OK COMPUTER PROS WHERE ARE YOU I NEED HELP!

[TonyV225]

Ok this will be fun for some of you I am looking for a new computer I dont want to spend more than $600.00 shipped. I found some great deals on EBAY I am looking for a quad core setup just the tower itself I am not sure what to do I found several AMD and several INTEL the money is there but I want to make the right choice.

I am using this basically as a home no oofice jargain. I may use it as a backup for my DJ service if theres ever a need. Other than that I do alot with music and maybe movie stuff. I found some nice setupds but want to know what my best bet is as far as AMD or INTEL I actually have several Computers and I own AMD and INTEL there all older so Im not sure what is best they all have worked well.

Im looking at quad core 4 gig memory 500 gig hard drive machines but also seen a few 8 gig memory machines in my range of what I want to spend which brings me to my dilema I just want your thoughts and ideas Ill eventually get another machine but need a decent one to tide me over without emptying the bank account anymore than I have to for now.

I also have seen a fe won Tiger direct but would rather buy one put together than buy a kit and do it myself that way Im not blamed for satic blown chips ETC and I see the EBAY sellers have up to 3 year warranties and lifetime tech support so have fun take a look at EBAY or elsewhere and help me solve this dilema .

I want to know why some say AMD is better and some say INTEL I need a new machine thats updated BAD and am getting anxious LOL. I know some of you are more up to parr and have more experience with this stuff and UNDERSTAND IT MORE!! thanks in advance....Tony

 

[Sickpuppy22]

This might be long but ill give it a shot, seeing as you will be using programs mainly for burning music and not gaming you dont need a very quick Graphics card, as for ram depending on the operating system you will be using id say minimum 3 gigs Dual Channel.

Next for a cpu I would recommend you use and Intel Quad core (AMD is more of a Gamer type cpu witch is what i use ) of minimum 3Ghz and with the lowest NM: stand for the size and power consumtion and heat dissipation; Lower NM produces less heat uses less power and tends to overclock higher than a larger NM, so idealy chose a 45 nm Cpu.

Now one thing you might not know is that most if not quite Alot of programs dont benefit of having a Quad core cpu as most are not written/coded with that capability , Yet. but that day will be coming and when it does hold on to your socks hehe.

As for mother board chose one to your liking that has at least 1 pci-ex slot 2-3 regular Pci slot support for Dual channel memory and of coarse the cpu you've chosen, dont take one with an integrated video card as when you start your pc some of your ram will be sacrificed for running you video, best thing for you to do seeing as your not a hardcore game is get a 128-256 Pci-Express videocard. ( cant really recommend you a brand but the lowerend video cards tend to come with more goodies)


Hard drive 500 gigs, make sure it is SATA and that you ask the builder to set it up as RAID 0 , Western Digital is tried and trusted but Raptor is becoming known for their Fast rpm Hard drives.

one last thing make sure you get at least a 450 watt power supply with your case.

if ive missed anything let me know.

INTEL QUAD CORE Q9400 8GB DDR-2 GAMING COMPUTER SYSTEM - eBay (item 400033668976 end time Mar-07-09 19:24:55 PST)http://cgi.ebay.com/INTEL-QUAD-CORE...Cs?hash=item400033668976&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14

 

[TonyV225]

OK OUT OF THESE WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST??

1. INTEL QUAD CORE Q8200 4GB-DDR-2 500GB SATA HDD COMPUTER - eBay (item 360100376431 end time Mar-21-09 02:20:56 PDT)

2. Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CUSTOM COMPUTER SYSTEM NEW - eBay (item 220368818277 end time Mar-07-09 21:07:00 PST)

3. NEW AMD QUAD CORE 9850 8GB-DDR-2 500GB SATA COMPUTER PC - eBay (item 280319172344 end time Mar-14-09 19:00:00 PDT)

4. INTEL OVERCLOCKED 3.3GHZ QUAD CORE GAMING PC W 1G VIDEO - eBay (item 250378695865 end time Mar-25-09 11:50:44 PDT)

 

[Moleculo]

4GB of memory is all your system can use UNLESS you get Vista 64bit edition. The reason is that a 32bit operating system (standard Vista, XP, etc) can only address 4GB or ram. I don't see you using the power of a quad core processor for music. However, if you're going to do a lot of video work, then it will be a big plus. If you're concerned with having disk space growth potential, get an external SATA (E-SATA) port so you can plug in external hard drives. As far as the Intel/AMD thing goes...for you it doesn't make any difference. I'm an Intel guy, but go with whatever floats your boat.

 

[TonyV225]

Yes I will be doing other things with it evenually well sooner than later thats why Im going with the quad core its supposed to be great for video editing ETC do any of the machines above seem OK theres the intel with 4 gig ram and 500gig hard drive with a 550w Supply

 

[Sickpuppy22]

Well like moleculo says Amd/Intel that choice is up to you Im an AMD guy and that 4th link for the Intel Q8300 overclocked is very eye catching from my perspective, the AMD system on the other hand you would only benefit from that 8 gigs of ram if your using as moleculo stated, Windows Vista 64 bit edition. Yet both systems will perform better with a true 64 bit operating system.

the choice is in you hands or well in your wallet lol.

