Is My system good enough?

[Murlo26]

Intel P4 540J 3.2E GHz LGA775 1MB 800 FSB (HT) - $231
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120856&Category_Code=intel-lga775

MSI "915P NEO2 PLATINUM 7028-020" 915P Chipset Motherboard - $147
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-461&depa=0
(This is a nice board and has some pretty nice reviews from sites, but you could go with one of the lesser model MSI boards that support both DDR and DDR2 so that way, you could save money on both the board and if you went with DDR ram now instead of DDR2 and waited for the price to come down for future upgrades)

ANTEC Black Performance Series II SOHO File Server Tower ATX Case with 400W Power Supply -$102
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-120&depa=1
(Very Basic case with a decent powersupply.)

OCZ Value Series 240-Pin 512MB DDR2 PC-4200 - $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-227-005&depa=1
(This is if you want to have future upgrades, say doubling your ram, OCZ has become a great company for RMAs and Warrenty.)

REFURBISHED: Wintec AMP-X 240-pin 256MB DDR2 PC2-4200 - $50.66 Per
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-161-655R&type=Refurbished
(This would be if you wanted to have Dual channel now. You'd have to purchase 2 of these)

NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-152-035&DEPA=0
(This is a very nice drive, NEC's are topping the charts)

SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon X700 PRO Video Card, 128MB GDDR3 - $166
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-443&depa=1
(I went with the Blue OEM card because I like the color, the retail red card is a $1 cheaper, and the OEM red is $4 cheaper)

Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 -OEM - $92.95
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=37-102-151&DEPA=6

REFURBISHED: Western Digital 200GB SATA WD2000JD 7,200 RPM 8MB - $82
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-153R&type=Refurbished

SAMSUNG 710N-2-Black 17" LCD Monitor - ($309 -$30 MIR, and $40 Instant = $239)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-001-171&depa=1

Dell UltraSharp 1704FPV 17-inch Flat Panel LCD - $314
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=320-4042&c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=210&first=true&page=productlisting.aspx
(I like this monitor because for the price it's very nice. High contrast and good response time.)

So for a computer that is better then the one on Dell.com, you can build your own with quality parts.
Fully Upgradeable for: $1065.96

Now, like I said, you could go with a lesser board, save about $50, and maybe some more on ram. The video card you could save about $20 going with an X600XT. The HD you could maybe find an SATA 80GB WD somewhere for less, because there were none left on the refurb newegg area when I did this.

i really like this setup you have here, especially since it includes the monitor and the os,i might actually go with this. A couple of questions though, it there a cooler looking case that has the same abilities, maybe with some plexiglass to see through for the same price(not a big deal but a thought) and is there any advantage to dual channel ram over single, that matters until i buy more ram anyway?

and is that price you calculated without the monitor im assuming?

 

[ShepsCrook]

As far as your setup goes, I don't think you need hyperX because you aren't going to be overclocking. So regular ram would be just fine. I think you should look at my configuration just above. The only thing is down towards the bottom. I explain the 2ndary monitor choice which costs more but is a very nice monitor. And some of your choices above could compensate for that difference if you were to sacrifice some features like the Neo2 motherboard, and go with maybe the X600XT. Something like that. I like to give options for people. But my configuration has everything but keyboard and a mouse which are moot points because you can get those just about anywhere and there's too many darn options and likes and dislikes. I'd choose an MX1000 laser mouse at about $60 and an LX700 Keyboard/Mouse combo at about $80. But that's just me. lol

 

[ShepsCrook]

and is that price you calculated without the monitor im assuming?

Ok, Dual channel is noticeable and useful with Intel Processors. But I think you'd be able to survive on a single 512MB chip for a while.

And the price I stated below is WITH the Samsung monitor.

 

[ShepsCrook]

As far as the case goes. That's the only one I found that has a powersupple.

There's an antec case on Newegg.com that has a window for $69 and there's a Powersupply which I have running in my intel rig which is pretty decent for $56.99

Thermaltake 480W Xaser II PSU - $56.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-153-007&DEPA=0

ANTEC Performance Plus Metallic Gray SOHO File Server Case - $69
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-129-124&depa=1

Oh and some people bash the powersupply, even though it gets good reviews on Newegg.com, but right now, It's running my Intel P4 550 3.4ghz 775 Processor, 1GB ram, 5HD's totaling 730GB, a DVDRW drive, and a 9800Pro All In Wonder card, not to mention some case fans. So that powersupply definitely holds it's own.

