Building A Computer and Need Some Help!

Spic_tacular26 · 09-06-2004, 07:43 AM

Hey whats up? I just joined up here because i saw that there were a lot of helpful people and kind to noobs such as myself to the "building aa computer area". I have been needing a new computer for school but also want to be able to do other things on it too such as gaming and other things like that. I have written down the Specs that i am thinking of having, was wondering if i could get some feedback from someone with more experience, i do understand the prices my seem high but in Canada, its hard to find deals.... anyways here goes. I included a link (when i could) and beside it the price that would be equivelent to USD Dollar :-) Also, quick question, but for the video card, i was a little interested in the All-In-Wonder, is there a down side to getting it? Thanks for anyones help!!!

Motherboard --> $76

P4P800S 848P 800/533/400FSB DDR400@800fsb Lan SATA Audio

Pic

CPU --> $227

Pentium IV-3.0EGhz 800FSB 1M HT (box) !!!New!!!

RAM --> $168

2x256MB PC3200EL Dual Channel Kit CL2 Platinum Edition

Pic

Floppy --> $15

Panasonic 1.44M floppy drive Black

Hard-Drive --> $96

Diamond Max Plus 9 120G (SATA150, 8M, 7200)(3 years Manufacturer Warranty)

Pic

CD-Rom --> $30

52x32x52 CDRW int. IDE w/SW Oem Black Pic

DVD-Rom --> $35

16X DVD int. IDE Black

Pic

Video Card --> $181

Radeon 9600XT 128M (box)

Case --> $111

SONATA LifeStyle w/True380

Pic

Keyboard --> $30

Multimedia Keyboard

Mouse --> $30

MX310 Corded 6-buttons Optical mouse New

Pic

Sound Card --> $27

Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 (oem)

Pic

Speakers --> $42

X220

Pic

Monitor --> $219

E90f+SB 19" .21h 1600 Flat screen Silver/Black E220 21" .22 2048

Pic

For Grand Total of $1287 USD or... $1647 Canadian, so with tax here thats just under 2 Grand sitting at 1925.

**Praetor** · 09-06-2004, 12:59 PM

1. From the tax im guessing you're in england with the value-subtract-tax but if not and you're in canada the total comes to $1895 (unless i cant multiply

)

2. A few points
- You'll note the mobo runs on the i865 rather than the i848 so that wont need any switching
- You should consider the P4C2.8 or P4C3.0 as opposed to the Prescott you've got there because (a) the Northwoods are much more efficient clock for clock (thus if you want to get a Prescott, make sure its a lot faster) and (b) they dont have the heat dilemma
- Dont buy a floppy unless you seriously see yourself needing one -- you can probably find them in dumpsters or even for like $5 in small computer stores
- As for the burner, everything LG made after their 16X burners has been crap; mostly one-sheep burners (dont worry about what that means, it's essentially a rating of the accuracy of the drive, 2-sheep being the desired and 1-sheep being not-so-desireable) that have no endurance (i myself have toasted out two LG 48x24x48 drives in less than a week each). Grab something like the LiteOn 52x32x52 because (a) its for $30 to (b) it's 2-sheep burner and (c) it's got proven reliability
- With the DVDROM, it not such a big deal as LG makes decent ones (i myself run a pair of LG 16X 'roms)
- For $181 you can get a GFX5900XT ($170) and its a much superior card to the 9600XT
- I'd get a normal IDE (aka non-SATA, PATA etc) as you'll be saving money, most likely saving hassle and certainly not sacrificing noticeable performance (ok maybe your boottime is a whopping 1 second longer heehee)
choice on the display unit

3. If you are in canada, consider going to the computer show (Novemember, 24-26 i believe, Toronto) ... and while you gotta be a bit more careful (as not to get ripped off), if you are careful you might just nail something for 30% off street price (or hell 60% as it sometimes is on the Sunday)

vanp1992 · 09-06-2004, 08:12 PM

You Know all of that is not necessary of what spic just said, build a custom one.

**Praetor** · 09-06-2004, 09:26 PM

Quote:

You Know all of that is not necessary of what spic just said, build a custom one.

