Building a new machine - Advice?

Hi All,

Its been 4 years sence I've brought a new PC so I thought its about time to upgrade

exciting stuff!
Below is the Configuration plus a few extras - any suggestions comments?

Also, I was wondering if I should get Vista? I don't really see much point in getting it yet?

Thanks everyone

NOTE: THE PRICES ARE IN NEW ZEALAND $
Configuration

1 Raidmax Ninja ATX Mid Tower Case, 520W PSU, Side Window, Black
$193.66
1 MSI K9N Neo-F Motherboard, Socket AM2, 0xDIMM, DDR, 4xDIMM, DDR2, PCIe-16, 3xPCI, 2xPCIe-1, 10xUSB2, Audio, ATA, RAID, ATX
$165.03
1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ CPU, 2.6GHz, Socket AM2, 32/64-Bit, ATX, Retail pack with fan
$314.49
1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820AS Hard Disk Drive, 250GB, 7200rpm, 8192KB Cache, SATA-2
$127.77
1 Pioneer DVR-212 DVD Writer, DVD 12R/18W/8RW, CD 40R/40W/32RW, Internal, SATA, Black, OEM
$87.06
1 Corsair XMS2, TWIN2X2048-6400, 2x1GB, DDR2-SDRAM, DIMM, DDR2-800
$255.52
1 Gigabyte GV-NX88S320H-B-RH Video Card, GeForce 8800 GTS, 320MB, DDR3, PCIe-16, TV out, DVI, HDTV, SLI ready
$557.11
1 Generic 1.44MB, Internal, Floppy Disk Drive, Black
$20.40
1 Philips 170B7CB Monitor, 17" LCD, 1280x1024, DVI, Speakers, Black
$383.04
1 Microsoft Windows XP Professional with SP2, for x64 (64-bit) systems, OEM
$303.30
1 Cooler Master TEC-A24-ER, Rounded EL IDE Ultra-DMA-66/100/133 Cable, 0.6m, Red
$27.61
2 Generic S-ATA Data Cable, 50cm
Quantity discount of $3.54 applies to this item
$7.63
1 Generic Rounded Floppy cable, 48cm, UV Reactive Red
$10.81
1 Complete system discount
-$49.15

Extra

1 Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 TV Tuner, Internal, PCI, with Remote, Supports Teletext
$173.01
1 Logitech G5 Laser Mouse, Optical, USB, Black/Silver
$116.94
1 Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard, USB, Black/Silver, Retail
$136.49
1 Laser 240 Disk CD/DVD Wallet
$14.96
1 Belkin 2-Port KVM Switch with Built-In Cabling, USB
$78.48
1 Altec lansing AHS602 Headphones, 3.5mm jack, Black/Silver
$78.98

Sub total $3,007.22
Freight $0.00

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Comments

sprkymrk

Nice computer.

But I never spend more than about $400 (US$) on a computer. I buy last years good stuff at 1/4 the price it was when it was brand new. Never had an underpowered machine yet, just never have the latest greatest either.

5no-yt

Thanks

- I can't wait to get this baby in the mail (havn't ordered it yet.. going to sit on it for a couple of days and keep looking around)

My machine has finally come to the stage where it won't even run games anymore - I installed oblivion on it and it wouldn't even run hahaha

I figure if i get a top of the line pc now - its going to last a few years atleast (gives me time to pay it off before the next one

Edit:

Any thoughts on vista?

sprkymrk

Chapt3r:4 wrote:

My machine has finally come to the stage where it won't even run games anymore

Old computers never die. They just play solitaire.

Chapt3r:4 wrote:

Any thoughts on vista?

I wouldn't use it if you want a gaming rig - yet. Maybe in a year.

JDMurray

sprkymrk wrote:

But I never spend more than about $400 (US$) on a computer.

I never spend more than $400US on a video card.

sprkymrk wrote:

Chapt3r:4 wrote:

Any thoughts on vista?

I wouldn't use it if you want a gaming rig - yet. Maybe in a year.

