Considering when I customised it the guy said it would be like 300 dollars cheeper I still got a great deal. Anyway if my parents dont change the price on me then I am getting this for sure!

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Chassis Cicero Black ATX Tower
MotherBoard 865GA MotherBoard
CPU Intel Pentium 4 HT 3.0 GHz 800FSB
Memory 512 DDR (2x256m) (I might upgrade it higher.)
Hard-Drive 120GB, ATA100, 7200RPM 8 meg cache
CD-ROM/DVD DVD +/- RW Black
Floppy Drive 1.44 MB Floppy Drive Black
Video Card ATI Radeon 9200 or 9600 128MB DDR
Network Card Integreted 10/100 Network Intel Pro
Sound Card Integreted Audio Realtek ALC650
Speakers Speakers
Keyboard MS Black Multimedia Keyboard English
Mouse USB Optical Mouse
Productivity Suite Microsoft Works 7.0 English
System Warrenty 1 Year Limited Desktop Warrenty
Moniter 15"Flat Screen
All that for only 1500, my friends tell me thats a great deal and it is I guess. I just cant damn wait for Christmas. Comments are welcome ;)

You want a CRT if you want to do gaming. You also want XP Pro.

Here's my specs for my xmas machine, if you're interested:

- P4 3.0 ghz
- Unsure about graphics card, any suggestions? I'm thinking a plain Radeon 9800.
- 1 GB dual channel ddr ram (2x512)
- 36GB 10,000 RPM Raptor drive
- 120GB 7200 RPM HDD #2
- SB Audigy Gamer w/ 3 piece speakers
- Samsung 19" flat CRT
- First bay: DVD-ROM, second bay DVD+/- RW
- Onboard gigabit ethernet, USB, firewire
- ASUSp4C800-E Deluxe 800mhz FSB motherboard

And a killer black case that changes colors :)

[quote author=St0rm.iD link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34663 date=1071094460]


And a killer black case that changes colors :)
[/quote]
Chameleon? How much is your machine going to be worth anyway? Oh and my case is going to be so 1337 and seksi. Ill modify this with the url of my case in a bit.
Okay these are like the cases I will order.
[img]http://www.wolfness.com/upload/Spidermancase1.jpg[/img]
and
[img]http://www.wolfness.com/upload/extremecase.jpg[/img]
Ill will probably get the spiderman one cause' its the best!! ;)
Oh Trust this is Canadian dollars and the moniter is like 300 but yeah I dont think it should add 700 lol.

[quote author=Mitosis link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34661 date=1071093964]
Considering when I customised it the guy said it would be like 300 dollars cheeper I still got a great deal. Anyway if my parents dont change the price on me then I am getting this for sure!

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Chassis Cicero Black ATX Tower
MotherBoard 865GA MotherBoard
CPU Intel Pentium 4 HT 3.0 GHz 800FSB
Memory 512 DDR (2x256m) (I might upgrade it higher.)
Hard-Drive 120GB, ATA100, 7200RPM 8 meg cache
CD-ROM/DVD DVD +/- RW Black
Floppy Drive 1.44 MB Floppy Drive Black
Video Card ATI Radeon 9200 or 9600 128MB DDR
Network Card Integreted 10/100 Network Intel Pro
Sound Card Integreted Audio Realtek ALC650
Speakers Speakers
Keyboard MS Black Multimedia Keyboard English
Mouse USB Optical Mouse
Productivity Suite Microsoft Works 7.0 English
System Warrenty 1 Year Limited Desktop Warrenty
Moniter 15"Flat Screen
All that for only 1500, my friends tell me thats a great deal and it is I guess. I just cant damn wait for Christmas. Comments are welcome ;)
[/quote]

Your speakers own man :P. Also, your friends are wrong..in August when I got my new computer I got the excact same for the most part (except switch p4 to AMD and exclude the monitor) for $836 USD. If you take out my nifty case/cathodes/fan control it would of been about $720. I doubt that a monitor and a keyboard added ~700 dollars to the price.

Edit: Forgot to include that I built mine; thus, lowering the price.

I'd drop the DVDRW drive to a CDRW or one of those newfangled combo DVD/CD/CDRW drives unless you're absolutely going to HAVE to burn CDs -- it's a huge chunk of change that could be better used. I'd get at LEAST a 9600 Pro, if you can a 9800 of some sort.

Also, Microsoft Works 7.0 English is a horrible piece of crap. You're better off with OpenOffice -- get rid of this sub-standard, useless Microsoft piece of trash.

Finally, I'm not a fan of flat screen LCD monitors -- they're usually about twice the price of comparable flat-glass CRT monitors, and they can be blurry (although this is improving). In fact, for the price of your average 15" LCD monitor you can easily get a top-notch Samsung or ViewSonic flat-glass CRT monitor.

Have a look at the system I'm setting up for a friend of mine: (Note that he doesn't need speakers, so they're not included.)

YaBB forums don't like tabs, so here's the textfile with the system.

We'll be overclocking the Athlon and getting up to at least about the equivalent of an XP 3000+ -- and all this for less than you're paying for that system.

[quote]
You want a CRT if you want to do gaming. You also want XP Pro.
[/quote]

CRT yes, but XP Pro no -- it's a waste of the additional $80 the Pro license costs, unless you're getting it illegally. Home works absolutely fine.

Yes, in America (and everywhere else they speak English), we spell the word "definitely" - from the root word "finite." Remembering that it is from "finite" is the easiest way to remember that it is spelled "definitely," not "definately."

