I need a new rig

Tech questions and answers, video game stuff.

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kcdave
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I need a new rig

Post by kcdave »

For laughs, heres the old rig.

Celeron 366mhz
Win 98
256k ram (up-grade from 64k)
8g hd

MINIMUM requirements for new rig:

Pent 4 3.0Ghz 800 FSB
Win MCE 2005
1G DDR2 SDRAM
160g hd 7200 rpm
17" flat panel (prefer 19")
dual drives dvd burner / dvd drive
256mb g force, or radeon
sound blaster or equiv.
8-1, 9-1 card reader
5.1 surround speaker pkg
wireless keyboard/mouse
decent software - word, excel, outlook

Where can I REALLY get the best deal on this?
Anything Im forgetting?
ElTaco
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Post by ElTaco »

Sup KCDave,

I appologize but I'm kinda drunk. I will hook you up with some deals on monday.

-ET
JKnox
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Post by JKnox »

Make sure you get a good motherboard. Go with ASUS or ABIT

Make sure you take advantage of the dual channel memory by buying two 512 sticks instead of one 1024, of course you could always go with two 1024s 8)

Also if you can get a 2.8 processor with the same specs for much less then the the 3.0 do it. As you can overclock from 2.8 up to 3.2 with no problems provided you're using good memory, have a good motherboard, and good cooling.
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David_Copperfield
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Post by David_Copperfield »

Dave, I just bought THIS last week and it is awesome and a great price too. It's actually cheaper to buy it through best buy than to go through Gateway. I bought a killer graphics card for it too but only because I like to play online games and I also added an ATI Wonder Pro so I can watch TV on my computer and convert my VHS tapes to DVD. Just take my advice and STAY AWAY from eMachines. They are nothing but junk.
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Mister Bushice
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Post by Mister Bushice »

Doesn't gateway come with a lot of shit programs?

They used to be as clean as Dell, but when they sold the company it went to hell. They bundled all this junk in with the software.
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scritti
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Post by scritti »

i just ordered my new power supply replacement thru gateway.
Image
Guess what-I got a FEVAH...and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL
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kcdave
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Post by kcdave »

DC, other than the exact pc you chose, you are basically dead on, with the way Im leaning.

THIS Gateway Pkg is what I have been looking at, at Best Buy. I would also prefer to buy there, if possible.... I have a $300.00 gift card. Also, dunno why, but it is advertised locally, for $30.00 less, than the online price. Same thing from Dell, seems to be about 4-500 higher. Guessing I may have to make a run to Best Buy this week, unless someone here offers up something more attractive.

As for emachines... um they are not even in my vocab. Friggin junk. Although I understand they seem to offer a better product now, than a few years back. Still not interested though.
JKnox
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Post by JKnox »

Is it really the same? Who makes their boards, who makes their memory, who makes their disk drives (if it's western digital you better back up often.). The specs don't mean it's an equivelant machine.
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kcdave
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Post by kcdave »

JKnox wrote:Is it really the same? Who makes their boards, who makes their memory, who makes their disk drives (if it's western digital you better back up often.). The specs don't mean it's an equivelant machine.
Little details like that, are why I am asking people here. If it looks like Jeff Garcia, and acts like Jeff Garcia, it must be gay. Right?
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chargerfan
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Post by chargerfan »

David_Copperfield wrote:Just take my advice and STAY AWAY from eMachines. They are nothing but junk.
Actually Gateway owns eMachines. If your planning on building it yourself check out pricewatch.com and price out the parts you want to put in your system. But there are alot of good pre-built systems out there that are good deals. All depends on what you want to do with your system. If you want a good video card in it for gaming you might have to add it in later. most pre-builts don't come with real kick ass cards in them.
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Junkman
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Post by Junkman »

E-Machines is junk. Same for gateway.

http://www.dell.com/outlet

You're welcome.
ElTaco
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Post by ElTaco »

Here are some basic truths about the PC market:

Building your own machine is no longer cheaper then just buying it, well not unless you are building a high end machine and you want to follow your exact specs. If you are willing to start out with some basic goals and possibly deviate just a little, dell, HP and local shops can either beat your price or match it fairly close.

Dell is still the market leader and its hard to beat them. I wouldn't buy a gaming PC from them, well not a high end one anyway, but for a home internet pc you can't beat their deals. HP is close behind in everything except for cusomer support. HP has stepped up to the plate and is using quality parts (asus mother boards, good HDs, etc...) and matching Dell's prices. The only problem with HP remains their customer support, however with PCs, I don't worry about it too much if you have any technical abilities at all.

Laptops are a little different. They have a higher failure rate and you can't fix them so you would be stupid to not get a 3 year warranty and going with Dell for the customer support is probably a good decision.

Gateway comes in at 3rd. Their stuff just doesn't really match up to Dell or HP. Their laptops tend to be larger and their support sucks. Its interesting to note that the Gateway store idea failed miserably.

Today's Deals from Dell small business:
(Dell SMB doesn't require proof of an actual business since you can do business under your own name. On any given day, you can usually find a good deal through them)

Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop, P4 2.8GHz, 512MB, 80GB, 48x CD-ROM, XP Home, 2 Year Basic Service » only $429.00 + Free Shipping

Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop, P4 2.8GHz, 512MB, 80GB, 48x CD-RW, XP Home, 15" LCD, 2 Year Basic Service » only $564.00 + Free Shipping

Dell Dimension 4700 Desktop, P4 2.8GHz with HT Technology, 256MB, 40GB, 48X CD-ROM, XP Home, 2 Yr Warranty, 17" LCD » only $599.00 + Free Shipping

Here are some laptop deals as well:

Dell Inspiron 1150 Notebook, Mobile P4 2.8GHz, 14.1" XGA, 256MB, 30GB, 8x DVD-ROM, XP Home, 802.11b/g WLAN » only $779.00 + Free Shipping

Dell Inspiron 600m Notebook, Pentium®M 1.6GHz, 14.1" XGA, 256MB, 30GB, 8x DVD-ROM, XP Home, 802.11b/g WLAN, NetGear 802.11b/g Wireless Router » only $949.00 + Free Shipping

Dell Inspiron 8600 Notebook, Pentium®M 1.6GHz, 15.4" WXGA, 256MB, 30GB, 8x DVD-ROM, XP Home, 802.11b/g WLAN, NetGear 802.11b/g Wireless Router » only $999.00 + Free Shipping

Dell Inspiron 700m Notebook, Pentium® M 1.60GHz, 12.1" WXGA, 256MB, 40GB, 8x DVD-ROM, XP Home, 802.11b/g WLAN, NetGear 802.11b/g Wireless Router » only $999.00 + Free Shipping

I don't see any great deals from HP, but you might check them out at hpshopping.com to see if you can spot anything.

-ET
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