New Computer Build

[Neutron]

I'm looking to build a new computer within the next few weeks.

My current rig is one I built in Dec of 2004.

Its:

AMD Athlon 64 2800+ (Socket 754)
nForce 250 chipset
2.5GB of DDR-400
GeForce 6800 GT AGP


I'm looking to build a new PC based on the Core 2 Duo, possibly the E6550 which is 2.33GHz with a 1333 FSB. I want at least 2GB of RAM, which I have been looking at DDR2-800, and a GeForce 8600GT PCI-e.

I need opinions. I have to keep this build under $700.

 

[charper1]

Will this be 110% from scratch or do you have any working components & O/S being recycled into it?

Case, power supply, CD/DVD, O/S, HDD, etc? O/S and HDDs can burn your $700 real fast.

 

[thiggin2]

I used to build my computers also, but now a days its cheaper to just buy one from Best Buy.

 

[charper1]

....but is it better? I think I can still come within 5% cost wise, but with 100% better quality. They save tons in their build costs with the OEM software partner deals they have; then recoup by charging more for lesser quality/spec internals. IMHO.

 

[HokieEngineer]

I have built two E6300 systems (1.8ghz c2d) and love both. The 6300 can overclock quite well, but I havent found a need for that. I havent kept up on the new releases of the c2d's, but you can rest assured they are fast. I'd recommend browsing newegg.com for some deals and putting it together that way.

I have the 8600GT, however still waiting for nvidia to release the purevideo drivers for XP. Vista ones are already out, but vista sucks .

 

[Pepper]

I recently built an E4300 on an Asus P5B-E with 4GB and a nvidia 8600GTS, it overclocked to 3.17GHz (E4300 is 1.8GHz processor) nicely.

Previous system was a painfully slow P4 1.6GHz.

 

[Neutron]

I've been looking at that same motherboard too. Do you like it?

I will be using a DVD-RW out of my old machine. I will need a case and power supply, but I'm factoring in that cost separately.

I will be using my existing copy of XP 64-bit, though I'm pondering Vista though I'm not a big fan of it, but would consider it for DirectX 10. I can get a student discount on Home Premium if I went that route.

The $700 budget would be for CPU, motherboard, memory, hard drive, and video card.

 

[John Kotches]

Neutron:

Have you considered stretching the budget to allow for a Quad Core?

The Q6600s can be had for around the $250-300 price point. Also the higher the RAM speed the quicker the price escalates.

Cheers,

 

[RadioWonder]

I have built two E6300 systems (1.8ghz c2d) and love both. The 6300 can overclock quite well, but I havent found a need for that. I havent kept up on the new releases of the c2d's, but you can rest assured they are fast. I'd recommend browsing newegg.com for some deals and putting it together that way.

I have the 8600GT, however still waiting for nvidia to release the purevideo drivers for XP. Vista ones are already out, but vista sucks .

All the negative opinions about Vista is keeping me from upgrading.

 

[Neutron]

I'm not upgrading to Vista either, thanks to their stupid ass licensing policy now.


Can't move the license from one machine to another, even if you have a hardware failure.

 

[joedekock]

All the negative opinions about Vista is keeping me from upgrading.

I am a Microsoft certified Engineer. I would have to say that Vista is much better now, and worthy of becoming your operating system on your main home PC. I am not saying that just because my job is dependent on Microsoft software, (I am personally a mac guy), but it is the truth. I would still use XP pro if you are running a business PC that has domain dependabilities and software that is not "mainstream" such as Microsoft software, or intuit software.

Service pack 1 for Vista will be released soon, and all the quirks that were in it for the last 10 months have been surprisingly ironed out. Service Pack 1 is still in beta and not officially released yet, however, all the updates that have fixed these quirks and are going to be in service pack 1, are available in the microsoft updates. I am typing this on a vista PC as we speak with all the recent updates, and this PC runs just as smooth as it did with XP.

If you do Vista, I recommend a clean install and not a upgraded one. There are too many "gotcha's" involved if you upgrade that are not listed anywhere for you to be aware of.

Also, I happen to find more success in desktops performances with AMD Athlon 64X2, processors as opposed to the Intel Core2 Duo's. If you are in the market for a laptop then stick with the intel core2 duo.

The new athlons actually run cooler the the pentiums and have higher benchmark performances in tests.

