[arclite]

Hello everyone, I'm a long time forum lurker but this is my first post. I am looking into buying a new comp. because I can't upgrade this dell any further. First question: has anyone ever ordered something from PCUSA.com? and what did you think of it? I hear they are good, and the prices look good. Second question is how does this look for a new computer?


CPU Processor :
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+, Socket AM2, 2.2GHz, 64-Bit Dual-Core, 2x512KB L2 Cache QTY: 1
System Board :
Asus nForce4 SLI,Socket AM2, DualCore,DDR2,PCIex16/SLI,iRAID/sRAID,w/Sound,w/LAN. [ M2N4-SLI ] QTY: 1
Memory 1 Slot : DDR2: 1024MB 667MHz / PC5400 QTY: 1
Memory 2 Slot : DDR2: 1024MB 667MHz / PC5400 QTY: 1
Memory 3 Slot : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Memory 4 Slot : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Hard Drive 1 : Hitachi 160GB Serial ATA 7200RPM w/ 8MB Buffer QTY: 1
Hard Drive 2 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Hard Drive 3 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Hard Drive 4 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Floppy Drive : 1.44MB Floppy Drive, Black Color QTY: 1
ROM 1 : ROMVDRW: Black: 16x Dual-Format DVDRW/CDRW QTY: 1
ROM 2 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Video : PCI-E16: Geforce 7900GT: 256MB w/SLI. QTY: 1
Sound/Audio: : SC:32-Bit 3D/Surround Sound ( if system board has on-board sound ) QTY: 1
Wired LAN : NIC: 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Ethernet Port ( if motherboard included ) QTY: 1
Wireless LAN : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Case : Antec Tower ATX: Performance TX [ TX1050B ] Black w/ 500W QTY: 1
Power Supply : PS: Check the case to see if it comes with w/ xxxW PS QTY: 1
Operating System : Windows XP Professional - 64 Bit Edition - w/ CD set QTY: 1
Optional Software 1 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Optional Software 2 : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Keyboard : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Mouse : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Speakers : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Monitor LCD : OPTIONAL QTY: 0
Warranty : Fully Assembled w/ 1-Year Part & Labor

URL Link :
http://www.pcusa.com/shopkitconfig.a...,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,

Bringing the total to $1137.25, I understand the graphics card isn't the best but, I've only got around 1000 for this, if anyone has any suggestions for other graphics cards I am open.

[rabb1t]

I'd say bump the motherboard up to the Asus 570 Northbridge type.

Can you find anyone in your area you could trust to build you one? In the $1,000 range you'd get a lot better system from someone building it compared to going through a system builder.

I'd also say if you must go through a system builder, find one which is offering Vista. I have no idea why those guys aren't offering it. They fact that they don't offer DDR2-800, which is what the AM2 should run with, nor Vista, makes me... hesitant to trust them.

If you have no preference on maker, whipping up somthing at Dell you could get an XPS 410 with an E6300 core, 2 gig of DDR2-667 ram, free upgrade to Vista Premium, bump to 20" E207WFP monitor, 7900 GS for $1400. (A way better deal for what you get than the place you linked.)

[arclite]

Hmmm...Well I could build it myself, but then I would have to deal with buying everything seperate and returning stuff if it doesn't work and that is alot of hassel in my opinion. And through PCUSA, I would have a 1 year warranty. I bought the computer I currently have from dell and the fact I can't upgrade it that much annoys me. I thought that was a really good deal for about 1100. If I were to buy from newegg and put it together myself what all could I get for that much?

[rabb1t]

See Fozzik's 1k build for that.

If you were to ask me for a list, I may do something like the following...

X2 4200+ $188
Asus M2N-SLI $142
Corsair XMS2 2 gig DDR2-800 $240 after rebate
Evga 7950 GT $269 after rebate
Western digital SE16 250 gig $75
Thermaltake Toughpower 600w $109 after rebate
Cooler Master Centurion 5 $50
Lite-On 16x DVD burner $27
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer $90
Logitech G5 mouse $46
Keyboard $20

Total = $1256

Dell E207WFP $260

Total w/ Monitor = $1516

Though, be aware that the build doesn't include Vista like the Dell system would.

[Fozzik]

I think the one you had picked out looks pretty good, but I would be careful (I've never heard of PCUSA...). The questions I would have are why don't they offer PC2-800 memory, which would give you a performance boost with that system (although not a huge one...you could live with the memory they offer), and what power supply exactly are you getting.

Power supply is very significant, especially if you are concerning yourself with the machine being upgradeable in the future.

Just from the standpoint of the components, I think you would be very happy with the performance of that machine for the price you are paying. IMHO

[rabb1t]

It looks like they are referencing that it is the default PSU that comes with the Antec case.

Looking that up on NewEgg it can be found here. Wow, that's a really expensive one at $130. For that much you could get a Nine hundred. A close up of the PSU is here and it looks ok for single GPU, but kind of weak for dual GPU or DX10 use with only 17a on one v12 line and 19a on another. Minimum for current gen stuff is 15a, so this doesn't give you a lot of headroom.

[arclite]

Okay well I think I will get the one from PCUSA.com, I have heard good reviews from people I know. The only difference is that I will not get the 7900GT from them but buy the 7950GT from newegg. I think I will buy another PSU if needed seeing as they aren't that expensive, but seeing as money is tight I will go with what I picked out before. Anyone have anymore comments or suggestions? and thank you fozzik and rabb1t for your help.

[Slide]

I'd steer away from XP64 if I were you, it's not a bad OS but the driver support for it isn't great and an awful lot of stuff that you'd probably want to run on a home machine will at the very least require a lot of fiddling around to get it to work. Also the 16 bit emulator is gone, so no old Win95/98 games will work.

Stick to regular XP for now.

[Fozzik]

Oh yeah, I didn't even notice that. Definitely go with XP Pro rather than 64bit.

Also, if you need suggestions on power supplies, let me know.

[Slide]

It looks like a pretty decent deal for a prebuilt tho. The slight performance hit your getting is definately worth the piece of mind.

However, if something blows and you have to send the whole deal over to the manufacturers then it isn't much of a better deal than the good component manufacturers warranties.

[arclite]

Hmm, so when would getting 64bit XP Pro be worth?

[Slide]

Originally Posted by arclite

Hmm, so when would getting 64bit XP Pro be worth?

in a word never. go 64 bit when Vista settles. XP64 is a bit of a bastard stepchild, it's actually Windows 2003 server reskinned. Microsoft barely support it, and the hardware companies definately dont.

[arclite]

Hmm, okay then well that brings the price down 2 dollars.