New PC search, all help is welcome

[Beerz]

Hey, guys!

My PC died about 2 months ago, and at first I thought it was something simple, but it needs a new motherboard, and because it's old, a new processor.
It's not worth it, really.

So I've saved a bit of cash (by spending most of the nights playing CoD4 on the PS3 instead of getting drunk in bars) and I'm planning to make the purchase within a week.

My monitor's almost new, don't need one.
'Just' the tower with everything in it, except the videocard (is that the name for it?), which is recent also.
I need it mainly for word processing, surfing the web and above all, image editing with Photoshop CS2.

What do you guys think I should get, that's a good powerful combo (MB, cpu, memory, etc.), but within a very reasonable price as I don't need anything top of the line and I won't be playing games in it either?


Thanks in advance for all feedback.

 

[Azuremen]

AMD chipset with an appropriate motherboard (my brand picks are MSI or EVGA) that has PCIe16 and support for at least 4 gigs of ram. Toss in some DDR2-800 ram for gigs, add a graphics card (I have a 7600GT from EVGA), SATA DVD drive and HDD (Seagate). I used a 50 dollar Rosewill case that had a 400W PSU with it. Works fine.

Cost me $400 US, after shipping. Would be cheaper now, since that was back in November.

 

[Beerz]

Cool, that's already useful. 👍
I used to be up to date with hardware and prices, but totally lost interest a few years ago.

I like AMD processors, always have. What speed do you think I should get, that is fast enough for working on the CS2 fast?
I need a fast one, but like I said, no top of the line needed (meaning I can't afford it).

I'm totally oblivious as to the speeds processors are doing now, I stopped checking when a 1.5Ghz (or something like that) was totally awesome and unbeatable...

 

[TB]

Is there seriously 21% tax in Portugal? I built a PC on DELL's site - base price was $541 but after taxes and whatnot it clocked in at $703.

 

[Azuremen]

Cool, that's already useful. 👍
I used to be up to date with hardware and prices, but totally lost interest a few years ago.

I like AMD processors, always have. What speed do you think I should get, that is fast enough for working on the CS2 fast?
I need a fast one, but like I said, no top of the line needed (meaning I can't afford it).

I'm totally oblivious as to the speeds processors are doing now, I stopped checking when a 1.5Ghz (or something like that) was totally awesome and unbeatable...

The specs from my thread when I built my machine.

All right, I have a $500 USD budget for my new computer. I do not need the following: Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers, Monitors.

Case - $54.99
Rosewill Tower, 400W PSU
- Its a good case and PSU that I have used in the past and liked.

Mother Board - $56.99
MSI K8N4 AM2
- Its an AM2 board that Tom's hardware liked, and I like the price on it. Yes, I know it only has 2 Ram slots, but I really don't care because I will NOT run a 64 bit OS for quite some time.

CPU - $61.99
AMD
Athlon X2 3600+
- I know people will go "WTF, noob!!" with me opting for the AMD instead of Core 2 Duo. Find me an Intel Mobo and CPU that has the same performance for this price, and I'll reconsider. Why not a faster one? Because the gain in performance would be better spent on a GFX card and Ram.

RAM - $88.99
G,SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC6400
- Highly reviewed Ram thats normally $40 more. Cost generally = quality in RAM I've found. Tell me otherwise, if its the case.

GFX - $99.99
EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB DDR3
- I don't give a crap about Direct X 10, so don't bring it up as a point for why I should get a 7900, etc. I'm getting this because of the Dual DVI outs and being a fairly good performing card.

HDD - $48.99
Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200RPM Sata
- Its cheap, its SATA, and I know WD are okay.

DVD/CD - $27.99
LG 18X DVD Burner
- Cheap fast like DVD burner. I just need a device that can read DVDs and burn CDs, this does that.

Total - $439.93
With Shipping - $471.98

Basically, its suppose to play games decently, but more over handle large amounts of multi tasking, programming, and media stuff.

The thread can be found here.

I doubt any of the links work anymore, or go to active items, but gives you an idea.

I do a lot in Photoshop and Illustrator CS2/3, and both work fine with plenty of speed, even if both are open at the same time. The only time I've really experienced slowdown was when I had a game going in the back ground. I often have music, downloads, IM, photoshop, illi, and a movie going, plus some 20 tabs in Firefox (I run dual monitors)

Basically, ram is the more important piece if you are doing photoshop work.

