MarbleGT

Ive got $1200 to spend on a new Computer, dont need anything but the computer itself (no speakers, monitor, etc.) I DONT WANT A LAPTOP!! What should i get. Used for games and graphic type stuff (photoshop, illistrator, flexi).

rise

http://www.aacdirect.com/index.asp?C...EST-Y28&promo=

i remember reading a shootout review of various gaming computers and AACDIRECT came out on top. Price/performance

Lister00169

Do you want to build it yourself? If so, then newegg is a great place to start. If you want something quick and easy, and don't plan to mod the computer with upgrades soon, then get a Dell XPS series. My cousin has the 1600 series and it's pretty nice. Wait for some slickdeals or techbargins coupons and you could get a very nice system for < 1K.

BstonBruin

I've always had HP's and never had a problem with them. If you want a computer with Windows Media Center (TV, radio, etc) then consider looking into a HP.

JimmyCarter

Plus its more fun to build it yourself.

Billiam

My one piece of advice if you're building a system yourself is not to cheap-out on any of the components. By that I mean don't try to save money by purchasing a cheap power supply, memory, or motherboard. IMO, you're asking for stability problems if you do this. If you need to cut costs, buy smaller hard drives or go one model down the chain on your processor or video card.

JimmyCarter

And don't bottleneck your system. I just upgraded my video card and my 3dMark03 score (meaningless stat perhaps) jumped by roughly 350%

Python2121

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051014/index.html

"the $500 gaming rig"

i would take what they list there and get slightly better stuff. then i would add a dell 2005fpw and a set of logitech z-5500 speakers

slayer202

I'm in the process of building myself a computer for the first time. here are the parts ive selected so far:

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $105
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 - $233
eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N517-AX Video Card - $350
SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply 100 - $100
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $78.67 x2

JimmyCarter

Sounds nice. Sound Card? Case? OS? It's all the stupid details that caught up with me when I built my first one. I was stuck with an unusable computer for a few weeks while I waited for all my ebay shipments to come in

Python2121

i buy almost everything from newegg

Bobbydoedoe

We get taxed in cali, but yea newegg got good prices and servies

MarbleGT

so does a $1200 dell go further than a $1200 "do-it-yourself"? Ya'll are really helping, thanks!

Mizouse

man if i had $1200 on me i would soooooooo not spend it on a computer even thou i need a new one

Billiam

If you have nothing to begin with, then the answer to your question is no. The big names like Dell and so forth purchase so many parts that they can afford to pass them along at prices that are usually cheaper than what you can part-out yourself. Building a machine on your own can save you money in the long run because you can recycle parts that are still fine and upgrade only what you need to.

BTW - Does anyone know how the AMD San Diego core differes from the Venice core?

MarbleGT

its outrageous that you would suggest that...no computer=no Acurazine

SwervinCL

building your computer is a lot funner to do, plus if it breaks you will have a pretty good idea where to start trouble shooting. But a DELL would be a lot easier and probably save yo ua lot of frustration, but building one is a lot better experience. PLUS if i had 1200 bucks to dump into a computer. i could build one a hell of a lot better than i could buy one for that price.

The thing that sucks with DELL and other built ones is that it comes iwht a lot of useless bundled software. With a home build one you can be selective on what goes on your harddrive.

Hobo

uh.

anyways i have a dell that i got before going to school and it has been great, great warranty work and no problems since. About the bundled software you can always smack it right out of the box and then put back only what you need.

Ashburner

The San Diego core is a single core taken from the X2 (Dual Core) chips. From all the reviews I have read, the San Diego core is faster.

MarbleGT

im thinking about ebaying an XPS400 from a well known, well feedbacked member with warranties. Ive been looking....prices range from 600-1000. Damn! the extra money will just have to go towards my car.

Ashburner

I have built my own PC's since 1992. It is always a bit pricier but I get exactly what I want.

I have to agree with going through Newegg for all your products.

I would recommend a nice ASUS SLI (Slot 939) motherboard with an Athlon 64 4000 (San Diego core) This is basically the fastest single core CPU you can buy and will last you a while.

For a video card, a 7800 GT should be minimum. Make sure it is PCI-Express 16X.

For your hard drives, I would recommend 2 x 160gb in a striped set. Or you can mirror it if your concerned about crashing. Make sure the drives are at least 7200 RPM.

At least 1 GB of DDR400.

slayer202

here is my new final list of what I plan on buying and putting together soon:

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $105

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 - $233

eVGA Geforce 7800GT 256-P2-N517-AX Video Card - $350

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $78.67 x2

Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM - $102.50

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Computer Case - $91.99

Ashburner

This configuration looks good. The only thing I would do different is get a motherboard with SLI support and spend an extra $100 to get the Athlon 64 4000 (San Diego)

BTW, don't forget a nice power supply!

