critique my new computer...

[Wren57]

Christmas came and went without me getting any computer gear, so I'm just gonna buy myself a new one. Here is the best I've found so far;

•AMD Athlon 64 3400+ CPU
•ASUS K8N-E Deluxe nForce3 250Mb Motherboard
•1GB Ultra Fast DDR400 Memory
•160GB 7200RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
•12X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive w/Software
•1.44 Floppy Disk Drive
•256MB GeForce FX5700 Video Card DVI/TVout
•56K V.92 Modem
•1Gbit Marvell Ethernet Adapter
•High quality 8-Channel AC97 Audio
•420watt Black Raidmax Virgo Mid Tower Case
•2 1394 Firewire Ports
•6 USB 2.0 Ports (2 Front and 4 Rear Ports)
•Keyboard, Mouse and Speakers
•1 Year Parts and Labor Warranty

$899 delivered


I can't find anything of similar quality for cheaper. This PC is from www.ecollegepc.com, which has a 4000+ positive feedback rating on eBay. I will use this strictly for gaming, such as Sims2, Half Life 2, World of Warcraft, etc etc... is this a good system for such gaming or do I need to change/add anything and also is this a good price? Thanks.

[Mischief]

Looks good to go.. If anything you'd want to add some more ram on there but the 1gig should be good for a while

[thermal]

weak..........







just kidding man. i dont know anything about computers. i'm sure what you have there is better than mine...lol.

[VR4_Craver]

World of warcraft is a good game...computer should do excellent on those games...have fun

[AzCivic]

does the DVD thing also do CD's too?

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

^^^ yeah

Computer looks pretty good. I had horrible experiences with a K8V-SE board from ASUS, but that doesn't mean yours will be bad. If you're overclocking, I wouldn't buy it as the RAM probably won't go much higher and the PSU might not hold up, but if you're just playing with it as is... go for it. I'd build my own if I had the option, but if you want prebuilt this doesn't look too bad.

[drdingo21]

I built the same thing off of newegg for under 700 shipped.

You could save the $200 and get a flat screen LCD.

[blind34_1]

Originally posted by highlander
Christmas came and went without me getting any computer gear, so I'm just gonna buy myself a new one. Here is the best I've found so far;

•AMD Athlon 64 3400+ CPU
•ASUS K8N-E Deluxe nForce3 250Mb Motherboard
•1GB Ultra Fast DDR400 Memory
•160GB 7200RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
•12X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive w/Software
•1.44 Floppy Disk Drive
•256MB GeForce FX5700 Video Card DVI/TVout
•56K V.92 Modem
•1Gbit Marvell Ethernet Adapter
•High quality 8-Channel AC97 Audio
•420watt Black Raidmax Virgo Mid Tower Case
•2 1394 Firewire Ports
•6 USB 2.0 Ports (2 Front and 4 Rear Ports)
•Keyboard, Mouse and Speakers
•1 Year Parts and Labor Warranty

$899 delivered


I can't find anything of similar quality for cheaper. This PC is from www.ecollegepc.com, which has a 4000+ positive feedback rating on eBay. I will use this strictly for gaming, such as Sims2, Half Life 2, World of Warcraft, etc etc... is this a good system for such gaming or do I need to change/add anything and also is this a good price? Thanks.

what brand dvd drive?

what brand memory? or is Ultra Fast the brand? if thats the case, ...lame.

why are you getting a modem and ethernet adapter?

what monitor is included? or is there one?

everything else doesnt look to bad. THe price is about right, but I have no doubt the same or better components could be had for much cheaper from other places. But you're paying for the convienence of it done and ready out of the box. So its not bad. Should be a good machine for gaming.

[MissJDM]

You know what? That computer talk is studly.

[Masamune]

Anyways, From what it looks like, you have quite a deal there. The only thing that bugs me about it is the athlon processor. Just personal experience, but I've never had problems with regular pentium 4's. I do, however, realize that upgrading to that will cost maybe 200+ more. Again though, that's just personal experience.