This actually isn't meant to flame you.... It's a common misspelling, and you just got to be the one who receives my post bitching about it. :) Cheers

You should let our knowledgable visitors help you build a system. Can you definitely spend $1500 on it? If so, I'm sure the guys here can post you links to specific components to buy and come up with something great.

Your details are a bit incomplete and the values of those items vary widely based on what is really purchased.

For example, an "ATI 9200 or 9600 128" price can be any one of many different cards, ranging in price from $75 to $190.

Your motherboard, "865GA", just indicates the Intel chipset, but not the motherboard manufacturer and their model number, so we're unable to look at the features, company, and their support policies/website are important.

Hmm, practically none of your items list brand and model .. for $1500 I can build you two systems with those specs with crappy components.

And screw Microsoft Works. That's pure junk. Put $0 next to it so you don't think you're getting something good.

15" monitor? CRT or LCD? A generic 15" monitor is cheapo.

Post way more detail on your components if you want any help.

[quote author=Grok link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34677 date=1071096692]
You should let our knowledgable visitors help you build a system. Can you definitely spend $1500 on it? If so, I'm sure the guys here can post you links to specific components to buy and come up with something great.

Your details are a bit incomplete and the values of those items vary widely based on what is really purchased.



Your motherboard, "865GA", just indicates the Intel chipset, but not the motherboard manufacturer and their model number, so we're unable to look at the features, company, and their support policies/website are important.



[/quote]
FRIG SORRY PRESSED POST WHEN I DIDNT FINISH MY REPLY

Um my parents said they will go as high as maybe 1600 or a bit over.
Since you say I didnt give any detial this is what I was reading.
http://www.wolfness.com/upload/Illgetmoredetials.jpg
Oh I will also look for the models and makes right now.
Pic was too big on here sorry bout that. Here is the link again of what I was reading my specs from.
http://www.wolfness.com/upload/Illgetmoredetials.jpg

I agree with Grok, convince your parents to allow you to build the computer. If they'll stick to the $1500 price tag you could easily build 1 1/2 :P - 2 computers with that.

Ah well that's going to be a generic system, you can count on it. Talk to your parents and get the answer whether they're willing to purchase the parts on the internet and have you build the system, or have it built for you. That answer is important on what your options become.

[quote author=Grok link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34683 date=1071097597]
Ah well that's going to be a generic system, you can count on it. Talk to your parents and get the answer whether they're willing to purchase the parts on the internet and have you build the system, or have it built for you. That answer is important on what your options become.
[/quote]
I can do pretty much anything accept purchase over the internet my parents just told me. I could tell someone what I want to do with a computer and they could build it for me, or I can tell the parts that I want. Doesnt really matter to them, only purchasing over the internet I cant do. My dad and I have also been looking for computer stores in Barrie but Future Shop was fine my mom said so thats why we went with that.

OK, but get your quote updated to include both BRAND and MODEL # for each and every component on the list. You should ask them to itemize the list too.

I just build a great system for a coworker with $800. Bought him an ASUS Motherboard P4P800, Pentium IV 2.4 Ghz, 512MB Kingston DDR 533 memory, Western Digital 120GB 8MB HDD, ATI Radeon 9200 SE (he's not a gamer, just programmer)....and so on.

You're going to get generic junky parts with that system unless you make them list the components by brand and model.

Ok, granted I get huge discounts for saying this very thing in the average day, this one is free. You really need to get a system that comes with a full warrenty kid. You don't know how to take care of a system, so I recommend the onsite labor, and possibly accidental damage protection and stuff from a vendor like dell/gateway/compaq. You'll also get a much better system, considering the one you're telling us about right now is a total peice of crap, well its worth about $750 thanks to the cpu being about 300 and the dvd burner being atleast 100. :p Now refresh my memory are you canadian and is this canadian money or USD?

K Grok Im going back there this weekend so Ill get them to print it all out for me (hopefully they can). Hostile, yes I am Canadian thats why its so expensive to you guys I guess. My friend Mike and I have been searching the company sites to see there prices on the stuff and if its cheaper we go to Future shop and tell them and they drop the price down and give us a 10 percent difference.

Ok, First YaBB sucks, i tried responding and my session timed out??!

Second: Stealth you're forgetting one thing, that Mitosis is a newbie in every which way someone is categorized as a newbie. Mitosis despite the fact you're canadian and that system probably only costs about $1200 here, thats still way too expensive. Your system sucks and on top of it you sound like you're going to build it yourself (which you obviously aren't and should not do so, its stupid for you to do this. Your parents are stupid as well if they think its a better thing to buy offline, you'll get a better system from one of those providers like I said assuming they will sell to you and offer service in your area.

[quote author=Grok link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34688 date=1071098375]
You're going to get generic junky parts with that system unless you make them list the components by brand and model.
[/quote]

Ya, and to top it off Intel doesn't even make a 865GA chipset :p and their 865GV has integrated graphics and is a peice of shit.

[quote author=Stealth link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34675 date=1071096384]
I'd drop the DVDRW drive to a CDRW or one of those newfangled combo DVD/CD/CDRW drives unless you're absolutely going to HAVE to burn CDs -- it's a huge chunk of change that could be better used. I'd get at LEAST a 9600 Pro, if you can a 9800 of some sort.

Also, Microsoft Works 7.0 English is a horrible piece of crap. You're better off with OpenOffice -- get rid of this sub-standard, useless Microsoft piece of trash.

