Flare Sci-Fi Forums: New computer, penny pincher style

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Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

As before in Snay's thread, I need a new computer as this one is dying fast. Can't leave it idle for longer than 15 minutes, can't burn backups anymore, can't work with large images, etc. Really annoying. So, I'm hoping that maybe I can convince my parents to help foot the bill for a new computer for me when I go away to university. I could probably go out and build one on my own, but I'd like some assistance from you folk in getting the best quality. Basically what I'm looking for is the best quality, maximum upgradability, for about $500-600 CDN. Already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers, so I don't need that. I have a floppy drive, a 4x4x24 CDR/RW drive, and 192 MB of RAM. The hard drive is toast. I wouldn't mind having a better CD drive, but its not a priority. If the budget can allow a faster CD burner that can play DVDs also, great. A fast system isn't required, but something better than 1 GHz is a plus. I have a NIC, so don't need one of those. I'd prefer to have separate sound and video cards, nothing built into the motherboard. But as everything else, that's not required but would be a plus. The current computer is a Compaq Presario 5477, so upgrading it isn't really practical as its an odd size and tightly packed. Oh, and I might need a modem. Dialup is still the only service available where I live at the moment. [Mad]

Thanks in advance for the help, folks! [Big Grin]

Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

Update: My computer has finally bit the ghost. It now crashes when trying to do anything. Good news is my uncle is giving me his 5-6 year old computer (which is how old my computer is) so I should be able to scab together a decent system until I can get a new one. I'm posting this from my parents' computer, so I may be out of contact for a bit (not that anyone notices my absence anyways...).

Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :

Did you say something ... ?

Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :

Did you try talking to the people at Beats & Bytes? I think they're pretty good. But then again, I know little about computers.

Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

Hehe. No, I haven't investigated local computer shops yet. Although, with the assistance of a friend, I built this system at TigerDirect:

quote:

Powmax - CP769PL - ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB and 400Watt Power Supply $42.99
Maxtor 80GB/7200/8MB/ATA-133 EIDE Hard Drive $120.99
Kingston 256MB Non-ECC, CL3 PC3200 DDR 400 MHz $73.99
Sapphire Radeon 7000 Video Card/64MB SDR/AGP/TV Out & RCA/ Lite Version $49.99
Intel Celeron 2.6 GHz/128K cache/400 MHz FSB/Socket 478/Processor with fan $132.99
Soyo - P4X400 Dragon Lite - VIA Socket 478 ATX Motherboard with Audio, AGP 8X/4X, USB 2.0 and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN Support $99.99
Total: $520.94

With shipping ($41.61) and tax ($84.38) comes to $646.93. Not too bad, I don't think.

Posted by Ultra 2 Legit 2 Magnus (Member # 239) on :

NCIX.com has some good-assed Canadian deals.

Posted by Ultra 2 Legit 2 Magnus (Member # 239) on :

Too late, maybe.

Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

I browsed around NCIX and it seems as their prices are higher than TigerDirect's.

Posted by Ultra 2 Legit 2 Magnus (Member # 239) on :

Maybe for you newfies.

Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

There's newfies on this forum? I never knew...

Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :

Not sure what 'LAN Support' entails on that system, but it might mean 'Wake On LAN' In which case, you'd probably be better off saving that $99 and geting a beefier Video card. Or more RAM. Or a non-Celeron processor. Where's Cartman when you need him?

Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

I need a new motherboard. My current one is too old and crappy. And I have no problems with Celerons as my current computer is a Celeron. I don't really care about video cards, I don't intend to do any heavy gaming. Red Alert 2, Starcraft and SW: Galactic Battlegrounds will probably be the extent of my gaming. I already have a NIC anyways, so if the LAN support on the motherboard is no good, I have that covered. And I already have 192 MB of RAM, so I should be fine with 448 MB in the end.

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

*drool 448MB of ram*

How easy is it to add new RAM? Do you have to remove the old RAM? I never tinker with the inside of my computer - closest I've gotten is installing a network card... and cleaning the dust (oh and oiling the fan on the CPU).

Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

Well, there's slots for the RAM. You open the clips on each end, put in the DIMM, then close the clips.

Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :

If there aren't any slots available, you remove the smallest one and replace it with a larger one.

Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Topher:
...I already have a NIC anyways, so if the LAN support on the motherboard is no good, I have that covered. And I already have 192 MB of RAM, so I should be fine with 448 MB in the end.

I was confused at the line break, I didn't see that that was the price of the Mobo and thought '10/100 Ethernet LAN support' was a separate item. Also, if you're planning to recycle the PC-100 DIMMs from your Presario and use them with the PC3200 DDR in your new box, you will need to rethink this plan.

Also, what the hell am I doing answering PC-tech questions? Buy a Mac. You'll be happier and girls will think you are sexy.

Posted by deadcujo (Member # 13) on :

Unless, of course, they already know how shitty Macs are.

Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :

Yeah, the RAM issue has been mentioned to me already. Oh well. 256 MB should be fine to start out with. And this is a budget computer, which means definately no Macs. [Wink]