Other than that, good comp .

[Mischief]

My AMD has never given me problems

[Wren57]

Almost every benchmark test has shown the AMD outperforms the Intel4. The AMD 64 chips have the bus speed built in. Regardless, i've changed my computer plans;

RAIDMAX Virgo "Silence" Mid-Tower Case with 420W Power Supply, Model "811PP"

ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor

Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y120P0, OEM Drive Only

Crucial 184 Pin 1GB DDR PC-3200

XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, Dual DVI, AGP 8X, Model "PVT43AND" -RETAIL

Sony 16xDVD/RW

Getting this for $850 in parts and building myself... yummy.

[MissJDM]

Once again, jibberish has never sound so cool.

I wonder if this is what my friends go through when I talk about cars and they just sit there.

[Wren57]

Immature humans have a tendency to make fun of things they don't understand instead of trying to learn. Just a fact for you to ponder.

[drdingo21]

Originally posted by highlander
Almost every benchmark test has shown the AMD outperforms the Intel4. The AMD 64 chips have the bus speed built in. Regardless, i've changed my computer plans;

RAIDMAX Virgo "Silence" Mid-Tower Case with 420W Power Supply, Model "811PP"

ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor

Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y120P0, OEM Drive Only

Crucial 184 Pin 1GB DDR PC-3200

XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, Dual DVI, AGP 8X, Model "PVT43AND" -RETAIL

Sony 16xDVD/RW

Getting this for $850 in parts and building myself... yummy.

Last i knew, the p4 process 8 instructions per clock cycle. And the AMD crunches 13 instructions per clock cycle.
This is how an AMD with a lower clock rate can be faster than a P4 with a higher clock setting.

Where are you getting this stuff? Off eBay?

[MissJDM]

Originally posted by highlander
Immature humans have a tendency to make fun of things they don't understand instead of trying to learn. Just a fact for you to ponder.

I thought that was a part of life and why so many people are ignorant.

[Wren57]

Im getting it all from newegg.com.

MissJDM, you are right; criticizing that which you don't understand does contribute to ignorance. So, instead of sarcastically saying it sounds studly, etc, why don't you try to understand it? Or are you satisfied with ignorance?

[Mischief]

She's satisfied with ignorance because it makes us sound studly. It's a win-win situation here.

[MissJDM]

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Sarcasm? I guess internet is so hard to read, because I was never aware that your first comment towards me was a pun. My comments about the computer talking wasn't sarcastic at all. I seriously thought it was studly. So, I highly suggest not assuming that I am "satisfied" with ignorance because that just turns the ship around. Thanks, dudes.

[ebpda9]

Originally posted by highlander
Almost every benchmark test has shown the AMD outperforms the Intel4. The AMD 64 chips have the bus speed built in. Regardless, i've changed my computer plans;

RAIDMAX Virgo "Silence" Mid-Tower Case with 420W Power Supply, Model "811PP"

ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor

Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y120P0, OEM Drive Only

Crucial 184 Pin 1GB DDR PC-3200

XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, Dual DVI, AGP 8X, Model "PVT43AND" -RETAIL

Sony 16xDVD/RW

Getting this for $850 in parts and building myself... yummy.

that sounds quite like a beast. and L2 cahce is nice. what's the hdd's cahe ?

