Advice on building my own computer

Andy in NJ wrote:
 >I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
 >wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email
would be
 >prefered, but you can reply here if you want.

 >I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and
memory
 >(1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I
don't know
 >exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend based
on
 >that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?

I got a great deal on a motherboard/CPU combo at Fry's Electronics
Outpost recently.

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://shop3.outpost.com/search?query_string=&cat=-51542&pType=pDisplay&resultpage=0&from=0&to=24&sort=plu&order=desc&order_by=null" target="_blank">http://shop3.outpost.com/search?query_string=&cat=-51542&pType=pDispla...esultpa</a>

Out of online dealers I trust, I haven't seen anything else come
close to the mobo/CPU combos at Fry's.

Isaac Kuo<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

"Jan Alter" <bearpuf DeleteThis @verizon.net> wrote in message
news:6zuDd.1370$eb.580@trndny01...
 > Can you give some more information to your needs? Are you a gamer? Will
 > you be doing video editing, DVD burning, general computing, RAID, need a
 > firewire port, etc? The more folks understand those needs the better they
 > can give you solid and specific advice. Do you have a preference for AMD
 > or Intel? What speed CPU were you thinking of in either of these two
 > categories?

I mostly play games and surf the net. I am looking for the fastest, most
stable MB/CPU/Memory combination for the money. I have no preference between
AMD or Intel, although AMD is what I've been using for years, mainly because
of price. I'd like something at least 2 gigs+.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

<< I mostly play games and surf the net. I am looking for the fastest,
most
<< stable MB/CPU/Memory combination for the money



the other posts say nothing of gaming......which will change the price
tag in a hefty way. What games?, pacman? no worries....SOF? well then
that's a horse of a different color.

"Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS at COMCAST DOT NET> wrote in message
news:BcudndsLZPD2ikPcRVn-iw@comcast.com...
 > I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
 > wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email
would be
 > prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
 >
 > I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and
memory
 > (1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I
don't know
 > exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend
based on
 > that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

On Fri, 7 Jan 2005 08:04:55 -0500, "Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS
at COMCAST DOT NET> wrote:

 >"Jan Alter" <bearpuf RemoveThis @verizon.net> wrote in message
 >news:6zuDd.1370$eb.580@trndny01...
  >> Can you give some more information to your needs? Are you a gamer? Will
  >> you be doing video editing, DVD burning, general computing, RAID, need a
  >> firewire port, etc? The more folks understand those needs the better they
  >> can give you solid and specific advice. Do you have a preference for AMD
  >> or Intel? What speed CPU were you thinking of in either of these two
  >> categories?
 >
 >I mostly play games and surf the net. I am looking for the fastest, most
 >stable MB/CPU/Memory combination for the money. I have no preference between
 >AMD or Intel, although AMD is what I've been using for years, mainly because
 >of price. I'd like something at least 2 gigs+.
 >

Surfing/office/email/etc is easily done with anything
semi-modern. Since you made no mention of the video card,
which will typically be the largest performance difference
for gaming, shall we presume you already have a suitable
card? If so, you must take it's interface into
consideration. That is, if it's AGP based then you'll want
a motherboard with AGP too.

$500 might be cutting it tight for a 2GHz CPU, unless you
meant only a P4, which will be substantially slower than an
Athlon @ 2GHz. You might be able to get something like,

$150 Athlon64 3000+ 939 (1.8GHz)
$100 nForce3 or Via K8T800 based m'board (pick features)
$150 2 x 512MB PC3200 (name-brand budget-grade)
$70 Case, power (subject to taste, Antec is often good)
-------
$470 so far, $30 more could be easily eaten up by memory,
heatsink, shipping, fancier motherboard, etc.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

Andy in NJ wrote:
 > I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
 > wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email would be
 > prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
 >
 > I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and memory
 > (1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I don't know
 > exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend based on
 > that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?
 >
 >
Here's a great site that will help you to make up your mind:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://arstechnica.com/guides.ars" target="_blank">http://arstechnica.com/guides.ars</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

lol...you won't get anything much good for $500, maybe add another $200 to
that and you'll have something just about ok.


"Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS at COMCAST DOT NET> wrote in message
news:BcudndsLZPD2ikPcRVn-iw@comcast.com...
 >I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
 >wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email would be
 >prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
 >
 > I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and
 > memory (1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I
 > don't know exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend
 > based on that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

Andy in NJ:

 > I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
 > wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email
 > would be prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
 >
 > I have $500 to spend. I want to get a ....

new case
$91 Antec Black with 350W PS
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140033" target="_blank">http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140033</a>

motherboard
$129 Epox 9NDA3+
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=13-123-" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=13-123-</a>
222

CPU
$146 Athlon 64 3000+
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-R" target="_blank">http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-R</a>

memory (1 gig)
$142 Mushkin PC3200
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-299" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-299</a>

TOTAL $508 shipped
It's so easy to spend other people's money
--
Mac Cool<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

In article <crm5mo$tra$1@kermit.esat.net>,
Richard Dower <richarddower.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
 >lol...you won't get anything much good for $500, maybe add another $200 to
 >that and you'll have something just about ok.
 >
 >
 >"Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS at COMCAST DOT NET> wrote in message
 >news:BcudndsLZPD2ikPcRVn-iw@comcast.com...
  >>I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
  >>wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email would be
  >>prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
  >>
  >> I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and
  >> memory (1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I
  >> don't know exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend
  >> based on that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?
  >>
 >
 >


If all you are doing is email, internet browsing and audio multimedia
a midrange machine is fine. You don't need more than 256MB of memory
unless you can name the software application you use, to justify it.

