Help to choose the right PC needed!

marmak · 08-11-2004, 02:17 PM

Quote:

It seems that you havnt spec'd out some stuff yet (hence my confusion heehee)

You're right, just me being dumb

Quote:

Not really

The 2.8 as stick runs damn near the same and even not, you can OC the piss out of the 2.8Ghz chips and run them fine

Great! Thanks

**Praetor** · 08-11-2004, 02:23 PM

Quote:

You're right, just me being dumb

LOL no worries... now that you understand what I'm confused over... how did you customize it?

(and what did it end up costing)

marmak · 08-12-2004, 02:45 PM

OK, here's the slightly revised spec. It'll cost £1,068 (around $1800?)

DELL
P4 HT 520 (2.80GHz, 800 MHz fsb, 1MB cache)
1024 MB dual channel DDR2 400 MHz
160GB (7200rpm)Serial ATA HD with 8MB DataBurst cache
Video card: 128MB PCI-Express ATI Radeon X300SE with TVout and DVI
15" flat monitor
16xDVD+RW
Floppy drive
Sound card: Creative Labs sound blaster Audigy 2, PCI w/dolby digital 5.1 and IEEE1394

How does that sound for the price, master?

(I'm ignorant so a bit nervous about DVD-RW-produced disks not being compatible with my CD-R compatible stereo. Any chance of that happening?)

**Praetor** · 08-12-2004, 04:57 PM

Hmmm the price is "okay" i guess but personally i'd take the other option for video (i thin it was an onboard option) and then get a separate video card on the side because truth be told, all the previous generation cards toast the X300 (quite possibly including the 9200).

I cant comment on the DVD burner as i dont know the exact make and model but I suspect it's either an LG or Phillips (neither of which are worth getting excited over). Dont worry about compatibility with your stereo -- it's not so much the burner that matters but rather the media.

Yeti · 08-12-2004, 05:50 PM

Quote:

i'd take the other option for video (i thin it was an onboard option) and then get a separate video card on the side because truth be told, all the previous generation cards toast the X300 (quite possibly including the 9200

Are there many PCI express cards available? The Radeon 9 series, though it may beat the X300 are all AGP.

**Praetor** · 08-12-2004, 05:54 PM

1. Not a single thing in the world right now really breaches AGP8X and thus PCI-Express Video (which is roughly AGP16X) is kinda a moot point and a cause to raise prices

2. Dunno about ATi cards but nVidia has a whole bunch of PCX cards... realistically there isnt a need for it yet.

Yeti · 08-12-2004, 06:01 PM

I was just asking because I think that the Dell only accepts PCI-E cards.

**Praetor** · 08-12-2004, 07:48 PM

Oh right.... errrm i dunno then. I have never been a fan of OEMs and this i guess is yet another reason why: limitations on damn near everything. I guess all i can say is you wont be horribly dissapointed with the system and on paper it's very good and a fair price etc but i wouldnt reccomend it.

marmak · 08-13-2004, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Praetor

you wont be horribly dissapointed with the system and on paper it's very good and a fair price etc but i wouldnt reccomend it.

Oh dear!

That's not good. What about that HP system then that was in my original message? Is HP an OEM?

Click here for full HP T645UK Spec

The RAM is DDR-SDRAM, btw. I called them to ask. Any comments?

I can buy this system and an 17" LG TFT monitor (is it any good?) for around $1500.

I'm sorry to go on about this but it's a substantial amount of money and I'd rather get something that I'll be happy with. I'm really really grateful for your help.

Yeti · 08-13-2004, 04:12 PM

To throw in my 2 cents about which system to buy, marmak - I would go with the Dell with just the onboard graphics. It has the most up to date technology and if you want to upgrade the graphics in the future you can buy an Radeon X300 or GeForce PCX5750 (more inexpensive ones should also be available in the future). The first computer that I bought was a Dell Dimension 4100 and I haven't had many problems with it. Dell also has good costumer service. As for what Praetor said, I don't think there will be any problems with it for what you want to use it for (unless you're going to use it for graphic intensive games or commercial modelling software). Again, just my opinion

View Poll Results: HP or Dell
HP (details in the posts)	1	50.00%
Dell (details in the posts)	1	50.00%
Voters: 2. You may not vote on this poll

08-12-2004, 04:57 PM	#14 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,949	Hmmm the price is "okay" i guess but personally i'd take the other option for video (i thin it was an onboard option) and then get a separate video card on the side because truth be told, all the previous generation cards toast the X300 (quite possibly including the 9200). I cant comment on the DVD burner as i dont know the exact make and model but I suspect it's either an LG or Phillips (neither of which are worth getting excited over). Dont worry about compatibility with your stereo -- it's not so much the burner that matters but rather the media. __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

08-12-2004, 05:54 PM	#16 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,949	1. Not a single thing in the world right now really breaches AGP8X and thus PCI-Express Video (which is roughly AGP16X) is kinda a moot point and a cause to raise prices 2. Dunno about ATi cards but nVidia has a whole bunch of PCX cards... realistically there isnt a need for it yet. __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

08-12-2004, 07:48 PM	#18 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,949	Oh right.... errrm i dunno then. I have never been a fan of OEMs and this i guess is yet another reason why: limitations on damn near everything. I guess all i can say is you wont be horribly dissapointed with the system and on paper it's very good and a fair price etc but i wouldnt reccomend it. __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

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08-12-2004, 02:45 PM	#13 (permalink)
marmak New Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 21	OK, here's the slightly revised spec. It'll cost £1,068 (around $1800?) DELL P4 HT 520 (2.80GHz, 800 MHz fsb, 1MB cache) 1024 MB dual channel DDR2 400 MHz 160GB (7200rpm)Serial ATA HD with 8MB DataBurst cache Video card: 128MB PCI-Express ATI Radeon X300SE with TVout and DVI 15" flat monitor 16xDVD+RW Floppy drive Sound card: Creative Labs sound blaster Audigy 2, PCI w/dolby digital 5.1 and IEEE1394 How does that sound for the price, master? (I'm ignorant so a bit nervous about DVD-RW-produced disks not being compatible with my CD-R compatible stereo. Any chance of that happening?)

08-12-2004, 06:01 PM	#17 (permalink)
Yeti VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 1,278	I was just asking because I think that the Dell only accepts PCI-E cards.

08-13-2004, 04:12 PM	#20 (permalink)
Yeti VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 1,278	To throw in my 2 cents about which system to buy, marmak - I would go with the Dell with just the onboard graphics. It has the most up to date technology and if you want to upgrade the graphics in the future you can buy an Radeon X300 or GeForce PCX5750 (more inexpensive ones should also be available in the future). The first computer that I bought was a Dell Dimension 4100 and I haven't had many problems with it. Dell also has good costumer service. As for what Praetor said, I don't think there will be any problems with it for what you want to use it for (unless you're going to use it for graphic intensive games or commercial modelling software). Again, just my opinion