 

[Moleculo]

They all look pretty good. I would also compare their specs against the big brands (Dell, HP, etc). I'm not up to speed on all the different motherboards like I used to be, so it's hard to make a recommendation on that. IMO, it doesn't matter that much for most people (gamers are the ones that care about that stuff). There IS something to be said about the warranty and customer service you get from a major brand, and their prices are hard to beat. Whatever you decide, I'd say get the best processor you can afford and the most disk space. Everything else is secondary and can be upgraded easily later if you need to.

 

[TonyV225]

thats what i was thinking aswell EVERYTHING CAN BE UPGRADED AS I DECIDE TO DO SO. Also remember Im still running a 6 year old DELL 2.4 Gig with 512 ram machine LMAO so anything new will be lightning fast at this point

 

[Sickpuppy22]

Dont bother with that AMD system as they dont specify the actual motherboard used, the Q8300 overclocked is better that the other 2 Intel systems Cpu is 45 nm good powersupply good video card good motherboard more than enoguh ram andits already overclocked with a 3 year Warranty.

( in normal case's overclocking a cpu and having it fail from poor clock settings would void a warranty but seeing as its the selller that did it your laughing)


I'm tearing myself a new one for saying this but id go with that Q8300

 

[TonyV225]

Ok I see that place with the overlocked is in Canada so I emailed them to find out what total costs on shipping and what the transit or shipping time would be to Wisconsin.

I just get a little nervous when dealing out of the US although there feedback is pretty good. I dont totally understand the overlocking other than it speeds it up quite a bit more but will it be as reliable doing this or whould it be like driving your car with the pedddle to the metal all day everday how long would it last?

What do you think? They claim its actually faster than the high dollar intels now with the overlocking.

 

[Robb]

1) AMD are cheaper but faster CPU's

2) If you dont want to do gaming, either one would be fine

3) As far as operating systems go, Vista is buggy

4) Xp Pro is excellent and runs quick

5) Most machines sold today have Vista on them, it's a cryin shame.

6) Faster RAM (Corsair is BEST, OCZ is pretty good) is preferred to amount of RAM; having both would be ideal

7) Besides RAM, a powerful video card will also make you computer faster; a slow viddy card can be a 'speed bottleneck' in an otherwise fast system

8) Hard drives that run at 10,000 RPM retrieve data faster, and write it faster.

Those are the guidelines to the way I build my computers for myself and others.

 

[Sickpuppy22]

Clock speed basically means that the instructions sent to it are processed faster, seeing as it is a 45 nm chip and already uses less power and produces less heat that larger 60+ nm chip overclocking it makes it run 10-15 F warmer but should not harm it at all,
also the nice thing about Asus motherboards is that there is a utility that will come installed called speed gear which will basically enable you to simply shift gears ( ironicly its a picture of a h gate shifter )
to stock speed of 2.5 ghz then a middle speed of which i cant specify seeing as i dont have that cpu and last but not least 3.3ghz, so if your not at your desk you simply click switch it to 2.5ghz and when your working with it slap it into third and let it rip hehe. At the moment my dual core AMD 64x2 5000+ Black edition is overclocked at 3.0 ghz from 2.6ghz and its been like that for 1 year with the only down time due to power failures no problems what so ever.

I would not worry myself with it being from Canada seeing as he has 99.8 % + feedback with over 6,339 people leaving feeback, and hes a powerseller, so if he was doing something bad He would not have an Ebay Store since 2005

So for the faster that High dollar yes and no, Clock speed wise yes Technology wise depends if they are using the same architecture/ design of the silcon chip itself. which is something that should not bother you as im sure you dont want to buy the Intel® i7 940 cpu for the lump sum of 1100.00 lol.

 

[TonyV225]

Well if this machine is indeed better than the others I was looking at then it would be my best bet.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

have you considered building your computer yourself ? its really not that difficult anymore . the thing i dont like about a lot of premaid computers is that they use propriority parts . if the mother board goes bad you HAVE to use THAT EXACT same motherboard available only from the factory for an outlandish price .the power supply and connectors can be the same way . once you see how easy it is to assemble and get running youll gain a lot of knowledge and save money down the road being able to do your ouwn trouble shooting repairs and upgrades .

 

[TonyV225]

Yes but the warranty thing gets a little hairy when you handle the parts. I figured if someone else does it THERE RESPONSIBLE so I do understand what you are saying about saving a bit and learning along with picking out my own parts. The problem is I dont understand all the terminology and computer talk jargain so its all GREEK to me in general.

I was actually looking at this monster as an option its kind of on the lines of a build yourself Asus M3N78 PRO Barebone Kit - GeForce 8300, HDMI, Hybrid SLI, AMD Phenom X4 9500, 8GB DDR2-800 Corsair, 500GB SATA2, ATX Mid-Tower, 750W PSU at TigerDirect.com