If you do want to play games, my setup runs stuff like Half Life 2 at 1280 by 1024 at medium settings at a fairly smooth frame rate.

Feel free to look up stuff and post it here. Many members wouldn't mind giving some feedback.

Though the real question is this: are you building it yourself?

 

[Boundary Layer]

I don't have much advice to give after what Cody has already posted. As it turns out, our two systems are nearly identical, except a few small things like my ram is OCZ Gold and I have a thermaltake case and larger PSU (but, I built mine about a year and a half earlier than he did, and as a result paid about 2.5x the price)

To get some ideas, I would suggest that you check out Tom's Hardware, in particular the New System Build forums. There are always plenty of current threads there about budget systems.

 

[Beerz]

Is there seriously 21% tax in Portugal? I built a PC on DELL's site - base price was $541 but after taxes and whatnot it clocked in at $703.

Yep, 21% on all "non-essential" items. It sucks, mainly because our average income isn't all that great...


Azure - Thanks for the help, and the links still work, although the product isn't available for purchase.


Boundary Layer - Thanks for those links, they also helped. Despite most people there having much bigger budgets than mine.


So, what do you guys recommend? AMD or Intel? How much RAM is enough for smooth functioning? Is DDR3 a must nowadays?

What should I stay away from?

 

[G.T]

I recommend Intel overall since it's the better performer nowadays, especially for what you want to use the PC for. Go for a dual-core processor since that's the standard now.

If you're going to use Windows XP, 1GB of RAM is recommended, if Vista 2GB.

DDR3 is not necessary for what you want to do, especially since it's still expensive.

There isn't really anything very "wrong" you can buy component wise today since the compeition is pretty high, so don't worry too much.

 

[Azuremen]

2gigs is the sweet spot. Well, I would go for 4 with Vista, and then use the 64 bit version, simply because Vista is a pig.

I use Win XP SP2 and I have never had ram issues with the 2 gigs I have.

AMD if you want the best bang for the cheapest dollar. Core 2 Duo's tend to perform faster, but do cost more as well. Though the AMD 5000+ Black edition, from what I hear, is impressive.

Basically, a faster CPU will let you run filters and such more quickly, while more RAM will let you work with more at once and larger files without slowdown.

RAM is always more important than CPU speed, in my opinion. DDR2 is the current standard, DDR3 is hardly needed. You'll have slow down on other elements before the FSB is a major issue, I would think.

 

[G.T]

2gigs is the sweet spot. Well, I would go for 4 with Vista, and then use the 64 bit version, simply because Vista is a pig.

With RAM being so cheap now 4GB would be good, yes, but I've never even gone over 75% RAM usage with Half Life 2, Messenger, Thunderbird and Firefox running at the same time on Vista.

 

[Azuremen]

With RAM being so cheap now 4GB would be good, yes, but I've never even gone over 75% RAM usage with Half Life 2, Messenger, Thunderbird and Firefox running at the same time on Vista.

But then that requires a 64bit OS. Which means Vista. And I still think Vista is nothing more than a gimped XP with pretty graphics.

And yes, I have used it. Been using Vista for the last month and I cannot say my opinion has gotten better; in fact, its only gotten worse regarding Vista.

 

[Beerz]

Thanks guys.

Azure - I forgot to answer the build question before. No, I'm not building it. My old tech teacher (20 years ago) has a computer store and he'll do it for me.

Speaking of which, he game me a combo option like this, according to what I told him I wanted, after reading some of you guys' advices:

case: Thermaltake WING
processor: INTEL Core 2 Duo E6420 (2.13GHz)
MB: ASUS P5LD2-X1333
RAM: Kingston DDR2 - 4GB
HDD: (I think it's Western Digital, not sure) 320GB SataII
Gforce 8400GS 256MB DVI TV OUT
DVD-RW
26-in-1 memory card reader
8xUSB 2.0
2.1 speakers
with original Vista and Office included (yes, genuine)

going for €790 (slightly under $1200 USD)
Remember, tech stuff prices are high in Portugal, so if you're in the US, don't think of it as a 1200 dollar combo, more like a 750 (give or take) dollar combo.