Billiam

Slayer, have you seen the Sonata II case in person? When I was shopping early in the year I recall it being rated pretty good at Newegg. When I saw it in person at Fry's, however, I was less than impressed. If it were me, I would drop the memory to 1GB and throw the money at a better case. And as Ash said, what are doing for a power supply?

slayer202

case comes with one ive heard is pretty good. what was wrong with the case when you saw it?

and i dont need SLI support. not gonna get another video card. and if i ever need SLI for something else ill just buy a new MB if i have to. and if i had another $100 to spend im sure i would upgrade the cpu

Fibonacci

I'm seriously entertaining the idea of getting a Mac next time around. Getting awfully sick of constantly updating the adware/spyware/virus killers yada yada. I'm not a gamer and don't need MS Office at home...think I just convinced myself.

slayer202

what DO you need?

Billiam

There wasn't anything obviously "wrong" with the Sonata like a bad layout or anything like that. Overall it just came across to me as flimsy and cheaply made which surprised me as I've generally liked most of the other Antec cases I've seen. I'm sure it will do you fine if you really don't want to budge on your case/PS budget.

JSuppi

I'm actually in the process of putting together a decent PC, I have heard rave reviews on the Lian Li cases but I would probably not get anything less (case wise) than a Antec P150. This is a good case if you aren't going w/ an ASUS SLI mb (the Antec NEO HE 430 PS is apparently giving a lot of people with the Asus board a seriously hard time).

Currently here are the machine specs;
-Lian Li P65B
-Enermax Liberty 500W
-Asus A8N32SLI
-AMD 64 x2 DC 3800
-XFX 7800GT 256M

and I got this all for less than 1g..

MarbleGT

ok, well i bought a "brand new" Dell XPS 600 (dual core processor, 3.4ghz, dual 256mb geforce 7800 GTX) off ebay from a guy who has 100% feedback and over 1000 sales for 1399 (buy-it-now.). There are 5 or 6 from different people at around the same price, so i decided to grab one. He said it was factory sealed, not refurbished. I got all the tech support and warranties so we will all see if i got scarred or if i got a bad ass computer.i will keep you posted. keep your fingers crossed!

rise

congrats! you have a beast of a comp!

JimmyCarter

At least for the next 6 months

Billiam

Will Dell transfer ownership of a system? I didn't think they would do that regardless of who breaks the seal on the factory tape. I thought that the service tag numbers (and therefore support) were permanently tied to whoever purchased the machine.

slayer202

that is very cheap. good luck?

MarbleGT

he said factory sealed, ive been looking at a few different sellers that do this, and ive talked to sme of the people hes sold to. some got notebooks, desktops, even just monitors. a few have used tech support with no problems, as far as the warranties go, as long as the box is sealed you are good to go.....i think

Casper42

I have the Antec Sonata (First Gen) and I can tell you its not cheaply made at all.

One of the things I love about the Sonata is the 2 120mm Fans (1 installed, 1 optional) instead of a handful of screaming little 80mm fans most other case manufacturer's offer. Has the 4 side mounted drive bays for lots of future HD additions. Plus the power supply is good enough, especially if your NOT planning to go SLI.

In that same size and everything, my only other reccomendation would be the Super LANboy, also from Antec. Almost the same design as the Sonata, but in Aluminum instead of steel like the Sonata. So if you plan to attend a bunch of LAN Parties, the LANboy might be a better choice. But I think it doesnt come with a PS, so you would have to buy one as well.

AcuraFan19

You got a good buy for your money. Im not too much of a fan of Dell or Gateway, I have had both and didnt care for either system. If I had to choose between Dell and Gateway, I would choose Dell. The problem with HP is you cant upgrade.

I built my own. All in all it cost about 1500 using Newegg and Ebay for some items(all items brand new and factory sealed).

ASPIRE X-Gear ATX Case
420 Watt Power Supply
DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D
AMD FX-55 Clawhammer Core
1GB Corsair XMS Platinum Edition
BFG NVidia GeForce FX7800 GT Over Clocked(PCI-E)
SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Gamer Edition (7.1)
SATA SONY DVD Rom
SATA LG DVD Burner
SATA Western Digital 200 GB HDD
ThermalTake Liquid Cooling System

lodi781

I built mine on newegg about 2 years ago for around 750, and it's still pretty quick.

AMD atholon 2800
soyo dragon motherboard
nvidia gforce 5950
80 gig hard drive
sony dvd burner
I forgot what power supply I used


You can obviously do much better than that now, but just a base line for you...