popo

My PII-400 MHz Gateway will finally be put to rest. It's lasted way longer than I ever suspected and over the years only needed a single OS reinstall. I have upgraded just about everything on it... RAM, CD-RW drives (a couple times), added hard drives, etc.

I'd like to buy a customized system (I'd love to one day put a whole system together from scratch but I don't have the time these days) but I'm not sure where to start.

1) I'm considering buying a barebones system like those being sold on tigerdirect but I don't know a socket A from a sock drawer.

2) Do name brands matter anymore when it comes to customized pre-built systems? Tigerdirect is selling Systemax systems that seem reasonably priced. Do I gotta get a Dell, dude?

I'll be using the system for general use plus some video editing. Anything special I should be aware of? Any special site to check out?

My budget is ~$1500 including a 17" flatscreen monitor.

Thanks.

rubicon

If I had a dollar for every time this question was asked at TFP I'd be as rich as Bill Gates. Someone should put up a sticky thread on this but I suppose stuff changes so fast it's probably pointless. Sorry for the rant. On to an answer...

I haven't done any video editing in awhile but "general use" and video editing never went hand-in-hand. Assuming you no longer need an IDE RAID array to keep up the data transfer for capturing and editing, I fallback to your general use need.

Unless you feel like building a box, I'd just go with a Dell. If you want to tweak everything out and have smoke come out the back, you'll probably want to do some reading about the myriad of AMD and Intel chips, FSB, and all the other peripherals. Since you are short on time, this may not be an option for you.

I always buy a name brand, however it's the question of who is a name brand? Asus and ECS are both name brands but I'd never buy an ECS system board based on the experience of others. But do you need to buy a SoundBlaser Audigy instead of using the built-in 6.1 channel audio of an nForce system board? Prollly not.

For me, I recommend Dell for the support. I'm sure we all have horror stories about Dell support but you know there is someone to field your complaint. Systemax might be a fine system (I have no idea) but I'd build my own if I didn't go the route of Dell.

Here's what I have. It's a couple of years old but relatively current as far as Athlon XP systems go.

Asus A7N8X Deluxe (v1.1)
2x256 MB PNY RAM (DDR400)
ATI Radeon 8500
Athlon XP 2000+
80 GB ATA drive (8 MB cache)

It's got built in USB 2.0, Firewire 400, 6.1 audio, and dual 10/100 LAN. It works plenty well for everything including Battlefield 1942.

What would I change? Faster CPU although I'd need to get a new mobo that supports the Barton core of the Athlon XP. Perhaps utilize the SATA RAID controller for faster disk performance. Faster video card. I'd go with a Athlon XP 2800+ and the latest ATI or nVidia card and I'll probably be OK for the next two years.

If I were buying something new? Hmm. Things are still changing with the FSB 800 and new P4s. PCI-Express is all the rage but I'll need to wait for a compatible video card. I'm also waiting for SATA drives to transfer more than 150 MB/sec. So, I think there is some catching up to do on the peripheral side and it'll cost you.

And whatever you do, don't run Windows.

__________________
How you do anything is how you do everything.

Trisk

Barebone systems are not usually a good thing to get because (usually), they try to put lower end parts into them...unless you order it directly from a dealer/shop that lets you tell them exactly what to put in it...
But then, if you're going to do that, you might as well tell them to build you the whole computer.
www.monarchcomputer.com builds both computers and barebones and you can customize everything that goes into the computer, from the PSU to the CPU (brand name, model number, etc) ....but make sure you read some guides or know what you're doing before customizing....(if you don't want to do lots of research, you could take the quick route and read some system buying guides on www.anandtech.com)

Brand names don't matter when it comes to who builds the system. HOWEVER, brand names *do* matter when it comes to the parts that are *inside* your system. Generic hardware is *never* good. And I would only buy a computer from builders that I've heard good things about (and those with good resellerratings)...and if it's a brand you've never heard about, you need to make sure that they're not cutting corners.

Nothing, really, that you should be aware of. I'd avoid hp, compaq, gateway and the like. Dell is okay for your uses. Big hard drive and 512 ram are good for video editing.
Like I said, monarchcomputer.com is supposed to be good. I've heard good things about abscomputers.com as well.

Good luck.

*edit*
Rubicon said "never use windows". I'd have to disagree. If you ever do any type of gaming, it's a pain in the ass to have to run a windows emulator to play them. Windows is a very commonly used OS. The interface is user-friendly. Other people will be familiar with the interface so, if you have a problem it will be easier to get help. Unless you have a real reason not to use windows, I'd say windows is fine.
BTW, I'm not saying this because I'm a huge windows fan. Personally, if I wasn't a gamer, I might use linux. But I always reccomend the popular program to those who aren't aren't hardcore about their computers or who aren't very computer savvy.