Finally, I'm not a fan of flat screen LCD monitors -- they're usually about twice the price of comparable flat-glass CRT monitors, and they can be blurry (although this is improving). In fact, for the price of your average 15" LCD monitor you can easily get a top-notch Samsung or ViewSonic flat-glass CRT monitor.

Have a look at the system I'm setting up for a friend of mine: (Note that he doesn't need speakers, so they're not included.)

YaBB forums don't like tabs, so here's the textfile with the system.

We'll be overclocking the Athlon and getting up to at least about the equivalent of an XP 3000+ -- and all this for less than you're paying for that system.

[quote]
You want a CRT if you want to do gaming. You also want XP Pro.
[/quote]

CRT yes, but XP Pro no -- it's a waste of the additional $80 the Pro license costs, unless you're getting it illegally. Home works absolutely fine.
[/quote]

XP Pro is the only acceptable form of Windows XP, however paying $80 for a bundled version loaded with all the bloat like MS Works is not worth getting, better off gettin seperate full version somewhere.

I just bought a Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD monitor with 1600x1200 resolution, 16ms responce time, 600:1 contrast ratio, DVI and alot of nice features like PIP. It holds very true to its specs and is about the best LCD monitor I've ever seen (its very cheap too, only like 700 for me and 750 USD for the public atm on their site.) There is a good review for it here: http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1918 and I am using it for gaming. I see minimal blurring when moving rapidly and the only time i saw somewhat unacceptable blurring was twice during the 3DMark03 benchmark demo and surprising saw almost no blurring when I popped in 2 Fast 2 Furious dvd.

I'll input my opinion (too bad I just noticed this topic now).

Don't get a 9600, they are the bottom end of top of the line, get atleast a 9700 or 9800, or get the 9200 and save up for the next generation cards or wait for 9700 or 9800 to go down.

About the monitor, don't get 15inch, if you REALLY want a flatscreen (which I have heard is bad for gaming, I have yet to try it) then splurge and get a 17inch, or just get a good old fashioned CRT which work well.

I recommend finding a chinese computer store that has been around a couple of years, and getting a system from there. I got my system for $998 tax-in (excluding video card, I got a 9700 pro for my birthday during the summer). I have 2 years warranty for any hardware problems at his store, which is just a few minutes away.

My 3.141592654 cents.

[quote author=j0k3r link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=15#msg34695 date=1071100338]
I'll input my opinion (too bad I just noticed this topic now).

Don't get a 9600, they are the bottom end of top of the line, get atleast a 9700 or 9800, or get the 9200 and save up for the next generation cards or wait for 9700 or 9800 to go down.

About the monitor, don't get 15inch, if you REALLY want a flatscreen (which I have heard is bad for gaming, I have yet to try it) then splurge and get a 17inch, or just get a good old fashioned CRT which work well.

I recommend finding a chinese computer store that has been around a couple of years, and getting a system from there. I got my system for $998 tax-in (excluding video card, I got a 9700 pro for my birthday during the summer). I have 2 years warranty for any hardware problems at his store, which is just a few minutes away.

My 3.141592654 cents.
[/quote]

Ok, considering I just convinced Grok to buy a Radeon 9600 XT I'm going to highly disagree with you, considering that card alone can barely be challenged by nearly all games currently out and will be able to play almost all games for years to come, its also only a little bit more then those lame Radeon 9200 cards or Geforce FX 5200 cards. It provides any resolution/refresh rate that any monitor can currently do and is all around the best buy for your buck deal. With the flat panel as I mention before, I wouldnt get a cheap one either, the cheap ones are terrible and it took me a serious improvment to finally get mine, and even then because it was not only 16ms but also held very close in truth to its 16ms rating. Considering your price limit, the single best thing for gamers without as much money as i forked out, would be a Flat-Screen CRT monitor, and -atleast- 17" so you can comfortably display 1024x768, though I recommend 19" Flat-Screen CRT monitors.

Yes, you're gonna need better than a 9200. I have a 9200 ATM (of course I don't do any hardcore gaming..it's fine for Rogue Spear, America's Army, and Call of Duty) but if you plan on doing anything more than that than you'll probably need a better graphics card as said above. I plan on upgrading mine as well, somewhere in the forums theres a post with a link to the 9600 for ~183 or so dollars.

My opinion stems from my 9700, it's just me but I find that it's already on the fast decline for video cards, maybe it was the texture loss in SWG, slow FPS on generally all games, or even the super-low FPS (still above normal, but low) on Diablo2 that I get.

I might have to configure everything, but if I don't know what I'm doing I could do more harm than good. I also expect that it run amazingly before configuring for $400.

I know one person who has overlcocked the 9500 to 9800, so they do have potential but if you're an idiot like me you don't even know where to start.

[quote author=St0rm.iD link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34663 date=1071094460]
You want a CRT if you want to do gaming. You also want XP Pro.
[/quote]
Games look fine on my 15.4" LCD display (laptop). I've yet to see justification (except perhaps price) about why CRTs are better than LCDs for gaming that applies to this system.

A 15" monitor is fairly small, especially when you look at the actual viewable area (for most desktop displays, that is). I think you'll probably be better off with a 17" or larger.

[quote author=Hostile link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34693 date=1071100096]
Ok, First YaBB sucks, i tried responding and my session timed out??![/quote]
You can set how long your session lasts when you log in.

