My computer has passed away... R.I.P.

[JeremyV]

:banana:

I'm so excited! haha.. ok, I don't mean to sound twisted and demented, but I have been waiting a long time for this day (although it's death is somewhat untimely). This computer that I built on a budget nearly 5 years ago now has definately given me more than enough for what I built it for. For all of these years, I have been using only a 900 MHz machine with a basic first generation GeForce card.

It was awesome how well it handled my abuse though, for the first two years I had it overclocked to all get out, I threw about 120 gigs of HD space in and just collected anything I could possibly store on my HD. The components are all quality components too.. Crucial RAM, geforce video, Plextor burner, etc etc... I just slowly pieced it together over time scoping out pricewatch for awesome deals.

Anyway, yeah, it has been acting up over the past year more and more, and today it met it's match :D It is probably only the video card that is the culprit, because the BIOS gives me the video error beeps... but occasionally it will boot up, but then windows randomly locks up or the video resolution has a mind of it's own and just changes, haha.

So... off to read reviews of hardware and begin piecing together a new system :D

[net-trend]

Ahhh.....the piecing (sp?) of a new comp....how i love that...:)

Make sure you choose your side.....ATI vs Nvidia...:D

Also give the new nForce mobo's a go!

[JeremyV]

Soooo many decisions! I have been out of the mega-geek computer hardware and overclocking scene for a few years now, so I am very behind the times. I have always loved AMD for the bang/buck performance ratio... but it seems as if Intel has come down in prices quite a bit and are very comparable to a lot of AMD components.

So, my first decision is to choose the good guys again (AMD) or switch back to the bad guys (Intel) :D

Then I can decide on video... always loved nVidia, but the radeon stuff is looking mighty good as well. So far though, Intel has my attention... but I have a TON of reading to do :) If at all possible, I'd like to build this up for about 1,000 bucks, and have it hopefully last another 4 or 5 years like this one did.

Oh... and here is the great news. I told a few friends of the bad news, and one of them has a computer he built that is on the fritz, he doesn't know much about them, so he can't get the stability issues worked out. It is an AMD 1900+, half a gig of ram, burner, audigy sound, and a nice Antec case. He said he would give it to me for free! So if anything, I can probably get it running stable, and sell it for a few hundred bucks to pay for part of my replacement costs ;)

[net-trend]

Talk about you being lucky getting a FREE rig to play with.....

I'm always a sucker for the underdog though....I plan to have a new system within the next few months or so and i want AMD..but somehow Hyper-threading sounds tech-ish (what geek doesn't like tech-ish stuff?)....so I'm still trying hard to decide..

And the radeon does look extremely promising...but Nvidia has served me well so far...i guess it all comes down to a flip of a coin eh? :)

[JeremyV]

Yep, seems to be the trend right now, the technology by the 4 leading manufacturers (Intel, AMD, ATI, nvidia) are all so closely matched, it really is a crapshoot. I have my eyes on a 3 ghz P4... because like you, after reading about hyperthreading, and the boards that support it with an 800 mhz FSB coupled with dual channel DDR ram.. I mean, that is smokin'. My machine now is using 100 MHz SDRAM on a 133 FSB :cry:

Granted, you always pay top dollar for the fastest CPU (why the 3ghz chip is way more expensive than the next step down) But that is what I did with my computer now, I bought the fastest of everything, and it lasted 5 years easily. And pricing a 3ghz system, good motherboard, new ram, new video, and a new SATA hard drive, and case/PSU, I'm looking at only about 1200 including shipping.

So, when you do the math.. I could drop 1200 bucks on that, and have it last 4 years... or spend 700 dollars and have it last a year or two before a new game comes out that I need better video for.. or I end up with a motherboard that doesn't support a CPU I want.. etc. and you end up paying more in upgrading it in a short time.

Either way, I can't afford it :D But hey, just paid off one CC, and got a new one with 0% APR until January 2004, so heck, I will just go that route and hope/pray to god I can afford it before the end of the year is up, haha.

[NW-Allwin]

Top of the line CPUs are always a bit more expensive then the ones released a little while before. I normally end up buying a second rung CPU and splurging the remaining amount on TOP notch graphic cards and sound setup :D

Hey.. if you are getting a sound system with the computer.. make sure you check out the Klipsch Promedia 5.1's. SIMPLY the best ! ;)

[JeremyV]

Originally posted by NW-Allwin:

Hey.. if you are getting a sound system with the computer.. make sure you check out the Klipsch Promedia 5.1's. SIMPLY the best ! ;)

Actually, that is the set I'm looking at.. granted, NO cash for that at all right now, haha. But I already have an awesome sound card (Hercules GTXP) but only some 80 dollar 2.1 speakers. But I do a lot more as far as high-end graphics, rendering, and photoshop type work than games, so surround sound isn't the utmost important feature (although I would love that system!)

[Matt]

I built an AMD system a few months ago as an addition to my aging Athlon 1Ghz with 512MB of RAM and a Geforce 2 card.

I chose the Asus A7N8X nforce 2 motherboard (I went for none-deluxe, no need for firewire or serial ata with this machine), AMD Athlon XP2400+, WD Caviar SE HD, and a Radeon 9000 128MB DDR pro (not top of the range but this was on special offer). It runs pretty well - I can definately recommend the motherboard as it's been a nice board to play with.

Got a P4 in my laptop though - so I'm not an AMD person through and through.

