Computer suggestions
Peinecone
13-08-2005 12:36:37
CoMpFrEaK
13-08-2005 12:43:35
Get a Hitachi 7k250 hard drive, i wouldnt recommend any Seagate drives over 200gb. The motherboard has built in 8 channel sound so your set there, Nvidia does a excellent job with sound. Case i would recommend the Antec Sonata 2 over the Aspire. Not to mention you get a good PSU with the Sonata.
Video card, if you dont play games much get the cards two generations ago, you can get a 9800 radeon fairly cheap now, if you want a bit more high end get the 7800GT (something like that)
Avenger55
13-08-2005 12:47:28
For a video card in that price range you would probably want to go with a GeForce 6600 GT (assuming you're buying online, in which case it still might be $5 - 10 over 150). A 7800 GT would be way above your price limit.
If you don't want a fancy sound card, you might as well just use the onboard audio on the motherboard (Realtek ALC850 which supports 7.1). If not, an Audigy 2 value should do the job.
Insaniac
13-08-2005 13:51:40
I paid 110$ on ebay for my 256MB ATI Radeon 9600 Pro and I'm pretty impressed with it. It can keep up with Halo pretty well.
As for cooling, I have always used ThermalTake products, they are the best CPU fans Ive ever used.
The built in sound on that MOBO should work pretty good, but if you really want a different sound card I would recommend one of the sound blaster Audigy series.
hehehhehe
13-08-2005 14:44:21
I agree about getting a 6600GT for the vid card. 9800PRO is cheap now too, I got mine for $125 but wish I waited for a dual-DVI 6600GT.
For audio, go with a Chaintech AV710. $24 at newegg. Great audio quality when it comes to music.
For cooling, get a AlCu cooler from Zalman, and try to get quiet 80mm fans and PSU.
tracemhunter
13-08-2005 16:02:53
dont listen to him. stay with the seagate drive. i have the same setup at that with the asus a8n-sli deluxe, 3500+ and 1gb corsair. i would go with the 6600gt. i used to have a 9800 pro in my old pc and it should be at around that price. however, the 9800 pro only comes in agp and the a8n-sli deluxe uses pci-express so the 6600gt is the best deal.
Peinecone
13-08-2005 18:04:11
Alright, i think i will go with this 6600GT card.
http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130214
doylnea
13-08-2005 18:28:05
There's no reason not to get the Seagate drive. The hitachi is quieter but you'll likely never notice the difference. Besides the Seagate has a 5 year warranty. An extra 2 years warranty is worth $12 on a hard drive.
Peinecone
13-08-2005 18:29:28
Actually the hitachi is a few bucks cheaper so i'll probably go with that one.
doylnea
13-08-2005 18:31:30
[quotee8e64aace2="Peinecone"]Actually the hitachi is a few bucks cheaper so i'll probably go with that one.[/quotee8e64aace2]
reread my post.
lakersin2025
13-08-2005 18:38:35
I was about to ask this question too. I want to build my own computer from scratch. Does it cost less to do so? How many of you build your own instead of factory built?
Peinecone
13-08-2005 18:40:28
[quote48672e602f="lakersin2025"]I was about to ask this question too. I want to build my own computer from scratch. Does it cost less to do so? How many of you build your own instead of factory built?[/quote48672e602f]
This will be my first build. I think for the performance, it will be cheaper. I am going with Linux also, so that saves on OS costs.
hehehhehe
13-08-2005 21:39:58
[quotea0b2483b6c="Peinecone"]Actually the hitachi is a few bucks cheaper so i'll probably go with that one.[/quotea0b2483b6c]
Nooooooooo!!
Saving $12 on a Hitachi desk star (aka death star) drive is not worth it (google it and you'll see how many people have had probs). There's a reason why Seagate can give 5 year warranties.
doylnea
13-08-2005 21:51:13
[quote117dce981c="hehehhehe"][quote117dce981c="Peinecone"]Actually the hitachi is a few bucks cheaper so i'll probably go with that one.[/quote117dce981c]
Nooooooooo!!
Saving $12 on a Hitachi desk star (aka death star) drive is not worth it (google it and you'll see how many people have had probs). There's a reason why Seagate can give 5 year warranties.[/quote117dce981c]
bad information here as well. The deathstars haven't been made for years and aren't the HDs being sold here. The point I made before, and I'll have to make again is that Seagate offers a 5-year warranty, and in so doing has forced other manufacturers to up their standard warranty (see WD). An extra $12 for a solid Seagate like that with an extra 2 years of warranty is worth the cost.
CoMpFrEaK
14-08-2005 00:46:24
Whoever says Hitachi are still making bad drives are a complete n00b. The issue dates back to IBM releasing the 60GXP and 75GXP series. Since then many other drives have come out, all of which have excellent relibility, one of the best being the 180GXP. Now Seagate is a different, story, i like Seagate drives that are under 200GB, but once your in the 250-300+ GB the realibility just shots straight down the drain, go read it on storagereview, many people express the same thoughs/experiences as i have just mentioned. 5 year warranty dosent mean much if you have to RMA every year. If its 200GB or below i'd recommend Seagate, otherwise stick with Hitachi.
