gto-pontiac's Computer Buyers gide December 2005

[gto-pontiac]

December 2005, up-dated price, changed few components.
this is only a recomendation. not what you should buy

System 1 (Strict budget)
Case: Antec SLK1650 $97.00
PSU: w/ 350W included
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice $227.00
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 $133.00
Memory: 1GB (2x512MB) Generic $102.00 ($51x2)
Hard Drive: Seagate 160Gb SATA $119.00
Video Card: Leadteck 6600GT $199
CD/DVD-RW: BenQ DW-1640 $60.00
$937.00
you can drop the Videocard to lower PCI express card if it you want something lower as well as Hard Drive

Due to the shortage of the 3000+ since AMD is not making them any more the CPU is up-gareded to 3200+


System 2 (Best value for money)
Thermaltake Soprano with 430W PSU $135
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice $299.00
MSI K8N neo4-FI 1394 $130.00
1GB (2x512MB) OCZ PC3200 Value $131.00
Seagate SATA 160GB $119.00
Sapphire X800GT $205.00
BenQ DW-1640 $60.00
$1,079.00


High-End PC AMD Dual Core

Case: Antec P180 no PSU $216.00
PSU: Antec TruePower2 480W $132.00
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ $735.00
Motherboard: Asus A8V-E Deluxe $145.00
Memory: 1GB (2x512MB) OCZ PC3200 Performance $181.00
HDD(Boot Drive): Western Digital 74GB Raptor $249.00
HDD (Storage): Maxtor 16Mb SATA 250Gb $153.00
Video Card: Leadtek 7800GTX $665.00
CD/DVD-RW: BenQ DW-1640 $60.00
$2536.00

High-Mid End Intel Dual Core

Case: CoolerMaster Wave Master TAC-T01 $186
PSU: Antec 530W “true Powe2” $155
CPU: Intel Pentiam D280 2.8Ghz $359
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA 8i955X-Pro $245
RAM: 1Gb Corsair (512x2) DDR2 $120 or 2Gb for Moltimedia computer $250
HDD: Maxter 16Mb SATA 250GB $153
Video Card: Sapphir X800GT $203 or Leadtek 7800GTX $665
CD/DVD-RW: BenQ DW-1640 $60
x800GT 1GB $1481 2GB $1611
7800GTX 1GB $1883 2GB $2013

all of this can be modified for your needs so don't hesitate to ask question or comments are also welcomed
most of the price is from MSY

[DreamChaser]

Howdy

I'm looking to build an AMD based game PC and have some questions about your High-End PC AMD Dual Core specs.

1. Is the WD 74 Gb Raptor SATA II?
2. How much difference does it make to have that as the boot hd?
3. Why the LeadTek 7800 instead of an Asus 7800?

Cheers

Dreamy

[gto-pontiac]

you can get a SATAII rapter HDD but might cost bit more.

the boot drive is to give more stable system so all the games and other application and data wirts are done to differrent drive and its farster.

the reson i chose the Leadtek 7800.........?? i like the price and i like the company. i never had any trable with leadtek so......
and they sore higher in benchmarking, even with same chipes

and if you are looking for high-end gaming computer get the FX-55 or 57 CPU rather than Dual COre X2 4400+ it do cost more but it is the best CPU you can get for gaming.
and with the mobo you can get a SLI motherborad so you can have 2 graphics card to boost the performance of the gaming.


sorry about the spelling

[Fwebracer]

Hi, I went to a couple of shops, and after varying opinions. I don't know what to get.
I have no interest in gaming but want to do some video capturing of old analogue home movies(basic editing) to burn to DVD. I also want to record TV and burn to DVD to view on TV via DVD player. AND I want to convert my vynil to CD (stereo inputs). Which should I go for, the budget or best value or, do I need more?
Please help! ...again.

[Paul]

Best value will be ample for your needs, but you will need a video capture card (search the site for suggestions).

How to copy vinyl

cheers, Paul

[DreamChaser]

I do video capture on my current system. It's three years old and works fine:

Hardware:
AMD 1700 XP
1 Gb RAM
Firewire PCI card (for capture from my Sony DV camera)
Asus DL DVD 1608P

Software:
Windows Movie Maker v2
Nero Express (came with DVD burner)

My system was not the high end when I bought it so today's budget PC should be just fine. Get as much RAM as you can.

[Smitty]

December 2005, up-dated price, changed few components.
this is only a recomendation. not what you should buy
..snip...

System 2 (Best value for money)
Thermaltake Soprano with 430W PSU $135
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice $299.00
MSI K8N neo4-FI 1394 $130.00
1GB (2x512MB) OCZ PC3200 Value $131.00
Seagate SATA 160GB $119.00
Sapphire X800GT $205.00
BenQ DW-1640 $60.00
$1,079.00

mate
thats a good suggested setup imho
and
I am seriously looking at getting it and putting
it together over the next few weeks
(bits will come from MSY)

one question though
I have been offered ..new 2 x 200gb PATA fast IDE drives (Maxtor)
(inc cable) for $89 each
will that system (mobo) support them ?
I guess it will but I want to be sure
and
apart from ease of setup, is there any advantage/disadvantage
to normal ATA drives v SATA IDE drives?

cheers
Smitty

[gto-pontiac]

the mobo will support the Drives.
the advantage of been SATA is bit faster than PATA. and less cable space inside computer.
but for $89 its cheap. as long as its 7200RPM and at least 8MB cache. then should be fine.

[Smitty]

the mobo will support the Drives.
the advantage of been SATA is bit faster than PATA. and less cable space inside computer.
but for $89 its cheap. as long as its 7200RPM and at least 8MB cache. then should be fine.

thanks for that
the drives are definitely 7200rpm but I will check the cache size..not sure

cheers

Smitty

[Smitty]

the mobo will support the Drives.
the advantage of been SATA is bit faster than PATA. and less cable space inside computer.
but for $89 its cheap. as long as its 7200RPM and at least 8MB cache. then should be fine.

thanks for that
the drives are definitely 7200rpm but I will check the cache size..not sure

cheers

Smitty

I checked....
the drives are Maxtor 6B200PO 200gb PATA133 drives
the Maxtor site sez..7200rpm 8MB cache

so i should be right
thanks

[gto-pontiac]

yha its ok