[quote]Second: Stealth you're forgetting one thing, that Mitosis is a newbie in every which way someone is categorized as a newbie. Mitosis despite the fact you're canadian and that system probably only costs about $1200 here, thats still way too expensive. Your system sucks and on top of it you sound like you're going to build it yourself (which you obviously aren't and should not do so, its stupid for you to do this. Your parents are stupid as well if they think its a better thing to buy offline, you'll get a better system from one of those providers like I said assuming they will sell to you and offer service in your area.

[quote author=Grok link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34688 date=1071098375]
You're going to get generic junky parts with that system unless you make them list the components by brand and model.
[/quote]

Ya, and to top it off Intel doesn't even make a 865GA chipset :p and their 865GV has integrated graphics and is a peice of shit.[/quote]

Hostile, you have a good point, although I don't agree with you about WinXP Home -- I think, especially for the average user, Home works perfectly fine -- and $180 vs $91? No-brainer.

[quote author=Mitosis link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=0#msg34690 date=1071098900]
K Grok Im going back there this weekend so Ill get them to print it all out for me (hopefully they can). Hostile, yes I am Canadian thats why its so expensive to you guys I guess. My friend Mike and I have been searching the company sites to see there prices on the stuff and if its cheaper we go to Future shop and tell them and they drop the price down and give us a 10 percent difference.
[/quote]

Mitosis, I would HIGHLY recommend hitting up Dell's Canada website at http://www.dell.ca. They will be able to build you a system using quality parts, and they'll support it thoroughly for at least a few years. Plus, if you call them up or use the site, you can configure it yourself as well. I've never seen a Future Shop, so I don't know their reputation; but if they're claiming to sell a motherboard with an Intel chipset on it that doesn't exist, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.

[Edit: Rearranged stuff.]

[quote author=Stealth link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=15#msg34714 date=1071104199]
Hostile, you have a good point, although I don't agree with you about WinXP Home -- I think, especially for the average user, Home works perfectly fine -- and $180 vs $91? No-brainer.
[/quote]

Eww @ winxp.

Yeah, for rather unexperienced users I suppose XP Pro is well not necessary. I thought I included that guess not since YaBB ate my first post hehe. As I said Dell/gateway/compaq is ideal for you Mitosis, except you want to buy it online. Compaq may have better deals at a local store but dell and gateway have their best deals online, I'd be happy to price a system for you if in your price range if you want the best system for the money.

As for the Radeon 9200, This is a good graphics card. It will play any game out on the market right now, you may not be able to crank all the settings on them and for how long this will be more then enough, is unknown but at the moment this graphics card will handle just about any game so its not correct to say that it cant.

Edit: I priced a pritty good system for you, its about the same without the cheapness of those components and is gaurenteed to last you 3 years.

Dimension 8300
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz with 800MHz FSB (fr), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition - French
Qty.: 1
Unit Price: $1,716.00
Date: 10/12/2003 9:20:18 PM

Dimension 8300 Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz with 800MHz FSB (fr)

SP288F-[221-2507] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition - French

WHXPFR-[420-1923] 11
Memory 512MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz

512M4-[311-3001] 3
Keyboard Dell ® Quietkey ® Keyboard - French

QKF-[310-1533] 4
Monitors Dell 17" M782 (16.0" V.I.S.) Monitor

M782-[320-0177] 5
Video Card New 128MB GeForce FX 5200 Graphics Card with TV-Out

128FX52-[320-0735] 6
Hard Drive 120GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive

120S-[340-9600] 8
Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive

FD-[340-8628] 10
Mouse Dell™ Optical USB Mouse

OM-[310-4037] 12
Network Interface Card Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet

IN-[430-0412] 13
Modem 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem

DFAX-[313-1313] 14
Primary CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive FREE UPGRADE! 4x DVD+R+RW Drive CD-RW including Sonic RecordNow and MyDVD L

4DVW951-[430-0594][462-6170] 16
Sound Card Integrated Audio

IS-[313-2758] 17
Speakers Dell A425 Speakers w/Subwoofer

A425-[313-2134] 18
Productivity Software Microsoft Office 2003 Basic Edition,French

BASICFR-[412-0454][412-0424] 22
Security Software Norton Antivirus 2002,OEM,FR,W/Media (412-0343)

NAV03FR-[412-0343] 25
Warranty 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year On-site Service and CompleteCare

W3CC-[950-2920][950-2922] 29
Dell Media Experience™ Dell Media Experience™

DMX-[412-0519] 115


This is before taxes but after shipping, and of course you could probably make it cheaper/better depending on how much money you're able to get. Also make sure you point out that if it is slightly more expensive that if you get the 3 Year CompleteCare Warrenty its gaurenteed to last you that long.

$1, 700 before tax? USD? Why all this french stuff?

I'd recommend going with your orignal set up over the one Hostile recommended.

Dell's parts, however, are top-of-the-line -- although that FX card is looking pretty crappy. I'm assuming the French edition stuff is because of Quebec..?

Also, you can shear some money off the price if you call the order in -- I've successfully lowered the price of a Dell about $150 by calling with the online order in front of me. I removed the EducateU online training package and Microsoft Works, which turned out to be $150 of useless garbage. If you remove the "productivity" suites -- office, etc -- you should also take the price down into your price range. You can pick up OpenOffice or use an existing copy of Office for free.

Edit: In most American states, internet purchases are (technically) tax-free. I'm not sure how this stands in Canada.

