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| Thread ID: 33411 | 2003-05-15 09:48:00 | Which Machine to Buy? | Stevo (3797) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 144481 | 2003-05-15 09:48:00 | I want to buy a computer for home and business use. I want it to be as reliable and stable as possible and want to spend about $2000. I am more interested in reliability than outright speed although I dont want it tooooo slow. I have looked at a few and wonder if anyone could help me out as Im still learning as I go. 1 Case M/T 300watt with FDD Motherboard Elite P4S5A Pent4 SD/DDR, 533MHz AGP Processor Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz H/D Seagate 80 Gb 7200 Ram DDR 512 Mb Modem Dynalink 56k Internal PCI Soundcard Onboard Video Card Microstar 32Mb, 4xAGP CDR Lite on 48x24x48 Network Edimax 10/100 PCI Speakers 120 watt Monitor 17” KTC Keybd KB-7 Multimedia PS2 Mouse Excel PS/2 Optical OS XP Home OEM Warranty 1 year $1930 incl GST Choice no2 AMD 2000XP & AMD Fan ASUS A7V8X; KT400; DDR400 / 333 / 266; Sound; 1x 8X AGP; 6x PCI; 3x DDR; USB 2.0 Asus 48 x 24 x 52 CDRW 1.44 Floppy Drive 300watt ATX Computer Case 80Gb Maxtor 7200rpm Hard Drive 512mb V-Data 333 DDR Ram Muilti-Media Keyboard & Mouse 56K Modem (V92 Upgradeable) Gigabyte Rage 128 Video Card (32mb SD Ram) Genius Muiltimedia Speakers Computer Cost $ 1,311.11 Upgrades Windows XP Home 177.78 Philips 17" Monitor 288.89 288.89 Sub Total 1,777.78 GST 222.22 TOTAL $2,000.00 incl GST No3 AMD 2000XP & AMD Fan GIGABYTE GA-7VAXP Ultra Socket A Motherboard *VIA KT400 & 8235 Chipset *333 FSB *5xPCI *1xAGP 8x *3xDDR (max.3GB - 2xslots only with DDR400) *2xSATA *4xATA133 *Promise PDC20276 ATA133 Raid *AC97 Realtek ALC650 Sound *Realtek 8100BL Lan *DualBIOS *Suspend-to-RAM *2xUSB2 Asus 48 x 24 x 52 CDRW 1.44 Floppy Drive 300watt ATX Computer Case 80Gb Maxtor 7200rpm Hard Drive 512mb V-Data 333 DDR Ram Muilti-Media Keyboard & Mouse 56K Modem (V92 Upgradeable) Gigabyte Rage 128 Video Card (32mb SD Ram) Genius Muiltimedia Speakers Computer Cost $1,550.00 Upgrades Windows XP Home 200.00 Philips 17" Monitor 325.00 Total 2,075.00 Prices include GST Main use will be Office Programs, Accounting software, Cad Lite, CD burning, email and internet |
Stevo (3797) | ||
| 144482 | 2003-05-15 10:13:00 | Personally I would go for No 3. | mikebartnz (21) | ||
| 144483 | 2003-05-15 10:40:00 | Theres not all that much difference between them really. They are all more than enough for what you want. I'm suprised the P4 based one is so cheap since the CPU costs 2.5 times more than the athlon according to pricespy. I would go with either 2 or 3 because they have a better screen, CD-RW, and motherboard (good motherboard == stability). |
bmason (508) | ||
| 144484 | 2003-05-15 10:46:00 | If I were you I would look at changing the Video cards to something with at least 64Mb RAM Ian |
IanJ (1454) | ||
| 144485 | 2003-05-15 10:47:00 | Don't touch anything with a VIA chipset if you want stability -they are junk. Get a system that supports ECC memory and has a good quality power supply. Intel chipsets are superb for stability. | BIFF (1) | ||
| 144486 | 2003-05-15 10:59:00 | I have had two MB with a Via chipset and never had a problem so I don't know where you get your info from Biff. | mikebartnz (21) | ||
| 144487 | 2003-05-15 11:12:00 | > I have had two MB with a Via chipset and never had a > problem so I don't know where you get your info from > Biff. My friend has a PC with a Via chipset and he is extremely happy. Maybe its all the crap thaqt people load onto their computers that cause instability. Not the chip itself |
Baldy (26) | ||
| 144488 | 2003-05-15 11:56:00 | > > I have had two MB with a Via chipset and never had > a > > problem so I don't know where you get your info > from > > Biff. > > My friend has a PC with a Via chipset and he is > extremely happy. Maybe its all the crap thaqt people > load onto their computers that cause instability. Not > the chip itself Baldy has a point. For any product mentioned in this and other forums, there is always someone who says " X is junk .." |
TonyF (246) | ||
| 144489 | 2003-05-15 12:09:00 | actually i agree with BIFF on this one. INTEL are well known for stable chipsets/motherboards. via have earned themselves a reputation of buggy chipsets. however once those bugs have been ironed out they are quite good. the dark horse is SIS. cheap,fast and don't seem to be to problematic. personally for a stable system, a intel chipset, intel cpu would be best. the cooling side alone makes it worthwhile. however it will cost more and proberly slower (no need to flame please). however if you buy a cheap ass crap motherboard its not going to matter which way you go. there is far better and more stable motherboards than ECS. |
tweak'e (174) | ||
| 144490 | 2003-05-15 12:17:00 | I have friends working for a couple of different suppliers and the return rates on boards with many different VIA chipsets is very high. Stable is all relative to what you want to do with the system. Is 1 crash a month ok? How about one a week? We have configured intel chipset based workstations at my workplace that have been running for 200+ days without bouncing. VIA can't deliver this, -they cut corners with their code and hardware. They are cheap, and you get what you pay for. I guess the average web surfer or gamer may not care about that sort of uptime, but for some tasks it is essential. The original poster commented that reliability was important to him. What it comes down to is caveat emptor in the end I suppose. |
BIFF (1) | ||
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