I'm looking to "pull the trigger" on the following system,
Amd xp 2000
gigabyte via kt266a GA-7vtxe
512mb (2x256) ddr sdram pc2100
100 gb wd 7200 rpm ata 100 hd (special ed)
pioneer 16x dvd rom
plextor 24x10x40
64mb geforce 3 ti500 agp w/ tv-out
sound blaster audigy platinum
1.44 floppy windows xp
in win atx full tower case
3com pci 10/100
Windows XP
NO MONITOR
NO PHONE MODEM
NO MOUSE
NO KEYBOARD
NO SPEAKERS
$1,584 !!! this price is about $1000 cheaper than the nearest system. In the recent pc mag it was rated an 8 out of 10. Nice things were said about the performance in office applications but its gaming benchmarks were "abysmal" its quakeIII framerate was 13 less than the leader of the test group.
NOW MY QUESTION:
These are top notch components, What variables come into play to make nearly identical systems (same components) perform different. AND, what could I possibly do to improve this configuration after I purchase it?
At $1,600 I'm tempted to buy it, and take it to a local mom and pop computer shop and have them go through it, maybe upgrade wiring and cooling systems... and overclock? What do you guys think?
Er....don't buy the AthXP 2000+. You can save A LOT of money by going with either a 1900+ or 1800+ and you will notice NO difference in performance. Video card is nice but I would wait about two weeks. Prices should drop now that the GeForce 4 is out. The Special Edition WD drives are highly overrated unless you do a bunch of HUGE file transfers (like DivX movies and such). Money can be saved by going with a TDK CD-RW instead of the costly Plextor. Everything else sounds nice though!
Yeah I would recommend some RAID action in place of just 1 7200rpm drive, helps out loading times a bunch. and I agree with duron all the way, except maybe on the CD-RW they are both almost perfectly matched though. Shoot for the GF4 if you can. Only slightly more, but with the money you could save going RAID and the TDK, you should still comeback same price.
AuRo
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"You can't hurt The Colonal, because The Colonal likes it rough!" Get Listed!
"You can't hurt The Colonal, because The Colonal likes it rough!" Get Listed!
the first weird part is no kb or mouse...i could see no monitor but...
western digital is overated...
there are some lamo versions of the geforce out there...
there's something "whimsical" about it...dunno obviosly they are making money off it...
February issue of MAXIMUMPC.. "The tiger was the only system that wasn't configured with a RAID array. But SYSmark2001 didn't seem to mind. The Tiger returned the second highest score in our roundup, which we suspect is a result of the massive 8mb cache on the 100 gb western digital 'Special Edition'"
RAID is not offered at this site.
I save $100 by dropping to an xp 1800.
The plextor is also the only option and dropping it saves me only $55 dollars against the cost of the system.
I'll wait till February 14th. But I still would like some advice on what I can do to a system AFTER I buy it (like wiring schemes/cooling/overclocking).
[This message has been edited by Samazon (edited 02-07-2002).]
[This message has been edited by Samazon (edited 02-07-2002).]
I think you should just buy all of the same parts and build it yourself. You will save a bit of money plus you will learn about what makes the computer tick.
Just my humble opinion though.
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Mike
Mechanical Engineer
Dell Computer Corporation
Storage Systems Group
Mike
Mechanical Engineer
Dell Computer Corporation
Server Development
I priced all the components offered by ABS and my total was $200 dollars HIGHER (Pricewatch.com) and that DIDN'T include shipping.
I was joking with a friend that I should ask ABS NOT to put it to gether and just send me the parts. (doubt they would do that!)
The game has changed in the last couple days with the release of the next gen Geforce. I'll most likely purchase around Valentines day.
What variables come into play when systems with identical components put together by different vendors have different benchmark scores?
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So, after three years on the internet, my father forgets his password. The operator asks him for his screen name, "whats a screen name" he replies.
Be brave, be daring, be stupid. Just build it your self. That way you know exxactly what is in there, how well it will upgrade, how good the parts are, and likely save a lot of money. If you already have a computer, you can scrounge a few essentuals out of that system to save a few bucks. Say you have an old Pentium 166. If the case, keyboard and mouse are still good and look fine, then a new power supply is all you need. You can scrounge things like 3-1/2" floppy drive, CD-ROM (even an old 8X will work fine for most people), modem, and network card. Even a sound card and speakers can be salvage if you are not too picky about sound quality. This can save you a bundle.
You can then drop in a cheap motherboard, CPU, memory, power supply, hard drive, and video card. Depending on the amount of performance you are looking for you might pay as little as $350 for Duron1Ghz, 128MB DDR, 20GB hard drive, 300w PS, GeForce2 GTS-V, and ECS K7S5A. For a bit better system you could spend $850 for an Epox 8KHA+, 256MB DDR, 40GB hard drive, 400w PS, AthlonXP 1800+, sound blaster Audigy, CD-R/W, and GeForce4 Ti 4200. That is a good range (350-850) for a nice to powerfull upgrade. You can also add the rest of the parts to finish the system off (NIC, speakers, mouse, keyboard, floppy drive, DVD, case, heatsink, fans) for about $200-400 depending on quality of parts. That is about about $550 for a full 1Ghz system (no monitor) to about $1250 for a power system. If you wanted to go even farther, you could get the GeForce4 Ti 4600, AthlonXP 2000+, and 512MB DDR and add another $400 or so.
With a bit of tweeking in the BIOS (mostly memory timings) and a bit of overclocking, you would blow away just about anything you could buy out there for a much better price. You could also go for a P4 system, but the only ones worth it right now are the 2.0a and 2.2 Northwood proccessors and they would add at least 2-300 to the high end system (stick with the Duron for the low end as Celerons suck and the higher speed PIII tulitin cores are too expensive).
AMD Phenom II x4 945 3Ghz | ASUS M4A77TD | 2X WD 1TB SATA 2 hard drive | 2x2GB Corsair XMS3 | nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS | ATI TV Wonder Theater Pro 550 | Antec P-160 case | Antec 650w Earth Watts | LG Blu-ray Super Drive | LG DVD RW | Windows 7 Pro
Originally posted by Todd a: Be brave, be daring, be stupid. Just build it your self... If you already have a computer, you can scrounge a few essentuals out of that system to save a few bucks...
I'm keeping my mouse, keyboard, monitor and Speakers (optical Logitec,Dell quiet key, Sony 19" Trinitron, altec lansing surround). I don't want to cannabalize my Dell as I plan to pass it on to my Girlfriend's Daughter. As for building one myself, I have considered this but as stated previously I have been unable to find the same components I want at the comparable price (is pricewatch.com NOT the place to look for the cheapest priced components?)
I'm looking to put together the fastest AMD system possible, I don't want any inferior motherboards. Does anyone think I could get what I listed at the top of this thread for less than $1600 buying the parts individually? (I realize the Geforce3 will drop in price soon if not already).
Thanks again.
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"Who says nothing is impossible??? I do nothing everyday!"
Yes you could. Check around on the FOR SALE part of these forums as well as on eBay. I buy most of my stuff from eBay or local computer shows, and I save A LOT. The only advantages of having a system from a corporate builder is tech support and an OS. However, you sacrifice both price and performance when doing this. Prices are inflated from manufacturers, and their performance is degraded with all the extra crap they throw on there (HP and Compaq are notorious for this...Gateway is getting there..).
Figure this...
-Epox 8KHA+ KT266A mobo $75-80
-AMD AthlonXP 1800+ $130
-256mb DDR $65
-1 or 2 80gb Seagate Barracuda IV hard drives $100 each on eBay usually
-GF3 Ti200 64mb $150 *Ti500 will be about $200 in a few weeks*
-Sound Blaster Audigy $60 (comp shows around here are about that)
-Antec case + 350w Antec PSU $100 (or close?)
-DLINK or LINKSYS PCI NIC 10/100 $15 retail at computer stores(CompUSA)
-Pioneer 16x DVD $75
-TDK 24x10x40 $150 (or less, I think)
-Windows XP Home $150
-1.44mb floppy..who needs this anymore??? If you really want one go get a generic $10 online somewhere....I've never heard of a "WindowsXP" floppy drive.
Thats like [b]$930-1030 depending on if you get one or two 80gb hard drives. Throw maybe $80-100 on for total shipping costs. Plus you get to have your fun building your own computer. I think this is always best as I can still give you the specs of any computer I've ever built/upgraded just by seeing the person or case.
Also, about the Barracuda's...these are the quietest hard drives around as well as some of the highest-performing drive available. Personally, I don't have one, but when I get the money I will. If you could get two of these in RAID0 you would have a very fast system with 80gb of hard disk sspace.
Alrighty... you have me convinced... I'll build my own. BUT... my only previous experience working on computer hardware was oiling my father's case fan on his 333mhz Emachine and completely disassembling and reassembling my keyboard (rubber cups and all...don't ask why). So with my extensive knowledge of computers can you point me in the direction of a web sight or publication that will walk me through the building of a top notched Amd system step by step, do's dont's, tweaks and tips? THANKS AGAIN!
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"Who says nothing is impossible??? I do nothing everyday!"
Originally posted by Samazon: Alrighty... you have me convinced... I'll build my own. BUT... my only previous experience working on computer hardware was oiling my father's case fan on his 333mhz Emachine and completely disassembling and reassembling my keyboard (rubber cups and all...don't ask why). So with my extensive knowledge of computers can you point me in the direction of a web sight or publication that will walk me through the building of a top notched Amd system step by step, do's dont's, tweaks and tips? THANKS AGAIN!
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Just build it your self. That way you know exxactly what is in there, how well it will upgrade, how good the parts are, and likely save a lot of money. If you already have a computer, you can scrounge a few essentuals out of that system to save a few bucks. Say you have an old Pentium 166. If the case, keyboard and mouse are still good and look fine, then a new power supply is all you need. You can scrounge things like 3-1/2" floppy drive, CD-ROM (even an old 8X will work fine for most people), modem, and network card. Even a sound card and speakers can be salvage if you are not too picky about sound quality. This can save you a bundle.
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