Recommendations on components for a new system???

[BChico]

I just got an email from a friend asking me to build him a computer... I just wanted to make sure i am getting the latest stuff for him.

This is what he is asking for:

2.0 ghz (or faster) I guess i would have to go with a P4 2.0, but i would rather get him a xp1900+. The P4T still at the top of p4 mobos?
80 gig hard drive (or larger) Um...the WD 100 or Segate 80???
512 mb RAM Crucial.
dvd-rw drive No idea, arent these still 500?!? I guess pioneer right?
64 mb graphics card Probably GF3 Ti 500 or 200. Are there any new GF3 coming out in near future?
decent sound card Audigy gamer, or just a sblive digital.
nice speakers Klipsh 4.1 or 5.1, what is something a little more cos effective?
network card Generic.
good flat screen monitor Something samesung.
Printer ???
Scaner ???

The only problem is that he only wants to spend 1500, i have to talk to him because he isnt going to get a setup like that for that cheap.

Could you guys also give me ballpark figures on the hardware you recommend.

Thanks again!

Edit (Already):

This is what i currently have selected:

Pentium System:
INTEL PENTIUM 4 2.0GHz 400MHz FSB SOCKET 478 PROCESSOR
Asus P4T-E i850 P4 Skt 478 RDRAM ATX Motherboard
Hercules 3D Prophet III Titanium 500 64MB AGP DVI with Tv-Out
CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY WITH 1390 4
KINGSTON KVR800X16-16/256 RAMBUS 256MB 800MHZ NON-ECC
SAMSUNG 955DF 19" (WHITE) CRT MONITOR
Seagate Barracuda IV 80GB 7200RPM ST380021A Hard Drive
Pioneer DVR-A03 DVD-R/RW Writer
3COM 905CX-TXM PCI 10/100 network card
Logitech''s THX certified Z560 4.1 surround sound system
Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Keyboard and Mouse Bundle
PIONEER 106S 16X DVD 40x CD-ROM 256k buffer SLOT LOAD
Silver Explorer III Case w/350w
SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE
3COM US Robotic v.90 56K Modem Model 2977

$2600

AMD System:

AMD ATHLON XP 1900+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU
EPOX EP-8KHA+ VIA Apollo KT266A 200/266 MHz Motherboard
Gainward/Cardexpet GeForce 3 Ti200 (NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 200 GPU)
CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY WITH 1390 4
Crucial DDR PC2100 modules 256MB
SAMSUNG 955DF 19" (WHITE) CRT MONITOR
IBM EIDE HARD DRIVE 60GB 7200RPM MODEL
PLEXTOR 161040A PLEXWRITER 16x10x40 CDRW
3COM 905CX-TXM PCI 10/100 network card
Logitech''s THX certified Z560 4.1 surround sound system
Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Keyboard and Mouse Bundle
PIONEER 106S 16X DVD 40x CD-ROM 256k buffer SLOT LOAD
Silver Explorer III Case w/350w
SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE
3COM US Robotic v.90 56K Modem Model 2977

$1700

Any suggestions?

Missing anything?

Questions:
When do the amd 2000+ come out?
Is it ok to by oem amd chips, are they of any lesser quality?

 

[ku]

OMG, tell him to go with the athlon 1900 as pentiums suck. yell it to him in his face. Show him benchmarks.
I have the seagate baracuda iv 80 gig and it is quiet as hell. If he is looking for something quiet, get him the seagate. If not, get him something else with better performance.
RAM costs a lot these days, sux doesnt it?
He wants a DVD-RW? I don't know much about these but I would suggest getting it from a brand name.
I'd say get him the radeon8500. I've worked with the radeon8500 and GF3, and radeon8500 blows the GF3 out of the water quality and price wise.
I'd suggest getting him an audigy card. It's really up to him whether he wants gamer, mp3, etc.
Can't help u out with speakers.
Don't get a generic network card. Get something nice (3com or intel if possible). If you can't afford a nice one, get something that is widely used.
SAMSUNG 955DF! kicks arse... own one myself

He definately won't get anything that cheap with a pentium 4, and nice speakers and nice sound card and that dvd-rw. the dvd-rw itself will cost almost 1/3 of the money he wants to spend.

