Building a new Computer

[Isotel]

Ok, i am in need of a new setup, my current machine is an old AMD setup, the case is almost 10 years old..

anyway, i need to run CAD, Adobe CS3 Suite, listen to music, surf MUD and Print to my vinyl Cutter all at the same time, and my old Computers just not Cutting it..

So, Whats the best bang for the buck right now, ive only got about $500 to spend so im looking at bare bone kits with Quad Cores, or Possibly Dual Core Pendium D's Ive always had AMD's in the past, but ive build a few Intel based computers for my work and they are working great!

anyway, this is what i was thinking about getting.. Build in Video and Sound for now, i can always upgrade later..

And on a side note.. XP or Vista ??

 

[AJP]

I am no expert so take this for what it is worth - I have done 5 or 6 ground up PC builds and always used AMD. I think the next one will be a Pentium Quad core. Only because I get the sense they may be quieter and as good or better based only on spec/testing I see on line.

I run Vista and XP in various laptops and PC's at home. Only XP at the office. FWIW - use the XP ... Vista is a slow pig that just annoys me!!

Been happy with the XFX video cards fwiw - although I did have one fail (showed tiny tracing/track marks on the screen) .. it was replaced by XFX under their lifetime guarantee with a better one - no fuss! AND the service folks were the best I have ever dealt with!!

I started using Macs when I was new to PC's and could never understand why people insisted on MS based PC's .. to me it was like preferring to go to a dentist for root canal over a night out on the town!

Anyway - I am sure I will eventually go back to MAC as soon as practical!

-- you may want to rethink the integrated video if you are running CAD programs and don't skimp on good RAM

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I too have been an AMD loyalist, but just switched to a dual core Intel on the last PC I built 6 months ago. I also stuck with XP. With SP3 out it's just really stable. I definitely like the look of Vista, but in their efforts to make it quick it relies on too much RAM.

I'd seriously consider a Dell system. They're under $500, with an LCD. The advantage of buying parts ten thousand at a time.

 

[Isotel]

sweet, thanks for the Advise guys! i need an LCD anyway! 22" if the funds are there.. Maybe Santa will bring me one! lol

 

[2000UZJ]

selling my setup, its under MISC. named custom computer. duh.

see what im running. its not AMD but its pretty fast. and for a descent price

 

[Isotel]

Hmmm, looks like a nice computer, but i need the multi processor, and 1gb of ram is not going to cut it.. unfortunatly computers lose their value quicker than anything..

I found a dell with a 22" lcd and a Pentium Dual core for $600 with Vista loaded.. no option for a downgrade to xp.. but thats not a bad price.. and i can put a better CPU in it in 6 months when the price drops..

 

[Hants]

I just built a HTPC with built-in video & audio, and enough horses to run Blu-Ray. Draws about 42W at idle, and about 70 running hi-def movies. It was amazingly inexpensive, too.

MoBo - Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H Micro ATX, $58
CPU - AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5 GHz (45w), $57
HD - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EACS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s, $105
RAM - Kingston 2GB DDR2 800, $25

I bought a case, and used some fans I had laying around. Vista scores at a 3.5, due to the video speed (everything else is 4's & 5's). 3.5 for video with *built-in* video is extremely good (best I've seen).

The MoBo supports higher draw/faster CPU's. I was going for the fastest 45W that I could find.

AMD's sip power at idle. Intel's mainline it all the time.

That said, I have an overclocked quad-core Intel @ 3.7GHz & all sorts of goodies for my work computer. It screams. Makes my electricity meter spin like a top, though, and was crazy expensive to build.

 

[2000UZJ]

Hmmm, looks like a nice computer, but i need the multi processor, and 1gb of ram is not going to cut it.. unfortunatly computers lose their value quicker than anything..

I found a dell with a 22" lcd and a Pentium Dual core for $600 with Vista loaded.. no option for a downgrade to xp.. but thats not a bad price.. and i can put a better CPU in it in 6 months when the price drops..

hah yeah i found that after i built it.