Scott

Even though it's a bit odd, as I've never actually done this before through a message board, I do a bit of computer consulting, repairing and such as little 'odd jobs' to make a bit of extra money on the side. If you may be interested in having me order the parts and put the machine together for you, then ship it to you; or perhaps if you just want to talk about that possibility, send me a PM.

Scott

popo

Thanks guys. I appreciate the tips. Coincidently, today I got a Micro Center flyer that has lots of components listed in it. I think I may just head over there to pick their brains this weekend and start comparing prices. I see that they're selling PowerSpec systems, maybe I'll see one that has everything I want.

Scott, I appreciate the offer but I like the idea of walking into the store and plunking down the system/compnent that's not functioning properly. I'll probably ask questions as I go along here. But if you need any dental advice ever.... don't hesitate to ask.

First question:

As I sift through, I'm noticing that 128 MB video cards are sometimes priced very close to 256 MB cards. Is there a brand that's far superior/inferior?

Thanks again.

Trisk

It depends on what you're looking for.
For most uses, 256 memory is overkill on a video card.

Right now, I'd reccomend the 9800 pro by ATI (Sapphire and ATI usually make good models).
Until the 6800, most people agree that ATI's cards were superior to NVidias. The 9800 is decently priced, pretty recent, and unless you have PCI express or play some graphics-heavy games, getting one of the next-gen cards is kind of overkill as well.

popo

How does this configuration from ABS look?

Aspire X-Dreamer II (Black) ATX Mid-Tower Case w/ 350W Power Supply, Model ATXB4KLW-BK/350W (Item#ABS11144026) 1 $12
Logitech Z-640 5.1 Surround 71 Watts with Subwoofer (Item#ABS36121104) 1 $50
BenQ FP767-v2 (Black/Silver) 17" LCD Monitor with Integrated Speakers (Item#ABS24014048) 1 $401
Free UBI SOFT FarCry - Special AMD Bundle Offer - Limited Time Offer (Item#ABS37109001) 1 $0
IntelliMover "Migration Software"-Moves your e-mail; music; photos; files; folders; settings & more! (Item#ABS32188102) 1 $0
ASUS K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU, Model "K8V Deluxe" -RETAIL (Item#ABS13131490) 1 Standard
AMD Athlon 64 2800+, 512K L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - OEM (Item#ABS19103450) 1 Standard
Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Copper Heatsink and Fan for AMD Athlon 64 FX and Opteron (Item#ABS35106036) 1 Standard
Corsair XMS Series 512MB PC3200 DDR400 184-Pin (Item#ABS20145416) 2 pieces $125
MAXTOR 200GB 7200RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive Model 6Y200M0 8MB OEM (Item#ABS22144324) 1 $53
Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce FX5700LE Video Card, 256MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV Out, 8X AGP, Model "A360LETD- (Item#ABS14122191) 1 $64.5
Lite-On 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive Black, Model SOHC-5232K, OEM Bulk Pack (Item#ABS27106932) 1 $14.99
NEC 8x DVD+RW/-RW Drive, Black Model ND-2500A OEM (Item#ABS27152014) 1 $45.99
none Floppy Drives & Media 1 $-12.99
Woet Tsern Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader with USB 2.0 Port (Black) (Item#ABS20177102) 1 $14.99
Aopen Internal 56K V.92 Voice/Data/Fax PCI Modem (Item#ABS25131005) 1 $12
Logitech Cordless MX Duo Keyboard and MX700 Optical Mouse (Two-Tone) (Item#ABS23126124) 1 $36
Netgear MR814 802.11b Cable/DSL Wireless Router - RETAIL (Item#ABS33122011) 1 $44.99
Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack 1a (Item#ABS37110015) 1 Standard
2Net 1 Year 24/7 Tech Support & Onsite Service | (Concurrent with Standard Warranty) (Item#ABS88101201) 1 Standard
Blue 8" x 9" x 6" ABS Mouse Pad (Item#ABS17114110) 1 Standard
ABS Computer System Binder for Organizing Drivers and Manuals (Item#ABS57101101) 1 Standard
FREE ABS Black Tee-Shirt - Size: XLarge with "ABS" Logo in the Front. (Item#ABS00999227) 1 $0

Price with Option(s): $1735.48

rubicon

My comment was a joke - thus the smiley face.

I have two partitions on my system: both Windows XP. One is my primary setup with lots of crap installed. The other partition is my "gaming" one which has a very clean install of XP and no unnecessary processes running.

I'm considering making the break from Windows. I'm tired of never ending critical updates, browser vulnerabilities, and being forced to do everything Microsoft's way. I'll either switch to my PowerBook full-time or play around with a Linux distro. Unless you _must_ have Microsoft Office, OpenOffice will probably suffice. There isn't anything like Microsoft Access for Linux or Mac but you'd be best using anything else. I'm doing some development in Access and what a hassle it's been.

__________________
How you do anything is how you do everything.