 

[Daovonnaex]

2.0 ghz (or faster) I guess i would have to go with a P4 2.0, but i would rather get him a xp1900+. The P4T still at the top of p4 mobos? If you absoluteley must get a P4, wait for the Northwood cores. Try explaining that the Athlon Palomino is actually FASTER. Personally, I like the Abit KG7-II for P4 mainboards, but I don't know too much about P4 mainboards.
80 gig hard drive (or larger) Um...the WD 100 or Segate 80??? The Wester Digital Caviar WD1000 is definitely better.
512 mb RAM Crucial. Since he's not overclocking, I'd go with Kingston or Viking, both of whom make fine memory that is cheaper than Crucial.
dvd-rw drive No idea, arent these still 500?!? I guess pioneer right? They're about $400 now, and Pioneer is the best.
64 mb graphics card Probably GF3 Ti 500 or 200. Are there any new GF3 coming out in near future? Get a Gainward Ti450 (Ti200), or the Gainward Ti500 (actually a Ti200 with 128mb ram) and overclock it past Ti500 levels.
decent sound card Audigy gamer, or just a sblive digital. The Acoustic Edge can be found cheaply on ebay, otherwise go Audigy OEM or Santa Cruz OEM.
nice speakers Klipsh 4.1 or 5.1, what is something a little more cos effective? Logitech's 4.1 speakers are as good as Klipsch 4.1 speakers and cheaper.
network card Generic. Get a mainboard with built in ethernet, like an nForce board or a Soyo Dragon+.
good flat screen monitor Something samesung. Waste of money. CRTs are better and cheaper.
Printer ??? The Canon S630 is cheap and offers fine performance.
Scaner ??? I don't know anything about cheap scanners, sorry. I only know about high-end ones.

 

[BChico]

^^^

 

[neutralizer]

1. Yeah I would go for the XP 1900+, or you can overclock the other XP models. If you wait till January, you can probably get the 2000+ as well.
2. For Athlon, I would go for the new KT266A boards, like the EPoX, Shuttle, MSI, Asus, Abit, or Soyo.
3. Yeah, get the Seagate.
4. You can get KingMax PC2700 if you want.
5. What's the point of buying a dvd-rw drive. Wouldn't you rather buy a high quality cd-rw drive.
6. You can wait the the NV25 coming out soon. The Ti200 has a good price/performance value and you can overclock to GF3 speeds. I wouldn't go 8500. Even though, it's better, I hate dealing with cruddy drivers.
7. Go for the Audigy. OEM can save you a lot of money though.
8. You can get the Creative Inspire 5700.
9. 3C905CTX or 3C1000, not generic.
10. Go for a big, high quality monitor, preferable CRT.
11. Anything good for a printer.
12. Same as above. Can't help you here that well.

 

[BChico]

<< 6. You can wait the the NV25 coming out soon. The Ti200 has a good price/performance value and you can overclock to GF3 speeds. I wouldn't go 8500. Even though, it's better, I hate dealing with cruddy drivers. >>



NV25? That like the GF3?

TI200...overclock to GF@ speeds... Isnt it already a GF3, what do you mean?

 

[Bovinicus]

Motherboard: Go with the Abit TH7 if he wants to overclock and tweak. If not, the ECS P4ITA will save some cash. If he ends up going with an AMD CPU, I would go with the EPoX 8KHA+. It's in my system now running fast and reliably.

CPU: For the P4 I would suggest a 1.8GHz. It is offering a pretty good price/performance ratio right now. If he goes the AMD route, the 1700+ is a good buy.

Memory: Crucial doesn't make RDRAM, but that would be the company to go through for DDR SDRAM if you go with an Athlon. If you go with the P4, Samsung is top dog.

Harddrive: The WD 1000BB is the way to go.

DVDRW: Tell him to hold off on DVDRW's for the time being. There are two competing technologies that he can go with. One might completely win out over the other, then it will be tough for him to find the media for it. Plus, he will save money down the line. Just go with a Liteon 24x CDRW for the time being. Or, if he is an intense audophile, the Yamaha 24x.

Video: The GF3 Ti200 or regular version should do the job. The Radeon 8500 might also be worth looking into.