 

[Murlo26]

u sure about the price i added it all up, everything that you showed, and it didnt come out to be what you showed, it quite a bit more, can you check it again, maybe i am being retarded or something, but just check the total with the monitor plz i came up with around $1200 somthing.

 

[Murlo26]

and could you also explain the difference between a regular ati video card and the one you posted, why is it cheaper and is it just as good as a regular ati card?

 

[ShepsCrook]

Actually, by the looks of things, I must have missed one of the prices. The total comes to $1204.93 Let me triple check this now. Yeah. With a monitor it comes to that price. Sorry for the mix up. I'm not sure what I missed on the list to make it $1050 or something. But mind you, you're paying more, but your computer is MUCH better then what you'd be getting from dell, not to mention more futureproof. You could go with a lesser video card, Lesser motherboard, and your ram might go down in price depending on the board. Maybe even go with just a regular ATA HD to decrease the price.

 

[ShepsCrook]

The main difference between the Saphire cards and a regular ATI card is nothing. In fact, ATI makes all of the new cards that are out. The other companies just basically switch out a few things, either add on different capacitors and slap on their own labels. That card will perform no less then the same ATI version.

 

[Murlo26]

another video card question, is the ati radeon x700 with 256mb ddr better than the sapphire one you suggested, here is the link. and is it worth the extra money?http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-414&depa=1

 

[ShepsCrook]

Yes, only because it has more ram.
Here's the card I posted but with 256MB ram. about $16 cheaper then the one you just posted.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-430&depa=1

 

[Murlo26]

thanks man, i think i am starting to get an idea of what i want, and its starting to come together, now i just need to get rid of my laptop, if you know anyone that wants a good laptop, or if you have suggestions for selling it let me know, and how much do you think my laptop is worth nowadays?

Is that ram really good? or is there ram that is priced very close that would be worth gettting instead, ive never heard of that ram so i dont know? And also the disk drive i was thinking the sony i posted before, do you think the nec is better or are they pretty comparable?
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-131-239&DEPA=1
I am gonna look through everything a little more and i might have a few more questions?

 

[ShepsCrook]

The NEC is better.
The Ram on the video card helps with certain games. I know that. Unless you are talking about Ram for the system. Then the OCZ ram I posted above is nice, the Wintec stuff I haven't heard too much about but they have a large selection of ram on newegg.com for the DDR2 series. I just think that the Kingston HyperX ram is worthless for you unless you are overclocking. Sure the timings are better then the ram I posted, but you will almost never notice that difference.

 

[ShepsCrook]

Oh yeah, and I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be up. I have to work tomorrow. If you want, you can IM me to get some direct information if I am around. I usally have my away message up so I can screen IMs. Just wait for a bit. If I don't respond within 5 minutes or so, then I'm not at my computer or asleep.

 

[lancer]

het murlo, one thing i would suggest no matter what you do, try and order all the parts from one place, wherever that may be. because if you order from more than one place shipping will start to become a big issue.

secondly shepscrook, your info on tigerdirect is a little off, i've ordered $1000's of dollars worth of stuff from them, never had an issue at all. But it concerns me if this is true, so could you post a link to your source of information, i'm quite sure you can.

third, murlo, don't waste money on cooler looking cases, when you could spend it on extra ram or a better v/card. kind of silly, a case is a case. i would say go for it if cash was not an issue, but it seems to be here.

 

[ShepsCrook]

Lancer, you should go back through the posts and re-read after you posted about TigerDirect. I don't have a problem with them. I even suggested he purchase a Chieftech case from there that looks like the Antec Cases for $29.97.

BUT, I will admit that I have heard some bad things about TigerDirects Order service. But the way I look at it. You're more likely to hear about the BAD of somewhere rather then the GOOD. I've bought stuff from their retail location nearby here, but never ordered anything from them because I usually find the same item from one of my usual sites for cheaper.

 

[lancer]

just out of interest, which sites are cheaper, i dont have any afinity for them, but i always found them to be cheapest