specs for new pc, any good?

[ledanek]

AMD Athlon XP 1800+
ThermalRight AX-7
MSI K7N415 Pro
Mushkin CAS2-2-2 PC2100 512MB (256MB x2)
Gainward GeForce 4 Ti 4600
Onboard nForce 10/100 Ethernet
Onboard nForce 6-Channel Audio
Creative v.92 56K Modem
5-Port USB 2.0 Controller
IBM 120GXP 40GB
Lite-On 32x CD-RW (black)
Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM (black)
Floppy (black)
Lian Li PC61
Enermax 350w
Windows XP Home

$1,575.00 shipped

Is this any good set up for gaming/photoshop versus Hypersonic's:

AMD 1.8 Ghz Athlon XP Processor
(AMD) Thermaltake Aluminum Dragon Orb with Arctic Silver III
(AMD) Asus A7V333 KT333 Motherboard w/ USB 2.0 (DDR DRAM)
PC 2700 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM (slot 1)
PC 2700 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM (slot 2)
PC-61 Aluminum Tower Case by Lian Li (Black)
Enermax 350W PEG365P-VE ATX 12V Switching Power Supply
1.44MB Floppy Drive
Standard Ribbon Cabling
(IDE) 40GB IBM Deskstar 120GXP 7200rpm ATA-100 Drive
Toshiba 16X DVD ROM/48X CD-ROM Drive
Plextor PlexWriter CD-R/RW 24X-10X-40X Burn-proof
NVIDIA® Geforce4 Ti 4600 128MB DDR (w/ DVI, TV Output & Dual Display)
Innerworks Active Video Cooling w/ FrameBoost™ 3D Optimization
Realtek 10/100MBit Fast Ethernet PCI Adapter
Conexant 56K Fax/Data Modem V.90
MS Windows XP Home Edition CD & Manual, Pre-Installed & Configured


looking at a $1500 budget , looking to upgrade my Photoshop from 5.5 ver. to 7 version

[Maxvla]

AMD Athlon XP 1800+ retail 105.00
ThermalRight AX-7 heatsink only 28.00
MSI K7N415 Pro retail 100.00
Mushkin CAS2-2-2 PC2100 512MB (256MB x2) single stick 120.00
Gainward GeForce 4 Ti 4600 retail 338.00
Onboard nForce 10/100 Ethernet free (on board)
Onboard nForce 6-Channel Audio free (on board)
Creative v.92 56K Modem retail 19.00
5-Port USB 2.0 Controller retail 25.00
IBM 120GXP 40GB oem 69.00
Lite-On 32x CD-RW (black) retail 67.00
Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM (black) couldn't find black, white is 38.00
Floppy (black) sony oem 15.00
Lian Li PC61 retail 155.00
Enermax 350w retail 49.00
Windows XP Home oem 90.00

lets see what we come up with for a total = 1218.00 plus shipping about 30.00-45.00

compared to your cost of $1,575.00 shipped

even if shipping is 45.00 (which it won't be) you save 312.00

http://members.directvinternet.com/maxvla/bowdown.gif Newegg (www.newegg.com)

[ledanek]

Thanks for looking out for me.
This was an offer by someone trying to save me some cash from Hypersonic PC.

I guess 300+ is his labor.

But in your opinion, is this worth the purchase for a long run? I'm not an OC myself. My first "good PC" was from Falcon-Northwest.
Still is. But its aging already: 1Ghz Athlon/GF4 440 MMX
Mainly for FPS game and Photoshop.
An interesting offer from Hypersonic is the upgrade/trade-in vs competitions, i.e. Falcon/Voodoo/Alienware.

That is why Im shopping around now.

If anyone from Chicago has a better offer please lay your cards on the table.

[HaywirE]

Dragon Orb Heatsinks = Suck for Xp's

[toastedzergling]

Falcon/Alienware/etc=RipOff
I would buy a dell any day:D
Nah, I mean build your own for overclocker's god sake

[CPFitz14]

Just build your own, do a little reading, and you will know what to do in no time.

-CPFitz-

[HaywirE]

The AMD Athlon Xp from Newegg is /102\


Build your OWN PC!

[elitemetalx]

dont you need a fan for the heatsink?

[HaywirE]

You talking to me? They usually put the Retail ones w/ the CPU.

or some cheap Coolermaster.

[Maxvla]

Originally posted by HaywirE
You talking to me? They usually put the Retail ones w/ the CPU.

or some cheap Coolermaster.

he's talking about the thermalright heatsink... doesn;t come with a fan. but thats not a big deal... fans are cheap.

[Da Whip]

If you are buying all this at once, get a XP2100+, you won't need to upgrade for a while, its only $50 more.
I would go with the MSI KT3 Ultra ARU it has the onboard USB 2.0., get a ethernet card they are cheaper than a USB2.0 card.
MSI K7N415 Pro didn't fare well in reviews;
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=49031

The AX-7 rocks, just get a 80mm Sunon 50CFM fan.

Almost forgot, WELCOME TO THE FORUMS

[ledanek]

I appreciate all the replies and suggestions.
But, unfortunately, I cant even build a Lego...serious!

I installed a memory and my Video card and I almost fainted!

So if anyone is from the Chicago area who could help me, I'd appreciate. So far one technician is willing to help, but I want to
have options and other's opinion.

