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Suggestions about new comp (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Lainee
- Start date
Trev
stix
we've got one of those puters that advertise weekly in the sydney paper "Mode" computers in wollongong or sumthin - its alrite
Trev
stix
^ the ones they sell now have like 3.2ghz and 200GB n stuff, i dont really kno spec's
loquasagacious
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If you want realyl easy the computers Aldi sell are actually quite good, good spec level (I'm thinking the media-centre desktop in this case) reasonably priced and you can pick them up in the supermarket ready to use straight out of the box.
Purp|e
miesynth
IMO, for 'future proofing' its definitely better to go with intel. (not that i dont prefer amd 
) ... only b'cus of compatibilty issues. ie. u cant use PCI-E stuff with the AMD 64 proccessors yet (i think... correct me if im rong). but yeah u should be able to get way cheaper than originally listed ... and if u have the dosh get a better VC (ie. x800 pro )
) ... only b'cus of compatibilty issues. ie. u cant use PCI-E stuff with the AMD 64 proccessors yet (i think... correct me if im rong). but yeah u should be able to get way cheaper than originally listed ... and if u have the dosh get a better VC (ie. x800 pro )
I'll give shopping around a go tomorrow at some local computer stores. It'll mostly consist of me handing out copies of my original list to every store I can find and collecting quotes. I'll let you guys know how I go. Probably alot of cringe-worthy/humourous incidents so stay tuned!
If it doesn't work out, I'll probably go with the Dell. In that one jm posted before, Microsoft(R) Works 7.0 - OEM version doesn't have excel though. I'm thinking I might need that for uni (Commerce related things), so would I have to upgrade this or can I get excel separately...?
Hmm... straight out the box...
Probably alot of cringe-worthy/humourous incidents so stay tuned!If it doesn't work out, I'll probably go with the Dell. In that one jm posted before, Microsoft(R) Works 7.0 - OEM version doesn't have excel though. I'm thinking I might need that for uni (Commerce related things), so would I have to upgrade this or can I get excel separately...?
Are you serious?! I'll drop by Aldi tomorrow to have a look.addymac said:
Hmm... straight out the box...
loquasagacious
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AMD 64 means you can future proof more though in that AMD's new chips will still use the same socket as the current ones (socket 939) - meaning in future upgards you can keep the processor of motherboard. And besides that the AMD64 is a higher technology chip - roughly the equivalent to a pentium 5 (yes I know they havn't been released I'm going off leaks eg 64bit, lower clockspeed, shorter pipeline) in technology levels.
The pentium 4 on the other hand will be superseeded by its replacement quite soon, and this chip will require a completely new platform. The socket will be different the n/bridge and s/bridge different architecture, pci-e will remain as will SATA and DDR2 (though DDR3 is in the works). Crucially they will likely ship on the new form factor - BTX. Which basically means 2-3 years from now if you try to upgrade a p4 system you will have to buy essentially a new computer the HDD, optical drives, RAM and graphics card will still be compatible hoever the case will be different, the chip different and the motherboard different.
In short an AMD 64 will be cheaper to upgrade in 2-3 years time.
The PCI-e thing is a good point though - im not sure if the AMD64 boards support it.
The pentium 4 on the other hand will be superseeded by its replacement quite soon, and this chip will require a completely new platform. The socket will be different the n/bridge and s/bridge different architecture, pci-e will remain as will SATA and DDR2 (though DDR3 is in the works). Crucially they will likely ship on the new form factor - BTX. Which basically means 2-3 years from now if you try to upgrade a p4 system you will have to buy essentially a new computer the HDD, optical drives, RAM and graphics card will still be compatible hoever the case will be different, the chip different and the motherboard different.
In short an AMD 64 will be cheaper to upgrade in 2-3 years time.
The PCI-e thing is a good point though - im not sure if the AMD64 boards support it.
jm1234567890
Premium Member
aldi only sells computers in limited quantities. you have to wait untill they advertise it.Lainee said:I'll give shopping around a go tomorrow at some local computer stores. It'll mostly consist of me handing out copies of my original list to every store I can find and collecting quotes. I'll let you guys know how I go.
If it doesn't work out, I'll probably go with the Dell. In that one jm posted before, Microsoft(R) Works 7.0 - OEM version doesn't have excel though. I'm thinking I might need that for uni (Commerce related things), so would I have to upgrade this or can I get excel separately...?
Are you serious?! I'll drop by Aldi tomorrow to have a look.
and yeah, they are cheap.
nForce4 isn't really realeased yet so AMD doesn't have PCI-e yet.
Hey guys, got a quote from one computer store today: $2072 + $15 for installation
He did say some things which I didn't understand though. About the CPU - 775 pins or something, 2 CPU chipset?
Motherboard - he said Abit wasn't a good brand and recommended GA - 81PE775g or GA - 81865g (but I suspect that this is just because he had them already in stock)
For RAM - he mentioned something about Kingston or Kingmax
Mmm, I took MedNez's suggestion and changed Hard Drive to Seagate Barracuda 120GB
And the case he said will be Sony
For DVD Burner - He wants to change to Pioneer 108 because it's the most popular and best in the market
And Keyboard and Mouse: MS Multimedia pack
OS: Microsoft windows XP home edition
What do you guys think? It's way cheaper than the quote my friend originally gave me... so I'm a bit suspicious.
He did say some things which I didn't understand though. About the CPU - 775 pins or something, 2 CPU chipset?
