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Thread ID: 73916	2006-11-05 19:34:00	Build a computer - your choices	Lizard (2409)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
496638	2006-11-05 19:34:00	A friend has come to me to build her new computer for her. So I had a wander round Pricespy last night, and came up with a system. But's it's been a while since I paid much attention to the hardware market, so I'd like to see what you would build. The budget is $1500. Parts must be sourced from NZ stores. The purpose of the machine would be (in this order): Surfing the Internet Playing games - but nothing particularly intensive (i.e. The Sims) Watching movies The parts required are: CPU MoBo RAM Video Card Optical drive HDD PSU Monitor Cheers	Lizard (2409)
496639	2006-11-05 19:51:00	You could start by telling us which components you have selected. CPU: go for Intel or AMD dual core, both very good - intel being more powerfull but linearly more expensive. Mobo: Anything with the features you want, obviously to take the CPU and GPU which you have chosen. RAM: Starting with 512MB is almost sufficient, 1GB would be a better choice and 2GB+ for video editing. GPU: Check the recommended requirements of your games, 256MB of ram and nice clock speeds. Optical: Yes, DVD writer. Brand generally does not matter. HDD: Sata, 320GB is cheap these days, so no point getting much less. Possibly use two HDD's of smaller capacity for "redundancy" Seagate are good, wouldnt reccommend WD as they tend not to last very long in my experience. PSU: 400W+ quiet as possible with good +12V supply. Monitor: 17" or 19" TFT, low ms response 8ms or less. Bigger is obviously better. Screen is usually most expensive part but also most important. My list might be a tad more expensive, tho you can do the calculations on your pricespy list to see what you need and how much it will cost you.	muzzle (10342)
496640	2006-11-05 19:54:00	You could start by telling us which components you have selected. CPU: go for Intel or AMD dual core, both very good - intel being more powerfull but linearly more expensive. Mobo: Anything with the features you want, obviously to take the CPU and GPU which you have chosen. RAM: Starting with 512MB is almost sufficient, 1GB would be a better choice and 2GB+ for video editing. GPU: Check the recommended requirements of your games, 256MB of ram and nice clock speeds. Optical: Yes, DVD writer. Brand generally does not matter. HDD: Sata, 320GB is cheap these days, so no point getting much less. Possibly use two HDD's of smaller capacity for "redundancy" Seagate are good, wouldnt reccommend WD as they tend not to last very long in my experience. PSU: 400W+ quiet as possible with good +12V supply. Monitor: 17" or 19" TFT, low ms response 8ms or less. Bigger is obviously better. Screen is usually most expensive part but also most important. My list might be a tad more expensive, tho you can do the calculations on your pricespy list to see what you need and how much it will cost you. Thanks, but I was looking for something more specific. I have already done this exercise, and come up with a system. But as it's been a while since I looked at hardware, I'm interested to see how others would spend the same $1500	Lizard (2409)
496641	2006-11-05 20:03:00	The budget is $1500. Parts must be sourced from NZ stores. The purpose of the machine would be (in this order): Surfing the Internet Playing games - but nothing particularly intensive (i.e. The Sims) Watching movies To be honest, I don't think you need to waste that much money on something that will be overkill for what it is going to be used for. Personally, I'd go for a budget machine (eg under $1000) and use the rest towards software, or other fancy stuff that they wouldn't get otherwise. I think 512mb RAM would be sufficient for the task, and I don't think dual-core would be essential, but might be more cost-efficient (ie more bang for your buck). Same goes for video cards. A good screen would probably be where I'd spend the most - bigger is often better, but make sure it has a decent response time if movies are going to be watched on it a lot. And I agree with muzzle here - Hard disk space is cheap... 250-300GB seems to be the best value for money at this stage (about 50c per GB). That's my :2cents: Mike.	Mike (15)
496642	2006-11-05 20:14:00	Abit NF-M2 $248.95 - Nice lil AM2 mATX board, the onboard video should be sufficent for your friends needs, if not you can always add a video card later. Athlon64 X2 3800+ $308.49 - No explanation needed really. Kingston Value RAM DDR2-533 2x512mb Dual Channel Kit $243.45 - 1gb should be enough for your friend, and Kingston are good quality Seagate Barracuda 160gb $127.99 Asus DRW-1608P3S DVD Writer $74.07 - cheap Thermaltake Purepower 420w $98.75 - cheap, sufficient build quality and power Philips 170B6CB $434.70 All up that comes in at just over $1500, if you want a seperate video card and a LCD monitor then the budgets gonna have to increase. You could skimp on the motherboard and then get a cheap 7300 but you'd see lil improvement over the above and you have a cheap and nasty motherboard. Anyway thats what i'd build.	Pete O'Neil (6584)