So if anyone else here builds OC system let me know your quote.
I would just like to have CD-ROM for the XP, Recovery CD(s), Drivers and whatever else I will need JUST IN CASE.

I value everyone's opinion here...regardless of age and experience.

[beau_safken]

Welcome to the forums, You'll have to take the dive into PC build up's one day, Why not now? You found an Awesome resource of free help and information and All of us like helping others. If you feel wierd about building your PC, just post your problem and we will help you. We have links to how-to pages and all the necessities to help you. I think you'd feel LOTS better about your purchase if you built it yourself. Besides think of it as a car. If you built a car from the ground up, learned what you didn't know and built it right because you did it yourself, compared to buying a sports car prebuilt....What have you learned???? It's not the computers speed or value that drives myself and others, It's the challenge and the need to learn and grow. Just a thought....Don't be afraid we are here to help.

[Maxvla]

Originally posted by beau_safken
Welcome to the forums, You'll have to take the dive into PC build up's one day, Why not now? You found an Awesome resource of free help and information and All of us like helping others. If you feel wierd about building your PC, just post your problem and we will help you. We have links to how-to pages and all the necessities to help you. I think you'd feel LOTS better about your purchase if you built it yourself. Besides think of it as a car. If you built a car from the ground up, learned what you didn't know and built it right because you did it yourself, compared to buying a sports car prebuilt....What have you learned???? It's not the computers speed or value that drives myself and others, It's the challenge and the need to learn and grow. Just a thought....Don't be afraid we are here to help.

something worth repeating... :)

[ledanek]

Once again folks, thanks!

If someone would direct me to a website on how-to build, please with diagram :) I will give it a try.

As far as purchasing, what should I purchase first?
Is there an order on what to buy first, well second of to the motherboard and powersupply.
And where beside newegg and pricewatch.

I appreciate all the welcome.

[Batman@]

Originally posted by ledanek
Once again folks, thanks!

If someone would direct me to a website on how-to build, please with diagram :) I will give it a try.

As far as purchasing, what should I purchase first?
Is there an order on what to buy first, well second of to the motherboard and powersupply.
And where beside newegg and pricewatch.

I appreciate all the welcome.

Ok, when I first built my computer I didnt know anything at all, I mean the only thing I knew I how to do, was push the button to turn it on, and talk on icq :p When it was time for a new computer my friend told me to build it my self, I thought for sure I would mess up somewhere and end up wasting like $1000 +. But after I read diagrams, and stuff online, it was soo easy. Took not long at all. all you have to be able to do is basically , push in cards, and put the screws in place. LOL, I know somewhere here would have a 'walkthrough' link somewhere to get you started. Anyways, a word of advice, dont buy your cpu, or your mothreboard first, as they are the fastest to get outdated. Thats the mistake I made! I would suggest getting your psu, and case first. Then things like cdroms, nic cards, sound cards, video card, then hard drive, and then last mother board and cpu and ram.

[Da Whip]

Here is our own how to;
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90594

You are not going to find much better prices than newegg. The shipping is reasonable and they deliver.

There are plenty of computer shows in the metro Chicago area. Go there and get your case, saves $15-20 shipping.

[ledanek]

AMD PR2200+ Athlon XP Processor (Thoroughbred)
(AMD) Thermaltake Aluminum Dragon Orb with Arctic Silver III (AMD) Asus A7V333 KT333 Motherboard w/ USB 2.0 (DDR DRAM)
(AMD) PC2700 512MB DDR RAM
(AMD) PC2700 512MB DDR RAM
PC-61 Aluminum Tower Case by Lian Li (Black)
Enermax 350W PEG365P-VE ATX 12V Switching Power Supply
1.44MB Floppy Drive (Ivory Bezel)
Standard Ribbon Cabling
(IDE) 40GB IBM Deskstar 120GXP 7200rpm ATA-100 Drive
Toshiba 16X DVD ROM/48X CD-ROM Drive (Black Bezel)
NVIDIA® Geforce4 Ti 4600 128MB DDR (w/ DVI, TV Output & Dual Display)
Innerworks Active Video Cooling w/ FrameBoost™ 3D Optimization
MS Windows XP Home Edition CD & Manual, Pre-Installed & Configured

Price as Configured: $1,670.00

How about if I order this for now and add the CD-RW, network modem, keyboard, and monitor later? Would I cut some of the headache?

pending upon everyones' approval

[Penguin4x4]

Yes you would. But making a computers fun. :D

[Penguin4x4]

Oh, and just get 1 memory stick, :)

[ledanek]

but more memory is better right? your profile says your a powermac user, dont mac run better on more memory?

Actually your right about 1 stick, I was more of the line of no sticks yet, if possible, then get those "munskins????" that some ppl have been recommending.

what you guys think? Can it be ordered without memory?

[Penguin4x4]

Mushkin.com

Best tech support in the biz. No, you must order memory, but with a case like this, (http://www.directron.com/dx01bd.html) making a computer is easy. You can order the power supply and fans premounted, and it is completely tooless to boot. Here is pretty comprehensive guide, as well. (http://www.motherboards.org/articlesd/how-to-guides/924_1.html) Get 1 huge stick over a pair of sticks, as it is faster. Mac OS X and Windows XP need at least 256Mb to work.

[ledanek]

thanks for the link...now i got be like my wife and change my mind again! Hmmm....decisions...decisions...