Some computer questions :)

thetrooper37

New Member
Hi folks, I've been reading this forum for a while but haven't really posted until now... Anyway, I'm going to be buying myself a PC and there are a few things which I'm not too clear on and confuse me.

First of all, here's what I'm looking to get. It'll be from www.lucomputers.com

It's basically this system: http://www.lucomputers.com/astore/default.asp?selection=customize&systemid=4455

but with only a single 500GB hard drive and the ASUS Maximus Formula motherboard

My questions are these:

1. Motherboard. is the ASUS Maximus Formula motherboard (it's on the list) a good one? I have very basic knowledge on motherboards.

2. Is Chaintech a good video card manufacturer? I haven't seen that name too much.

3. Is the cooling system in that configuration good? Is it really needed?

4. I have been reading in these threads about new CPUs and video cards coming out in january but, should I really wait? Here's my logic, let me know it it's a good one:
- Quad cores aren't even a very common thing yet. It seems like it's going to take a while for mine to be outdated. Yah, no?

- Video cards - I've been reading that the 8800 GT offers the most for your money. What about the GTX card? Does it really merit the $290 difference in price (I'm taking all these prices from lucomputers). Thing is, while I'll be playing games on this PC, I will want to play things like Football manager (not very demanding), Pro Evolution Soccer, Call of Duty, Ghost Recon, Etc. It seems like the GT will be more than able to handle such games and plus, I can always upgrade the video card.


One last question, I'll be doing a lot of audio recording on this machine. Do you think it's missing anything for such a task?


Thanks for your time and I apologize for having such a long post :)
 
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1) No, Asus is picky memory.

2) Their OK... not the best though...

3) I'd get some case fans and Arctic Silver 5.

4) Correct. Quads are next generation... No, the GT is right at the GTX's tail. It passes it almost once or twice. Don't spend on a GTX...
 
Thanks for the response!

if Asus is no good, then would it be good to get an Nvidia eVGA 680i SE or 680i LT (what's the difference?)

What about an ASUS 8800GT? It's slightly more expensive than the Chaintech and basically the only other alternative as those are the only GTs they have in stock.

Wouldn't the Antec case have enough case fans on its own or is that a completely different thing?

Thanks
 
I'd skip those (as they cannot support the new 45nm processors coming out in a few days... so upgrades will be a no-no)

Get a P35-DS3L or a P35C-DS3R :)

Asus is OK, but their RAM pickiness is horrible. From now to then... I still have a 400MHz Asus board that has only 16MB of RAM because it still rejects the other 512MB's :(

Asus 8800GT is OK. Their good at anything OTHER than motherboards... Chaintech is.. bad... It's probably a pretty low company.

Yes, the Antec has lots of case fans. Look at the Cooler Master Centurion 5 or the Elite 330 too. P180 and P182 :)
 
go look on a different website.

tigerdirect.ca or .com
newegg.com

That's gonna be a bigger selection.
 
That Asus board is actually quite good, Asus boards in my experience will take just about anything of a reasonable brand (we've had 3 where they've ran at least 2 brands of memory) so l'd stick with it. Also get an eVGA card because they have a very good warranty on them and if you overclock it and junk it (unlikely) then they'll replace it.

Does anyone realise this is a PC producer?
 
That Asus board is actually quite good, Asus boards in my experience will take just about anything of a reasonable brand (we've had 3 where they've ran at least 2 brands of memory) so l'd stick with it. Also get an eVGA card because they have a very good warranty on them and if you overclock it and junk it (unlikely) then they'll replace it.

Does anyone realise this is a PC producer?

What? ASUS or EVGA? (Evga desktop? :confused:)
 
Lu Computers? Ahh.... just another wanna be Dell company :P Prebuilts stink. Period.

I didn't know Lu Computers, but it appears to me as it is much better than Dell, because u can choose exactly what part you get... When you want to switch from a 250gb HDD to a 320gb, it doesn't cost the price of a brand new 320gb HDD.

I see this site as a good alternative to someone who doesn't want to build himself but wants good quality at a very decent price. I mean, I just did a very fast build on NCIX and a similar(almost identical) and it came within a few bucks one and another.
 
I didn't know Lu Computers, but it appears to me as it is much better than Dell, because u can choose exactly what part you get... When you want to switch from a 250gb HDD to a 320gb, it doesn't cost the price of a brand new 320gb HDD.

I see this site as a good alternative to someone who doesn't want to build himself but wants good quality at a very decent price. I mean, I just did a very fast build on NCIX and a similar(almost identical) and it came within a few bucks one and another.

This is exactly why I want to buy from there. I don't feel confident enough to build a system myself and I also don't want to risk ordering things over the border as it gets too complicated with duties. AND if god forbid I had to use my warranty, it would get too out of hand. I also live within driving distance so I'm actually gonna go and order in person.


That Asus board is actually quite good, Asus boards in my experience will take just about anything of a reasonable brand (we've had 3 where they've ran at least 2 brands of memory) so l'd stick with it. Also get an eVGA card because they have a very good warranty on them and if you overclock it and junk it (unlikely) then they'll replace it.

Does anyone realise this is a PC producer?

I've been reading reviews on newegg and most people seem to be satisfied with the Asus board as well...



Thanks to everyone for the responses, feel free to add more opinions and ideas! :)


I really want to get a new computer as I currently have a Pentium 3 or 4, 1000mhz with a Geforce2 32mb card and 512ram. I basically want to throw this piece of crap out the window every time I see it.
 
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