Computer for a friend... need help!

A

Ahriman4891

Gawd
Joined
Jun 18, 2005
Messages
534
Hi all!

Long story short, my friend (a 3d artist) is getting a new computer. He configured himself a machine from Tigerdirect (built by Systemax). The specs are as follows:

A64 X2 4800+
WinXP Pro
2GB DDR400
250 GB 7200 rpm sata hdd
All-capable DVD-burner
GF 6600 GT
3 year warranty + service on-site

 everything else is either integrated or not worth mentioning, or not included (he already has a printer, kb, mouse, and just ordered a 20" widescreen dell display).



The total price (w/o the display) comes down to $1700.

Admittedly, I have not been following the hardware scene for quite a while (2 years or so), so I am really not sure what's out, what's hot, and how price-efficient it is. (e.g. I know that ATI has X1900XTX(?) out, but I wouldn't be able to tell, like a couple of years ago, "it's better than 7900GTX in this and that game, by this much, but if you only play that game, get nvidia"). So, I guess my questions are:

1.
How good is his configuration for the money? Has anyone had bad experience with Systemax?

2.
Can you do notably better for the same money, or have the same performance (with quality parts, e.g. Asus mobo, etc.) for much less? My friend knows enough about computers to come up with the specs he needs, but he has never built one (I would be doing that for him, if we decide on a DIY machine). For that reason, warranty and service are important to him, and he gets 3 years of that with the Systemax machine. So, is DIY worth it in his case? (BTW, he does not really care about an expensive video and/or sound card--it's purely a workstation).

3.
Depending on the answer to question 2, what would be the DIY config?

Thanks!
 
Athlon X2 4800+: $632 shipped
Motherboard: $90 shipped
2x1GB RAM: $160 shipped
250GB 7200RPM SATA HD: $95 shipped
Quality case+PS: $70 shipped
DVD burner: $45 shipped
Graphics card: $80 shipped

Total: $1172 shipped

Quite a savings, wouldn't you say?
 
kumquat,

you are totally right. I have been looking around at parts prices... pre-built comps are just as much a ripoff as 2 years ago :)

OK, thanks, I'll recommend against that system, unless he wants to pay $500 for the warranty.
 
don't forget the price of WinXP pro: $140

and a 4800+ is WAY overkill for a graphics artist. if you really want to save some $$$ get a P4 805 D and oc it. it's dual-core and average overclocks are around 3.5ghz. it should be around $140 for that processor.
Or, get the AMD 3800+ for about $280 and overclock it a little. I think the 4800+ runs at a stock of 2.4ghz, and everybody can hit that with a 3800+.

and kumquat, you cannot buy a quality case & PSU for $70. the cheapest decent PSUs are about $70 alone, and a decent case is about $50-70.
 
J Macker said:
you cannot buy a quality case & PSU for $70. the cheapest decent PSUs are about $70 alone, and a decent case is about $50-70.
Click to expand...
That I know :)

BTW, has anyone had any luck installing WinXP Pro that comes with Dell systems on another machine? I once did, on a Toshiba laptop
eek.gif
(long story), and while the graphics were screwed up, it worked :) He has a dell machine now, any chance he can use his Windows?
 
J Macker said:
don't forget the price of WinXP pro: $140

and a 4800+ is WAY overkill for a graphics artist. if you really want to save some $$$ get a P4 805 D and oc it. it's dual-core and average overclocks are around 3.5ghz. it should be around $140 for that processor.
Or, get the AMD 3800+ for about $280 and overclock it a little. I think the 4800+ runs at a stock of 2.4ghz, and everybody can hit that with a 3800+.

and kumquat, you cannot buy a quality case & PSU for $70. the cheapest decent PSUs are about $70 alone, and a decent case is about $50-70.
Click to expand...
Good point about the OS. I always forget. Windows XP Media Center (which is really XP Pro) is $125. I agree about the processor.

I disagree about your statements about the case. The Antec Solution SLK1650B is a very nice case with a quality 300W PSU that will have no problems with this system whatsoever. It's also going to be better than whatever Systemax decides to use.
 