Sound: Audigy. Maybe Turtle Beach.

Speakers: Not really sure, but I have the FPS1800's, and they are pretty decent sounding for $100. They also get quite loud (Without getting distored) for such small speakers with low wattage.

NIC: Linksys LNE100TX, it's cheap and better than a generic card.

Monitor/Printer/Scanner: I'm not going to pretend I'm knowledgeable here. I don't really know.

Northwood is already out, although I only see it available at one retailer, and it costs around $700. Just get him a Socket478 motherboard with a 1.8GHz. Then, he can upgrade to the Northwood later on.

 

[Lord Gwynz]

From the many reviews I've read, the $150 Logitech z560 speaker setup rates highly up there along with the more expensive $400 Klipsch's, so they may be a good alternative.

 

[BChico]

^^^

 

[Atlantean]

WHy not go with dual athlon 1900+'s?

 

[BChico]

I want to try to get it close to 1500, plus the 1900+ beats out the pentium 2.0 anyway.

 

[Atlantean]

Only $1500? Then skip the dvd rw drive. And isn't a 2 Ghz p4 really expensive? YOu could probably get 2 athlon xp1800+ chips for the same price, but the mobo for it may be expensive, I am not really sure because I haven't really looked at prices for p4 parts.

 

[BChico]

Yeah the P4 is really expensive, look at the difference in cost of the systems, its around $1000.

 

[BChico]

^^^

 

[pcclub2000]

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 1900+ or wait for XP 2000+ next year
Motherboard: Elitegroup K7S5A
You can get both for $306 + 16.85 shipping from pcboost.com

Cooler: Thermaltake Volcano 7 Thermal Sensor Control $19 + $7 shipping from ENPC.COM
FAN: 80mm Case FAN
Case+p/s: Big-Tower + 350W or 400W power supplies
cd-recorder: Do you really need a DVD-RW??? I think a CD-RW is enogh. Ricoh MP7200A 20x10x40 is very good or Sony 24x10x40 (Staples has it on sale for $129-$25 of $100 coupon-$30MIR=$75)
DVD: Toshiba 16x48 is better. You can't play the smaller cds with pioneer
videocard: Gainward Geforce 3 TI 200 or ATI Readeon 8500
soundcard: Soundblaster Audigy Gamer
printer: HP photosmart 1115 (staples has it for $199 + something to make it over $200 - $40 of $200 coupon=$165

Price: PRICEWATCH.COM

 

[BChico]

^^^

 

[Atlantean]

All my prices are from newegg.com, probably could find better ones though:
TYAN Tiger MP - $199
AMD ATHLON XP 1900+: $500 for 2 or you could get 2 ATHLON XP 1600+'s for $266
Pioneer dvd rom: $70
Case: Get him whatever you think would be best for him. although the antec SX1030 is a nice one and can be had for $88
Logitech Z560 are very nice speakers and cost $140
ATI All in wonder radeon 8500 is very nice, but costs $318, you could always go with a regular Radeon 8500 for $179
Seagate Barracuda IV 80GB is $157
LITE-ON LTR-24102B-02 24x10x40 CDRW for $82
SAMSUNG SyncMaster 700NF is $229, but he may want a bigger one
2 sticks of crucial ddr ram for $124 for both
I wouldn't bother getting a scanner
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Xgamer for $84
then add like $150 for shipping and other miscellaneous items that he may want, and just go to best buy or something to get a printer.
Grand total is: ~$2141 for the one with dual 1900+'s and radeon aiw 8500 or $1768 for the one with dual 1600+'s and a radeon 8500.
Not too bad of a price, and you can find better prices elsewhere but that is a pretty good system.

 

[BChico]

What kind of performance difference will you see with single vs. dual processor?

 

[anime]

depending on applications. But at the most is about 30%-50% difference I would think.

 

[bacteria]

<< Yeah the P4 is really expensive, look at the difference in cost of the systems, its around $1000. >>



foo, the p4 system includes GF3 Ti500, a DVD-RW and a 80gigger.. whatever

 

[BChico]

True, the P4 is 200 more than the amd 1900+, and the amd benches higher.

 

[BChico]

^^^