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Buying New PC. Suggestions?

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mouser:
i suggest you go to dell.com and play around with their configuration things, they are quite nice.

f0dder:
Remember that Pentium4 uses a lot of power and runs pretty hot... not a problem per se, but a thing to consider.

And I definitely agree with mouser on the monitor issue, go TFT. Also no reason for both CD and DVD, DVD drives can read CDs as well.

dk70:
Try this instead. 789$ and based on http://www.globalcomputer.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1647673&CatId=1489

Buying New PC.  Suggestions?

Difference is you get 19" LCD, AMD socket 939 motherboard with integrated Nvidia video card. Will be decent but sure you need more. In your own configuration I would have picked Nvidia 6200 btw. You need something like 7600GS, remember an LCD almost require you to run games at its native resolution, 1280x1024. Will be tough to find video card for this. Why I say "suffer" with whatever is possible and upgrade, might surprise you.

Also I spend a bit more on power supply - which Im sure is a cheap OEM brand but what to do! Now 500W and better prepared for coming video card. And of course also a bit of overclocking  :D Stock speed is only 2000mhz but 2400-2500 should be easy. Can fiddle with that later, plenty of speed and you can run it very very cool at stock levels. Even at oc-levels actually. Not much extra voltage needed. Biostar has a software tool letting you overclock, practially build in and so easy to do safely. Just in case you doubt the little cpu, has plenty of horsepower.

Another advantage is you get PCI-E port and will without doubt get more for the money when you upgrade video.

Disadvantage is smaller hd, only 80 hd but get another or upgrade later. Have to save where it does not hurt... On the other hand 20$ more means twice the space!

That Intel motherboard dont even support coreduo, has AGP. Nah, not good enough with latest budget increase. http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/board.php?name=GeForce%206100-M9  a bit more up to date and what is in amd box.

And yes if you had both a 17 CRT and 19 LCD plugged so you could compare you would pick 19". After 1 day with that you would not be able to go back. They do not say which model it is, in their monitor section you can see there are a few at 199$. Should be ok.

XP home or XP Pro dont really matter for most people. If you know why you want Pro then get it, if not save the money. Note I did select XP Home with Phoenix Recovery because I dont know what it is. If it means you get a fixed recovery partiton full of their software I would not want it. If it is a generic tool to backup/restore/recover and it can be disable then why not. Price is the same. They also ask if you want FAT or NTFS filesystem so I guess they install XP? If that is only thing they do then ok - could be they are so nice to include a lot of crap.

MilesOhToole:
Thanks for the replies, fellas!  Now, to pick your collective brains:

i would not recommend this:

1) you dont need cdrom and dvd drive.  just 1 will do fine.
2) CRT -> i HIGHLY suggest you get an lcd.  i recently moved to lcd and the different is dramatic in terms of desk space, convenience, image quality.

i wouldnt worry about the pci-e but i would absolutely worry about the monitor.

i also would try to decide if you are going to upgrade to xp pro for real, and if so, get a machine which comes with xp pro - you really dont want to have to upgrade it..

this price doesnt seem so great to me, but i don't know these things so it might be.
-mouser (October 03, 2006, 11:40 AM)
--- End quote ---

Ok mouser...you win.  I go with the LCD.  As far as the OS, I have a copy of XP Pro.  I would opt for no OS, but couldn't find the option, so downgraded to Home and saved $59.00.  Also, about the price, I will print off the final configuration and give it to my employer.  They'll call in and find out what kind of discount I (they, technically) will get.  Is it a pain to upgrade from Home to Pro?  If so, when I get the PC, should I immediately reformat the drive and do a clean install with Pro?

Remember that Pentium4 uses a lot of power and runs pretty hot... not a problem per se, but a thing to consider.

And I definitely agree with mouser on the monitor issue, go TFT. Also no reason for both CD and DVD, DVD drives can read CDs as well.

-f0dder (October 03, 2006, 06:26 PM)
--- End quote ---

That's why I hang out here, f0dder.  Indespensible folks like yourself...I didn't realize a DVD drive could read CD ROM's.  I know, that's probably rudimentary to you guys.  I've been out of the loop for some time.

All information duly noted.  Thank you!
-dk70 (October 03, 2006, 10:46 PM)
--- End quote ---

Ok.  I think I'm following your line of thought here.  I see why you chose that PC; because it supports PCIe cards, offers upgrade to dual core and the best system for the price.  But will I see any difference right now, in a gaming experience, without a dual core processor?  And, if not, how soon would I really need to upgrade it?

Thanks, guys.  And sorry about the initial price limitation of $500.00.  I honestly thought my budget restricted me to it.  After careful consideration (skipping rent payment for a couple of months and acquiring the taste for dirt :P) I can comfortably double it.  Also, I have to keep in mind it'll be a little less than the price shown.

mouser:
i know you are getting contradictory advice here but i would not worry about a dual processor, and not worry about upgrading, and not worry about graphics card being agp or pci-e.

i think you really have to question the idea that you will be upgrading these things- probably you wont.

as for winxp home to pro, ok your explanation makes more sense.  it's probably not such a hassle to upgrade.

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