PolskiSi

I will be purchasing a desktop computer in the next 2 months or so. One of the dudes I work with has a small business on the side, and wants to "hook me up" with a computer.
Here are the specs he listed.

CPU- P4 2.4Ghz 533Mhz
HD- Maxtor 40G
Video Card- Asus or MSI MX 440 Gforce 64Mb 4xAGP
DVD- ROm - LG/SONY or MSI 16x
CDRW- 52x24x52 (MSI, LG..or other)
Floppy- Sony
Memory- 512 MB DDR
Motherboard - Asus or ECS
Case- Enlight

It will cost about $1000 tax in.
Is this a good deal?
What should I upgrade? I'm not too sure about the video card and mother board...any comments about ASUS?
How much can I bargain with the guy for? Or is it unlikely that he will go lower?

Thanks

diesel

dude, you can check the price at
www.canadacomputers.com one of the best price in town

mb - don't get ecs, you'll regret.
ram - get 1gb ram...
hd - make sure you get 8mb cache

that's about it.. video card.. depend on what you are doing.. if you are into games, then 128 or something.

but check the prices first

PolskiSi

Thanks, man.
Why do I need 1gb RAM, seems like alot? I have 64 right now.

What is the difference between:
Pentium 4 - 400MHz FSB, Socket 478
and
Pentium 4 - 533MHz FSB, Socket 478
What is that Mhz mean?

What would the difference between something like:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy MP3+
and something way cheaper like:
Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1??

diesel

err 64... sorry.. i'm using 512, and I don't think I have enough, I don't play games, but I do some video editting and wav stuff, so 1gb helps...

MHz is megahertz, basically the speed of the cpu (chip)

honestly, to me, all creative stuff are the same, if you want to go pro, look at MAudio or soemthing (for musicians) I had a 5.1 and I think it's not bad for everyday user

PolskiSi

I thought the speed of the processor was determined by something like this: 2.4 ghz
Those I was looking at had 2.4ghz, and then it said 533mhz
I don't get it?
Is that some sort of speed of its internal operations?

diesel

ya.. i know what you mean. it has to do with the cpu, but i'm not exactly sure what either.. i never really read computer articles hehehe...

PolskiSi

Thanks alot for that website, dude.
I checked out all the specs this guy wants to give me, and i noticed that hes making about $100 profit on me.
Screw him.
I'd rather get more ram or a better video card than buy his ****.

diesel

lol no probs. i get most of my stuff from them. but remember.. pay cash don't pay visa.. otherwise you'll have to pay 2% more...

Cbibi

FSB stands for Front Side Bus.

It's the speed in which the processor "talks" to the rest of the computer.

Like most people...usually hehehe, you think faster than you talk. CPU's are the same, it "thinks" at 2.4GHz but "talks" at the FSB speed.

sugarcane

533 mhz FSB (Front Side Bus) think of it as a bottle neck. You have 2.4ghz. squeezing **** through 533mhz or smaller. Also match the speed on the RAM with the MB.

If this guy is putting it together and offering to troubleshoot your **** when something goes wrong; that 100 may be worth it IMO.

Go asus, can't go wrong.

LOL Nice analogy Cbibi

diesel

right, say no to ecs... unless you really want to go cheaper. if you want to build something more stable and last a bit longer, then asus is the only way to go

imported_94EG6HB

Before anything what are you using it for?

Any kind of hardware migration going to happen from your older machine?

Personally I would look at the newer P4 chips that are running a 800 mhz FSB.

Ask your buddy the difference if you change the chip and the processor.

Your gonna need faster memory too..

Nix both CD and DVD drives and get an all in one..

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

Some ppl talk faster than they think, so they end up saying stupid ****... hehe... some ppl even type faster than they think it seems like LOL

PolskiSi

I think that the only thing I'll be migrating is my Network card. Oh and maybe modem.

My sister is getting the other machine, so I want to keep it in one piece.

I want a machine that will be pretty much top of the line right now, and will be useful for the next 4 years or so.
I got a dell desktop back in Gr.9, and I still use it. It wasn't top of the line, it is slow as hell right now, but it works.