496643	2006-11-05 20:22:00	Abit NF-M2 $248.95 - Nice lil AM2 mATX board, the onboard video should be sufficent for your friends needs, if not you can always add a video card later. Athlon64 X2 3800+ $308.49 - No explanation needed really. Kingston Value RAM DDR2-533 2x512mb Dual Channel Kit $243.45 - 1gb should be enough for your friend, and Kingston are good quality Seagate Barracuda 160gb $127.99 Asus DRW-1608P3S DVD Writer $74.07 - cheap Thermaltake Purepower 420w $98.75 - cheap, sufficient build quality and power Philips 170B6CB $434.70 All up that comes in at just over $1500, if you want a seperate video card and a LCD monitor then the budgets gonna have to increase. You could skimp on the motherboard and then get a cheap 7300 but you'd see lil improvement over the above and you have a cheap and nasty motherboard. Anyway thats what i'd build. Thanks Pete - exactly the kind of response I was looking for. Quite a different system to the one I designed. But that's what I was looking for - a different view. Any others?	Lizard (2409)
496644	2006-11-05 22:24:00	A friend has come to me to build her new computer for her. So I had a wander round Pricespy last night, and came up with a system. So if you are just sourcing hardware from the cheap and nasty stores why would she need you to build one? Makes sense if you are getting them direct from the distributors themselves but don't you think reliability and good after sales service should come into it? Rather than just cheap? Better she chooses a custom build from the likes of Ascent or someone.	pctek (84)
496645	2006-11-05 23:14:00	So if you are just sourcing hardware from the cheap and nasty stores why would she need you to build one? :confused: As I see it, if you want a new computer, these are your options: 1. Buy pre-made (i.e. Compaq, Dell), off-the-shelf models. 2. Buy custom-made from an independent computer store (i.e. Ascent, etc) 3. Buy parts and assemble yourself. The first option is useful if you just want a straightforward, out of the box computer, and don't care about 2-3yr old technology. The second is useful if you don't know about assembling a computer, but recognise what is good. The third is best when you recognise what is good, but like to do it yourself. While the budget is (relatively) small, I don't want cheap and nasty. I want cost-effective and bang-for-buck... Makes sense if you are getting them direct from the distributors themselves but don't you think reliability and good after sales service should come into it? Rather than just cheap? Of course reliability and after sales service comes into it, but what I'm looking for at this stage is trying to understand what people who are familiar with the latest technology would do if they had a $1500 budget and had to buy the requisite components. Once I get an idea of what sort of parts are recommended, then I can look at suppliers. Trust me - no way will I go to Supercheap PC. Better she chooses a custom build from the likes of Ascent or someone. I'd rather build it myself, than let Ascent or someone else have all the fun...	Lizard (2409)
496646	2006-11-06 00:25:00	OK, sensible - too many people use Pricespy for the cheap and nasty option. I'd pick an ASUS motherboard. Probably the cheapest AM2 oard - she probably doesn't need ATX or RAID or other fancy features on it. Then the smallest AM2 CPU, but not a Sempron. The smallest Seagate she can get away with - you can always add another drive later. An OK case, but good powersupply. What I wouldn't skimp on would be the graphics card. Yes, SIMs type games but who knows what she might want to play on it next, and gaming is hardware hungry. The most important component for gaming IMO is the graphics card. Ram - any of the 3 year + warranty brands. 1Gb. A quick squiz through Pricespy doing that left me $520 for the graphics card. Which gives you: GeForce 6800 GT 256MB, PCI Express or Radeon X1900 XT 256MB PCI Express 'I'd pick the ATI.	pctek (84)
496647	2006-11-06 00:52:00	Does the monitor have to come out of the $1500, or is she using her existing monitor? I've just ordered a super cheap computer off ascent for my sister to replace her Duron 750. $750 with a good case & PSU. I went with socket 754 which is pretty much obsolete, but by the time she has to upgrade the CPU, everything you can get today will be obsolete.	Greven (91)
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