Thank you for your comments, guys!

Well, my friend decided on a DIY comp, but with his previous budget ($1700). I'm trying to talk him out of 4800+. He wants A64 though--the next version of Maya will most likely make good use of 64-bit capabilities. He wants 4 gigs of RAM and a FireGL video card.

Also, he lost his dell OS cd, so we are getting WinXP Pro 64 (any problems with that? glitches, incompatibilities, etc?)--$140.

Regarding the case, I myself am a fan of Lian-Li, but I am not going to force a $160 case+psu combo on my friend, obviously :) I am insisting on a quality power supply, though.

P.S.
Crap, feels weird not being on top of things...
 
How can you say a 4800 is overkill for a graphics designer, if he is doing 3d and rendering - the more CPU power the better!
 
MrGuvernment:

See, normally he would work with very managable scenes in editing mode (even his current 2 GHz P4 is fine for all save the most demanding). The really intense mode is rendering. Well, 3800+ is roughly 80% of 4800+; for fast little tasks, it's e.g. 5 mins of waiting vs 4 mins... for super intense, it may be 5 days vs. 4 days. You could say "short tasks don't matter, and long are extremely long anyway, what's another day" or you could say "any minute matters". The choice is up to him. But overall, I think he will benefit from 4 gigs of ram more than from 2 gigs and a faster CPU. We may go with 4400+ in the end, we'll see how the money spreads out.
 
kumquat said:
I disagree about your statements about the case. The Antec Solution SLK1650B is a very nice case with a quality 300W PSU that will have no problems with this system whatsoever. It's also going to be better than whatever Systemax decides to use.
Click to expand...

In the world of power, overhead is good. I would not be plugging my $300 processor using 110W and 4 GB ( $325 ) worth of ram into a low end psu. It's just asking for trouble. that 350w psu is rated at a mere 21a on the +5 volt rail, which would be fine for a lower end processor, but not in this case. maybe if he got a energy efficient AM2 which consumes less than 65W. still, one thing I've learned, if you want to build good systems, you have to power them sufficiently.
 
^ totally agree.

What wattage would be sufficient for what he's looking for? 450-500W? My system is in my sig, I run a 350W Enermax and have never experienced any problems.
 
I would suggest at least 400w of a good reputable brand, considering the video card isn't drawing much, and leaving a little room for adding hard drives in the future.
FSP, Antec TruePower, Enhance, you know, the good ones.

A pretty decent psu for the money is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

Only $50 and plenty of power, even for a high end cpu, & graphics card.
trying to skimp by another $10 at this point is not a good idea. If he can afford $1700, then he can afford to spend $50 on a good psu.

*edit* Enermax is alright, they're just a little pricey for what you get. That's why I like FSP and other brands... ( I purchased my 600W Enhance unit (same as silverstone 600w ST60F) for a mere $99)
 
^ Thanks for the info! We went w/ a 485Watt Enermax for $75--not the most price-efficient, but since I'm building the computer for another person, I'm kinda paranoid... plus, I talked him out of 4800+ :) the final rig, with 4 gigs of ram and all, came to about $1300.
 
Ahriman4891 said:
^ Thanks for the info! We went w/ a 485Watt Enermax for $75--not the most price-efficient, but since I'm building the computer for another person, I'm kinda paranoid... plus, I talked him out of 4800+ :) the final rig, with 4 gigs of ram and all, came to about $1300.
Click to expand...

What is he getting other than the 4800+?
 
At first he decided to drop it to 4400+. Then I told him that 4200+ is the same, just with less cache, and real-world diff. is < 2% in most cases, but price diff. is $100. I think he was happy to save some $$ :) His final budget came to $1300 + shipping + $350 for the 20" widescreen Dell display he got a couple of days ago. That's for 4 gigs of Ram, mobo, nice case and PSU, CPU, radeon X800GT, and 250GB seagate SATA 3.0 hdd, + whatever little things he got.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top