As long as you dont use a Mac...

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Originally posted by JohnSmith OK, i could have got the SAPPHIRE RADEON 7500 64Mb DDR AGP4x 2D/3D OEM for $79.73 now. that's over a hundred dollars cheaper, is it still pretty good? but i decided to spend less than $10 more and get the SAPPHIRE RADEON 9200 64Mb DDR AGP8X VGA DVI-I TV OUT for $89.25 instead?

Go with the Sapphire 9200 OEM over the 7500. The 9200 has Direct X 9 features, the 7500 will only have Direct X 7 features, which basically are just graphic effects, options, and improvements compared to older versions. The 9200 will also be faster.

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although i notice that the sapphire version has only 64Mb, while the ati version of the same thing has 128Mb, is that right? there is also the 9200SE 128Mb DDR AGP W/ TV OUT for $83.97 hmm.. double the ram for less money? doesn't seem to make sense, maybe the 64 in the first card is a typo. Anyway, what does SE mean, is it a bad thing? which one would i be better off with?

The 64mb card uses memory that is faster. The 128mb, although has double the memory, it is slower memory. 128MB, in my opinion is overkill, especially when you say you won't be doing much or any gaming.

A quick run down:

Sapphire 9200 64MB: Fast memory
Sapphire 9200 SE 128MB: Slow memory
ATI 9200 128MB: Fast memory

So that is one of the factors in why the built by ATI version costs so much more.

Remember, when you're looking at products on NCIX each product has a mini message board and you can look to see what customers are saying about it. You will often find information like this, and can find out why some products are cheaper.

Run-down of Radeon cards in order of performance, lowest to highest:
7000
7200
7500
9000 (possibly the same as 9200SE)
9000PRO = 9200
8500 = 9100
9600
9500
9600PRO
9500PRO
9700
9700PRO
9800
9800PRO

That's roughly how it goes. Some cards go under different names so I put those on the same row. This is just from my memory when I was video card shopping in the summer. I ended up with a GeForce 4 Ti4200 64MB for $48, and it was retail as well. It was a clearance deal (from Office Depot of all places ) that was most likely a mistake in their pricing system. The card was regular $280! For bargains check out this site: www.PriceNetwork.ca go to the forums for hot deals on computer & electronic parts. There are usually some good deals posted there.

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Originally posted by drizzt81 well the problem is that PSU's are often mislabeled. A shitty 420W psu might just put out 270-300W. So quite often you are better off with a NICE 350W unit than a no-name junk 400W one. It all depends, nobody can tell without testing the supply. Take a look at www.tomshardware.com a WHILE (like two years or so) ago they did some power supply testing. Also, look around on the web, there are PLENTY of web-sites that have PSU reviews and some might even tell you how much power the supply was able to deliver.

OK, i belive you. I won't get the Turbo Gamer one, as it doesn't say what kind of power supply it is (which means it is probably a crappy one)

you seem to prefer ENERMAX, there are 2 available:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=6000 $69.38

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=6051 $99.27

you think i should go for the 431W version? is 81W diference worth $30, i think it probably is.

What are other good power supplies? is ANTEC good? because there is a nice looking ANTEC case with 400W ps combo, that is only $144.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=8621

the link to this PSU's spec's is here
http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_detail...hp?ProdID=25400

There was a pretty good thread descibring the power supply, so i'm thinking it must be OK:
Read if you like

Antec also has the TruePower series, which sound a lot better.

Theres a bit better one with a 380W TruePower PS in it for only $5 more at $189, plus it looks really cool, and is supposed to be a very quiet machine click for specs:

even has front usb and audio ports, would be nice for streaming DJ sets.

Theres also an even better one with a 430W TruePower supply in it for $184:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=8420

antec's 430w truepower spec
http://www.antec-inc.com/pro_detail...hp?ProdID=20430

hmm... so the choice seems to come down to:

spend somewhere between $144 and $184 and get an antec with built in supply

OR

spend $100 on an enermax 431W PS and get some other case without a power supply. Unfortunately, the one i really liked:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=10156
is not available for my mobo

there are others though, i might look into that option if enermax is really "the only way to go" (like technics 1200s for example)

the problem is, there aren't too many cases without powersupplies that are decent. this one is only $54:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=9501
I might get it, although it's pretty lame looking that doesn't matter:

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Originally posted by drizzt81 Pricewatch reveals that there "are" 2GB DDR ram modules, they are 'just' $699+ but there is no guarantee that they will work. Go to the soltek website and look at the specs on your mobo. If it doesn't say that it can support 4GB+ of ram, you won't be able to use them. As soon as you add the third stick of RAM, you will not be able to use the dual channel memory controller anymore -afaik. At least that is the way the nForce works. http://www.amdzone.com/articleview....eid=1334&page=3

yeah, the mobo i am getting doesn't have dual channey memory controller, so that's no big deal. in that case, performance will be the same, whether it's 2 512s, or one 1Gb chip right?

I know for sure it doesn't support 2Gb chips, and they are expensive anyway, so that's OK.

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Originally posted by drizzt81 If you are buying a 400MHz CPU it'd better work at 400MHz with 400MHz ram.. I am sure that you can add this clause to your contract though. Say, if it doesn't run the RAM at 400MHz, you don't want it.

yeah i will ask them about that.

quote:

Originally posted by drizzt81 no ATI's with only 64MB? $86 on top of the price seems like an AWEFUL lot to me.. i'd assume that the 9200 itself is <$100 at this point.

yeah, i switched the video card to a different model, you think that's better now?

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Oh and JohnSmith one more tip for you. Sign up for the NCIX newsletter, it comes once every week or so with coupon codes for items from their store.

Just checked the most recent one from them that I have and the CPU you have selected has a coupon code.

Put in this: 9132-1001
It will knock off 10.5% from the price of the CPU. However it says the coupon is only good until tomorrow.

yeah, i think it's the same sale as the thanksgiving sale.

http://www.ncix.com/promo/thanksgiving.php

they also have this mobo on sale for only $102:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index....13&promoid=1001SOLTEK 75FRN2-L NFORCE2[/url]

which is actually cheaper than the other mobo i was gonna get.

and, it has 6 channel AC97 audio, 8x AGP (i don't think the other one had that), better built in video etc.

damn, now i have to go research that too! this is getting hard.

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both enermax and antec are fine. I do have a little preference for enermax, but that is because I have been happy with them. I also had some antec ones and they were fine too.. either one. I was just saying that a random no-name brand is likely to be shit, getting any of those seems ok.

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I'll be in the market for a new pc soon, and it will need to be an audio work machine aswell (at around 1500cnd). I already have an m-audio delta 44 and a geforce 4.

this is what I came up with (with the help of my friend o0moonman0o):

Pentium 4 2.4C GHz w/ Hyper-Threading Technology Retail $252
ABIT IC7-MAX3 Intel 875P, 800MHz Dual DDR400 $313
Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu AMD Athlon XP/64, Intel P4 $54
2x256MB PC3500 Dual Channel Kit EL-DDR Enhanced Latency $245
Western Digital 80GB w/ 8MB cache $107
Western Digital 36GB S-ATA, 10K RPM $174
LiteOn 52x32x52 (black) OEM $58
Antec SONATA Piano Black Quiet Mid Tower (with power supply) $150
Arctic Silver III Thermal Compound $10

Total: $1363.00
Total (with tax): $1567.55

something is wrong... you should get dual channel 400Mhz ddr not 3fity (350)

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Originally posted by DJ Chrono 2x256MB PC3500 Dual Channel Kit EL-DDR Enhanced Latency $245 Antec SONATA Piano Black Quiet Mid Tower (with power supply) $150

i'm not exactly positive, but your memory sounds a bit too expensive

Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu is $34 on newegg.com and also i just got an antec sonata piano black case 380 watt, possibly the same on you have, for only $95

and $313 for a motherboard, dude, that's a bit too much. it's $213.00 on newegg.com and even for that price it sounds a little bit too expensive, but what do i know.

anyway, go to newegg.com and see about the prices and i REALLY hope you didn't list your prices in canadian $......

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Originally posted by ahlamalek something is wrong... you should get dual channel 400Mhz ddr not 3fity (350)

http://www.ocztechnology.com/produc...00+Dual+Channel

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Originally posted by whiskers i'm not exactly positive, but your memory sounds a bit too expensive Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu is $34 on newegg.com and also i just got an antec sonata piano black case 380 watt, possibly the same on you have, for only $95 and $313 for a motherboard, dude, that's a bit too much. it's $213.00 on newegg.com and even for that price it sounds a little bit too expensive, but what do i know. anyway, go to newegg.com and see about the prices and i REALLY hope you didn't list your prices in canadian $......

Those are canadian prices I listed. They are not too far off the newegg prices if you convert them.

This is just a list I compiled based on prices from http://www.canadacomputers.com the store is local so I wouldnt have to pay any shipping or customs.