Getting a DIY PC

[jeff chen]

Hi, need some advice on getting a DIY PC.

I plan to get one of those 2.4Ghz P4 PC from any DIY computer shops. Any recommendation from anyone as to where to get them?

I know Funan has two shops, PK and Royale. Anyone else can recommend, preferably good service and not pricey. Thanks.

 

[MaGixShOe]

www.hardwarezone.com > Hardware clinic > read FAQ theard 1st

 

[Bedpan]

There are a number of guides around.. www.tomshardware.com has a few on what to look for, or how to do it yourself if you so wish..

I might suggest however that you consider an AMD processor. Tends to be cheaper with equal or better performance... Just a though...

Mike

Originally posted by jeff chen
Hi, need some advice on getting a DIY PC.

I plan to get one of those 2.4Ghz P4 PC from any DIY computer shops. Any recommendation from anyone as to where to get them?

I know Funan has two shops, PK and Royale. Anyone else can recommend, preferably good service and not pricey. Thanks.

 

[GKF]

I'm working in sysnet 04-01

i will recommend good parts for u as for price i will try my best ...

 

[denizenx]

Originally posted by GKF
I'm working in sysnet 04-01

i will recommend good parts for u as for price i will try my best ...

wah so good... hi gkf u got any recommendations about the shuttle micro boxes?

 

[GKF]

there's something like that call e-cube, design not bad but motherboard brand not heard b4 but features wise is great
8x agp
usb 2.0
infra port
ata 133
533 fsb
etc

price at 499 for the e-cube alone that comes with power supply and mobo ....

there's a e-cube set with cpu installed whole set at 1499 celeron 1.7 but it's too overpriced i wun recommend to get it as a set but as a stand alone, its better !!!

 

[jeff chen]

GKF, I take it that it is Funan 04-01? Anyway...do u think the config below is worth its money? Will cost me S$1599!

Intel P4 2.4GHz Processor x4AGP, ATA 100
256MB DDR SD RAM
60Gb 7200rpm Ultra ATA 100 Hard Drive
40x10x48 CDRW w/Burnproof
16x Ultra DMA DVD ROM Drive (40x CD)
1.44 Mb Floppy D
GeForce 4 MX 128Mb AGP 3D Accelerator
AC 97 Full Duplex Audio
ATX Tower Casing w/ Extra Cooling Fan
PS/2 Win 98 Keyboard
PS/2 Scroll Mouse
Multimedia Speaker w/ subwoofer
56K/v90 Internal Fax/Modem

I was thinking of changing the DVD to just a normal CD ROM, cut cost...any recommendations? Mainly using for photo editing, and other normal operations like net surfing etc... Also, pse note that my budget is max $1500...pse provide comments. Thanks.

 

[Darren]

As u are using it to edit digital photos, then the following would be my suggestions:-

1. Up the CPU to the new, latest Pentium 4 3.06GHz with Hyper Threading.
2. Up the memory to 512MB
3. No opinion on the DVD-ROM useful only if u intend to watch DVDs on the PC.
4. Some USB 2.0 or FireWire interfaces (if not std on the mobo).

Item #1 probably will blow your budget sky-high ;p but the benefits will be felt tremendously.

For example, just a couple of days back, I batch-converted a bunch of RAW files (Nikon NEFs, about 3.5GB) to JPEGs, and on my P4 1.7GHz with 384MB memory, it took almost 4.5 hours to complete the task. And I couldn't use the PC for anything else as the CPU was 100% utilised. For more info on Hyper Threading and the Pentium 4 3.06GHz CPU:-

www.tomshardware.com
www.anandtech.com
www.hardwarezone.com

for the latest reviews and benchmarks.

p.s. just saw your budget constraint ;p in that case, please treat my suggestions as FYI only

 

[jeff chen]

Thanks Darren, much appreciate your inputs. If I don't have a budget, then I wld certainly take your suggestion. But alas:rbounce: i will try to increase the RAM to 512 later by adding on another 256 card...

But u think the above combo is worth 1500 dollars?

 

[Darren]

Originally posted by jeff chen
But u think the above combo is worth 1500 dollars?

yup, should be pretty much worth it.

 

[erwinx]

moving from 256 to 512 RAM may extend your harddisk life since the harddisk is likely to be used less for ram intensive applications such as photoediting

is the price difference between a 2.0 and 2.4 CPU worth it? only u can decide

/me still using p3-500 & waiting for ddr ram prices to drop

 

[tomshen]

u wanna have tom's hardware recommendation in person?

Tom

 

[tomshen]

btw, spend more on multimedia components instead of building a purely fast machine. Get the highest 2D quality graphic card and a decent monitor, good sound system. It will last you longer.

 

[jeff chen]

Yes pse Tom.

Hmm...maybe i will downgrade to P4 2.0Ghz but up the RAM (at least 512) for better processing.

As for multimedia processing, not much execpt photo,

 

[GKF]

GKF, I take it that it is Funan 04-01? Anyway...do u think the config below is worth its money? Will cost me S$1599!

Intel P4 2.0GHz Processor x4AGP, ATA 133
512MB DDR SD RAM
60Gb 7200rpm Ultra ATA 133 Hard Drive
48x24x48 CDRW w/Burnproof
1.44 Mb Floppy D
GeForce 4 MX 128Mb AGP 3D Accelerator
AC 97 Full Duplex Audio
ATX Tower Casing w/ Extra Cooling Fan
PS/2 Win 98 Keyboard
PS/2 Scroll Mouse
Multimedia Speaker w/ subwoofer
56K/v90 Internal Fax/Modem

This will not blow your budget, I've change very minimum to your specs , just some speed , as for brands , you should choose some good ones as its more stable.

3.06 will be too ex , not feasible, no need DVD also can use the CD-RW as CD-Rom

BTW I'm working in Sim Lim

 

[jeff chen]

Thanks GKF, will certainly take your recommendation.

 

[Goondu]

Originally posted by GKF
GKF, I take it that it is Funan 04-01? Anyway...do u think the config below is worth its money? Will cost me S$1599!

Intel P4 2.0GHz Processor x4AGP, ATA 133
512MB DDR SD RAM
60Gb 7200rpm Ultra ATA 133 Hard Drive
48x24x48 CDRW w/Burnproof
1.44 Mb Floppy D
GeForce 4 MX 128Mb AGP 3D Accelerator
AC 97 Full Duplex Audio
ATX Tower Casing w/ Extra Cooling Fan
PS/2 Win 98 Keyboard
PS/2 Scroll Mouse
Multimedia Speaker w/ subwoofer
56K/v90 Internal Fax/Modem

This will not blow your budget, I've change very minimum to your specs , just some speed , as for brands , you should choose some good ones as its more stable.

3.06 will be too ex , not feasible, no need DVD also can use the CD-RW as CD-Rom

BTW I'm working in Sim Lim

Does it comes with USB2.0 or Firewire port in the above configuration?

jeff chen, don't forget the operating system.

 

[jeff chen]

Yar man, must try to get at least 6x USB slots (cos firewire I know sure cannot be included one) and ask them to throw in OS and software...all must be licence copy otherwise chenghu or Bill Gates' Micro Soft will come after me one...wah...then chiak lark man...

 

[Zoomer]

Sysnet is at Sim lim square, not funan. ;p

If you're budget constrained, why not get the Athlon instead? Similar performance at an affordable price.

Noticed that your config does not include a monitor - forgot?

From my personal list:

AMD Athlon 2000+ $320.00
MSI KT4V (Integrated USB 2.0, C-Media 6 pt Audio)
Hercules ATi Radeon 8500LELE 64MB DDR $155.00
Kingston PC2700 512MB DDR $270.00
IBM 120GXP 80GB 7200RPM $190.00
Pioneer 16X DVD Drive $85.00
Liteon 48x16x48 CDRW Drive $98.00

Samsung 7530DFX 17" Moniter $240.00
Logitech Z-340 (2 pt) $98.00
Keyboard $19.00
M$ Wireless Mouse $1.00
Case - Chieftec w/Door Black $100.00
HEC 350LDT $80.00

Total $1,656.00


Note the graphics card, harddrive, speakers and other parts are better and more branded. Don't get cheated by the GF4 MX crap. GF4MX is nothing but a geforce 2 rehash. YES, direct x 7 stuff in 2002-end!

If you want something even cheaper... (Quality gets compromised even more)
AMD Duron 1.2GHz $230.00
MSI KT4V (Integrated USB 2.0, C-Media 6 pt Audio)
Hercules ATi Radeon 8500LELE 64MB DDR $155.00
Kingston PC2700 512MB DDR $270.00
Western Digital 40Gb JB 8Mb Buffer 7200 $152.00

Liteon 48x16x48 CDRW Drive $98.00

Samsung 7530DFX 17" Moniter $240.00
ALTEC LANSING ACS22 $36.00
Logitech First Keyboard (Or something like that...) $13.00
Cheap Optical Mouse - Logitech OEM (First Gen) $14.00
Case - 6AU6 Biege $80.00


Total $1,288.00

Or even... (Not recommended...try as I might but still cannot achieve below 1k)

AMD Duron 1.3GHz $245.00
MSI 6390 (Integrated Savage4 gfx, Audio, LAN)

Kingston PC2100 512MB DDR $250.00
IBM 120GXP 40GB $145.00

MSI 40x12x48 CDRW Drive $85.00

Samsung 7530DFX 17" Moniter $240.00
ALTEC LANSING ACS22 $36.00
Logitech First Keyboard (Or something like that...) $13.00
Cheap Optical Mouse - Logitech OEM (First Gen) $14.00
Case - 6AU6 Biege $90.00


Total $1,118.00

 

[erwinx]

AMD too hot for me. have to do too much cooling. i prefer P4 with 'silent casing' (low speed quiet fans)