I need a new pc:!:

[james636]

Guys, its time for me give my old machine. I've been trying to hold off as long as I can, but I've had it with the lack of up to date features of my current machine.

I thought about upgrading piece by piece, but I would come out spending more than buying a new computer.

My video card sucks: Rage 128 Pro Ultra GL AGP
It coughs a lot: 82801BA AC'97 Audio controller
My proccesor is in special education: 1.7 GHZ
The machine suffers from Alzheimers. 256ram
I don't even have a RCA video-out: VGA

You guys get the picture

I've had my eye on a couple of great deals. Take a look at them and tell me what you think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=52476&item=5168127531&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=52476&item=5168128518&rd=1

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3555213&cat=56811&type=19&dept=3...41937%3A180995

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=52476&item=5167848274&rd=1

Take a look at the specifications of each machine and give some opinions (pros and cons)

If you guys know of some better deals, let me know.

[Soopafresh]

Are you against building your own ? You can put together a high quality system for the same or less $ and get the best of the best parts.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=11-112-023&DEPA=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-502&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-182-005&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-145-440&DEPA=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-145-097&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-152-035&DEPA=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=22-148-065&DEPA=1

[rallynavvie]

I recommend against buying a complete system on eBay. Building one isn't very difficult. Best part is once you've learned how to do it and build your own system you'll be familiar with the components and so have an easier time repairing things.

[redwudz]

The problem with the E-BAY machines you show is there is not enough info for my taste. On the other hand the Walmart setup is probably similar to a E-Machine, the cheapest you can put together with minimal parts cost.

Not to say you have to pay a whole lot more money to get a good system.
I am a fan of AMD systems, because Intel is pricey for the value, IMO.

Nevertheless, you need to look around a bit more. You can buy a decent barebones setup from several vendors. NewEgg, Tiger, are the first that come to mind, there are many others. It really depends on what you plan to do with the system. First decide on what your purposes are then decide on a processor, then a motherboard, then a case and peripherals.

Maybe a pre-made system is the way to go. I would opt for a Gateway or Dell, because they are large manufactures and have access to fair quality discount parts, which keeps their prices down. If $ are tight, then a barebones may be better.

Remember, it costs nothing to research and it will pay off when you know what you will use the system for and what you want to spend on it.

[hudsonf]

Have you checked to see if you have any computer shows in your area? If you do you should check them out. You can find some good deals if you look around. Here's two I go to.
http://www.marketproshows.com/
http://www.tri-statefairs.com/

[jason69uk]

Well excactly i bought a barebone not a shitty little barebone one of those square things.. an actual tower with thev mother board, ram etc. bought a hard drive serperatly its the best deal mate.. if ur england based try www.novatech.co.uk

got good barebones

[james636]

Call me ignorant, but I thought P4 was the top notch of processors? I ask this because I heard people recommend AMD 64 . I really haven't been inquiring much about AMD 64 because I thought it was inferrior to P4 as for as speed and performance. Am I mistakend?

[yoda313]

Hello,

I think a lot of the AMD's are probably equivalent to the P4's but since they're speed reporting are in the "2500" type coding it's hard to do a straight ghz comparison.

Kevin

[james636]

I ran up on this comparison of Athlon and P4

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTI0LDM=

All though this "vs" was from 2003, it featured Intel's best (P4 3.2ghz EE)
and AMD's best (Athlon 64 FX 51-400)

AMD currently has a FX 55-400 version out.

Its getting tougher to decide now

[jason69uk]

Well ive got 2 intel p4's and so far ive had no problems with them but saying that ive never even had an AMD so i dunno what theyre like..

One of these p4's is running xp home and has been for 4 years the computer veryu very rarely gets turned off but thats not really down to the cpu, its because i have the side of the pc off.

I'm very impressed with it really its lasted ages, still running like a rocket.. its 2.8 Ghz. 512 MB RAM

[Scottie]

I have a computer shop about 20 minutes from me that is really cheap and puts everything to gether for $20 I'm sure you could find something like that where you live, hey $20 might as well let them do it.

[james636]

Hey scottie, I see you are running an Xp 3200+, are you considering the FX versions?

[rallynavvie]

The FX is a fantastic processor for a single processor system, but they are pricey. Is it worth it being 2x the cost of the fastest P4 or A64? That depends on you. I don't think I'd spend the cash on an FX processor unless I was gaming a lot. For that kind of cash I'd be looking at dual Opteron systems, but I'm an SMP addict.

Umm, has anyone noticed that A64 are more expensive than P4 counterparts? I just saw some prices on Pricewatch and I can't believe what they're charging for AMD processors now. Hell, Opterons are a similar in price and with far more capable. I no longer agree that AMD offers the best "bang for the buck" anymore. It is now down to the platform and the use.

Just how much are you looking at spending if you were to build your own?