[quote author=j0k3r link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=15#msg34738 date=1071113294]
$1, 700 before tax? USD? Why all this french stuff?

I'd recommend going with your orignal set up over the one Hostile recommended.
[/quote]

Before I call you an idiot, how about providing significant documentation on why your opinion about the generic system is more correct than what Hostile has said? He's done a goodly amount of work to tailor a system to Mitosis' needs, and you've done nothing but dismiss it with a 5 second sentence. Let's see your expertise go to work and provide validation of your opinion.

Hmm...I'm not sure I like the idea of buying from something like Dell. Hostile, that system comes to ~$1700? Just running down the list...

[quote]Dimension 8300 Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz with 800MHz FSB[/quote]

I got an AMD Athlon XP 2200+ @ 1.81 gHz, so this P4 is probably better, but not much better.

[quote]SP288F-[221-2507] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition[/quote]

I got mine with Win2k Pro...this is really a matter of personal preference, of course. If he wants he could get the OS for free.

[quote]WHXPFR-[420-1923] 11
Memory 512MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz[/quote]

1024 MB DDR 333 mHz

[quote]QKF-[310-1533] 4
Monitors Dell 17" M782 (16.0" V.I.S.) Monitor[/quote]

KDS Visual Sensations 19" CRT, NEC MultiSync M700 17" CRT

[quote]M782-[320-0177] 5
Video Card New 128MB GeForce FX 5200 Graphics Card with TV-Out[/quote]

Hehe...nVidia GeForce FX5200 128MB

[quote]128FX52-[320-0735] 6
Hard Drive 120GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive[/quote]

80 GB @ 7200 RPM

[quote]FD-[340-8628] 10
Mouse Dell? Optical USB Mouse[/quote]

Logitech MX300 Optical USB

[quote]OM-[310-4037] 12
Network Interface Card Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet[/quote]

3COM 10/100

[quote]IN-[430-0412] 13
Modem 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem[/quote]

None...this isn't needed unless you expect to be using a phone line

[quote]DFAX-[313-1313] 14
Primary CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive FREE UPGRADE! 4x DVD+R+RW Drive CD-RW including Sonic RecordNow and MyDVD L[/quote]

LG DVD-ROM 16x/48x
Sony CD/RW 32x/10x/40x

[quote]4DVW951-[430-0594][462-6170] 16
Sound Card Integrated Audio[/quote]

Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1

[quote]IS-[313-2758] 17
Speakers Dell A425 Speakers w/Subwoofer[/quote]

Harmon Kardon Speakers w/ Subwoofer

Only software purchased was Norton Antivirus...had some sort of warranty, though I don't remember the details.

Ok...my system cost me around $1300 (that includes both monitors) - and I bought it nearly a year and a half ago. I also didn't scrounge around for the lowest possible price I could come up with, which I kind of regret now because I could use some extra cash. The systems people have shown here don't markedly improve on the one I got. C'mon, we're smart, aren't we? We should be able to knock the price of something like this down to around $1000 or less, even pre-constructed. For another $300, we should be able to take what we've got and make a couple substantial improvements.

Well for starters the system I configured was from the canadian site and there for canadian money(I assumed you would pick up on that j0k3r even though my post wasn't for you btw), I didn't know what area he was in so i didn't know how to tax it and Zakath we already covered that Mitosis is not capable of building his own computer, and thanks to his history with computers would greatly benefit off of a full coverage dell warrenty which comes with accidental damage protection and on-site labor for 3 years or however long you pay them for. I customized the computer to get the best system for the money for HIM. None the less thank you Stealth, I also agree you should both call dell and try purchasing online to get the best deal possible, Mitosis.

Ah, Canadian money. That makes a bit more sense I suppose. Nonetheless I think we can do better. If it weren't 1:30 in the morning I'd poke around. I'll do so tomorrow sometime.

Note I didn't build my computer either. I bought it preconstructed and configured, hence the comparison. I just didn't buy it from a company like Dell (who I wouldn't trust further than I could throw).

Alright guys I got my weekend schedule. On Sat I will be going to the mall (Future Shop and other stores for Christmas shopping). So I will go to the guy in there and show him the sheet that I configured from last weekend and Ill ask him to get all the makes and stuff you guys wanted for it. So around maybe 9:00 PM Sat I will post what it is.

Now the reason I havent gone Dell is because so many people have told me not to trust companies. Dark Virus said he would just barely trust them and other friends have told me so. But Hostile thanks for the computer you put together. Ill call Dell tonight or tomorrow and ask them to configure one for me similar to the one you made in your previous post.

[quote author=Grok link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=15#msg34753 date=1071117042]
[quote author=j0k3r link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=15#msg34738 date=1071113294]
$1, 700 before tax? USD? Why all this french stuff?

I'd recommend going with your orignal set up over the one Hostile recommended.
[/quote]

Before I call you an idiot, how about providing significant documentation on why your opinion about the generic system is more correct than what Hostile has said? He's done a goodly amount of work to tailor a system to Mitosis' needs, and you've done nothing but dismiss it with a 5 second sentence. Let's see your expertise go to work and provide validation of your opinion.
[/quote]
Call me an idiot if you see it fit, I won't cry. I simply felt that for what he was planning on doing (which is what I am doing currently), there would be better solutions thank a dell. Like I said (somewhere), you can probably get a gamer system for under $1400 CAD(including a high end video card), if you find a small store around your house, and before anybody says anything yes you can trust them, do a bit of research, compare their prices. I got my system, with the brand name parts I needed for less than Dell or Compaq could sell it to me for (at the time, I could've gotten a $300 discount because my dad was purchasing 20 computers for a school).

I didn't mean to trash his post, I'm sorry if it came out that way. I meant to say try looking around some more, because as Mitosis said there was a limit he could spend, and even after dropping some of those features he could find another system like it for cheaper.

heh i got mine a bit earlier,but its kinda half payed for mky parents as the my xmas present from them in whole) so for those of you wondering if i spent 2K+ on a comp your out of my mind i payed about 1200, heres the specs:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ / 1MB Cache/ 1600MHz FSB / Socket 754 / Processor

RAM: OCZ EL Series 512MB PC4000 DDR 500MHz Memory

Motherboard: Chaintech - ZNF3-150 - Socket 754 ATX Motherboard with Audio, AGP8X/4X, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, FireWire, Serial ATA, CNR, WOR, WOL, Hyper-Transport Capable, and Gigabit LAN Support

Sound: Creative Labs SB Audigy 2 Platinum Sound Card

Video: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB DDR AGP8X with TV-Out and DVI Video Card

HHD: 20GB Seagate 7200 RPM Ultra ATA ( from old comp)

Operating System: Obtained copy of Win2k3 Server Enterprise ^_-

includes; floppy,generic 52x32x52 burner,16/48 dvd rom, full tower case (generic beige) standard nic (10/100) and modem, and my old crt monitor 15" with a dvi connection converter for the video card, wheel/ball mouse,standard keyboard, a few system fans

I HIGHLY suggest getting a better HDD.

[quote author=Mitosis link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=15#msg34766 date=1071142163]
Now the reason I havent gone Dell is because so many people have told me not to trust companies. Dark Virus said he would just barely trust them and other friends have told me so. But Hostile thanks for the computer you put together. Ill call Dell tonight or tomorrow and ask them to configure one for me similar to the one you made in your previous post.
[/quote]

My family has owned 3 Dell desktops and 2 Dell laptops since my dad's first 386 desktop oh-so-many years ago. Dell's products have been flawless, and their support second to none. If there's a company you can trust, it's definitely Dell.

Dell is trustworthy, yes, but they fleece you in the pricing. I was talking to Hostile about this yesterday, and what it really is...you pay 1.5 times the real price for the system in exchange for the support and peace of mind. That's the tradeoff you have to be willing to make.

Ok where to begin... I've gotton from Mitosis that he wants to use his system for: Programming, Gaming, Graphics / Web design. That and basially internet.

Before you build a computer or even buy it why not first figure out WHAT your using the system for. The system I built back in March ran me roughly 700 bucks and runs beautifully. If you build/buy a system just to say you have an Intel 3.06 HT 800 FSB CPU just to say you have top of the line technology. Also a 120 GB HD is ridiculous for what you've told me your using your system for. I have an 80 GB HD and I'm not even using 20 gigs yet. Also make sure your getting the best price for the DVD burner because I've seen them as low as 150 bucks now. Basically your going to pay a few hundred more just to have someone build the system for you. Instead, spend the time on the internet or with a friend or the 25 bucks to buy a book you can learn from and read HOW to build a system. Basically manufactured products are full of generic components and you could get better for the same price if not less. Learn a little about systems before you go building or throwing your money at someone that will more than likely take advantage of you.

As for Hostiles Dell systems, you could take that route and its a good one. Personally I'd build mine but I've not heard a lot of bad things about Dell, mostly its a personal preference.

As for gaming, when my brother decided to build his system (well I did, he just paid for the components) after he saw how cool mine was, he invested in a... I think a 9800 pro radeon gfx card? That ran him over 400 I think while my nVidia GeForce 4 MX 440 card ran me I think around 65 or 70. He bought his because of the advertisments in a computer magazine he bought back then that raved about Radeon technology so he invested in a card that does a little more than mine obviously, but my card can run the games he plays perfectly with no flaws, but at a fraction of the price. See what I'm saying? What "they" say is the best, might be excessive for your needs. Think about that before you invest in any system/components.

According to every benchmark I've ever seen, ATI's high-end cards are beating the crap out of nvidia at the moment...

Dell is the biggest bullshit company I've ever dealt with.

I got the machine, 2 days later the monitor burned out. 2 hours with "tech support" getting them to send us a new one. Then, a week later, the modem (yes i used to be 56k) died. It took 5 hours of phone calls to get them to say "oh sorry, it was recalled last month." The DVD-ROM and NIC gave out after about 3 months (another 5 hours of "winipcfg" fun).

Their support sucks. I had to talk for hours upon hours with all these guys who can't speak english.

Dell sucks. Don't buy one.

At least Dell is going to move their call center back to the US from Bangladesh now!

[quote author=St0rm.iD link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=30#msg34841 date=1071184770]
Dell is the biggest bullshit company I've ever dealt with.

I got the machine, 2 days later the monitor burned out. 2 hours with "tech support" getting them to send us a new one. Then, a week later, the modem (yes i used to be 56k) died. It took 5 hours of phone calls to get them to say "oh sorry, it was recalled last month." The DVD-ROM and NIC gave out after about 3 months (another 5 hours of "winipcfg" fun).

Their support sucks. I had to talk for hours upon hours with all these guys who can't speak english.

Dell sucks. Don't buy one.