[JeremyV]

Asus is the brand motherboard I would be getting regardless of intel or amd :D

[interactive]

HardForums is great place. If I were you I'd go get a nforce 1 or 2 board. The a7n266 goes for around $50 and is a totally kick butt board. The nforce 2 version goes for around $150. As for processsors read some reviews, but I think that if money is a issue go with the Athlon XP's. On one of my main desktops I've been running a duron 900 (oc'ed it a bit) and a geforce 2 for a long time, waiting for it to die, so I have a excuse to build a new system. Well anyways good luck.
Originally posted by JeremyV:

Soooo many decisions! I have been out of the mega-geek computer hardware and overclocking scene for a few years now, so I am very behind the times. I have always loved AMD for the bang/buck performance ratio... but it seems as if Intel has come down in prices quite a bit and are very comparable to a lot of AMD components.

So, my first decision is to choose the good guys again (AMD) or switch back to the bad guys (Intel) :D

Then I can decide on video... always loved nVidia, but the radeon stuff is looking mighty good as well. So far though, Intel has my attention... but I have a TON of reading to do :) If at all possible, I'd like to build this up for about 1,000 bucks, and have it hopefully last another 4 or 5 years like this one did.

Oh... and here is the great news. I told a few friends of the bad news, and one of them has a computer he built that is on the fritz, he doesn't know much about them, so he can't get the stability issues worked out. It is an AMD 1900+, half a gig of ram, burner, audigy sound, and a nice Antec case. He said he would give it to me for free! So if anything, I can probably get it running stable, and sell it for a few hundred bucks to pay for part of my replacement costs ;)

[Robert]

Sorry to hear about your computer. :cry: :cry:

I build a new computer every year. Recently I just built a system but am Interested in getting an Intel System now (instead of Amd!)

For those wondering, I sell my "current" pc, which is less than 5 months old, to friends/family for very very cheap.

[net-trend]

Originally posted by NW-Allwin:
Hey.. if you are getting a sound system with the computer.. make sure you check out the Klipsch Promedia 5.1's. SIMPLY the best ! ;)

Nah....they might probably be simply the best OUT OF THE BOX....but not THE BEST...:)

The best setup you can get is to get yourself some real speakers....it doesn't have to be expensive ones...B&W's ones should suffice...

An amp capable of decoding DTS and DOLBY streams....and they should rock the socks off any out of the box solution...

[net-trend]

Originally posted by JeremyV:

Asus is the brand motherboard I would be getting regardless of intel or amd :D


Ahhh.....how I feel the same way....

I've built at least 9 systems so far....each one has ASUS running as the soul of the system except one time where Gigabyte was the hype and I gave it go....

System crashes happened so often..off to Ebay it was....:D

[Operator]

Try the ABS Bravado (I use this):
http://www.abspc.com/app/Series.asp?familyno=10&Series=46

Works great, and value priced!

[James]

asus is a very relyable Mbord for any cpu i curently have a PII400 512 megs fo ram gforce 4 64megs of ram and sundblaster pro (ithink) sound card:D
ohh yea a 13.2 gig and a 3.2 gig hard drives
40X cd-rom
and a 24X6X4 cd-rw drive as well

yea i know its a bit slow and i cant play to meny games on it (ok only two) but for what i do its perfect.
irc/webserfing/e-mail/play starcraft!

im working with a friend to help me build a new system tho
going for about a 1.7 new ram new mbord
keeping the video cards/sound card tho and case (unles i can find a deal)
anyone know where i could find a decent case?
laters
james

[net-trend]

Originally posted by James:
anyone know where i could find a decent case?



I can point you to reviews of cases.

dansdata.com

:)

[FindSP.com]

I love getting a new PC - because I buy it every few years so you can really tell the difference every time... :) don't forget that 19 inch plasma screen :) I intend to get one soon hang it on the wall and put the pc itselfon the other table and get rid of this annoyng desk, however not sure what to do with the mouse and the keyboard...

[DarktidesNET]

I'm wondering how long before this one dies on me. =/

[net-trend]

Originally posted by FindSP.com:
however not sure what to do with the mouse and the keyboard...

Get a wireless keyboard and mouse...get one of those huge hi-tech seats that can accomodate a mouse and keyboard and you are all go....:banana:

[JeremyV]

Well, put the order in today! Not too bad considering what I'm getting out of the deal.

New Equipment:

P4 3.06 GHz with Hyperthreading technology
Asus P4C800 Deluxe - Product Info (http://www.asus.com/products/mb/socket478/p4c800-d/overview.htm)
Radeon 9700 Pro - Product Info (http://www.ati.com/products/pc/radeon9700pro/)
2x512MB Crucial DDR2700 RAM
2x80GB Seagate Serial ATA Hard Drives running in a RAID 0 configuration
Thermaltake Xaser III V1000a Case w/ mods and 480W PSU- Product Info (http://www.circotech.com/thxaiiiv1v1a.html)

Total Shipped:

$1589.73

Existing Equipment:

80GB 7200rpm Maxtor HD
30GB 7200rpm Maxtor HD
19" Sony Trinitron 420GS Monitor
Hercules Game Theater XP sound card
Misc hardware

Overall, I'm very happy, found a lot of great prices and places with free shipping, so I probably saved at least 500 bucks than buying retail or getting a POS pre-built system. And considering the components in it, as long as it doesn't blow up or anything I shouldn't have to build a new machine again for about 4 or 5 more years :D

Not to mention, when I get that free computer, once I fix it I can probably sell it for about 500, and end up only spending about a grand on this machine. Should all be here by monday! WOOHOO! :banana: