OT: Can someone help me build a computer??

[blackthunda77]

I know some of you guys have a background in computer because ive seen threads about it on our forum. Im looking into getting a new computer, I have a 5 yr old gateway, which is running pretty good for its age, but since im a web developer/interactive media designer all the newer software (photoshop, flash, premiere, etc) is really slowing down my comp. I mean I don’t even think I would be able to run the cs4 suite properly which is what I want soon. So instead of buying from a store I was looking around in tigerdirect and was thinking about upgrading my RAM on mine, I have 1 GB RAM right now, should I go to 2? And I don’t even know if I can upgrade my processor, I really doubt my mother board can support the new quad cores. So now im looking into maybe building one, all I need is the tower ( I have all the cables, monitors, etc.) in any event, I don’t really know where to start, I built one before but that was with my cuz about 8 yrs ago. Im thinking maybe something like this? Any input, anyone willing to be my mentor in this? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4516059&Sku=B69-1038

 

[ReefWreak]

I don't have a ton of time left being here in South FL, but I'm willing to help out as much as I can since building computers is what I do when I can (even though I don't have an income, so I can't really build them frequently). But yea, I surf the computer part websites all day long, and have built many a computer before.

Let me know your current system stats if you can find it out (download a program like CPUZ and/or GPUZ or something like that free) and I'll tell you what would most help your current setup.

If you decide to build a new system, you can get a SWEET rig for well under a grand these days by DIY. You can start here if interested in something like that: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fe...ers_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_march_2009

Let me know if you've got any more questions or anything else I can help with.

 

[blackthunda77]

i work at an IT company, my boss told me to download something from belarc. i will try to do that and ill post the info here, or pm you. if your not down here its no big deal, im pretty good with the hands on stuff, just dont know exactly what to get to make sure the parts will work toghether. so ill prob shoot you some emails or pms about what i found and you can tell me if it will work or not before i order something. what about that AMD set up i sent you from tiger direct?

 

[carlosngloria]

there is a tiger direct here in miami. also check out newegg.com
but sometime you can get a good spec tower at best buy or comp usa with out the monitor.

 

[nivram]

If you are going to be doing a lot of graphics type apps. I would stick with a pentium. Get the best graphics card you can afford and also the most ram as well.

Recently, I did see a nice package deal from TIger or Newegg for a nice pre-packaged system for under a Grand.

I have a DIY Athlon at home and it does the job. But I know heat control was always the issue with them. The new chips might be different. With the desktop prices today, sometimes it's cheaper to get a unit already built. Check out slickdeals and techbargains.com for any coupons rebates from HP, Dell, etc.


Also, there is always MAC

 

[mrx66699]

I have accounts at two of the wholesale computer parts dealers here in Broward. (H and J Electronics and Bassotech). Just let me know if you want me to get anything for you. Or you could just pick them up yourself. They charge $35 to assemble it I think, don’t quote me on that. Not hard to do, if you want to do it yourself it will take you less than 30 minn to assemble then about 45 minn for the OS to load and then any programs you want to put on it.

P.S. forget about the 2 gig memory its so cheep now days go with 4 and you will be doing yourself a favor. Whole system shouldnt cost you more than $300

and on another note why not just get a laptop imo much better investment and can be almost as cost effective just pm me I have accounts with dell and some others if you need assistance

 

[ReefWreak]

I tend not to buy from tiger as I've got to pay tax on whatever I buy, and shipping is usually free from most of the tech marketplaces.

That tiger direct computer is a pretty sweet deal, but it excludes a video card, maybe it has onboard, but if you're doing anything more than the most basic internet surfing and email checking, you'll want to upgrade in that department. Otherwise 4gb of 800mhz ram, a 750gb harddrive, good quad core processor.... you're in business. The case isn't fantastic, but I doubt that matters much in reality.

the new AMD processors are fantastic, especially the PhenomII quad cores. Great bang for buck, and they run cool and everything. The old Athlons are OLD. CPUs have changed drastically in the last year, faster, cooler, more efficient, quad core, lower prices, etc.

 

[DeepReefExotics]

My wife does a lot with graphic design with photoshop cs3, corel etc and I do a lot of pc gaming (Cyrsis, Call of duty, WOW etc) so I just built a very very high end and system for about 1200.00.

It is a super a pretty high end pc and im not sure what you budget is but if you have the money I would tell you to put your money in the new Pentium I7 series processor with triple channel ddr3. It is leaps and bound over any other processor currently on the market and anything AMD is planning to release any time soon. Still kind of expensive since it still new tech but ddr2 and the core 2s Duos are basically already obsolete so if you went with them one now you wouldn’t be able to get in on the new cpus and ram that is coming out. My specs are:
Pentium I7 920
Asus P6T Deluxe Mobo with the pda overclocker
Coolermaster V8 cooling fan ( the i7 has a lot of overclockablity I am running 3.6ghz stable but some have got as high as 4.0ghz on air stable.)
12gb ddr3 triple channel (6x2gb sticks of patriot XMS ram set up in 2 triple channel sets)
Geforce gtx 260 896 ddr3 ( got it from EVGA and couldn’t be happier)
Western Digital Velociraptor 300gb
I got most of the parts on eBay and newegg and my total bill was around 1200. If you patient you can find some fantastic deals on eBay. If you need help building it i have no prob helping out just let me know.

 

[DeepReefExotics]

Also FYI if your getting 4gb or more of ram your going to need vista 64bit to use it all. Windows XP's limit is 4gb but really its 3gb or so when you take into consideration the 512mb most video cards bring and the other memory allocations of the system but ddr2 is so cheap now that if you might as well get it even if your running a 32bit system.