At least Dell is going to move their call center back to the US from Bangladesh now!
[/quote]

My dad recieved a laptop that failed 48 hours after arrival (some 4 years ago now), probably a bad PSU. He sent it back and they had a new functional one at his office four days later -- they even footed the shipping bills.

Actually, I talked to a Dell rep recently who sounded like your stereotypical Pakistani cab driver, but he knew his stuff -- maybe I just got lucky, but my 4-year-old Dell system wasn't covered by its warranty anymore because I ditched its crappy Windows 98 SE for a copy of XP Home. The guy offered some suggestions anyways, one of which set me in the right direction towards finding the fix.

And, they're only moving their BUSINESS call center back to the US. The Home center is still in Bangladesh :)

You use tech support? When I had my Gateway (WORST customer service every, sounds like Dell actually :P ) I was on for a at least 2 hours waiting for "The next available representative to help me". Even though they say they value our service, they really don't give a fuck.

When I called a few months ago to talk to a sales rep about my wireless belkin gear just for a quick fix that I wasn't sure of, it turned into a good 45 minute talk just trying to figure out what he was saying. Funny thing was, he was getting pissed at ME because I couldn't understand the guy. I know california is poulated by a lot of mexicans, but christ, if your gonna come to our country, learn the fucking language or get the fuck out.

Personally the internet is the best tech support because the only obstacle is finding the information.

Also... Dell is stationed in Bangladesh? I thought it was stationed in Texas.

Arta: I have no doubt that ATI's cards are beating nVidia in every way, but personally at a glance I see no differences visually in the performance. I also just don't care that much to spend more on a card then I would on 1/2 my new system :P

[quote author=DarkVirus link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=30#msg34855 date=1071188089]
You use tech support? When I had my Gateway (WORST customer service every, sounds like Dell actually :P ) I was on for a at least 2 hours waiting for "The next available representative to help me". Even though they say they value our service, they really don't give a fuck.

When I called a few months ago to talk to a sales rep about my wireless belkin gear just for a quick fix that I wasn't sure of, it turned into a good 45 minute talk just trying to figure out what he was saying. Funny thing was, he was getting pissed at ME because I couldn't understand the guy. I know california is poulated by a lot of mexicans, but christ, if your gonna come to our country, learn the fucking language or get the fuck out.

Personally the internet is the best tech support because the only obstacle is finding the information.

Also... Dell is stationed in Bangladesh? I thought it was stationed in Texas.

Arta: I have no doubt that ATI's cards are beating nVidia in every way, but personally at a glance I see no differences visually in the performance. I also just don't care that much to spend more on a card then I would on 1/2 my new system :P
[/quote]

Haha, nice. I can't remember what I was calling about, it was about a year ago. Might have been the 40X CD drive that died but still showed signs of life.. wierd piece of trash.

As far as I know, Dell's call centers are in Bangladesh and they're moving the Business and Home Office call center back stateside, according to a slashdot article a couple weeks ago.

Always go through Dell's small business department, they give better support yes and the prices are cheaper (and you dont actually have to have a small business to get the prices). My third computer I owned was a pentium 2 like 233 mhz or something Dell XPS 350 maybe or whatever and it still runs, I've had it for a good 7 years i think and although I havent used it for a year now it lasted me as long as I needed it and that sold it for me. I had a compaq after that one which died after a year (though that one survived like 2 power surges and i think was the victim to my open window right next to its fans which im sure did not help. Then I was still broke after that pos died 2 months after the warrenty went away, I didnt have much money so got anouther cheap compaq for like $500 and that lasted about 3 and half years. I've never had any problems with Dell, and sometimes when I get really lonely I call just to chat with them <3 hehe (jk).

Edit: Alot of you idiots are still missing the point, You say oh ya Hostile is probably right then contradict what I'm saying. My post is for Mitosis. Its not for you j0k3r. You are majorly misinterpreting that despite hes paying more, given what his track record it will cost me for to spend 1500 now and then fuck up his computer again then to just fork out a little extra money and actually have it last him a while. Once again this is not the ideal solution for everyone, but for him IT IS. Unless of course one of you idiots want to build his system for him and provide him techsupport for all his problems.