Seems pretty custom to me

Spic_tacular26 · 09-06-2004, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Praetor

1. From the tax im guessing you're in england with the value-subtract-tax but if not and you're in canada the total comes to $1895 (unless i cant multiply

)

I'm Canadain, perhaps i made a error in the calculation :-P

Quote:

- You should consider the P4C2.8 or P4C3.0 as opposed to the Prescott you've got there because (a) the Northwoods are much more efficient clock for clock (thus if you want to get a Prescott, make sure its a lot faster) and (b) they dont have the heat dilemma

I'm a little new at this, not sure wat u mean by the P4C3.0, i thought thats what i have listed

Quote:

- Dont buy a floppy unless you seriously see yourself needing one -- you can probably find them in dumpsters or even for like $5 in small computer stores
- As for the burner, everything LG made after their 16X burners has been crap; mostly one-sheep burners (dont worry about what that means, it's essentially a rating of the accuracy of the drive, 2-sheep being the desired and 1-sheep being not-so-desireable) that have no endurance (i myself have toasted out two LG 48x24x48 drives in less than a week each). Grab something like the LiteOn 52x32x52 because (a) its for $30 to (b) it's 2-sheep burner and (c) it's got proven reliability

I might just take the floppy from the old computer and put it in this one, I've also been thinking of adding in a DVD-burner as well, should i do a combo drive??

Quote:

- For $181 you can get a GFX5900XT ($170) and its a much superior card to the 9600XT

The site that i'm acually looking to buy the parts from has that video card listed at $275 canadain and the 9600Xt is at $259, is that card worth the extra 16 though?

**Praetor** · 09-06-2004, 09:44 PM

Processors
P4C-3.0 = P4 Northwood 3.0Ghz with 512K L2
P4E-3.0 = P4 Prescott 3.0Ghz with 1MB L2

DVDBurner
Get something like the Pioneer 107 and you'll not have to worry (it's not a 2-sheep drive but its reliability more than makes up for it)

The 9600XT shouldnt be priced that high (even in CAD) ... closer toe $230. The 5900XT is a superior card compared to both the 5700XT and thr 9600XT

Spic_tacular26 · 09-06-2004, 09:57 PM

oh alrite, and thanks for the quick replies :-)

the website i'm buying these off are www.infonec.com

My friend has bought from them and it all went smoothly. Anything else i should be aware of? do u know any other sites that i'm better off with that will ship to Canada?

**Praetor** · 09-07-2004, 12:48 AM

YAY infonec ... crappy website, decent store

Been there a few times ... shipping i duno... i buy from the store directly.

Spic_tacular26 · 09-07-2004, 04:15 AM

thats wat i plan to do too, they are located near my work. the one i go too is pretty small but they seem to be pretty professional. Where do u usually get your stuff?

**Praetor** · 09-07-2004, 05:41 PM

I get my stuff from a couple of retailers in 'loo (bout an hour west of Infonec). Been goin there about ten years now

09-06-2004, 07:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
Spic_tacular26 New Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 5	Building A Computer and Need Some Help! Hey whats up? I just joined up here because i saw that there were a lot of helpful people and kind to noobs such as myself to the "building aa computer area". I have been needing a new computer for school but also want to be able to do other things on it too such as gaming and other things like that. I have written down the Specs that i am thinking of having, was wondering if i could get some feedback from someone with more experience, i do understand the prices my seem high but in Canada, its hard to find deals.... anyways here goes. I included a link (when i could) and beside it the price that would be equivelent to USD Dollar :-) Also, quick question, but for the video card, i was a little interested in the All-In-Wonder, is there a down side to getting it? Thanks for anyones help!!! Motherboard --> $76 P4P800S 848P 800/533/400FSB DDR400@800fsb Lan SATA Audio Pic CPU --> $227 Pentium IV-3.0EGhz 800FSB 1M HT (box) !!!New!!! RAM --> $168 2x256MB PC3200EL Dual Channel Kit CL2 Platinum Edition Pic Floppy --> $15 Panasonic 1.44M floppy drive Black Hard-Drive --> $96 Diamond Max Plus 9 120G (SATA150, 8M, 7200)(3 years Manufacturer Warranty) Pic CD-Rom --> $30 52x32x52 CDRW int. IDE w/SW Oem Black Pic DVD-Rom --> $35 16X DVD int. IDE Black Pic Video Card --> $181 Radeon 9600XT 128M (box) Case --> $111 SONATA LifeStyle w/True380 Pic Keyboard --> $30 Multimedia Keyboard Mouse --> $30 MX310 Corded 6-buttons Optical mouse New Pic Sound Card --> $27 Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 (oem) Pic Speakers --> $42 X220 Pic Monitor --> $219 E90f+SB 19" .21h 1600 Flat screen Silver/Black E220 21" .22 2048 Pic For Grand Total of $1287 USD or... $1647 Canadian, so with tax here thats just under 2 Grand sitting at 1925. Last edited by Spic_tacular26; 09-06-2004 at 07:58 AM.