Don't bother with Vista until service pack 1 is released. Eventually, there will be games requiring DirectX 10 and graphics adapters requiring WDDM 2.0, but that probably won't be for another 18 months or so. Until then, Vista won't be a necessity for gaming. But if you don't want to wait, I've run Half-life 2, Call of Duty, Titan Quest, and Warcraft 3 all just fine on Vista Business Edition.

leefdaddy

I've used AMD for years... since their K5 chips... however, the smart thing right now to do is go with intel and get a Core2duo setup... I have my first intel desktop in about 10 years i just built...

However I've used intel laptops for years... C2D wipes the floor with amd currently though.

bmauro

C2D - nuff said - no contest.

bmauro

Heres a quick comparison - the chart didnt have your X2 5200 so I picked a faster AMD chip to go against the Core 2 Duo.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=431&model2=696&chart=170

So for the same price ($31

the E6700 would be a much better buy.

tech-airman

Chapt3r:4 wrote:

Hi All,

Its been 4 years sence I've brought a new PC so I thought its about time to upgrade exciting stuff!
Below is the Configuration plus a few extras - any suggestions comments?

Also, I was wondering if I should get Vista? I don't really see much point in getting it yet?

Thanks everyone

NOTE: THE PRICES ARE IN NEW ZEALAND $
Configuration

1 Raidmax Ninja ATX Mid Tower Case, 520W PSU, Side Window, Black
$193.66
1 MSI K9N Neo-F Motherboard, Socket AM2, 0xDIMM, DDR, 4xDIMM, DDR2, PCIe-16, 3xPCI, 2xPCIe-1, 10xUSB2, Audio, ATA, RAID, ATX
$165.03
1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ CPU, 2.6GHz, Socket AM2, 32/64-Bit, ATX, Retail pack with fan
$314.49
1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820AS Hard Disk Drive, 250GB, 7200rpm, 8192KB Cache, SATA-2
$127.77
1 Pioneer DVR-212 DVD Writer, DVD 12R/18W/8RW, CD 40R/40W/32RW, Internal, SATA, Black, OEM
$87.06
1 Corsair XMS2, TWIN2X2048-6400, 2x1GB, DDR2-SDRAM, DIMM, DDR2-800
$255.52
1 Gigabyte GV-NX88S320H-B-RH Video Card, GeForce 8800 GTS, 320MB, DDR3, PCIe-16, TV out, DVI, HDTV, SLI ready
$557.11
1 Generic 1.44MB, Internal, Floppy Disk Drive, Black
$20.40
1 Philips 170B7CB Monitor, 17" LCD, 1280x1024, DVI, Speakers, Black
$383.04
1 Microsoft Windows XP Professional with SP2, for x64 (64-bit) systems, OEM
$303.30
1 Cooler Master TEC-A24-ER, Rounded EL IDE Ultra-DMA-66/100/133 Cable, 0.6m, Red
$27.61
2 Generic S-ATA Data Cable, 50cm
Quantity discount of $3.54 applies to this item
$7.63
1 Generic Rounded Floppy cable, 48cm, UV Reactive Red
$10.81
1 Complete system discount
-$49.15

Extra

1 Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 TV Tuner, Internal, PCI, with Remote, Supports Teletext
$173.01
1 Logitech G5 Laser Mouse, Optical, USB, Black/Silver
$116.94
1 Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard, USB, Black/Silver, Retail
$136.49
1 Laser 240 Disk CD/DVD Wallet
$14.96
1 Belkin 2-Port KVM Switch with Built-In Cabling, USB
$78.48
1 Altec lansing AHS602 Headphones, 3.5mm jack, Black/Silver
$78.98

Sub total $3,007.22
Freight $0.00

Chapt3r:4

Questions:

Which operating system are you planning to install onto that computer?
[list=1:c6612b4368]
If the intended operating system is Microsoft Windows, have you verified each of those components with the Hardware Compatibility List?

[*]Which applications are you planning to install onto that computer?
[*]Does each of those components meet or exceed the system requirements for the operating system and the applications you are planning to install on it?
[/list:o:c6612b4368]

Source:

Products Designed for Microsoft Windows - Windows Catalog and HCL - http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx