Buying a new computer.

$1000 buys a mid to high range PC (unless you want to buy a Mac). You should have an idea of what you actually want to do with this computer before you ask for any specific recommendations.

I know I will probably catch flak for this but you can get a really nice PC from dell for well under 1000. You can then take the extra cash and upgrade the video card etc..


ya ya it isnt home built but you get a monitor, software, and a good warranty with it.

Apart from being a big box maker my only gripe with Dell is that they sold their soul to Intel a long time ago in return for some good (at the time, which was before AMD got big) pricing deals. In addition to processors this has also limited them in terms of motherboards (all Intel chipset) making it hard to find a system that doesn''t use a mediocre motherboard without practically going to their server line.

I was looking at dell but they really seem to screw you over if you upgrade any of the components. (It often costs more to upgrade a component than it would to just buy the upgraded component).

It would be used for amataeur video editing and gaming.

[edited by - Senses777 on April 20, 2004 7:02:41 PM]

Well, Macs are better for video editing but windows has most of the computer gaming world.

Build it.

If i had $1k (and if i were to get everything off newegg.com):

ASUS KT400 Chipset Motherboard, Model "A7V8X-X" --------- $58.00

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 266 FSB Processor ------------------- $72.00

GIGABYTE ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "GV-R96X128D" -RETAIL --------- $159.00

Sony Black 52x32x52x16 Combo Drive, Model CRX320E Black - $47.00

Aspire X-Dreamer II(Black) ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, With Window, Model "ATXB4KLW-BK/350" ------------ $52.00

Find a nice flat panel montor 15" ----------------------- $300.00

Windows XP Pro ------------------------------------------ $150.00


I think that everything... well, exept for a mouse and keyboard, but that stuff is cheap.





___________________________
"It takes all kinds" -Adam Carolla

quote:

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Original post by lethalhamster
If i had $1k (and if i were to get everything off newegg.com):

ASUS KT400 Chipset Motherboard, Model "A7V8X-X" --------- $58.00

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 266 FSB Processor ------------------- $72.00

GIGABYTE ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "GV-R96X128D" -RETAIL --------- $159.00

Sony Black 52x32x52x16 Combo Drive, Model CRX320E Black - $47.00

Aspire X-Dreamer II(Black) ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, With Window, Model "ATXB4KLW-BK/350" ------------ $52.00

Find a nice flat panel montor 15" ----------------------- $300.00

Windows XP Pro ------------------------------------------ $150.00


I think that everything... well, exept for a mouse and keyboard, but that stuff is cheap.





___________________________
"It takes all kinds" -Adam Carolla

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That''s actually a pretty good suggestion.

By the by, Adam Carolla didn''t make up the saying "It takes all kinds" since every father has been passing that saying down to their sons for generations - or so I have come to believe.

quote:

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Original post by Drevay

By the by, Adam Carolla didn''t make up the saying "It takes all kinds" since every father has been passing that saying down to their sons for generations - or so I have come to believe.

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Oh, i didnt know that.

___________________________
"It takes all kinds" -Adam Carolla

quote:

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Original post by lethalhamster
Find a nice flat panel montor 15" ----------------------- $300.00

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Screw flat panel, size is more important. For $300 you can get at least 19". 20+ if you shop around.

CM

Not for the faint of heart but you could build two great computers for $1000...

When you find yourself in the company of a halfling and an ill-tempered Dragon, remember, you do not have to outrun the Dragon...

quote:

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Original post by lethalhamster
If i had $1k (and if i were to get everything off newegg.com):

ASUS KT400 Chipset Motherboard, Model "A7V8X-X" --------- $58.00

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 266 FSB Processor ------------------- $72.00

GIGABYTE ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "GV-R96X128D" -RETAIL --------- $159.00

Sony Black 52x32x52x16 Combo Drive, Model CRX320E Black - $47.00

Aspire X-Dreamer II(Black) ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, With Window, Model "ATXB4KLW-BK/350" ------------ $52.00

Find a nice flat panel montor 15" ----------------------- $300.00

Windows XP Pro ------------------------------------------ $150.00


I think that everything... well, exept for a mouse and keyboard, but that stuff is cheap.





___________________________
"It takes all kinds" -Adam Carolla

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Listen to this man, he has a pretty good idea of what he's talking about. My only additions would be:

A case with a better power supply (like 450W or more).

Getting a bigger CRT monitor.

Maybe an Audigy or an Audigy 2 if you want to play a lot of music on it, and then obviously a good set of speakers (Klipsch is nice, from what I hear).

Oh, he forgot RAM - just see what kind that mobo supports, and get at least 512 megs of Corsair, Kingston, or some other high quality memory.



[edited by - andromeda on April 20, 2004 9:58:20 PM]

i built my comp for 500 dollers it has:

AMD XP 2400+
Shuttle Mainboard Fullsize With nForce 2 400 chpiset Motherboard
ATI Radeon 9600 PRO
512mb of DDR 400 PC 3200 ram(yes the best ram available)
80 gb hardrive
52x cd burner
microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse(optical)
Some awsome speakers and sub.

that cost me about 512 dollers.

edit: it is not a mini-itx SHUTTLE board, its full sized, its a pc sized board, 5 or 6 pci 1 agp its nomal sized.

---

Sharp Basic - Coming summer 2004!
Sign Up For Sharp Basic Beta Testing!!!

[edited by - DerAngeD on April 20, 2004 9:52:31 PM]

[edited by - DerAngeD on April 20, 2004 10:31:00 PM]

How do you like your Shuttle board? I''m considering building a mini-PC with a Shuttle case and board to use as my computer in college (saves space and all that), so I''m just wondering what you think of it.

ASUS nForce2 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "A7N8X-X": $71
Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200: $96
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor: $146
ASPIRE Silver Turbo Case with 350W Power Supply, Model "ATXB2KL/350": $30
GIGABYTE ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "GV-R96X128D": $159
Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y080L0, OEM Drive only: $73
NU Technology 8X DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Model DDW-082: $88
ViewSonic G70FB 17" PerfectFlat CRT Monitor: $139
Turtle Beach 5.1-Channel PCI Sound Card, Model "RIVIERA": $39

Windows XP Pro: $150


It comes out to 991, which only leaves $9 for a mouse and keyboard, so you''d need to buy them using Froogle Keyboards and Froogle Mouses. Or, you could change all the retail stuff to OEM, order a few cables to go with it, and save enough for a real keyboard and mouse =-)

Grab a Wal-Mart, CompUSA, or BestBuy flyer. Look at the specs of a computer. Add up the component prices from pricewatch.com and compare. This will help you see where your money is going.

1. Case & Powersupply
2. Motherboard & CPU
3. Harddrive
4. Memory
5. Video card
6. Monitor

When your done, stop and realize that pricewatch prices are bare-bones oriented -- don't count on any quality or frills. Brick-n-Morter stores, Dell, and Gateway all provide good reliability, and service what they sell. You won't find that level of service at just most online stores.

Always buy a monitor (CRT) at a brick-n-morter store. Shipping is a ton. If something goes wrong with your monitor, most places want you to pay shipping on returns.


Here is one of many places that will let you customize your computer. It will also give you a feel for what's expensive and what isn't.



-------------
VenDrake

To understand recursion, you must first understand recursion.

[edited by - VenDrake on April 20, 2004 10:11:47 PM]

There''s a few sites out there with good system building guides that are updated fairly regularly. Take a look at Ars Technica, AnandTech and Sharky Extreme. That should give you a good idea what you should be looking at for $1000 even if you end up pointing your friend in the direction of a big box maker who offer something similar.

quote:

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Original post by andromeda
How do you like your Shuttle board? I'm considering building a mini-PC with a Shuttle case and board to use as my computer in college (saves space and all that), so I'm just wondering what you think of it.

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no, its not a shuttle board that way, its
Shuttle the company, its a full size board, its a Shuttle Minboard, its large, its not a mini liek your thinking.

EDIT: heres a pic, its fullsize, Shuttle makes normal mobos as well as minis

---

Sharp Basic - Coming summer 2004!
Sign Up For Sharp Basic Beta Testing!!!

[edited by - DerAngeD on April 20, 2004 10:29:25 PM]

If there happens to be a computer fair type event in your area soon, you can sometimes find people who will build a custom computer for you on the spot. The prices can be pretty good, although I guess you shouldn''t rely on service too much. But the one I bought like that never had problems.

Personally, I''m a fan of just buying the parts and putting it together. It''s really not that hard, just be careful (i.e. no sound card hammering action).