[Szap]

I am building a computer for my brother. Currently, he does not own a computer. He will use this computer for e-mail, websurfing, typing, editing pictures, watching, recording, editing, burning tv, and listening to music. It is to last him a few years(at least 2 or 3), so do you think it is too much in that case? Here it is:

All from Newegg

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ - Retail $225.00

Motherboard: Asus K8V Deluxe $137.00

Ram: Kingston HyperX (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 $213.00

DVD Burner: Plextor 8X DVD-RW/+RW Drive, Model PX-708A/SW $211.00

PSU: Antec 430W Power Supply TRUE430 $71.00

Video Card: ATI AIW RADEON 9600PRO, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, FM/CATV/VIVO, 8X AGP, RETAIL $219.00

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 - PCI OEM $74.00

Monitor: NEC FE990-BK (Black) 19" CRT $255.00

Case: have one

Subtotal: $1,412.99
Shipping: $11.00
Total: $ 1,423.99

So, let me know what you think about it. Do you think I should stick with the 3000+ or go with the 3200+? The 3000+ seems to perform very well. I just don't know if the increased cache is worth $200. And just to let you know, he won't be overclocking at all. Everything will be run at stock speeds. Well, I think that's about it.

[DayUSeX]

diuthc the athalon 64. If he is giong to be duing alot of encoding get a 2.4c INTEL with a nice cooling and OC that, it will do alot better encoding than the a64 will do. As for the ram nice choice but again for re encoding the more the better consider that. You might watn to throw in a lite-on CD drive. You can burn on the DVD and still listen to your new cd or install your new game on the CD drive. Also good speakers help as well but yeah force him to get those i guess. But still go INTEL 2.4c if you are going to be re encoding!

[Szap]

I thought long and hard about going intel over amd for that reason. The reason I eventually chose the AMD was because I know he will keep this PC for a few years. I want him to be able to upgrade to 64bit once MS releases 64 bit XP and new applications start coming out in 64bit. Also, I do not know that he will be reencoding video so much as he will be just burning the stuff he records using his AIW to DVD. And you reminded me to mention that he is not much of a gamer(maybe a few card games), so that is why I chose the 9600 over the 9800. As for a cd drive, I have one of those along with a floppy drive. I do plan on suggesting a good pair of speakers. I doubt he'll want a full suround setup, so I'll probably look for a good 2.1 set(maybe Klipsch). I am glad you said the ram was a good choice because that's what I was least sure about. Thanks for the comments.

[ajrettke]

Maybe look into a flat panel too, I'm not sure how space is, but LCD's are easier on your eyes than CRT's are, and the imagine is nice a crisp. You can get 17" LCD's with 16ms response for around 300-350 too..which is only an 1" smaller than a 19" CRT.

[Szap]

I haven't looked into lcds too much lately. That's just because the last time I looked into them there was a problem with ghosting and such. I am guessing that they have fixed all of that by now? I might look into it. I really could use some monitor advice if anyone would like to give there input.

[Matthias99]

I just think the A64 is *massive* overkill for what he's doing. You could save quite a bit of money getting a regular P4C or even an Athlon XP 2500+ -- if all he's doing is recording TV shows, compressing them to DivX, and burning to DVD, you don't need all that much horsepower. It's the compression that takes a long time, and honestly you're looking at maybe 10% faster compression for two or three times the price. He probably doesn't need low-latency HyperX memory either, or a 430W power supply.

Also, if he's not much of a gamer, you might consider the 9000AIW to save about $100. However, the 9600Pro has the FM tuner (don't know how important that is) and a nicer remote, and it will play games far better if he decides to get into that at some point.

There are some nice LCD monitors out there, but I'd rather have a CRT for watching lots of video on. You'll pay considerably more for an LCD with less ghosting (although the Dell 2001FP looks *really* nice for about $750 + shipping).

Basically, your system looks fine, but it's probably way too much power for what it'll be used for.