I don't really play alot of comp. games, I'd say every month or two I play one game like mad for maybe 2-3 days, and stop for another 1-2 months. So I don't need an AMAZING graphics card, but I don't want ****.

I think 64mb AGP4x will be sufficient?? Let me know if it will though. Could you also recommend some video cards, keeping in mind that I want to keep the cost of this thing under $1300 or so, tax in.
I want to be able to play the newest games out there with no problems, and with high quality graphics. There is a substantial difference in price between the cards, so I don't want to spend/waste money.

Hard drive will be 40-60GB max. Do you guys recommend any particular companies- or at least which ones should I stay away from? Anything else I should look for with the HD?

CPU, I want something fast- about 2.4gb- 2.6g I have no preference as to Intel or AMD...the prices seem about the same, is there any difference?

Sound card...what kind? I need something average, no too crazy. As long as it does what its supposed to do without problems.

Motherboard, I have no idea about it...help.

I'll be grabbing a dvd rom for sure, i asked this guy about the dvd/cdrw drive (since I saw DELL advertise them) and he said he never heard of them...
I had mentioned that to him right away, that i want the combo drive, then i could purchase a cd rom seperately- as to enable me to copy cd-to-cd directly.

I don't need a monitor, I'll be using the 17" Dell that I already have.

Ram...HELP! How much will I need? I was thinking of maybe getting 512, and 256...1000 seems like a bit much.

PolskiSi

Thanks for the info about the FSB...makes sense.

imported_Joker

I m in the same situation
Im gonna be using for video editing for now
I need something good all around that will last
Can someone give me some specs please
like what is the best bang for buck

imported_esp

P4 2.4Ghz
Asus P4S8X
Memory 512 PC 2700 (333 datarate)
HDD Maxtor 40G 7200rpm 8mb cache
Video Geforce 4 64mb DDR
DVD LG 16X
CDRW 40X10X40
Floppy
16bit sound
10/100
300W case KB/Mouse/spks.

$699 and this is just one average example from a store with warranty one year parts three year labour.

If he throws in a 17" flat monitor, it might be an okay deal.

make sure the board is Asus or MSI or Soltek(yummy). I don't recommend Gigabyte, or ECS-just me

512mb of DDR 266 or 333 should be sufficient for everyday use. The video editting guys above need the SCSI's, 1Gbmem, and 128mb video cards, not you.

Geforce 4 not gf2

and try to get a Seagate(twice as quiet as the competitors)or Western Digital if you get big HD

and the case is VERY important. Aluminum would be nice, but not feasible with that budget. Get internal cooling. especially with a stock P4 fan and a 64m video card. Something like a fan at the least or liquid cool. 350 watt case minimum for P4(so many crappy 300watt powersupplies out there that are overrated).

Finally, sorry it was so long, the prices indicated above will all go down in 2 months, so if you wait, it'll almost always get cheaper. Grab memory NOW(cheapest now and prices always go up and down). P4 2.4 will get cheaper cuz the northwood is being released. and HDD I dunno, Maxtor is bringing everyone's price down, but lately, a few of the Maxtor HD I've bought for customers had corrupt sectors(maybe quality is going down).

Get the computer paper from any PC store and study!

imported_esp

low budget get an ATi radeon 9600 pro(GeForce lovers don't hate me, I run geforce 2).
got the flow? BUY MATROX, or 3D labs. My friend who does video stuff recommends Matrox or OxygenLab.
He also swears to blow up any and all Creative products so I don't know.

iam_immigrant

for starters computer businesses dont make much money, their profit margin is VERY small.

cdrw drive = LG its one of the best. just get the dvd rom for now and then get a DVD-RW later when they become cheaper

you said that you want to give your old machine to your sis and you said that you already have a Dell monitor...so i assume that is an extra one??? if not tell him to throw in a monitor.

if you want top of the line cpu i think its 3.06GHz now but its $$$.

HD = 60GB its like $20 more and you never know when you need the extra space

oh and if possible can those "hook ups" be passed on to me too, cuz i need a new HD. im looking for a Maxtor 60GB w/ 8MB cache.

iam_immigrant

i've heard good and bad about Western Digital and i thought that maxtor now uses quantum technology, no??