Motherboard - he said Abit wasn't a good brand and recommended GA - 81PE775g or GA - 81865g (but I suspect that this is just because he had them already in stock)
For RAM - he mentioned something about Kingston or Kingmax
Mmm, I took MedNez's suggestion and changed Hard Drive to Seagate Barracuda 120GB
And the case he said will be Sony
For DVD Burner - He wants to change to Pioneer 108 because it's the most popular and best in the market
And Keyboard and Mouse: MS Multimedia pack
OS: Microsoft windows XP home edition
What do you guys think? It's way cheaper than the quote my friend originally gave me... so I'm a bit suspicious.
I couldn't find much on those motherboards, but Gigabyte are excellent (if not the best) for motherboards. I'd recommend this one, or something in that series if he wants you to go gigabyte.
RAM is fine. They're both good brands. Anything but generic is nice.
DVD Burner, I honestly don't know. I don't have one.
But the keyboard and mouse, try and get the logitech wireless duo. Any respectable computer store would ship Logitech, and they're an excellent brand. Better than the Microsoft peripherals anyway.
RAM is fine. They're both good brands. Anything but generic is nice.
DVD Burner, I honestly don't know. I don't have one.
But the keyboard and mouse, try and get the logitech wireless duo. Any respectable computer store would ship Logitech, and they're an excellent brand. Better than the Microsoft peripherals anyway.
velox
Retired
I recommend the 108, definately the dvd burner to buy. The best i could come up with (including full version of xp, not academic) was $2165 including the logitech mx duo, and a 128M GIGA-BYTE ATI 9600XT. The motherboard was a GA 81PE775G. The case was a Cooler Master Centurion CAC-T01 with a 450w Shaw psu. So this one is pretty much the same except for the changes i mentioned, which are better than the ones you suggested.
In any case, the price is much lower than I expected. I went to another store as well and they quoted me $2100 with the alterations that the first store made. This guy asked me what I'll be using it mostly for, and he said that I could downsize the video card and speakers and go for a better monitor. I dunno, too many different opinions I don't know what to do!
If you're not going to be playing games, then downsize the card. If you'd like to at some point, then keep it.
As for the speakers, they're a nice set, but regular computer speakers would do fine too, so if you want downgrade those, go for it. No biggie.
As for the speakers, they're a nice set, but regular computer speakers would do fine too, so if you want downgrade those, go for it. No biggie.
velox
Retired
Yeah good idea, then a monitor with a better pixel response would be better. Speakers can be bought at a later date, the monitor isnt really something you would upgrade like you would speakers. The video card seems a little overkill.
anti
aww.. baby raccoon ^^
For uni, get 1gig (usually 2x512) of RAM, a non-generic brand. Large calculations (or mistakes, in my case) in Excel tend to use up a lot of RAM and you never "only" have Excel open..
A Sony case will be expensive? (I can't see Sony having cheap anythings) If you're feeling adventurous get your own case (anything from $50-$200+) and then get him to install everything in it. Having an ugly case sucks It's also a good idea to remind him that if your case is black, you want BLACK EVERYTHING. That is, black CD/DVD-RW, black 3.5" drive (if you have one), black keyboard/mouse, black monitor. Nothing uglier than a beige drive in a black case
DVD Burners tend to be pretty much the same, just make sure it's 16x dual layer (best at the moment I think). Lite-on, Pioneer, Sony, you're just paying for the brand.
I find my brand spankin' new Logitech MX Wireless Duo to be awesome muchly - the navigator set is also good.. MS tends to be more expensive though so if it doesn't make a difference for you get the MS one. Try to get an ergonomic mouse unless you're left handed because much-clicking can be bad for ze ol' RSI.
XP home is fine if you're just going to be using it for general purposes. If you have a wireless network make sure you get SP2 (you can download it but it might be nice to get someone else to do all those updates for you) as well.
Also a good monitor is more important than good speakers. You can't go deaf with bad speakers but you can go blind with a bad monitor. They're pretty cheap now (even LCDs) so it shouldn't push your budget out too far.
A Sony case will be expensive? (I can't see Sony having cheap anythings) If you're feeling adventurous get your own case (anything from $50-$200+) and then get him to install everything in it. Having an ugly case sucks
It's also a good idea to remind him that if your case is black, you want BLACK EVERYTHING. That is, black CD/DVD-RW, black 3.5" drive (if you have one), black keyboard/mouse, black monitor. Nothing uglier than a beige drive in a black case DVD Burners tend to be pretty much the same, just make sure it's 16x dual layer (best at the moment I think). Lite-on, Pioneer, Sony, you're just paying for the brand.
I find my brand spankin' new Logitech MX Wireless Duo to be awesome muchly - the navigator set is also good.. MS tends to be more expensive though so if it doesn't make a difference for you get the MS one. Try to get an ergonomic mouse unless you're left handed because much-clicking can be bad for ze ol' RSI.
XP home is fine if you're just going to be using it for general purposes. If you have a wireless network make sure you get SP2 (you can download it but it might be nice to get someone else to do all those updates for you) as well.
Also a good monitor is more important than good speakers. You can't go deaf with bad speakers but you can go blind with a bad monitor. They're pretty cheap now (even LCDs) so it shouldn't push your budget out too far.
velox
Retired
generic ram is not worth the trouble anyway, its only a couple of dollars difference. Anti, ive had a couple of dvd burners, and i have to say the pioneer is the best so far. Ive had trouble with liteon dvd burners. Sony is a rip off and its slow compared to the 108.
EDIT: Does the mx duo include the mx700?
EDIT: Does the mx duo include the mx700?
grimreaper
Member
Yes it doeswrx said: