Alright TOTA's the time has come for me to finally get a new PC.

After working hard all summer (well not all summer, from June to the end of August ) Im rewarding myself with a new PC.

I need some suggestions on what people have had good experiences with, bad experiences, etc. etc.

I want to get something that's going to be fast, but it doesn't have to be the newest technology (which is always grossly overpriced for not a whole lot of a difference).

What Im most concerned with is my processor, motherboard and videocard.

My biggest debate is between getting an AMD or an Intel processor.
I find lots of my friends who are all into computers suggest AMD, but something tells me that most of them don't actually know if either is better, they just say it is because Intel is the mainstream and want to be different . IVe been searching online to find out the big difference between the two are and how two in the same price range compare to eachother.

What I NEED is the following:
CPU
Heatsink + fan (nothing fancy, under $30)
Motherboard (would prefer one with IEEE)
RAM (512+)
Video Card (128mb, tv out)
Hard Drive (120 - 160gig, under $200)
Soundcard (nothing fancy, under $100)

Price range: $1300 - 1600

Those are the essentials. I don't NEED to get a new case, CDRW, or dvd drive, but they aren't compeltely out of the equation. If i got any/all of them i wouldn't be looking to spend more than $150 - 200 on them all combined.

Don't need a monitor, keyboard, speakers, etc. etc... just the guts.

Im also looking for any potential deals and sales going on. More than likely Ill pick up most of the stuff from Canada Computers unless someone can steer me to lower prices.

Thanks in advance

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http://kidlax.vibez.ca
Go there, it's what all the cool kids are doing
Bear with me while the site goes through some major construction

sound blaster audigy OEM = 88$ at canada computers

just picked one up myself

Go HERE

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Und ich tanz einfach weiter...

If you will be working on music productions on your PC you should ALWAYS go with Intel.


PCCanada
KV

Yes Play Computers

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"When your spirit is floating down that tunnel towards the light, you know what's behind the light? It's not God, it's me. And im gonna kick your poncey soul all the way back down the tunnel till you choke on your own fucked up ribs. NOW, wake the fuck up!"

If you don't plan on playing ANY video games (from say 2002 to recent at least), check out www.canadasys.com they have VERY cheap prices on prebuilt systems. however it usually includes a piece of junk ECS 64mb video card which wouldn't play crap in terms of high intensity graphics (photoshop and similar programs would be fine).
Also the price doesn't include a monitor.

my pick for budget:

Athlon XP 2600+ $549

Asus A7V8XX ( 8XAGP ) Mainboard
256M DDR333 RAM
ECS 64M AGP Video Card
80 GB 7200r HardDrive
1.44M FDD
ATX 300W CASE
CD-ROM
56K MODEM
Sound Card on Board
Altec Lansing Speaker
PS/2 Keyboard
PS/2 Scroll Mouse

best pick:

Intel P4-2.8G(800) $1239

ASUS P4P800 Mainboard
512M DDR800 Memory
MSI 64M MX440-T8X AGP( 8X )
80G / 7200rpm Hard Drive
1.44 Floppy Drive
Aluminium P4 CASE
( Major brand power supply )
LG 16X DVD
LG 52X CD Re-Writer
56K MODEM / On Board Sound
Altec Lansing AVS 300 Speaker
Logitech Deluxe Access Keyboard
Optical Mouse

p.s.-> the store is located in scarborough just for you! (LOL)

www.pricenetwork.ca

nuff said !

(ps. you won't regret it!)

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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

The company I work for (my friend's company) sells computers as well as other stuff, if you want to PM me with some of the details I can give you a quote.

quote:

I want to get something that's going to be fast, but it doesn't have to be the newest technology...

Just go with AMD XP chip... they are cheaper than P4's and perform just as well, in most apps even better, and they are hell of a lot cheaper too.

And if you're looking for deals, just grab a copy of Canada Computes (I think that's what it's called) and browse around... I've checked one out recently just because a friend of mine wanted to buy a new system, and I've seen a whole bunch of deals going on for like $600-800 going for some mad systems.

Remember, unless you're gonna go heavy on audio/video editing apps or some database apps, you don't need more than 512MB of RAM. So get yourself 512MB of the fastest DDR RAM, Athlon XP 2600 or something along those lines, a decent motherboard, and spend the money that you'll be saving from a P4 chip on a fassssst SCSI Hard Drive... these babies make a whole lot of difference!

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Keep it real, and stay single, always mingle...

quote:

Originally posted by Flec sound blaster audigy OEM = 88$ at canada computers just picked one up myself

100 bucks for Audigy 2 OEM: www.ncix.com

quote:

Originally posted by fantom Just go with AMD XP chip... they are cheaper than P4's and perform just as well, in most apps even better, and they are hell of a lot cheaper too. And if you're looking for deals, just grab a copy of Canada Computes (I think that's what it's called) and browse around... I've checked one out recently just because a friend of mine wanted to buy a new system, and I've seen a whole bunch of deals going on for like $600-800 going for some mad systems. Remember, unless you're gonna go heavy on audio/video editing apps or some database apps, you don't need more than 512MB of RAM. So get yourself 512MB of the fastest DDR RAM, Athlon XP 2600 or something along those lines, a decent motherboard, and spend the money that you'll be saving from a P4 chip on a fassssst SCSI Hard Drive... these babies make a whole lot of difference!

Sorry, but after XP2400+, the price difference is negligble, if even existent. If you're going faster than 2.4GHz, go Intel for sure.

I suggest an i865 chipset based motherboard, paired with a 2.4C P4 chip. Snatch a Raddeon 9600 Pro along with it, and the Audigy 2 OEM I mentioned. You won't regret it. 800FSB, wicked CPU for the price, and the video card is awesome (but not the best, like you mentioned). Just one thing: you need 2 sticks of 400MHz RAM if you want to utilize the dual-channel settings of the chipset. PM me if you have questions, I really briefed this here...

Well just like some people here want to build a new computer. I've been thinking of doing the same for the past few months. My main uses will be word processing, music and the net. But i also want to play some high end games such as counterstrike, half life 2 and GTA 3 etc.

So what would you guys reccomend?

as for things like cd ROM's and CD RW drives i don't need since i'll just add my old ones, as well as the speakers since i have a nice logitech 5.1 system.
Oh and the processor speed i'm looking for is like 2.6 GHz :P

___________________
"When your spirit is floating down that tunnel towards the light, you know what's behind the light? It's not God, it's me. And im gonna kick your poncey soul all the way back down the tunnel till you choke on your own fucked up ribs. NOW, wake the fuck up!"