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Trisk · 08-14-2004, 07:06 PM

Alright...

For the processor...I would say go with a Pentium 4. Don't get a Celeron. You won't need a super-fast one though. 2 GHZ + should be fine, but I believe most places sell 2.8 GHZ as a minimum, so get that.

Even though you won't be gaming, if you plan on multi-tasking, getting 512 ram does wonders. However...for your uses 256 ram is fine.

40 GB is probably fine too. Make sure you get 7200 rpm though. I doubt they try to do this in desktops anymore, but some lower end machines might try to slip in a 5400 (?) rpm hd. Just watch out for this.

Your video card probably won't matter...but I usually try to avoid integrated video cards. It shouldn't cost too much extra (at dell it's $50 extra) to get a seperate Gforce 5200FX video card...but again, for your uses, it probably won't matter too much (it might affect some movies actually, but I'm not sure).

Hmm...if you want a floppy drive, look out for that. It's not a standard part anymore and I always find that useful to have so just make sure that comes with the computer.

As for your sound card...if you want to make sure you get good sound quality, get a Soundblaster Audigy 2. The computer I have right now has a Soundblaster Live! and I find that to be fine, but if music will be one of the main uses for your computer, it couldn't hurt to pay extra for good sound quality, right?
And make sure you get some decent speakers to go with it. Surround-sound ones are useless unless you'll be using things made specifically for them, so getting a nice 2-speaker set for $60 is fine.

Uhh...I think that's it.

Oh...if you want to watch movies and stuff on your computer, bigger is always better for the moniter.

*Edit* I posted that before seeing your second post. I'm not sure if you wanted information other than what I just said...

The difference between AMD and Intel...eh...it's mostly just a matter of personal preference but most people think that the newer Intel Pentium 4s are better than the newer AMD Athlon XP line. HOWEVER, the AMD 64-bit has distinct advantages over the Pentium 4 in some areas. It's really not worth getting the 64-bit though, for what you're using it for.

As for cd-rw drives and whatnot...well, I'd say Dell is your best bet for what you want out of your computer and I don't think dell lets you customize brands for that...

08-14-2004, 07:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
Trisk Insane	Alright... For the processor...I would say go with a Pentium 4. Don't get a Celeron. You won't need a super-fast one though. 2 GHZ + should be fine, but I believe most places sell 2.8 GHZ as a minimum, so get that. Even though you won't be gaming, if you plan on multi-tasking, getting 512 ram does wonders. However...for your uses 256 ram is fine. 40 GB is probably fine too. Make sure you get 7200 rpm though. I doubt they try to do this in desktops anymore, but some lower end machines might try to slip in a 5400 (?) rpm hd. Just watch out for this. Your video card probably won't matter...but I usually try to avoid integrated video cards. It shouldn't cost too much extra (at dell it's $50 extra) to get a seperate Gforce 5200FX video card...but again, for your uses, it probably won't matter too much (it might affect some movies actually, but I'm not sure). Hmm...if you want a floppy drive, look out for that. It's not a standard part anymore and I always find that useful to have so just make sure that comes with the computer. As for your sound card...if you want to make sure you get good sound quality, get a Soundblaster Audigy 2. The computer I have right now has a Soundblaster Live! and I find that to be fine, but if music will be one of the main uses for your computer, it couldn't hurt to pay extra for good sound quality, right? And make sure you get some decent speakers to go with it. Surround-sound ones are useless unless you'll be using things made specifically for them, so getting a nice 2-speaker set for $60 is fine. Uhh...I think that's it. Oh...if you want to watch movies and stuff on your computer, bigger is always better for the moniter. Edit I posted that before seeing your second post. I'm not sure if you wanted information other than what I just said... The difference between AMD and Intel...eh...it's mostly just a matter of personal preference but most people think that the newer Intel Pentium 4s are better than the newer AMD Athlon XP line. HOWEVER, the AMD 64-bit has distinct advantages over the Pentium 4 in some areas. It's really not worth getting the 64-bit though, for what you're using it for. As for cd-rw drives and whatnot...well, I'd say Dell is your best bet for what you want out of your computer and I don't think dell lets you customize brands for that... Last edited by Trisk; 08-14-2004 at 07:16 PM..