dtximages Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 Hey guys. I am having a really hard time figuring out which computer to buy. I want at least a 1.3 Pentium 4 or about a 1 to 1.2 atholon processor. Also, should i get 128 or 256 mgs of ram? I have mainly looked at the Dell Diminsion 8100 and the Sony Vaio. Ive heard from reviews that the dell is best for 3D gaming and graphics but it fall behind on performance. I like the looks of the dell though. Also, i cant find much info on the sony. I dont trust dealers opinions. Anyone out there have any suggestions. I like to multitask. Please help me, im pulling my hair out over here. I dont really know that much about computers anyway. Thanks alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oogins Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 Try building your computer yourself. That way you get what you want, and you could save yourself some money, if you know where to buy the components. Personally, I would go with an athlon processor with 256 megs of DDR ram. But seeing that your not that knowlegable about computers, you should email me. I could help you out with any questions you have. -Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger23 Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 Well, from the quality perspective I would advise you to avoid the Dell. If Dell desktops are made anything like their laptops, they are put together with cheap materials and constructed very poorly. My Dell laptop has been one problem after another. I miss my ThinkPad! This message has been edited by Roger23 on 07-19-2001 at 08:02 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paragon Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 Dell has been a good computer.. bought one 3 years ago and my Bro got on a few years ago. Both have been fine.. minor problems but service was great. I went and built my own computer and would recommend it to anyone who feels like they can handle it. It is not hard at all if you understand the basics and could put one together I would go with AMD because of prce/performance As for RAM, go 256.. or even more if you are building it yourself - it is so cheap at the moment. You probably won't be overclocking so PC133 RAM will be just fine = money saved. For multitasking, you nay want more RAM sicne Windoze alone is a hog. Anyhoo.. it helps if you have access to software if you build your own comp = money saved. You can build fairly cheap comps with lots of performance if you know what you do and don't need. The main trouble with building your own comp is trying to find all the components at a good price at the least number of distrubitors. Also, be aware of how warranty/returns are handled from the places you deal with. Any questions, feel free to ask - email is probably best. ------------------ 1GHz TBird Abit KT7A-RAID Kingmax 256MB PC150 256MB PC133 Infinion Annihilator2 32MB GT§ Intel Pro100+Management NIC Promise Ultra100 IBM 75GXP 45GB ATA100 Maxtor DMP6800 27.2GB ATA66 Plextor 16X10X40A §ony 12X DVD §BLive! 5.1 AOpen HX08 Full Tower 300W §ony CPD-G400 19" Triny ProMedia 4.1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNFERNiS Posted July 20, 2001 Share Posted July 20, 2001 Wait t'ill the end of this year for buying a new comp, the athlon 4 is comming, it would be a waste of money to buy new comp now when a new technology is being released soon. ------------------ Greets, iNFERNiS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prana-Bindu Posted July 20, 2001 Share Posted July 20, 2001 Generally, for multi-tasking a P-4 would run somewhat faster than the currently available AMD CPU's. Only the P-4 is currently compatible with SSE2 stuff, but, despite that, I believe the AMD CPU is your best choice at this time. RAM is the reason. First of all, the Pentium motherboards are only compatible with Rambus memory (I think -- it's been a while for me); that stuff is expensive and it will likely be punted by Intel in the near future. The AMD motherboards support DDR SDRAM (cheap, fast and with a bright future). Pentium rigs will be going through many severe changes in the near future, so I'd let that settle without getting yourself involved in the obsolescence game. Also, AMD will be coming out with support for SSE in the coming Palomino model. RAM will be more important for performance, anyway; or your hard drive speed if you're doing something memory-intensive (audio, video, graphics editing); of if you enjoy 3D games, your video card will play a bigger role than your CPU (unless you're running below 800mhz). Good luck with your decision. By the way, I also recommend building your own rig. Much cheaper (much) and you can limit your budget on components unimportant to your regular computing and use most of it for the components that are relevant to your use. Don't worry: no soldering involved, just a few screws and connectors to hook