$500 computer, comments welcome

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Xisiqomelir
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$500 computer, comments welcome

Postby Xisiqomelir » Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:41 pm

Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Rosewill R5604-TBK 0.8mm SECC Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$39.99

1 ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$89.99

1 ASUS EN8500GT TOP/HTP/256M GeForce 8500GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail

$79.99

1 LOGISYS Computer PS575XBK ATX12V 575W Power Supply - Retail
$24.99

1 Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E4500 - Retail
$129.99

1 Transcend JETRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model JM2GDDR2-8K - Retail
$49.99

1 EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series ESJ8160S 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$46.99

1 SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D/BEBE - OEM
$26.99

1 Spire SP515S0 90mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail
$10.99

Subtotal: $499.91


Secondary machine to goof around with mostly. OS will probably be Ubuntu unless I decide to torture myself with a hairier *NIX.
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Todrael
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Postby Todrael » Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:58 pm

Shave $200 off that, save a bunch of hassle, and just get the cheapest refurb from Dell that you can find. The Inspiron 531 desktops are AMD Athlon 64 X2 (change 'stockroom') and come with Windows Vista, which you can either mess around with or trash for Ubuntu (I'm running Debian on mine).

Dell Outlet Store

Disclaimer: I do not work for Dell nor do I have a business relationship with them. I just think they make good, cheap computers.
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daggaz
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Postby daggaz » Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:53 pm

Yeah, i bought my dell like, god, five or six years ago and it is still going strong. Simple upgrade in RAM and a high power graphics card were all I needed to play the latest in gaming possibilities. Probably upgrade my tiny HD next, but no big hurry, im not a file hog. Anyways it is fast, cheap, and it has never crashed (except with a small bug i fixed in the drivers for my new graphics card, not dells fault there).
Adriorn Darkcloak
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Postby Adriorn Darkcloak » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:30 am

Unless you're going for looks, Antec makes some of the best lower priced cases. The power supplies that come with the cases are also excellent. Also, any reason why Intel over AMD? Depending on what you are using the computer for, one might be better than the other. Two cents...

As for Dell, the prices are lower, but I've always, since like 1989, preferred buying the parts individually, as they tend to make better, longer-lasting computers. I've never, not once, had any part of my computer go bad, other than the occasional fried modem (lightning storms). I'm sure many can say the same about Dell-type computers too, shrug.
Kifle
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Postby Kifle » Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:56 am

Personally, when it comes to computers, I don't skimp on certain things like RAM and the power supply. Like adriorn, I think the bundle antec case/psu are good and you can find great prices for them. A bad power supply can fry the rest of your shit, so I'd look for a more reputable company as far as that goes. And you don't need all that wattage either, unless you're going for SLI down the road, but with a backup/cheap computer, I'd doubt that. You could easily get away with 400w with that setup. I'm not savvy on prices anymore, but at a local store here, they were selling an antec 420w for $79, and you can get that cheaper off newegg or tigerdirect. I got lucky and one of the guys had just upgraded 5 minutes before I walked in and sold me his 430w antec for $25.
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Todrael
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Postby Todrael » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:16 pm

Yeah, that is one thing you can say if you're buying it piece-by-piece: use NewEgg.com. It's really the only game in town for fast, reliable, cheap parts, and everyone I've talked to has said the same. Tiger Direct is quite shady by comparison.

Antec cases rock, as do ASUS motherboards, and I haven't heard of your RAM vendor, so I don't trust them. RAM I do trust: Corsair, G.Skill, Crucial, OCZ, Kingston. As others said, the PSU is too high wattage. I'd really suggest a Seagate HDD as well, and for a secondary computer, unless you're doing overclocking, you can easily get away with stock cooling (don't need the fan - one should come with the retail CPU).

Still suggest a super cheap Dell though :)
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Ghimok
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Postby Ghimok » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:22 pm

Not to mention that a LOGISYS Computer PS575XBK ATX12V 575W Power Supply would probably have the power output equivilent to a 300 watt Antec power supply.

The cheap power supplies are always overrated for wattage. They always underperform, and frequently fry themselves and/or your motherboard/ram.

Don't skimp on a power supply.

I also agree with Todrael about RAM. Stick with the vendors he listed. You'll have a LOT less problems if you buy quality name brand RAM. If you want cheaper ram get Kingston ValueRAM or something from Corsair or OCZ's value lines.

Also, there's NO WAY IN HELL I would use whatever brand of hard drive that is you have there. Get a Seagate. WD probably have a hands up on performance over seagate, but out of all the seagate drives I've ever used I've had extremely low failure rates.
Kifle
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Postby Kifle » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:53 am

I'm a big fan of corsair's value series. I've only had one bad stick in 10... and I think I fried it :) As for the HDD... I've always felt that's a part you can skimp on for making cheap computers for people who just surf the web or use them as "spare" computers since they get so much less read/write usage they'll usually wear out in the same real time as a premium.
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ssar
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Postby ssar » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:04 pm

Nog, agree with others on considering a:

Seagate HDD (possibly larger size too),
Antec (or other good quality) PSU.

Also, that C2D CPU setup with 2GB RAM custom machine etc. sounds much better than going for any kind of Dell.

Personally I find cheap brand RAM can be just as reliable, if not quite as over-clockable if that's what you plan to do.
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Xisiqomelir
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Re: $500 computer, comments welcome

Postby Xisiqomelir » Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:44 pm

Thanks for responses all. I went ahead with the custom build, changing the HD, PSU and RAM. Supplier was Newegg (think I left that out of the OP).

Ubuntu is really awesome now. I like Compiz a lot although its Expose clone needs a little more work. Can't find a MUD client I like though.

Wine is working a lot better these days too, I might see how the Crysis demo does.

One thing, my front headphone jack has a ground loop buzz when I'm not playing anything through it. Looking at my mobo manual, it seems that it's set to Intel HD audio, which has a different pin layout than my case's front panel connector. There's a utility to switch the audio mode to AC'97, but it's Windows-only. I'll try it today and see if it takes.
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kwirl
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Postby kwirl » Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:39 am

a couple years back I ordered a motherboard, cpu and some RAM from newegg. the next morning i got a phone call from a customer service rep. the memory i had ordered wasn't the right type for the motherboard (i guess i was sleeping on the job!) but they just wanted me to be aware that they had swapped out the memory that I ordered for memory that would work. the memory they swapped in for me was kingston i think, but slightly more expensive than what i had originally ordered. not that it mattered, they gave me the more expensive RAM at the cost of the non-compatible sticks.

maybe it was just a good rep, but i've been a loyal customer to newegg ever since, and recommend them to everyone who asks. I don't know how much business i've sent their way over the years since that happened, but i do know that it is a hell of a lot more than the difference in those memory modules.

customer service ftw.

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