[Mischief]

I wasn't trying to dump on you JDM. :(

[blind34_1]

Originally posted by highlander
Almost every benchmark test has shown the AMD outperforms the Intel4. The AMD 64 chips have the bus speed built in. Regardless, i've changed my computer plans;

RAIDMAX Virgo "Silence" Mid-Tower Case with 420W Power Supply, Model "811PP"

ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor

Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y120P0, OEM Drive Only

Crucial 184 Pin 1GB DDR PC-3200

XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, Dual DVI, AGP 8X, Model "PVT43AND" -RETAIL

Sony 16xDVD/RW

Getting this for $850 in parts and building myself... yummy.

the cache should be 8mb, but since it is ide and not sata, you may want to double check that. some places try to pull a fast one by selling their old stock and not mentioning its got a 2mb cache. but its newegg so you should be okay.

looks to be a good setup. the amd versus intel debate rages on. i've never had a problem with my particular amd (though i crushed a core on another...sucked). I went with a p43.0ghz lga775 for my new machine and no worries. For pure gaming, the amd outperforms the intel, but for things like video editing, databases, office software, etc. the intel tends to do better. i think you made a good choice.

if you havent already ordered, i'd suggest checking zipzoomfly.com. Their prices are sometimes better than newegg, and they offer free 2day shipping.

and is the dvd burner a 710a? thats what I currently use and can vouch for it being a kickass drive.

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Its a P0 which means 8MB cache AFAIK. I had two of those drives die on me, neither was heat related either. That's it for me with that series of Maxtor drives.

Thing I'd be most concerned with in that setup is the PSU. Don't skimp on the power supply, especially since a higher end video card drains power as well. Anyway, good to see you're building it yourself

[blind34_1]

yeah i'm not familiar with maxtor's lineage when it comes to part numbers. ANd I've also heard that maxtor is not so good. Personally, I stick to my Western Digital's and cool them the best I can. I've had one for 6 years: still good.

Yeah, I wasn't gonna say anything PSU because I don't know about Raidmax. I hear they make good cases, and I'm pretty sure they make their own PSU's, but I'm not positive. But like he said, you may want to think about a higher dollar power supply in the near future.

Got an OS? That seems to be something everyone forgets. Whether you are going with a legit or cracked copy it's a good idea to have that ready to roll.

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Originally posted by blind34_1

Yeah, I wasn't gonna say anything PSU because I don't know about Raidmax. I hear they make good cases, and I'm pretty sure they make their own PSU's, but I'm not positive. But like he said, you may want to think about a higher dollar power supply in the near future.

Raidmax does make PSUs from what I hear. I don't think they're anything special, but it would probably work. The thing you have to watch out for now is companies who make PSUs (Antec for example) will sell some of their lower-end cases and include a 3rd party PSU. I just found this out when I was shopping to build someone a computer. Its not a huge deal, but something to consider.

[blind34_1]

Originally posted by 94_AcCoRd_EX
Raidmax does make PSUs from what I hear. I don't think they're anything special, but it would probably work. The thing you have to watch out for now is companies who make PSUs (Antec for example) will sell some of their lower-end cases and include a 3rd party PSU. I just found this out when I was shopping to build someone a computer. Its not a huge deal, but something to consider.

interesting. seems kinda sleazy for a generally good company like antec. just goes to show you get what you pay for.

[drdingo21]

Originally posted by MissJDM
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Sarcasm? I guess internet is so hard to read, because I was never aware that your first comment towards me was a pun. My comments about the computer talking wasn't sarcastic at all. I seriously thought it was studly. So, I highly suggest not assuming that I am "satisfied" with ignorance because that just turns the ship around. Thanks, dudes.

Then send me a pm, and ill whisper mhz and gigabytes in your ear all night long

[ebpda9]

can you do it in 1 and 0's too ?

[drdingo21]

Originally posted by hondaman-iac
can you do it in 1 and 0's too ?

I should be able to most of it in 1 and 0's.....

Why you intrested also?

[MissJDM]

Originally posted by drdingo21
Then send me a pm, and ill whisper mhz and gigabytes in your ear all night long

Classic. I don't get off on seductive male voices..who do you think I am, Darin? Psh.

Seriously, I thought it was cool but you had to be an ass about it.

Ah well, this is fantastic to know there are so many computer smarts on the forums.

[drdingo21]

Being an ass?



I think you have a problem interpreting what is typed out on this forum.