[quote author=Ghost_Operative link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=30#msg34791 date=1071159525]
heh i got mine a bit earlier,but its kinda half payed for mky parents as the my xmas present from them in whole) so for those of you wondering if i spent 2K+ on a comp your out of my mind i payed about 1200, heres the specs:
[/quote]
A fair price but you should've done what Mitosis has done as posted it first so we can all tell him how wrong he is.
[quote]
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ / 1MB Cache/ 1600MHz FSB / Socket 754 / Processor
[/quote]
Good Choice, Fair price for the cpu despite the FX cpu is all around better.
[quote]
RAM: OCZ EL Series 512MB PC4000 DDR 500MHz Memory
[/quote]
A good choice for the Athlon 64 processors thanks to their on-board memory controller giving them a FSB speed as high as the processor
[quote]
Motherboard: Chaintech - ZNF3-150 - Socket 754 ATX Motherboard with Audio, AGP8X/4X, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, FireWire, Serial ATA, CNR, WOR, WOL, Hyper-Transport Capable, and Gigabit LAN Support
[/quote]
A good motherboard, You'd find better performance from other ones but this one was vouged the best for a multimedia home computer thanks to it pulling off good in a few aspects and having the best sound system with it. Personally I would've gotten the MSI K8T Neo or Asus K8V Deluxe which offer better performance as well as quiter, and cooler operation.
[quote]
Sound: Creative Labs SB Audigy 2 Platinum Sound Card
[/quote]
I assume you mean the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum one with internal audigy 2 hd since they only had a platinum for the ZS version of the sound card iirc. In which case I also have this in my other system, its great and a good choice.
[quote]
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB DDR AGP8X with TV-Out and DVI Video Card
[/quote]
Great video card, can't go wrong and will play just about any game out flawlessly.
[quote]
HHD: 20GB Seagate 7200 RPM Ultra ATA ( from old comp)
[/quote]
This is a joke, I think might memory key might have more storage space then this :P Well, not really but with 120GB hds for $60 and 160GB hds for $80 USD, you can't go wrong sticking one of those in your system.
[quote]
Operating System: Obtained copy of Win2k3 Server Enterprise ^_-
[/quote]
The god tool full of features and performance since you only have to turn on features you use, though I'm not sure... correct me if I'm wrong but can you actually fit this AND a game on that harddrive? *Sorry, had to stick in anouther blow*
[quote]
includes; floppy,generic 52x32x52 burner,16/48 dvd rom, full tower case (generic beige) standard nic (10/100) and modem, and my old crt monitor 15" with a dvi connection converter for the video card, wheel/ball mouse,standard keyboard, a few system fans
[/quote]
Your case sounds pritty lame, and I think sony or lite-on have the best dvd-roms. Floppys are almost always generic and 52x generic cd-rw drives are a good buy nowadays, they may lack failproof burning features but ones like Magic I/O's cost only about $20-30 max. Ethernet is almost always integrated now and not worth mentioning unless its awesome like intels CSA technology. But this is was gets me... You say you have an old CRT monitor thats 15" which I can't begin to cuss you out enough since its a totaly mother fucking waste on that video card.... (You should atleast have a 17" Flat-screen CRT) and please explain this one. It makes me think you just lied about the entire system since you obvious have no idea what you're doing~ I mean why would you even waste $30 on an Analog->Digital converter when you can just plug the CRT right into the analog-in? You either don't know what you're talking about or lying here, since the ATI Radeon 9800 comes with an analog AND dvi port, though its just never mentioned but assumed. Also in the event you're dumb enough to do this you should know your monitor sucks even more for it since those things drastically suck down responce time for the monitor due to the convertion. Finally is the fact you have a wheel mouse, keyboard and fans in your system worth mentioning? Granted they're all important due to your computer being almost totally useless without either of them, I think we could've assumed you had most of these. More importantly, how is your case worth mentioning if your power supply isn't? :p

[quote author=Arta[vL] link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=30#msg34839 date=1071184510]
According to every benchmark I've ever seen, ATI's high-end cards are beating the crap out of nvidia at the moment...
[/quote]

So are their mid-ranged cards, The Radeon 9600 Pro beat the hell out of the Geforce FX 5600 Ultra. Then when the Radeon 9600 XT came out, nvidia tried to counter it with the Geforce FX 5700 Ultra, which is worse and more expensive like all nvidia cards.

I use a 465W Enermax power supply. Excellent voltage regulation and reasonably quiet.

http://www.enermax.com.tw/product.htm


Less than $95 - http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=611315/ut=403557e1c031ec86

IIRC, all the big US companies are switching support stations to foreign lands. (AOL, Microsoft, Dell, etc.)

[quote author=hismajesty link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=30#msg34926 date=1071231545]
IIRC, all the big US companies are switching support stations to foreign lands. (AOL, Microsoft, Dell, etc.)
[/quote]

People in other countries seem to do more work for less money, that's just the way it is.

[quote author=Hitmen link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=45#msg34964 date=1071260398]
[quote author=hismajesty link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=30#msg34926 date=1071231545]
IIRC, all the big US companies are switching support stations to foreign lands. (AOL, Microsoft, Dell, etc.)
[/quote]

People in other countries seem to do more work for less money, that's just the way it is.
[/quote]

Yeah...that's why they switched the support places. Although, I think I'd rather pay more for a product that was made in the US rather than one made in a foreign place (like China or Japan) it's gonna screw the US over in the future.

Obviously you're realizing a very important issue that many people have been worried about and are still worried about. The government is doing some things to try and promote companies to stay here but its often not enough. (i.e.: giving companies 10 years of no federal taxes for moving to the country.) It is still an much cheaper to move a factory or more busy work scenarios to different countries (I think some of you may have noticed a farely wide-spread article about alot of jobs moving to India. The government makes alot more money this way, thanks to trade deals and import taxes but it lowers jobs for the citizens and hurts the economy more so in other ways.

In other words: us, the aspiring, entry-level CS majors are screwed.

[quote author=St0rm.iD link=board=2;threadid=4170;start=45#msg35046 date=1071290964]
In other words: us, the aspiring, entry-level CS majors are screwed.
[/quote]

It may depend on whether you value money or happiness. If money, it is always possible to learn something that is in great demand, but is boring. I've mentioned before that the American corporate engine is going to face a crisis in the next 5-10 years over COBOL, which represents 75% of the existing code, and where 90% of the programmers are 50+ and beginning to retire. You can make a killing there, but COBOL will not satisfy you intellectually.

Theres always money out, for someone who wants it. I'm being a broken record saying this.... Right now the economy still down, yeah so what its no where near the point where someone whos willing to the work to get paid. You can -still- do anything you put your mind to.