Recommendations for a new machine

Post #122,124

10/21/03 1:11:14 AM

As of Nov. 1 I have to give back the laptop from my job leaving me with only an ancient desktop. Therefore, I need to buy a new machine. Obviously (especially given my employment situation) I want ot get the biggest bang for the buck. Therefore I would like some recommendations on what processor speed, video card, memory (how much), hard disk size etc. and anything else you can think of. Unfortunately prices in Israel are a bit higher then in the US but still I should be able to get an idea of what I need and what it will cost.

Post #122,129

by jake123

10/21/03 2:07:59 AM

What I always do

is look at where the big jump in price is from one step to the next, and buy at the bottom of the big jump.

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Post #122,131

by pwhysall

10/21/03 2:29:56 AM

No specific recommendation, but....

...have a poke around on eBay. There's some monster machines for very little $$$ there.

Current bang/buck winners are:

Athlon processors
NVidia graphics cards
Big'n'chunky IDE disks
Get a gig of memory
Get a cheap'n'cheerful case
CD-RW drives are real cheap, don't leave one out

If you're about raw performance, the list changes a bit:

P4 processor
ATI graphics card
Not-quite-so-big SATA disk

If you're just going to be mooching round on the internet and doing desktop-app-type-stuff, you can save even more money by getting one of those mainboards with integrated everything and then you don't have to fork over the readies for sound, graphics or network cards.

Any gaming or serious 3D graphics work will require a proper card, though.

If you want an off-the-shelf system with an overarching warranty, Dell have their "Outlet", which is where kit that's effectively brand new is resold. It's stuff that's been overordered or misordered, and basically it's been opened, someone's gone "that's wrong, back to Dell with it this minute!". I had a quick mooch around the Dell Israel site, but was defeated by my lack of Hebrew.

Here's the blurb for the UK site:

[link|http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/emea/segments/dfo/home?c=uk&l=en&s=dfo&~section=about_outlet|http://www1.euro.del...tion=about_outlet]

Post #122,134

by static

10/21/03 6:25:22 AM

Some other min/max tips.

There are a couple of trade-offs you might not be aware of.

* Given a choice between a faster processor and more memory, more memory is always the better choice.
* Likewise, a choice between a faster processor and a larger hard disk should always go to the larger disk.
* It doesn't sound like you'll need it, but good 3D games performance depends a lot on the processor as well as the graphics chip. It's been a while since I've looked at this, but AFAIK, a moderate graphics chip will perform better with an above average processor than a high-performance graphics chip with an average processor.
* Jack's already mentioned the trick of buying on the "knee" of the price curve.
* If you're going to build one from bits, buy a brand-name case! (The cheap cases really are harder to work in.)

Wade.

Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed

Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please

-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

Post #122,147

by admin

10/21/03 9:50:27 AM

As I said to Arkadiy:

[link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=114600|http://z.iwethey.org...?contentid=114600]

Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."

Post #122,310

by kmself

10/22/03 1:55:24 AM

Last year's used model

What are you planning to do with the box?

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Last year's mid-range is a decent option. Particularly if it comes from a dumpster, friend, firesale, or other choice. Note that general used venues (thrift stores, general-interest flea markets) are generally filled with grossly overvalued boat anchors. Used electronic supply can be a real bargain, as is your local computer user group.

\r\n\r\n

Other than that, I'd aim for a high-end monitor (CRT still beats LCD, though it's getting close), solid case and mobo, more memory, ports (USB, Firewire, GigE), and a fast disk as higher priorities. CPU, internal modem, keyboard/mouse, and chrome are far lower. Video really depends on what you're doing, but unless there's a lot of high-end gaming, $40 is going to get you a card that will handle anything you throw at it.

\r\n\r\n

I'm with Scott on the $400 box. Selective cannibalization of existing HW may also serve you well.

\r\n\r\n

Curves: watch for incompatible memory and peripherals: AGP video is current, PCMCIA 16 v. 32 bit. USB1 vs. USB2. CPU socket types. Pin down Greg or the other gearheads for other specifics.

--\r\n Karsten M. Self [link|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n [link|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n [link|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n \r\n Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n

Post #122,314

by pwhysall

10/22/03 2:54:46 AM

10/22/03 2:57:21 AM

It's a damn shame you're in Israel

I've got a PC for sale:

Athlon XP 1800
512MB RAM
GeForce4 Ti4200 64MB AGP 4x
10GB disk
3Com NIC
SB Live!
Gigabyte 7ZXE motherboard
FreeCom 32x CDRW
ViewSonic 15GA 15" monitor
Harman/Kardon desktop speakers
Compaq keyboard
MS Intellimouse Explorer

\ufffd350, buyer collects :)

Edit: Note that all hardware is fully supported in Debian Linux and Windows XP.

Edited by pwhysall Oct. 22, 2003, 02:57:21 AM EDT

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