09-06-2004, 12:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 24 Posts: 19,943	1. From the tax im guessing you're in england with the value-subtract-tax but if not and you're in canada the total comes to $1895 (unless i cant multiply ) 2. A few points - You'll note the mobo runs on the i865 rather than the i848 so that wont need any switching - You should consider the P4C2.8 or P4C3.0 as opposed to the Prescott you've got there because (a) the Northwoods are much more efficient clock for clock (thus if you want to get a Prescott, make sure its a lot faster) and (b) they dont have the heat dilemma - Dont buy a floppy unless you seriously see yourself needing one -- you can probably find them in dumpsters or even for like $5 in small computer stores - As for the burner, everything LG made after their 16X burners has been crap; mostly one-sheep burners (dont worry about what that means, it's essentially a rating of the accuracy of the drive, 2-sheep being the desired and 1-sheep being not-so-desireable) that have no endurance (i myself have toasted out two LG 48x24x48 drives in less than a week each). Grab something like the LiteOn 52x32x52 because (a) its for $30 to (b) it's 2-sheep burner and (c) it's got proven reliability - With the DVDROM, it not such a big deal as LG makes decent ones (i myself run a pair of LG 16X 'roms) - For $181 you can get a GFX5900XT ($170) and its a much superior card to the 9600XT - I'd get a normal IDE (aka non-SATA, PATA etc) as you'll be saving money, most likely saving hassle and certainly not sacrificing noticeable performance (ok maybe your boottime is a whopping 1 second longer heehee) choice on the display unit 3. If you are in canada, consider going to the computer show (Novemember, 24-26 i believe, Toronto) ... and while you gotta be a bit more careful (as not to get ripped off), if you are careful you might just nail something for 30% off street price (or hell 60% as it sometimes is on the Sunday) __________________ 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

09-06-2004, 09:44 PM	#6 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 24 Posts: 19,943	Processors P4C-3.0 = P4 Northwood 3.0Ghz with 512K L2 P4E-3.0 = P4 Prescott 3.0Ghz with 1MB L2 DVDBurner Get something like the Pioneer 107 and you'll not have to worry (it's not a 2-sheep drive but its reliability more than makes up for it) The 9600XT shouldnt be priced that high (even in CAD) ... closer toe $230. The 5900XT is a superior card compared to both the 5700XT and thr 9600XT __________________ 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

09-07-2004, 12:48 AM	#8 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 24 Posts: 19,943	YAY infonec ... crappy website, decent store Been there a few times ... shipping i duno... i buy from the store directly. __________________ 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

09-07-2004, 05:41 PM	#10 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 24 Posts: 19,943	I get my stuff from a couple of retailers in 'loo (bout an hour west of Infonec). Been goin there about ten years now __________________ 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

09-06-2004, 08:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
vanp1992 Silver Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 134	You Know all of that is not necessary of what spic just said, build a custom one.

09-06-2004, 09:57 PM	#7 (permalink)
Spic_tacular26 New Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 5	oh alrite, and thanks for the quick replies :-) the website i'm buying these off are www.infonec.com My friend has bought from them and it all went smoothly. Anything else i should be aware of? do u know any other sites that i'm better off with that will ship to Canada?

09-07-2004, 04:15 AM	#9 (permalink)
Spic_tacular26 New Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 5	thats wat i plan to do too, they are located near my work. the one i go too is pretty small but they seem to be pretty professional. Where do u usually get your stuff?

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