up. The hardest part of building your own system is figuring out what components are compatible with each other, especially the CPU-motherboard-RAM combo. All that can be accomplished before you buy with some diligent research. Peace!! ------------------ May the bridges we burn light our way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted July 21, 2001 Share Posted July 21, 2001 I would seriously consider building a computer. That way, it will be easier for you to know what and how to upgrade later on since you will know EXACTLY what is inside your computer. Secondly, get the AMD Athlon processor. It has the BEST price/performance ratio and plus, an Athlon 1.4GHz beats/outperforms a Pentium 4 1.8GHz. If you really want high-end/top-of-the-line performance, get the AMD Athlon MP. It has the Palomino core and 3DNow! Pro and lets off less heat. Get it with DDR SDRAM to really show it off. ------------------ Computer: AMD T-bird 1.0GHz@1.0GHz AOpen AK73 Pro 2x 128MB Mushkin High Performance REV3 222 IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30GB AOpen DVD-1640 Pro (16X DVD/40X CD) ATI Radeon 64MB DDR VIVO Hercules Game Theater XP Samsung SyncMaster 900IFT CSW DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Digital Home Theater: TV: Sony KV-ES34M91 (34" FD Trinitron WEGA) DVD: Sony DVP-S9000ES Receiver: Sony STR-V555ES Speakers - Center: Klipsch RC-3 Mains: Klipsch RF-3 Surrounds: Klipsch RS-3 Subwoofer: Klipsch KSW-12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted August 11, 2001 Share Posted August 11, 2001 just saw your post...hope it is not too late. i have a POS sony Vaio PCV-FX260DS.. Piece, of, $HiT! been sent off twice, have called tech support numerous tiems and gotten online help... they aer nice ppl to work with till they get a file on you. my borther got a dell 1.4 GHz, very nice, i would build it if you could but i understand your predicament... make sure that when you are looking at teh computers that they have, if they have partitions, that the OS is on the larger one or has at least a few gigs of free space. when sony sent my computer back to me they left only 700 mb of free space on teh c drive and i can not multi task at all! i can barely task for that matter. ------------------ -justin I am an amateur, but if it is professional help you want contact Amy. Email Amy IM Amy Or pick up that phone and call right now Toll Free: 1-888-554-5665 ------------------------- Just do me a favor and run up my counter... I know that sounds sad but so is my site! http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/berry/88/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcpool Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Another vote for building your own You put in what you need & leave out all the junk you don't need....You know exactly what's in it....it's also easier to replace components as needed instead of having to buy a new PC. It's also not that difficult....alot of sites out there that guide you through building a PC. The hard part for me was deciding what to put in it. I finally went with AMD 1.4 Tbird & ASUS A7M 266 borad. The bummer is by the time you get it built they've already ome out with something new. Good luck & have fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 i agree. most systems do not let you get teh best you can, like the plexter 24x burner... i have a crappy sony burner that is supposed to go to 8x but only makes it up to 4 or 6x. the real advantage though from a say compaq computer is tech support, but with this BB and espeacially the others out there you should be ok even with out a warranty ------------------ -justin I am an amateur, but if it is professional help you want contact Amy. Email Amy IM Amy Or pick up that phone and call right now Toll Free: 1-888-554-5665 ------------------------- Just do me a favor and run up my counter... I know that sounds sad but so is my site! http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/berry/88/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted September 17, 2001 Share Posted September 17, 2001 I agree with the suggestion that you consider building your own machine using an AMD CPU. If you elect to go the pre-built route a couple of recommendations: Avoid the following like the plague - Hewlett Packard Pavillion Compaq Presario Emachines Tiny PC (A popular brand in the UK) HP's and Compaq's (other than the model series mentioned above)are worthy of consideration. The Presarios and the Pavillions are highly proprietary and can be extremely expensive to upgrade. They also jam way to much stuff into cases that are way too small and tend to overheat and are also,because of the case size, a proper pain in the patoot to work on. Emachines are extremely inexpensive but are prone to failures related to the fact that in order for the manufacturer to meet its low price target a lot of corners need to be cut. That said,Emachines can be good value for some users so long as they have reasonable expectations regarding performance and reliability. If you do not feel comfortable about building your own computer buy a prepackaged machine - subject to my comments above - which has a minimum of memory and then have a computer shop upgrade the memory. Why? - Because the price of RAM is extremely low at present and most computer shops will include installation in the price or charge only a nominal fee for the instalation. Major makers on the other hand will offer to sell you a PC that has been upgraded from 64 Mb. of RAM to 128 Mb. of RAM for about US$ 100.00 I recently bought 3 128 Mb. RAM modules to install in a customer's PC's for a total of C$ 105.00,(C$1.00 about US$ 0.70). A good option is to find a good mom and pop type computer store and have them build you a machine. The cost may be slightly higher than buying something like a Presario or similar but you will wind up with a PC that is superior in performance and upgradeability. The odds are however that you will spend less and get more. ------------------ It is meet to recall that the Great Green Heron rarely flies upside down in the moonlight - (Foo Ling ca. 1304 BCE) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted September 24, 2001 Share Posted September 24, 2001 The best deals right now... Oh yes CLONE computers when built with quality parts will give you the most for your dollar. My inexpensive pick today is: Athlon 1.4GHz with ALPHA PEP66/YS TECH FAN(not too noisy) 2 * 256MB DDR PC2100 SAMSUNG Asus A7M266 mobo Any GeForce 2 64MEG(inexpensive and quite fast) Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card D-Link 10/100 Ethernet PCI or/and Aopen 56K modem Seagate Barracuda IV 40GB(or more) hard drive Toshiba or Pioneer IDE DVD drive Panasonic or generic floppy ANTEC SX-630 mid tower with Antec 300W PSU Keytronic keyboard Logitech or Microsoft OPTICAL mouse NEC 19" Flat Screen monitor 0.25mm dot pitch Your Klipsch ProMedia or VideoLogic(its a sin here LOL) speakers. Not expensive and great for even the latest games like Max Payne @ 1024*768 in 32BIT color!Or Q3/UT @ 1280*1024 16BIT color!Fluid and upgradable. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted September 25, 2001 Share Posted September 25, 2001 ummm... what would that total price be? ------------------ -justin I am an amateur, but if it is professional help you want email Amy or call her toll free: 1-888-554-5665 http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/berry/88/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted September 25, 2001 Share Posted September 25, 2001 Around $1000US or less for the PC with no monitor. And under $1400 with the NEC monitor,if you do the price comparo. Today for under $1500 US one can get a damn good PC. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clandeggen Posted September 25, 2001 Share Posted September 25, 2001 If you can do it, Custom built is the way to go, man. Or look for a shop that will build one for you, and I don't mean Best Buy. ------------------ Computer ASUS CUSL2-C Black Pearl MoBo 1Ghz P-!!! Vantek Copper HS modded with black delta (Can we say Fanjet) and Arctic Silver II Mushkin RAM, 256MB PC133 rev.2 2-2-2,7/9T 3dfx Voodoo4-4500 TBSC Sound Card Rounded IDE and Floppy Cables Enermax 465 (431watt)PSU Fans out the Ying Yang And all the rest of the mumbo jumbo that we all have. Oh Ya, almost forgot, Kilpsch 4.1s, can't hear to type Hehehehehehe! This message has been edited by clandeggen on 09-25-2001 at 10:10 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted September 26, 2001 Share Posted September 26, 2001 Clandeggen did you try the new Delta 60mm 50cfm fan? Holy macaroni,this tiny MONSTER makes the "old" 38cfm Delta known as the Black Label look weak and silent! This new 60mm beast mover over 50cfm and turns at takes almost 14W of power!I call it the Super Black Label,do not conect on the board or ZAP. The noise is...like a turbo fan if full swing! I also have the new(more or less new)Delta 80mm 68cfm fan! This is what I call the Mega Black Label. LOL Delta fans are very impressive,noisy but do they move air. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted September 26, 2001 Share Posted September 26, 2001 Clandeggen did you try the new Delta 60mm 50cfm fan? Holy macaroni,this tiny MONSTER makes the "old" 38cfm Delta known as the Black Label look weak and silent! This new 60mm beast moves over 50cfm and takes almost 14W of power!I call it the Super Black Label,do not conect on the board or ZAP. The noise is...like a turbo fan if full swing! I also have the new(more or less new)Delta 80mm 68cfm fan! This is what I call the Mega Black Label. LOL Delta fans are very impressive,noisy but do they move air. TheEAR(s) Now theears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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