I just bought a computer any input on this

[jimnyc]

Hmmm, I almost always build my own box. I almost always (for the last few years) use ASUS motherboards (which it appears that you are using here - which one? I really like the A7N8X deluxe I'm running, but there may be something better out now). That 3000 XP is the new one with the 512mb cache (barton chipset)?

I usually build my own boxes too. The deal on this one was so cheap that it wouldn't have paid to buy everything separately and slap it together. The MB does have 512mb cache and I'm awaiting an email reply for the exact model #.

I'm not a big fan of the integrated graphics cards, except as a backup. I don't know about this one, but so far I've never seen one that was competitive with current sub-$200 cards. Right now, I think the ATI 9800 pro card is the best bang for the buck (or the SE version which can be soft-moded to near Pro performance using 3rd party Omega drivers - which I use anyway as they are excellent). However, unless you are going to use the box for 3D gaming, it won't matter.

I am currently using the Radeon 9200 and I'll just move that over to the new system.

I'd guess around $550-$600 w/o OS? Maybe a little less. It's hard to say w/o knowing exactly which m/b and the brand/model of ram and hard drive.

Kingston memory (3200 DDR), WD hard drive. No O/S, but I have XP Pro. The cost was $329 ($399 shipped).

The one thing that concerns me in this system spec is the powersupply. In todays world i would not consider anything less than 450 watts, and 550 watts is a better minimum.

Good luck Jimmy!

Wade.

I'm running 2 hard drives, a cd-rw, dvd-rw and a dvd-rom in addition to the MB now with a 350 PS. I agree it should be higher, and may upgrade if it comes to it, but I'll be running less on this new system. I'll have to use some utilities to monitor it and decide down the road.

Thanks!

 

[wade]

Wow - at that price you can hardly go wrong! Spend $35 for a new 500w powersupply and you're set. Maybe add a couple of fans.

Sounds like a great deal to me. You're paying for the CPU, m/b, CD-ROM, Floppy, and the case - the rest is free!

One last ? - Warranty?

Wade.

 

[Trinity]

If I'm not mistaken he said he had a GF4 card on his old box, and a TNT2 card on the new one. Why not just swap them?

GeForce 4 Ti4400 - NV25 275 MHz core, 128 MBytes 275(550) MHz 128-bit DDR memory, NV25 chipset with pixel and vertex shading, yada yada yada...

My guess is the system has a 4x AGP slot so it cannot take a much better card anyway. And since khafley is clearly on a budget here, he/she should be spending precious dough on another 256 mb of ram!

Just my opinion.

Wade.

uuuuurrrrhhhhmmmmm(clearing throat) khafley is a female thank you very much.







No, I'm really not offended!

 

[eric]

Khafley,

If I could make one suggestion, I would dump Window ME ASAP ! We manage thousands of systems in NY alone, and Win Me has proven nothing but trouble.

 

[wade]

I used ME for years w/o any problems. I used 98SE before that, and noticed no real difference.

This seems to be system dependant, on some boxes ME does have problems, but on others it is fine.

I'd use 98SE over ME just to avoid the risk it might give problems on a new machine. However, the ability to do system restore on ME is a point in its favor.

Wade.

 

[eric]

Why not just use Win2K pro ?

 

[wade]

Why not just use Win2K pro ?

Then why not just upgrade to Win XP? I've seen Win XP pro is now selling for about $50.

My assumption was that any OS change would have to be free. Win 98SE is pretty much available for free now days, so many having upgraded to XP.

Wade.

 

[eric]

Then why not just upgrade to Win XP?

Wade, I don't have even enough time to list all the different reasons. All one needs to do is take a look at the Windows operating systems corporate market shares for a clue.

There are many compatibility issues with XP that you just don't find in 2K.

I think our approach to IT is fundamentally different, I see it from a corporate as well as technical point of view, where time is valuable, and money is too, but is available when necessary.

 

[wade]

Ya, I come from the engineering group that has to live with the decisions of the IT boys. Ever try to get a Dell serial port to run at 5 baud? Ever watch the IT boys scratching their head because they have not yet "approved" installation of a serial card into a Dell because it has 4 onboard serial ports? Ever had to explain to them that no, you could not wait 2-4 weeks for them to test a variety of cards and choose one as your drop dead date for firmware is only 10 days away? ;-) (just kiddin ya - I had a hard time with the IT idiots at a Fortune 50 company I was consulting for).

I understand where you're comming from, but it's kind of like the argument for Linux. It all makes sense from a certain point of view, but I don't think that is the consumer point of view. For the consumer XP is the current OS, and if you're not going to upgrade to that and you already have 98SE (or ME), it really does not make sense to spend money on 2K.

Wade.

 

[eric]

Understandable. I have been on all sides of the fence. From engineer to upper level management, so yes I have seen IT from different points of view. As an engineer my priorities and ideas came from a purely technical nature, a perfectionist at heart; what was the BEST way to accomplish the task put forth with very little concern for anything but utilizing the best methods and technology. On the other hand as a CEO these had to change; profits, time, corporate perception, and a host of other factors started to play out in my mind. No longer was I afforded the luxury of free thought from the past. The board of directors demanded results and we had to deliver.

 

[wade]

Understandable. I have been on all sides of the fence. From engineer to upper level management, so yes I have seen IT from different points of view. As an engineer my priorities and ideas came from a purely technical nature, a perfectionist at heart; what was the BEST way to accomplish the task put forth with very little concern for anything but utilizing the best methods and technology. On the other hand as a CEO these had to change; profits, time, corporate perception, and a host of other factors started to play out in my mind. No longer was I afforded the luxury of free thought from the past. The board of directors demanded results and we had to deliver.

Well, I understand that perspective. But my experiance is that in large companies the IT guys generally seem scared that everyone is trying to steal their power or discredit them. In the example I gave, we needed to be able to operate a 5 baud serial connection (yes FIVE BAUD) in order to initiate comms with certian automobile computers. The Dell onboard serial port simply could not be configured to go down to that speed, so a serial port card needed to be installed otherwise the job was on hold, and given that there were only 10 days (including the weekend) before the roms were supposed to be delivered for Q/A at a seperate facility, this needed to dealt with immeadiately.

Instead of recognizing the situation and making an exception, these IT guys insisted that "it cannot be done" because it was not in their protocol. But, with $17 million riding on an on-time delivery you would think they'd realize they had to make an exception. Instead of solving this problem quietly and quickly, they forced me to go up the chain and get the company VP to order them to authorize the purchase and installation of the needed $20 part. Of course after that they became impossible to deal with, blaming me for making them look bad. But, when I am hired as a consultant to come in and pick up a work in progress that has fallen way behind and get it working on an extremely tight timeline after the engineer who had had project quit, I have no choice but to do what is needed to make that deadline. So from my perspective, they made themselves look bad.

It is one thing to want "the BEST" equipment to accomplish the task at had. That is rarely needed. It is quite another situation when you need equipment that is capable of accomplish the task at hand and find you don't have it.

At some companies the IT guys are cool, they understand their role is to facilitate smooth operations of the other parts of the company. At other companies, these guys seem to think they are gaurdians of an ivory tower.

Wade.