 

[digiblur]

I believe it when I see it... until then XP is the tried and true deal for me. Every experience I've had with Vista has been bad in more ways then one.

 

[joedekock]

I'm not upgrading to Vista either, thanks to their stupid ass licensing policy now.


Can't move the license from one machine to another, even if you have a hardware failure.

This is no longer true. Microsoft changed the licensing policy to be easier than XP back in February. If you have hardware failure, or upgrades that are significant enough to set off the licensing policy in Vista to ask you to re-activate, you will be able to use the telephone option to re-activate.

They also made it so you can remove an OEM copy of Vista from one PC and install it on another! Just like the earlier scenario, you will have to use the telephone option to re-activate it. If you leave Vista installed on the old PC and activate it on a another one, the old PC will become un-activated once it is connected to the internet.

 

[mike123abc]

I have moved Vista from one motherboard to a different one. Just had to call MS, they asked, I told them I replaced the MB. They gave me the activation code. There was no argument, probing questions or anything, they just asked the reason, I told them I upgraded the motherboard, they said fine here is your activation key.

 

[Neutron]

This is no longer true. Microsoft changed the licensing policy to be easier than XP back in February. If you have hardware failure, or upgrades that are significant enough to set off the licensing policy in Vista to ask you to re-activate, you will be able to use the telephone option to re-activate.

They also made it so you can remove an OEM copy of Vista from one PC and install it on another! Just like the earlier scenario, you will have to use the telephone option to re-activate it. If you leave Vista installed on the old PC and activate it on a another one, the old PC will become un-activated once it is connected to the internet.

Tell that to the idiots at the MS Activation phone number who told me that.

 

[joedekock]

Tell that to the idiots at the MS Activation phone number who told me that.

I ran into that once not too long ago with an XP machine. We had put a new hard drive in it. The CSR was a brain-dead idiot. The only thing you can do is call back and do it again. The nice thing is now it is all automated. I forget the exact process but somewhere in there they ask you "has this product been activated before?", and you reply with "yes". Then they ask "is this the only computer this product is installed on?", you reply "yes". The the final one is, "did you have a recent hardware upgrade or replacement such as a motherboard, or processor?" Reply with "yes" no matter what it is you replaced or moved the product to". Then they spit off the new number for you.

 

[Mr_Movie_Dog]

Neutron - Do your self a big favor and stay with AMD they are much stronger then Intel in the processing department, plus cheaper too. I just built a E6300 machine with everything faster then one of my old 939 4400 Dual Core and ran them head-to-head. I transcoded a movie with DVD Rebuilder which uses both cores and 100% of RAM. By all means the Insmell should have totally out classed the AMD but the AMD PC was only 2 minutes slower on a 2+ hour project. The Insmell costs more and I got less. I'm a bang for the buck person and could care less which camp is which my only concern is what I'm getting for my hard earned cash.

Vista is just fine once you've turned off UAC, Notification, Windows Defender, and their Firewall. I disagree that SP1 will fix all issues as MS is pretty arrogant about there way of handling security, which they are very poor at, I’ve personally had many conversations with their reps on this.

 

[Poke]

Yeah this is true so you should not have a problem upgrading to Vista. I plan on getting on Vista next year at home but been running vista fine at work. Also for prices you might check NewEgg Site see if they have things in your price ranges. As far as motherboards I like MSI they make great boards.

 

[BigTimMN]

I have called Microsfot MANY times and reactivated XP, and one time for Vista for customers myself or customers of mine, and I have used an OEM disk for there Dell, Gateway, etc systems and i jsut ahve to explain it clearly and honestly and they have given me no issues.

I like vista, its rock solid stable for me, I game on it, I do other things, and its hasnt hiccuped one time in 6 months.

 

[goaliebob99]

I installed visa a couple of days ago. And got rid of it on my home pc like right away. I couldnt play content from my itunes to my apple tv without any issues. I have a copy if i ever decide to go back to it. That was enough to make me switch back. On top of it, when ever i installed office enterprise, it slowed my system down. With xp my system runs like a champ!

I have a

3.33 Pent. D
2gigs of pc 6400 ram @ 800mhz
Two 512 Nividia 7800 GTX in SLI mode
and 1 TB Hard drive (500 x 2)

There should be no reason why this system is not screaming in vista, but it acts reallllllly slow..