What do you guys think of this one? My friend (yes, I'm a friend of my old teacher) said he'd put it together overnight for me if I wanted to. I explained what I was looking for and he said this one would do just fine, even running Vista.
Should I take this one (seeing as he's already making me a discount - market prices are higher) or keep searching? Should I change any specs?
If you guys think it's ok, I'll call his cellphone tonight and hel'll have it ready for me tomorrow at lunchtime. 👍

 

[Azuremen]

The 8400GS is rubbish in my opinion. Yes, its cheap, but you might as well run an on board GFX solution for how it performs. 7600GT is my recommendation if you want to go cheap.

4GB of RAM will only show up as 3GB at best if it is a 32 bit version of Vista. If thats a 64 bit version, all right.

I've heard some bad things about recent Asus boards, but not sure how widespread those complaints were. The card reader is kind of "meh" since you can get external ones for pretty cheap.

Everything else looks fine, though I would rather have a Seagate instead of a Wester Digital HDD.

 

[Beerz]

Thanks for the heads up, Azure. The card reader, speakers, mouse and keyboard are thrown in, I'm not paying for them.
I took a look at some comparisom tests, indeed the 7600GT greatly outperforms the 8400GS.
Problem is, the 8400GS is available on every single store, and for about 40 euros, whereas the 7600GT, I could only find on a few (none near where I live), and cheapest one I saw was running at 135 euros.
As I don't plan to play 'heavy' 3D games, do you think the 8400GS is ok for the price I'm getting it? I could always get a better one in the future if I feel like becoming more of a PC gamer, I suppose.

As for Vista, it's the Premium version, which I believe it's 32bit. Does this make the extra 2GB redundant?
Remember, price of the pack already includes the 21% tax.

 

[Eric.]

Thanks for the heads up, Azure. The card reader, speakers, mouse and keyboard are thrown in, I'm not paying for them.
I took a look at some comparisom tests, indeed the 7600GT greatly outperforms the 8400GS.
Problem is, the 8400GS is available on every single store, and for about 40 euros, whereas the 7600GT, I could only find on a few (none near where I live), and cheapest one I saw was running at 135 euros.
As I don't plan to play 'heavy' 3D games, do you think the 8400GS is ok for the price I'm getting it? I could always get a better one in the future if I feel like becoming more of a PC gamer, I suppose.

As for Vista, it's the Premium version, which I believe it's 32bit. Does this make the extra 2GB redundant?
Remember, price of the pack already includes the 21% tax.

I agree almost completely with Cody. The 8400GS is the absolute bottom line of the current generation of cards. Does he have any 8500 or 8600s? And with a 32-bit operating system only 3.7GB or so will be usable, at least in XP. Vista may only see 3GB, I have no idea. You can see the specs of my machine below, it runs Vista fine with 2GB of RAM (I'm one of the few who like it, it seems). I'd only put in 2GB for now (a pair of 1GB sticks) and if you need more you could add more later.

Feel free to PM/IM me if you want more help.

 

[Beerz]

Thanks for the input, Eric.

Well, I already have it, and has the same specs I posted above. Turned out at €780. Oh, and it's the 64bits Vista, not the 32, so the 4GB do come in handy. Plus, I can always divert some RAM to the memory card if I need it.

About the graphics card, I've seen the tests and you're all right, it's in the bottom of the food chain on that subject.
But... problem is the price. Everything else is just way too expensive for me at the moment. Plus, as my gaming platform is the PS3, I (at least for now) won't be needing a more powerful card.
To give you guys an example, the 8400GS cost me €40 (about 60USD). The 8500GT, which is just a bit better, already ran at €90 (about 135 USD), and everything above is out of my reach for the present time. For example, the nvidia 8800GTS runs at about €370 and more (about 600 USD where it's cheapest).
I might change it in the future if the need arises.

Thanks to anyone who posted here helping me out, I really appreciate it!
Now, I'm on to discover the wonders of a 'new' Microsoft product...

 

[TB]

Congrats on the new machine. It looks like it'll serve you well for quite a while. 👍

Now, I'm on to discover the wonders of a 'new' Microsoft product...

I've been running Vista on my laptop for about the last 9 months with very few compatibility issues. AutoCAD 2002 didn't want to run at all and Paint Shop Pro 6 has a registry issue but still works. Other than that, I've had no problems. There are, naturally, a few things that I think were better in XP, and there are some that I think Vista does better.

 

[Dead_Poetic]

Dude, PSP 6 is so old anyways. Time to upgrade!

 

[TB]

Dude, PSP 6 is so old anyways. Time to upgrade!

Agreed, but for as often as I use it, it's just fine.

That and it's free.