computer assembling

[azury]

Hey there guys.
I'm buying this weekend a new computer (an early birthday present, weepi ) so I need your help to assemble a good computer.
the budget is around 1500-1800$.
I only need the computer, and prehaps a good cd-rom.. I've already a burner, a dvd player and a scanner..
I need a good graphic card for gaming, but it isn't only a gaming computer.. I need it to be steady, as well - I'm tired of a computer that stuck every 2 hours of running (actually, who doesn't.. hmm anyways)..
any suggestion of good computer component will be gladly accepted, though I would most appreciate an assebling of your own (let us say, if you had bought a new computer now for yourself, what would it contain..)..
thanks alot you guys..

 

[Seloce]

to clawhammer or not to clawhammer, that is the question!

seriously though, if you're going to drop that kind of cash...are you better off waiting for the next gen processor archetecture? the amd chip will supposedly support both the new code and the old code for i386. I am unsure, but it may be worth researching.

as far as the video card goes, you can't go wrong with the ati radeon 9700 AIW. that card is built for versatility.

for a cd burner you can't go wrong with a 52x asus or plextor burner.

an ideal spec for me right now would be as follows (this assumes you are going to do some modifying and overclocking):

case: pc power and cooling personal mid tower
psu: antec true 450
proc: amd athlon xp 3000 barton core
mobo: epox ep-8rda+
memory: corsair twinset pc2700 ddr-ram 1gb
video: ati radeon 9700 all in wonder
audio: creative labs audigy 2 platinum
speakers: klipsch promedia 5.1
monitor: sony ep40

I intentionally left out all your ide devices because I may consider scsi devices. it may give you an extra bit of versatility. the cost may mitigate that decision, but I'm leaving it open to you.

 

[azury]

thanks alot guy, that's great.. one thing though, hmm.. I have a cd burner (slow but good) and I wonder what cd rom (not cd-burner) to buy.. oh, one more thing - I want an hardisk of around 60-80GB, which should I buy (not by space, by company/modual)..
thanks again..

and, if anyone disagress, have an other assemble of his own or can edit this asseblation I would I highly appreciate..
thanks alot!

 

[Shroud]

only a 60-80gig?

 

[azury]

yes, well... till now I had 20 and did fine, so.. but it was because I couldn't really play a thing.. I think 80 will be fine..

 

[þÄ®âÐÖx]

If you're looking at an 80gb, the Western Digital 80gb special edition models w/8mb buffer are probably your best bet (the model # is WD800JB). Personally I wouldn't go with anything less than 120gb, simply because it's a better investment in the long term.

 

[azury]

I see, thanks.. so, you're passing the hardisks to a new computer generation everytime? intersting.. hmm, maybe..

þÄ®âÐÖx, do you have any computer suggestion?

 

[þÄ®âÐÖx]

Personally at the moment I'd have to say go with the Barton 3000+. I don't see the Intel 3.0ghz being worth the extra $$ since its only real advantage over the Athlon is its extra memory bandwidth, which doesn't really seem to make that big a difference in real-world situations anyways.

As for the motherboard, this is always a matter of personal preference. Depending on whether you need RAID, Serial ATA, onboard sound, etc. there's probably a brand/model out there for you. Read some reviews and see what kind of features/problems certain boards have, and carefully make your final decision. The same goes for RAM, though you really can't go wrong with Crucial memory IMO.

The last important decision is the video card, which once again comes down to personal preference. If I were buying a new card right now, it would be a 9700 Pro for sure. The Geforce4 ti4800's look mighty nice, but they're not DX9 and therefore not a good long-term investment. You could also wait for the 9800's to drop in price a bit, but I'd say the 9700 Pro is a better buy.

 

[azury]

thanks alot guy, it was actually what I needed
one more thing, before I go reading some reviews and opinions, I have one last question (for now): I remeber I had problems with the motherboard last time when I wanted to buy a Seagate Driver. I'm not sure what it was, but I couldn't add the Seagate Driver because of it.. do you know what motherboard support the Seagate Drivers (if not all)?
thanks alot, you're the best

 

[azury]

oh, I remember now.. I had that problem because it was SCSI or something.. well, so no problem with the Mob-HDD..
here is what it gonna looks like (had alot of thought though, so for everything I write few options - depanding on the general sum and what the store I'm buying at have in stock):

mob: <Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon/XP/Duron Processors, Model# A7N8X Deluxe Retail> or <Guillemot Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1 - OEM>

proc: <amd athlon xp 3000 barton core>

cdrw: <52x asus or plextor burner> or asus other

memory: <corsair twinset pc2700 ddr-ram 1gb> or <CRUCIAL MICRON 512MB 64x64 PC 2700 DDR RAM - OEM> (Kingmax and Geil are last in list)

video: <ati radeon 9700 all in wonder> (or 9800 if out already)

audio: <creative labs audigy 2 platinum> or newer modaul.

Hdd: <Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200RPM ST380011A Hard Drive OEM> or <Seagate 120GB 7200rpm EIDE Hard Drive Barracuda V ST3120024A - OEM> or <WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM>