Post your PC's specs here! + Discussion about hardware

[nox_xie]

thanx thatguy, can i know.. u now doing degree in japan right?

[arie]

Hi,

I need some help with a new pc.

This is what i was thinking to buy:

Intell E6420
MSI P965 platinium
nvidia 8600GTS/or the GT version.
win XP
My old but good IIyama 17 inch CRT monitor [any problems?]
 
RAM:
2x1GB 533/667mhz [almost same price]
or
2x512mb 800mhz
what is the best option?
Do i need/use the 2x1GB or is 2x512mB also ok.

I'm not going to overclock.

Using for;
watching HP files incuding HD vid's.[and maybe decoding to burn them on DVD ]
Photoshop with RAW files.[for hobby so no need for very fast system]
A little bit of gaming [COD/and older games]

Thanks for the help

arie
   

[thatguy]

^
2x1GB 533/667mhz

there isn't very much performance gain with faster memory unless you intend on overclocking (which you don't). you will get much more out of 2GB of memory, especially with photoshop. plus, before you know it, with a dual-core processor, you will be running more programs at the same time, which will command a bigger need for memory.

thanx thatguy, can i know.. u now doing degree in japan right?

something like that. just a semester abroad (yes in japan) for now, but i'm sure i'll make it over here for a career (and maybe a life) in a few years.

[ferrar1]

lol Your "budget pc for family use" is better than my pc(except for the HDD's). My family pc is my old pc.

900mhz Athlon
512mb ram
radeon 7000 or something
an ugly case and crappy psu that I took from my cousin's old pc
dvd-player
broken cd-r drive

does the job though lol

Yours is probably more for internet surfing and word processing right.

We just had price cuts here in Singapore for AMD and Intel bundles. That's why i went out to make 1. But anyway PC prices are always dropping.

Arie: TG's suggestion is good but i had better experiences running Intel on Gigabyte mobos.

My recommendation for AMD and for non over clocking would be like mine:

AMD 4600+ (mainly because of the Energy Efficient function)
ASUS M2NPV-VM

It was down to S$330 when i got it 2 weeks ago or so.

[arie]

OK,

I'm going for the 2x1GB 667mhz.

Thanks.

[thatguy]

^ yes i also cannot speak for gigabyte motherboards, but that's mainly since i've never worked with them. asus is a great brand to go with (their rev1.0 boards are almost always flawless), and otherwise intel is a rock-solid platform (if a little short on features at times).

[nox_xie]

Those 500GB drives are too expensive for me.  I only buy the cheapest GB/$ drives I can find, which currently are $58 OEM 250GB drives (4.3GB/$).  I've got 11x250GB drives, 10x200GB drives, and 8x160GB drives, for a total of at least 6TB.  All stored in these nifty open silicone sheaths that I buy by the dozen.

All accessed via a nifty USB2 - 2.5"IDE/3.5"IDE/SATA cable.  Plus, misc storage in 2.5" drives, CF, and SD.  And well over a thousand CD-Rs and about half a dozen 100 disc spindles of DVDs.  A rough estimate is that my storage requirements increase at about 10-15GB/day.

Yes, I have a lot of porn

wow.. 6TB.. yum yum.. like server already.. when do u want to host it.. hehe.. i mean the porn la..

this is the biggest as i known.. anyone else who own such bada** storage capacity.. tempting.. i only got 270gb inside my rig..

[frblckstr1]

wow.. 6TB.. yum yum..
--snip--
this is the biggest as i known.. anyone else who own such bada** storage capacity.. tempting.. i only got 270gb inside my rig..

I just bought #28 last weekend (another 500GB) I've stopped counting the TB's but I think that brings it to 9TB total (16* 250GB, 4*320GB, 8*500GB)

Some time last year, someone posted 12TB of storage, that might have increased by now also

[Rick-e]

O_o 9 Terrabytes! phew... that's a LOT of porn xD

I only have 2 SATA drives (160gb & 250gb) and one ATA drive (120gb)

Just bought the 250gb SATA this week so I still have ample space on my system

[frblckstr1]

O_o 9 Terrabytes! phew... that's a LOT of porn xD

Actually... no, all the X-rated stuff I have saved fits easily on 1 250GB.

[nox_xie]

12tb.. wow.. what on earth do this guy store?

Rick-e, how do u connect them all? 28 hdd in one pc is it?

[frblckstr1]

Rick-e, how do u connect them all? 28 hdd in one pc is it?

By the number 28 I think you are asking me?
For me the answer is: they are in external USB boxes, I didn't actually count the two 250GB drives that I use in the computer as 'temporary storage'.

[Rick-e]

Yeah I think he's asking you =)
for me they're all in my computer =p

I also have an old 80gb maxtor ATA drive, and I usually use it to leech files off of my friend :p then I transfer the files to my computer using this ATA-USB adapter.

[nox_xie]

By the number 28 I think you are asking me?
For me the answer is: they are in external USB boxes, I didn't actually count the two 250GB drives that I use in the computer as 'temporary storage'.

haha, sorry for the mistake.. din see b4 posting.. so mr frblckstr1.. all external mean? u hook up everything or just save it later wanna use just plug in the usb? quite troublesome.. i thinking of making one hell of storage rig.. but dunno what case to use(if can cheapo but ok - got fan at least).. use it as a file server..

[frblckstr1]

haha, sorry for the mistake.. din see b4 posting.. so mr frblckstr1.. all external mean? u hook up everything or just save it later wanna use just plug in the usb? quite troublesome.. i thinking of making one hell of storage rig.. but dunno what case to use(if can cheapo but ok - got fan at least).. use it as a file server..

You might want to brush-up on your english and sentence construction, this is getting to be unreadable!
Short answer: they are in external USB boxes because that saves a lot on power.
I use a index file to point me to the disk I need.

[nox_xie]

sorry.. i just translate what inside my head.. wah shock! what crap did i wrote there.. haha.. my mistake..

so all inside usb box.. a good idea.. mind to share some pic.. what's index file? didnt know bout that..

i save all my data inside dvd course hdd full already.. i got 150++dvd worth of anime, videos and movies.. now planning to buy one 500gb.. so each hdd need 35W rite?

[frblckstr1]

so all inside usb box.. a good idea.. mind to share some pic.. what's index file? didnt know bout that..

I'll post a picture later.
The 'index' file is just a 'dir /s' text file of all the disks concatenated, more then enough for my search usage.

so each hdd need 35W rite?

More like 10W per HD unless you use highspeed drives (which I do not find usefull for external boxes)

[zlchn]

I'll appologize if this topic has already been posted here.

background with a sense of what I'm trying to accomplish

I have a 5 year old daughter. Her old hand me down laptop just died. I want to get her a new computer that she can play her games on and listen to music. I'm torn between buying a whole computer system or building one with a barebones kit.

I am leaning toward building one as I think it would be fun and a way to show her what is a computer. I've heard that you can build one for a fraction of the cost of buying a new put together computer.

With that said, I'm nervous about spending money on components and it not working. I want her to have a good computer that she can learn how to use and we can LAN them together and play some game action later on when she gets a bit older.

Here's a kit I just looked up. Is it ok?:

Athlon 64 3200+ Barebones Kit with Mainboard CPU RAM DVDRW More!
Athlon 64 3200+ Barebones Kit w/Mainboard, CPU, RAM, DVDRW and More! 10-Bay XG Sidewinder 2 ATX Mid Tower Case Features:Black with Silver accentsIncludes 450 Watt power
ATX Mid Tower caseSidewinder Snake Logo (slides down to reveal I/O ports!)Case Material: 0.6mm steel
MSI K8N Neo V2.0 H nForce3 250 Socket 754 ATX Motherboard Features: NVIDIA nForce3 250 chipset Socke
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Socket 754 CPU Features: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU 2200 MHz frequency 1600 HT spee
Price:$209.00

Picture of the kit:


I like this Shuttle because it's smaller. I don't know much about the company though.

FX22/VIA K8M8900CE/AMD Sempron/athlon 64X2/4-DDR2

Product Features and Technical Details

    * Model: SK22-G2-BK-V1
    * Hardware Platform: PC
    * form_factor: Desktop
    * processor_maximum: 1
    * processor_upgrade: Upgradable
    * ram_memory_technology: DDR II SDRAM
    * ram_memory_maximum_size: 4 GB
    * raid_level: RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD
    * storage_controller: IDE
    * Floppy Disk Drive: None
    * Hard Disk Description: None
    * optical_storage_device: None
    * removable_storage: None
    * Display: None.
    * networking_feature: Network adapter
    * data_link_protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
    * Width: 7.9 inches
Price: $196.31

picture of the barebone kit:



A couple of questions:

• what is the best site for buying computers?
• what is the best barebone kit to get on a smaller budget?
• How difficult is it to assemble a barebones kit?
• will this computer be stable enough?

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I hope someone can help me.

Zelichan

[chera]

Given your girl is still little and she will be treating the computer a bit roughly, you might want to go cheap and get a second hand case.  That being said...

Athlon 64 3200+ Barebones Kit with Mainboard CPU RAM DVDRW More!
Athlon 64 3200+ Barebones Kit w/Mainboard, CPU, RAM, DVDRW and More! 10-Bay XG Sidewinder 2 ATX Mid Tower Case Features:Black with Silver accentsIncludes 450 Watt power
ATX Mid Tower caseSidewinder Snake Logo (slides down to reveal I/O ports!)Case Material: 0.6mm steel
MSI K8N Neo V2.0 H nForce3 250 Socket 754 ATX Motherboard Features: NVIDIA nForce3 250 chipset Socke
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Socket 754 CPU Features: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU 2200 MHz frequency 1600 HT spee
Price:$209.00

There's no way you need a case with 10 drive bays!  Unless if you want to use it to store lots and lots of video files.  Other than that, the specs seem fine.  But ask yourself what types of games she plays though, because the video card might be overkill.

FX22/VIA K8M8900CE/AMD Sempron/athlon 64X2/4-DDR2

Shuttle PCs are nice and compact, but you pay a premium: prices can be a bit more expensive, and expandability options are limited.  But if you don't want to be adding any extra hard drives or anything, this shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I've had good results with Pricewatch.com and Newegg.com for buyin computers and gear.  No advise about barebones kits.  All I'd recommend is getting a software like Norton Ghost and creating backup images of the hard drive very often.  Oh, and don't get an LCD screen - for some reason, little kids and LCDs don't get along very well.

[ebc]

I'll appologize if this topic has already been posted here.

I've moved your post to the Hardware forum cause it might get more response here.

My advice, ummm just get something 2nd hand. She's only 5 by the time she's old enough to play multiplayer games (if she decides she wants to) then by then even a brand new pc would be obsolete.
But that's just me.