Going off to college

[StevenF]

I'm going off the college this fall and I decided to build a new comp. I have about a $3000 budget including software. The budget fits if I go OEM on a few items including the software. The comp will be used for gaming, school, cad etc. I was going to get most of this stuff at Newegg and GoogleGear, except for the monitors at EMS cause the other stores dont have them.
Does this stuff seem like it would work out? Should anything be changed? This is the first comp i will build.

Lian-Li PC-60USB
Enermax EG465P-VE(FCA)
Gigabyte GA-7VRXP
Corsair PC2700 512MB CAS 2.0
AMD 2100+
Thermaltake Volcano 7+ w/Arctic Silver 3
Western Digital WD800JB
Gainward GForce4 Ti4600
Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum
Sony Floppy Disk Drive
LiteOn CD-RW 40x12x48
Toshiba DVD-Rom 16x48
Aopen CD-Rom 56x
Klipsch 5.1 Speakers
Two LG 915FT+ monitors
Microsoft Intellimous Explorer 3.0
Microsoft Natural Keybaord Elite

Microsoft XP Professional
Office XP Professional

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

If this guy's running you almost $3000, I'd back off a little. It's not worth it, putting that much into a PC, IMO. I'd put maybe $1500-1600 into it tops, and save the rest for upgrades, maybe a nice chair, comp. desk, something like that. For the first couple months it'll be sooo cool having a $3000 PC that will burn everything else out there, but buyers remorse'll start kicking in when you discover that a system that cost half as much will do a comparable job.

For instance.. do ya need an aluminum case? Do ya need the extra 56x CD-ROM? Do you need one of the most expensive Ti4600's? Do ya need to spend the extra cash on the Audigy Platinum over an OEM Audigy? Any chances on overclocking? Do ya need $300+ 5.1 speakers in a dorm? (not sure if it's quiet or loud or whatever, but either way.. those mamas are expensive compared to, say, Logitech's solution) You can get Office and XP at a very good price if ya 'shop around' a bit, and that'll save some cash as well.

I guess since it'll be used for CAD, ya wouldn't wanna skimp on the monitors. If you're gonna be doing a lot of 2d work on dual monitors, a Radeon might be a more prudent choice.

Oh well, just my more than 2 cents.

 

[ivan2]

if its the first computer you will build and you are alone without help i suggest you go intel solo. i am in college too and have built 3 PCs myself even though the AMD one is the fastest but also the most unpleasent one since the mobo just broke on me. going for P4 1.6A and i845 may cost the same as Athlon or even cheaper minus the heatsink. because intel is easier to overclock you might also save a lot of time configuring.

depends what college you go to but what some people need in college is a solid computer(not necessary fastest) and MASSIVE storage. well for me i have 140Gigs combined and i think it will be enough for this and next year but dont take my word for that, as the movies are growing in size and numbers, you will see what i mean when you gets there

for the video card part i am afraid you should hold it by now as the school wont be open until sept. and that's when R300 and NV30 is about to release, well if you wanna get some action in summer before you go then i agree with your choice of gainward, im using their GF3, quality stuff.

 

[cbuchach]

If you are planning on purchasing Windows XP and Office XP you might want to check if your college has any deals on software. I am a grad student at the University of Iowa, and I have avaliable to me these above-mentioned software packages at ridiculous discounts. I can get Windows XP and Office XP (full, non-upgrade versions) each for under $10. I have no idea where you are going to college, but many universities have software discount programs which could save you several hundred dollars on the overall price of your machine.

Also, I might add that your system config looks good, but you could easily shave several hundred dollars by not necessarily purchasing the "best" available AMD system. You know, drop a speed grade or two on your processor and go for a little less-expensive video card. This way you can upgrade to a new Thoroughbred or Barton Athlon in the next few months.

 

[handoverfist]

I agree with mistatastycakes... you could get a comprable computer for half that price. As far as speakers go, I have the logitech z-560's and they are the best bang for the buck, imho. They get plenty loud / clear and the bass is some of the best I've heard in comp systems. I would lost the additional cd-rom also.


P.S. I just finished my first year of college... save the rest for beer money

 

[ivan2]

Originally posted by: cbuchach
I can get Windows XP and Office XP (full, non-upgrade versions) each for under $10.

make sure the "discounted" portion isn't already included in your tuition... rofl

 

[StevenF]

BTW, I'm going off to the University of Southern California. I look into some cheaper stuff like you guys said. Also, I don't drink alcohol, can't stand the tast of it. Now coke on the other hand is a completely different story. I forgot to say that the college uses and Ethernet and I'm hoping what the MB has in it already will work.

 

[Budman]

Also, I don't drink alcohol, can't stand the tast of it.

You're going to college,that will soon change.

 

[erub]

I'm going with an Intel rig, somewhere between the 1.6A-2.0A, once the new motherboards come out (the chipsets have already been released) and come slightly down in price and a consenus forms on what is the best. Debating about whether to go DDR or RDRAM, but it appears that RDRAM is the way to go performance wise (although you give up some OC potential). Get a retail chip and some Arctic silver, and overclock with the retail HSF..nice, quiet and stable

The case & powersupply seem a bit overkill, but I know that a lot of high quality power is required for AMD systems. I'm going to get the Evercase from Newegg, it seems to be excellent, totally screwless and with front USB ports even. You can get it WITH a 300W powersupply for $57 shippied, or for $41 without a powersupply, if you want to go overkill on that.

My friend has the Platinum Soundblaster Live 5.1..your paying huge bucks for Live Drive, which to me would be a waste of cash. I also think its kinda unsightly.

 

[dexvx]

You're going to college,that will soon change.

I'm 1 year into college, and I absolutely hate the taste of 90+% of alcholic goods, especially beer.
LCD monitors will save you space no doubt, but you're gonna have one hell of a time trying to game (well I suppose it depends on the game type)