Damsel in Distress

[dr3amsndigital]

Hi everyone!

My name is Megan and I'm new here, not to mention fairly ignorant when it comes to computers.
I'm looking into purchasing a new computer. My old one is erm... Well, it was a hand me down. I think she's been around for nearly seven years... In my family anyway.
As time has progressed she simply cannot meet my needed requirements anymore. So as sad as it is to see her go, I need a more reliable computer in general.
I will be building a portfolio of digital photography, recording music, programming and web page design [I will be taking several courses this upcoming year in computer programming, web page design, and other tech courses]. So far IÂ’ve gathered that an LCD monitor is a bad idea if I intend to work with digital photography. The below link is what a questionnaire recommended me to and I would really appreciate someoneÂ’s personal/professional opinion. I would be much obliged and it would mean a lot.

What was recommended

Thanks for taking the time to read this and even considering helping me out. It really means an awful lot!

-Megan

 

[lookin4help]

I would go 2GB RAM, the Celeron D is a piece of crap, go with the e6400 (I'd say e4300 but I am assuming you dont know how to overclock), also a nice 19+ inch LCD monitor would be fine IMO, but upgrade your graphics card to something like a 7600GT or even better the 7900GS they have listed. That will bring your price up, but check around at the different sites that prebuild (Dell, HP, ibuypower.com) and see if you can get a better deal on the same system.

 

[str8lazy]

I RECOMMEND that you do NOT buy that thing.

I am sure the majority of us could give you a list of parts, but would you be up for the task of assembling the machine. Or are you just wanting to have the computer be pulled out of the box and plugged into the wall.

In the end, its performance per dollar, I am fairly confident that just about all of the experience PC Builders on the forum can give you a list of that parts that would suite you better than what was recommended by whom ever.

If you don't want to put a computer together, I highly recommend that you go to http://www.dell.com and surf.

Granted those will be a bit pricier, but you will be getting much more for your money than what you would be paying for that "recommended" computer.

If you really really want, I could put together a parts list and build it for you free of charge. Granted you would have to pay for the parts (I'm not that generous)

 

[Ellothar121]

Okay, As I understand it, you want something for general home and school uses, as well as some programming. Lookin4help, it's ironic that you're here, because I'm using your list as a basis for what I'm recommending to her!

Mobo: $105
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813138037

Processor: $185 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005

RAM: $64 -->$78-$15(Mail-In Rbt.) http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220088

Video Card: $90 -->$110-$20 (Mail-In Rbt.) http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130062

Power supply: $40 -->$70-$30 (Mail-In Rbt.)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103937

Optical Drive: $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106057

Hard Drive: $63
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136062

Network Card(s): $35 -->$25(Wired)+$20(Wireless)-$10(Wireless Mail-In Rbt.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833124120(Wired)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16833180019(Wireless)

Flash Drive(s): $40 -->$60-$20(Mail-In Rbt.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220163
Subtotal: $763, Plus Case
Mail-In Rebates: $95
Total Before Shipping/Tax:668, Plus Case

~*~*~*~
Here's the outline, now;
Motherboard/Processor: Pretty good, you'll want it for any big programs. If you don't know how to overclock, and don't want to learn how, go with the E6400.
RAM: 1GB Should do you fine. You're not playing any hugantic games, are you? I.E. World of Warcraft, Battlefield 2142, etc.
Video Card: Again, as long as you're not playing high-end games, this should do you fine.
Power Supply: Modular power supply at a relatively inexpensive price. I think that about covers this.
Optical Drive: So long as you're not burning/watching Blu-Ray DVD's on this, that should be great.
Hard Drive: Not downloading/storing movies, right? As long as that's the case, this is good.
Network Cards: Wired and Wireless, so that you have the option between them. If you get the Wired version, don't forget an Ethernet Cable!
Flash Drives: Invaluable. The Three pack is so that you have one for:
A) School; B) Your Photo-stuffs; C) Miscellaneous Things; And, they're color coded!
~*~*~*~
If you need a monitor, here's a good LCD one. I don't know why you wouldn't want an LCD Monitor... But, if you absolutely HAVE to have a CRT, here it is...
~*~*~*~
This is all assuming you want a black case. If you order something else, I'm not responsible for how bad it looks. If, however, you enjoy the color blending, remember I'm the one that told you to do it

EDIT:
That's a BIG post right there. too many breaks. attempting to make it smaller.

 

[dr3amsndigital]

Thank you so much for your help! I'm going to ask some friends of mine, see what they think. I'll probably redirect one of them here to talk to yall. They know more than I do. =^.^= Thank you sooooooo much though, this is such a big help. I felt really silly for asking. Str8lazy, I might take you up on your offer, no tellin! Well thanks, you'll be hearing from me soon!

-Megan

 

[dr3amsndigital]

1 GB and no WOW? I dunno if I can do that... [Sort of joking, but not entirely]. I'm completely willing to learn how to overclock, I'll need to eventually anyway.
I suppose I don't need to mess with BDs, I'll be focusing in dig. photography more than anything else anyways I think.
Here's a big question. I've danced around the interwebs, I've read here and there. When it comes to the monitor that I should be getting, according to some photographers/graphic designers, they consider the CRT better when it comes to colors but the LCD when it comes to detail, what does anyone on here have to say? It's faily important to me.
Thanks again for all of your help! This is my first "new" computer, so I'm really excited.
Bye for now!
-Megan

 

[saltynay]

how come i didnt offer to have my rig built for me for free lol

 

[Koujin]

Wow should be able to run just fine one 1GB, my friend was able to play that with 512, however he did fall off many cliffs. That aside when looking at monitors the main reason people say if you're doing photography to get a CRT is because they can display more colors in general. That's not to say however that LCD monitors aren't catching up, what you would want to look for in a LCD is an 8-bit color depth instead of 6-bit. The reason for that is 6-bit tricks the eye into seeing Millions of colors whereas 8-bit actually shows them. You can tell the difference if they manf. lists the color 8-bit = 16.7 million (usually) and 6-bit = 16.2 or 16 million (usually). The nice thing about a LCD monitor is the crisp image it displays as opposed to the adjusting of a CRT.

The list that was put up looks pretty nice, however on the RAM you may want to get two 512 sticks instead of just one 1GB so that you can run the system in dual channel instead of just one, allowing you to send info twice as fast between memory and the processor. (this is very nice for compiling large source files) Also you wouldn't really need a wired Ethernet card because there's one built into the motherboard already, so you'd only need a network card if you were going wireless, Everything else looks really good though. Don't forget also you'll need an operating system so if you don't got one to install at home you may want to pick up a copy of windows xp/vista, mby even download a uber awesome version of Linux for free

Have fun with your new computer.
-Kouj

 

[Ellothar121]

I can't answer your LCD/CRT dilemma, but I can tell you that if you'd like to get more RAM, you can buy two of those. They'll run in Dual Channel (don't worry if you don't know what that means...), which means that your computer will run faster (...because I'm about to tell you.). If you want to play WoW, you might want a better Graphics Card, as well;
Updated List, with 2 GB RAM and 7900GS.

Mobo: $105
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813138037

Processor: $185 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005

RAM(x2): $64/ea -->$78-$15(Mail-In Rbt.)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220088

Video Card: $145 -->$160-$15 (Mail-In Rbt.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130056

Power supply: $40 -->$70-$30 (Mail-In Rbt.)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103937

Optical Drive: $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106057

Hard Drive: $63
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136062

Network Card(s): $10 -->$20(Wireless)-$10(Wireless Mail-In Rbt.)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16833180019(Wireless)

Flash Drive(s): $40 -->$60-$20(Mail-In Rbt.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220163
Subtotal: $866, Plus Case and Operating System
Mail-In Rebates: $105
Total Before Shipping/Tax:761, Plus Case and Operating System

For overclocking, look here.


Now, time to answer other people:

Saltynay, because you joined in December. Dur. Everyone knows that whoever joins in December has to do it themselves.

Koujin, I assumed that she'd upgrade RAM eventually, anyways (Everyone I know has, I'm pretty sure it's inevitable for humans to become dissatisfied with their norm), so I gave her 1x1GB so she'd still have 2 slots left over. If she wants to just have 1GB, she can have at it.

EDIT: Koujin, you are right about the Wired part, so I'll fix that...

EDIT2: Also, I'd recommend going with XP Professional($140) or Vista Home Premium($120).