 

[Paco]

I'm going to to diverge a little from the advice you've been given and say (drumroll, please) buy something from Dell.

Why? Because I've worked in tech since 1995, currently as tech director for a $7M/year non-profit in Miami. I've built and bought many, many computers over the years and if you're relying on a machine for your work and income -- getting something from a good manufacturer with a good warranty is well worth it.

I'm sure someone will chime in with "Dell Sucks" and you're probably right -- their "Inspiron" and other home PCs leave me cold. Buy an Optiplex or a Precision and don't look back. You'll be surprised that their prices are pretty competitive.

Just my $0.02, given freely on the back of years of experience.

 

[ReefWreak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14595191#post14595191 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DeepReefExotics
Pentium I7 series processor with triple channel ddr3. It is leaps and bound over any other processor currently on the market and anything AMD is planning to release any time soon. Still kind of expensive since it still new tech but ddr2 and the core 2s Duos are basically already obsolete so if you went with them one now you wouldn’t be able to get in on the new cpus and ram that is coming out.

Fanboy..

I just got a 4870 1gb, added to my Core2quad 9300, 4gb of ram, vista ultimate 64bit, 500gb hitachi drive, and some other odds and ends. The video card was $200 by itself, but worth every last penny since I play games (though I don't really take much advantage of it since I run a 32" 1376x768 screen).

As for a heavy desktop for real "application" type useage, your focus, I imagine, will be on CPU and RAM, or at least that's what it used to be all about. Nowadays though with the CUDA interface, SSD harddrives, I7, and a host of other new technology gizmos and gadgets, who knows what you'll need. All I know is that depending on what you've got now, you could be blown away by a $500 PC like the tiger direct one you showed, or you could not notice a difference.

 

[jkeating2005]

......... mac pro?

 

[ReefWreak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14595387#post14595387 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jkeating2005
......... mac pro?

 

[DeepReefExotics]

I would agree with paco. Right now you can get a “better” dell for less than it would cost you to build the same system. They are a great value for a normal computer user that’s just doing basic stuff like surfing the web, some light gaming etc.

Where they get you is that yes you are getting 4gb of ram but its slow OEM ram with horrible timings and usually the mobos come with only 2 memory slots. This really limits what upgrades you can do later to the pc.

Also if you want good graphics I would highly advise against it as most of the cheaper dells come with on board non upgradable video cards with no pci express slots and if they do have a pci express slot the cases are so small that you can’t accommodate the larger video cards out right now. Usually the only dells hps etc that come with a good video card and space to upgrade are their more expensive higher end business, graphics or gaming pc where you are paying a premium over what you could just build it yourself for.

And if your into overclocking etc all dells I have seen are locked and cant be OCed.

That’s just my .02 on dells.

 

[jkeating2005]

i personally like my macbook pro. it runs CS3 flawlessly. i also found the interface to the whole adobe program a little better on OSX. but that may be just me. i have used it on both XP and Vista and liked it also

 

[ReefWreak]

Yea I guess my comment was a little biased. To be fair it was written on a macbook air

 

[jkeating2005]

lol now that is another story.

 

[mrx66699]

reefwreak lol love the comeback to the Mac reference FAIL which is certainly true of the overpricing and how much of a pain it is to any warrantee work done or do any work on yourself by buying the parts, I have 280 Mac book pros here at work and 350 dells latitudes anytime I need warranty work done on the Macs 25 minn on phone call 15 minn of troubleshooting no matter if I tell them what’s wrong with it or not they have to go through there silly little check list all to end up saying oh ya you need it serviced all this for each write up under a Mac warranty then 3-4 days for them to show up to fix the problem and then they don’t fix it on the spot they pick it up and bring it back what a pita with the dells a 3 minn phone call no questions asked just what’s wrong ok here is the ref number thank you and within 24hrs its fixed on the spot no picking up just call they come out with the part in hand and fix no b.s. not 40 minn wasted out of my day on the phone so they can come out and pick it up and return it 2-4 days later. Sorry to hijack your thread blackthunda lol if you need any parts from the wholesalers just let me know. Both local.

 

[blackthunda77]

geez, thanks for all the help guys. for some reason i was not getting ANY of the emails for people posting on the thread..... weird.....anyways, i just opened up my pc and looked at some of the details....its a gateway 506gr. stock....at the time i bought it brand new it was basically top of the line at best buy. i opened it up and its got 2 stcks of 512 ram. some sites are telling me i can only go max 2GB some say max 4GB...which is it. also some sites say i can only add sticks of 512 when i run it through some of those "find my memory softwares". i have 4 slots though for my memory, 2 black or grey, and 2 white, the 2 white ones are used up, the 2 grey/black ones are free. its also DDR not DDR2 to show you how old it is. and i have XP so i guess i cant run 4GB anyways in memory. its got a single pentium 4 processor. ran it through my system mechanic, and did some security and windows update from microsoft, and its running better, atleast for the time being till i save up $ to buy or build another one. so whats the census? upgrade my RAM, processor i guess i cant right due to the mother board? or should i just build something from scratch like the link i posted in my first post?

 

[blackthunda77]

also, i support both worlds, at work i work on a PC, and at home my desktop is a PC obviously, but i have a white macbook as well, which im looking to upgrade my RAM on that as well from 1 GB to 2GB so mrx66699, if you can find me a good deal on 2 stcks of 1GB RAM for my macbook let me know. off the top of my head i believe the macbooks max out at 2 GB of DDR2 right?