garyknowz1

Greetings!

Complete newbie here.

Well, my old PC is now pushing up daisies, so I'm been browsing about to find the best deal I can get for mid-to-high range PC. After reading a number of posts on this forum, I've decided that I might try to build my own system. Well, shopping around, I've put together a PC that I like. But I also found a HP PC that seems to be fairly nice itself. So, what do you think? Note that I have minimal experience in putting together a PC.

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Here's the list of specs on the build:

CP1-DUO-Q6700 :: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Processor BX80562Q6700 - 2.66GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan (1.6 lbs) $579.99

M17-7414 :: Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit DSP OEM DVD (0.25 lbs)$109.99

L12-1134 :: Lite-On LH-20A1L-06 SuperAllwrite Retail Lightscribe DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R Burn, 16x DVD±R Read, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x24x CD-R/RW, Black, SATA (1.5 lbs) $39.99

M333-3000 :: ZEROtherm / Butterfly BTF90 / Socket 775/754/939/AM2 / Copper Base / Heatpipes / CPU Cooler (2.2 lbs) $49.99

O261-8038 :: OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2x2048MB) (0.3 lbs) $119.99

TSD-500S :: Samsung Spinpoint T166 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM (1.5 lbs) $109.99

E145-2034 :: EVGA nforce 780i SLI Motherboard - A1 Version, NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, Dual Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID (2.65 lbs) $259.99

B52-7876 :: BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC2 / 768MB GDDR3 / SLI Ready / PCI Express / DL Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card (3.5 lbs) $479.99

TC3J-2324 :: Thermaltake Black Armor Full-Tower ATX Case Bundle - 11 External Drive Bays, Clear Side, Front USB, Firewire and Audio Ports, 700-Watt Power Supply (76.7 lbs) $279.99

SUBTOTAL: $2,029.91

Shipping: $108.35

Tax: ------

TOTAL: $2,138.26

(this is assuming I remembered everything, which I doubt)


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Here's the HP:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...f_Desktop.html

Shipping is only: $39.95 No Tax.

Total: $1788.95
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The HP is obviously a not as powerful as the build, but is the difference in performance between the build and HP enough to justify the additional cost ($350. +) and headache of building the PC?

Any comments/advice/concerns are welcomed. Thanks!

Cheers!
Gary K.

dougland

Build. The HP is way too much you could have a great system for that price

bubby004

Whats the specs of you old pc? You don't have to drop $2000 on the best pcs out there. I would personally buy a refurbished one for under $300 and put a decent video card and update the ram. You could still play all the games if thats what your into and it would save you alot of money.

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oscaryu1

Zalman 9700

Overpriced. No such thing as SLI-Ready...

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garyknowz1

I think I’ve settled on building my own *crossing fingers*

It’s actually kind of old—2003ish. I’m thinking about keeping my full-tower Xpider case if the newer mobos will work with it. I currently has an old P4C800e DLX in there right now, but I believe it’s the culprit as to the PC’s demise. But it was sort of a barrier to updating my GPU as about a year after I bought it, the newer cards went to PCI Express.

But…c’est la vie.

So do you think I can use the box with a newer mobo? I might wait for the 45nm Core 2 Quads to come out if I can.

I understand what you’re saying. What I’ve tended to do is get a PC is a good mobo and processor, and keep the thing for 5 yrs or so, adding memory or video cards as I go. That way, I’m not having to buy a new PC every year to keep up. Sure in the last year and a half, it’s a little obsolete, but I bide my time knowing that I’ll have a kick’n machine soon enough.

I’ve never installed a motherboard/CPU before though. Hopefully it isn’t too tough.

Vizy93

dude, dont trip over it. its easy, i went into the proccess and i got it to post like the 2nd time [forgot to plug in the power cord]. There is no *headache* just spend a whole day on it, installing your software and such...and its EZ no worries. And don't by the hp no matter what. lookat the warranties. you get longer warranties for a built comp rather than the 1yr o w/e trash warranty hp will giv ya.

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reddevil6

build hears some parts
CPU $239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037
MOBO $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131219R
Vid Card $244.99 each get 2 of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...SUS%2b3870
Ram $49.99 get 2 of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231121
HDD $119.99 get 2 of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136205
CPU Heatsink an fan $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=cpu%2bcooler
Case $239.99 i got stuck on the case so i just picked this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133055
PSU $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341008
this is 1739.89 not including shiping.
it is a kick arse computer.
now puting it to geather is very simple the mother board screws onto the case an all the other parts is just plug it in it will only fit in 1 spot on the MOBO

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(2) GA-81945P-G-RH - Pentium D 945 (3.4GHz) had it @4.42 GHz - SATA 3.0G 1x250G 2x500G - ASUS 3850 - 3G DDR 533 - Topower 750W - 50''(127CM) 1080P 1920x1080 plasma - 3DMARK06 7250.

daisymtc

Don't get the 8800GTX! If you have $450 to spend on video card, get the ATI HD3870x2.
Or just simply get 8800GTS 512MB

oscaryu1

8800GTS G92
HD3870x2
8800GT

Just don't get the GTX. GT is just a bit behind the GTX. HD3870x2 was made to compete with the GTX. The GTS G92 just beats it... $249.99 = ECS 8800GTS G92 512MB PCI-E 2.0 after rebates.

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