Tholek
14-08-2005 08:50:13
What would you consider the top 5 HD brands to be? (In order)
I used to think Maxtor was bad, but I see people considering WD even worse, yet I've always heard good things about the Hitatchi's.
slease
14-08-2005 09:40:40
[quote75a6dc5544="Tholek"]What would you consider the top 5 HD brands to be? (In order)
I used to think Maxtor was bad, but I see people considering WD even worse, yet I've always heard good things about the Hitatchi's.[/quote75a6dc5544]
I haven't had a problem with Maxtor HDs since my 80mb one got fried by a lightning storm 15ish years ago. I'm using a Maxtor 120gb 7200 as a usb hard drive and it works well.
CoMpFrEaK
14-08-2005 10:37:45
[quote20cdd69004="Tholek"]What would you consider the top 5 HD brands to be? (In order)
I used to think Maxtor was bad, but I see people considering WD even worse, yet I've always heard good things about the Hitatchi's.[/quote20cdd69004]
Hitachi
Samsung (i havent used one, but havent heard bad things)
Seagate
Western Digital
Maxtor
lakersin2025
21-08-2005 19:47:11
tracemhunter
21-08-2005 19:51:20
WD used to be good. around a year and a half ago when i got my 160. then i got 2 200's from them and they died within months. i then got a maxtor 250 and a maxtor 200 a few months ago and have not had any problems since. i only hear bad things about hitachi and nothing but good things about seagate and the 5 year warranty means quality. i am thinking about getting one of their 300gb externals for music.
Peinecone
21-08-2005 21:23:50
JOSHBOX
21-08-2005 21:34:45
get a 6600 pci-e card and u dont need a sound card sicne the asus deluxe has 7.1 onboard i believe.
lakersin2025
21-08-2005 21:35:54
Good to know. How much did the whole thing end up costing you? About $600 or so?
Peinecone
21-08-2005 21:38:08
[quote03d0183d98="lakersin2025"]Good to know. How much did the whole thing end up costing you? About $600 or so?[/quote03d0183d98]
About $750 with a thermaltake chip fan. That does not include the chip from allthis4free. It was more than i wanted to spend, but i would regret getting anything less than i wanted.
CoMpFrEaK
21-08-2005 23:02:48
5 yr warranty is useless if its not reliable.
Anyways, be prepared for one loud computer wink
xXHasek99
21-08-2005 23:27:30
[quote244c23c348="Peinecone"][quote244c23c348="lakersin2025"]I was about to ask this question too. I want to build my own computer from scratch. Does it cost less to do so? How many of you build your own instead of factory built?[/quote244c23c348]
I am going with Linux also, so that saves on OS costs.[/quote244c23c348]
LoL, seriously? you pay for windows twisted
CoMpFrEaK
22-08-2005 00:15:00
I pay for it, except i get 90% employees discount D
halfbreed
22-08-2005 00:38:29
[quotee8b9916592="CoMpFrEaK"]I pay for it, except i get 90% employees discount D[/quotee8b9916592]
Where do you work
CoMpFrEaK
22-08-2005 00:52:24
[quotec370b87be7="halfbreed"][quotec370b87be7="CoMpFrEaK"]I pay for it, except i get 90% employees discount D[/quotec370b87be7]
Where do you work[/quotec370b87be7]
I dont, but i have ties to Microsoft
Peinecone
22-08-2005 06:42:58
[quote9770fe2b48="xXHasek99"][quote9770fe2b48="Peinecone"][quote9770fe2b48="lakersin2025"]I was about to ask this question too. I want to build my own computer from scratch. Does it cost less to do so? How many of you build your own instead of factory built?[/quote9770fe2b48]
I am going with Linux also, so that saves on OS costs.[/quote9770fe2b48]
LoL, seriously? you pay for windows twisted[/quote9770fe2b48]
Actually, i am going to use a dual boot of Windows Pro and Mandriva LE 64 bit. I got the windows off a torrent.
tracemhunter
22-08-2005 09:32:57
it really depends on the parts he ordered to make his computer loud. i have basically the same setup as him but i bought a thermaltake silence cpu fan (usually runs at around 35-39C), zalman video card cooler (silent), and a antec neopower 480 and all i can hear are a couple of fans and the hard drive. but i dont even use that computer anymore. and yes, newegg is the best. dont use mandriva. it is the version of linux that is most similar to windows. try fedora core 4, gentoo, or freebsd.
Tholek
22-08-2005 10:50:02
[quotefbd47e4d6a="tracemhunter"]WD used to be good. around a year and a half ago when i got my 160. then i got 2 200's from them and they died within months. i then got a maxtor 250 and a maxtor 200 a few months ago and have not had any problems since. i only hear bad things about hitachi and nothing but good things about seagate and the 5 year warranty means quality. i am thinking about getting one of their 300gb externals for music.[/quotefbd47e4d6a]
One of my WD 160s died a couple of months after I got it. Luckily I was able to recover 90% of what was on it.
They sent a refurbed replacement (ugh), which was scuffed and scratched by mounting screws during an earlier installation.
I won't be buying WD again. (Well, maybe if it were $5 ) )
jadem
22-08-2005 11:31:43
Power supply? A lot of the noise comes from the internal fans and the power supply fan. Might want to look into 450W or higher (not sure because I didn't look at the specs for the parts). If you already have a power supply, great. )
stoogepid
22-08-2005 11:40:02
[quotefa75d91175="jadem"]Power supply? A lot of the noise comes from the internal fans and the power supply fan. Might want to look into 450W or higher (not sure because I didn't look at the specs for the parts). If you already have a power supply, great. )[/quotefa75d91175]
Nice ring. wink