THERMAL TEMPERATURE LCD DISPLAY WITH 3X FAN CONTROLLER (+ 19)
USB: STANDARD 2X USB 2.0 + 2X USB 1.1 PORTS
VIDEO: ** 8X AGP ** ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB DDR W/ DVI + TV OUT 8X AGP VIDEO (+ 282)
WARRANTY: STANDARD WARRANTY PLUS FREE 1 YEAR iCARE DELUXE ONSITE SERVICE

ibuypower.com

What do you think?

 

[Jonty]

Seems pretty cool, and relatively good value for money too! No doubt others will offer you their opinion as well.

Happy Easter!

 

[Embattle]

Yeah, not bad but I wonder if they will change the 9700pro for the 9800pro in the near future.

 

[Jonty]

Originally posted by Embattle
Yeah, not bad but I wonder if they will change the 9700pro for the 9800pro in the near future.

Good point! However, just using Alienware as a benchmark, a 9800 Pro will cost around $109 more than a 9700 Pro, a problem which is compounded by the lack of availability. If you could get it cheaper, then I'd say go for it, but $109 is a lot of money when $1,500 is the budget

Kind Regards

 

[adams901]

I used to get my computers from Evesham Before I started building my own.

They use good quality parts and you can modify the order to some extent. I never had 1 problem with any of the computers I purchased from them.

they can be found at www.evesham.co.uk

 

[Jonty]

True enough However, I don't believe they ship abroad. That said, I'm sure they are worth considering for UK people in the same situation as gentryholdings (about perhaps NovaTech too?)

Kind Regards