[Szap]

Originally posted by Matthias99
I just think the A64 is *massive* overkill for what he's doing. You could save quite a bit of money getting a regular P4C or even an Athlon XP 2500+

The P 2.4C is $169. The A64 3000+ is $239. That's only a $70 difference. I can see where the Athlon XP 2500+ would save a little.

-- if all he's doing is recording TV shows, compressing them to DivX, and burning to DVD, you don't need all that much horsepower. It's the compression that takes a long time, and honestly you're looking at maybe 10% faster compression for two or three times the price.

I doubt he'll be compressing to DIVX, the only compressing that will be going on is the software compression to mpeg2.

He probably doesn't need low-latency HyperX memory either, or a 430W power supply.

You are right about the power supply. I was planning on changing that to something more like a 350w or 300w. Maybe you are right about the ram. The main reason that I posted the setup was because I wasn't too sure about the amount/type of ram. You think he only needs 512? The reason I went with a gig is because he'll probablywind up working with some sort of photoshop or mayb he'll begin with PSP. He was originally going to get a MAC, but I convinced him not to do that and to go with a PC instead.

Also, if he's not much of a gamer, you might consider the 9000AIW to save about $100. However, the 9600Pro has the FM tuner (don't know how important that is) and a nicer remote, and it will play games far better if he decides to get into that at some point.

That is the reason that I went with the 9600 AIW instead of the 9000 AIW.

There are some nice LCD monitors out there, but I'd rather have a CRT for watching lots of video on. You'll pay considerably more for an LCD with less ghosting (although the Dell 2001FP looks *really* nice for about $750 + shipping).

In that case, I think Ill stick with CRT. Does anyone have suggestions on good CRT monitors? Anyone have the one I chose?

Basically, your system looks fine, but it's probably way too much power for what it'll be used for.

Right now it is, I understand that, but what about in 2 or 3 years? That is what I am thinking about, how long will it last him. He doesn't want to have to upgrade again in a year to keep up with what he may start doing.

[Cyrix_2k]

Do you have a HDD? It's not on the list. And if you have the money, go for full surround. I have a cheap surround setup and LOVE it. I'll never go back to 2.1. If he wants nice speakers, get the klipsh (sp?) 4.1 refurbs for $129. It's well worth the money. The next best thing to surround sound is some nice sennheiser headphones. Again, it's well worth the money IMHO. You did say he'd be listening to music, right?

[RevelatorHarmon]

I would go with an XP barton 2500+, if you get a 64bit chip and mobo now, you will have to throw away the mobo when you decide to get another chip, best to wait till they go to 939pin, then get one (AMD is phasing away from 940 and 754 pin's). and I would also get him a CD-RW drive, two drives is always better than one.

[NovaShine]

it all depends on what he's using it for. If he's still doing what he's doing now 2-3 years down the road, he dosnt need an upgrade. I know that office computers dont need to be upgraded for at least 5 years and these are budget systems when they were bought so... it all depends on how he uses it and what programs he will run on it.

[Cornel]

Originally posted by Matthias99
I just think the A64 is *massive* overkill for what he's doing.

He is right and maybe a better idea would be to get a cheaper system now and maybe upgrade it later as the prices for 64bit components will get smaller...

[Matthias99]

Right now it is, I understand that, but what about in 2 or 3 years? That is what I am thinking about, how long will it last him. He doesn't want to have to upgrade again in a year to keep up with what he may start doing.

If you get him a gig of RAM and the 9600Pro AIW, but cut the processor to a Barton 2500+ and get CL2.5 PC3200 RAM instead, he should be fine for quite some time. I basically can't see standard office apps/photo/video stuff *ever* needing more than 2Ghz or so worth of CPU and 1GB of RAM. I mean, he'd probably be fine for years with a Duron 1.6 and 512MB of RAM if he's not doing anything intense with the machine.

His video card would need to be updated to play newer games in a year or two, but if he doesn't care about it, it doesn't matter very much, does it? It's also a very easy upgrade (AGP will still be around for a few years, even with PCI Express likely coming out sometime in 2004).