A year ago I priced the parts for business-grade white box systems on
newegg.com. All the parts came to $300. All name-brand good parts.
Here's what it included;

Midrange AMD CPU
ASUS mobo with on-board video/LAN/sound
Case/PSU
256MB memory
Good 40GB disk
Floppy
CD burner & burning software

NO OS (add $90 for XP/Home)

You already have monitor/kbd/mouse. You _may_ have OS software.





--

a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

Richard Dower wrote:
 > lol...you won't get anything much good for $500, maybe add another $200 to
 > that and you'll have something just about ok.
 >
 >
 > "Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS at COMCAST DOT NET> wrote in message
 > news:BcudndsLZPD2ikPcRVn-iw@comcast.com...
 >
  >>I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
  >>wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email would be
  >>prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
  >>
  >>I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and
  >>memory (1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I
  >>don't know exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend
  >>based on that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?
  >>
 >
 >
 >
And what exactly is wrong with the recommendation in the post just
before yours?

On Fri, 7 Jan 2005 08:04:55 -0500, "Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS
at COMCAST DOT NET> wrote:

Surfing/office/email/etc is easily done with anything
semi-modern. Since you made no mention of the video card,
which will typically be the largest performance difference
for gaming, shall we presume you already have a suitable
card? If so, you must take it's interface into
consideration. That is, if it's AGP based then you'll want
a motherboard with AGP too.

$500 might be cutting it tight for a 2GHz CPU, unless you
meant only a P4, which will be substantially slower than an
Athlon @ 2GHz. You might be able to get something like,

$150 Athlon64 3000+ 939 (1.8GHz)
$100 nForce3 or Via K8T800 based m'board (pick features)
$150 2 x 512MB PC3200 (name-brand budget-grade)
$70 Case, power (subject to taste, Antec is often good)
-------
$470 so far, $30 more could be easily eaten up by memory,
heatsink, shipping, fancier motherboard, etc.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

There you go. That would be the deal. I have been using the Mushkin memory
in my 1 gig builds. Nice bang for the buck. Way to shop, Max.

"Mac Cool" <Mac.DeleteThis@2cool.com> wrote in message
news:Xns95D76473C3CD7MacCool@130.133.1.4...
 > Andy in NJ:
 >
  > > I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
  > > wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email
  > > would be prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
  > >
  > > I have $500 to spend. I want to get a ....
 >
 > new case
 > $91 Antec Black with 350W PS
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140033</font" target="_blank">http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140033</font</a>>
 >
 > motherboard
 > $129 Epox 9NDA3+
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=13-123-</font" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=13-12...lt;/fon</a>>
 > 222
 >
 > CPU
 > $146 Athlon 64 3000+
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-R</font" target="_blank">http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-R</font</a>>
 >
 > memory (1 gig)
 > $142 Mushkin PC3200
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-299</font" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-299</font</a>>
 >
 > TOTAL $508 shipped
 > It's so easy to spend other people's money
 > --
 > Mac Cool<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

On Thu, 6 Jan 2005 23:59:56 -0500, "Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS at COMCAST DOT
NET> wrote:

 >I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
 >wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email would be
 >prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
 >
 >I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and memory
 >(1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I don't know
 >exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend based on
 >that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?
 >

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (socket 939) $165.00
Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 $28.00
MSI K8N NEO Platinum $148.00
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 $140.00
Antec SLK3700 BQE $73.00

$554.00
All prices from <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.NewEgg.com" target="_blank">www.NewEgg.com</a>

regards

Dud
--

Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day,
but they're unable to do it themselves. - Brendan Behan<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

Asus P4P800 $70 US
Intel 3.0 800 FSB $185 US
Kingston Dual Channel Matched 512 MB PC3200 $140 US

Should be able to afford graphics card if needed for just a bit more:
Asus GeForce 4 128MB GDDR3 GT6600 about $200 US

Everything seems to be going for PCI Express, and with the Socket 775, but
I'd wait on them to perfect these things a little before forking out the
dough. The system above would be solid for years to come till you decided
for another upgrade.

For high end gaming and video apps, this would be more then enough for quite
some time.

Regards,

Doug

"Andy in NJ" <SHORECOGS at COMCAST DOT NET> wrote in message
news:BcudndsLZPD2ikPcRVn-iw@comcast.com...
 >I am in the market to do a little upgrading of my computer and I was
 >wondering if I could get some advice. A reply directly to my email would be
 >prefered, but you can reply here if you want.
 >
 > I have $500 to spend. I want to get a new case, motherboard, CPU and
 > memory (1 gig). Everything else is ok and doesn't need to be replaced. I
 > don't know exactly what I want at this point, but what would you recommend
 > based on that budget and knowing which items I need to buy?
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer 

jacoby:

 > There you go. That would be the deal. I have been using the Mushkin
 > memory in my 1 gig builds. Nice bang for the buck.

I haven't tried the inexpensive Mushkin stuff that Newegg sells, but their
premium stuff is as good as any and better than most. Hell of a company
too... the *best* customer service of any online company I've dealt with.

The guy mentioned gaming, hopefully he has a nice video card already or he
will have to scale back to something like an XP2500.
--
Mac Cool<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Advice on building my own computer