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Your Thoughts (Please Reply)

IcIrIs

n00b
Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
15
Here is a little background on myself, I'm 16 and I have been starting to sell computers on the side, for a little spending money and as a possible career. I normally ask my dad what he thinks of the setup that I am planning on selling, however he is working night shift and I can not get a hold of him, and I want to get her a quote as soon as possible before winter break. So I am wondering what you all think of this setup?

• DFI LANParty UT NF4 ULTRA-D Motherboard
• Thermaltake Swing VB6000BWS ATX Tower Case Black
• OCZ EL Platinum PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400
• Sapphire Radeon X1800 XL 256MB
• Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB SATA
• Samsung 915N 19IN LCD Monitor
• Samsung SH-W162C 16X DVD+-RW 5X Dual Layer DVD Writer Black
• 1.44MB Black 3.5IN FLOPPY DRIVE
• CREATIVE SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY 2
• Sunbeam 12INCH Green Cold Cathode Light Kit with Backplate Switch
• LOGITECH Z-5300E SPEAKERS 5.1 280W
• Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3100 Rechargeable Optical Mouse and Keyboard
• AeroCool Turbine Power 550W ATX12V V2.0
• AMD Opteron 144 Processor S939 Venus 1.8GHZ
• Cooler Master Neon Green LED 120MM Case Fans
• Microsoft Windows XP Home

I am not sure if the memory will work with the motherboard I have read that some people have been having problems with the OCZ and the LANParty.

What CPU cooler should I get for the computer?

I am planning on selling it over clocked for her.

I would get her the Sapphire GTO2 and Bios flash it, but I am worried about warranty, I want to be able to give her a warranty on the parts.

My dad (Uncle) will then put it together for me. :D I employ him lol

Thanks A Lot!
 
I'd make sure she knows you overclocked it in case she ends up resetting the bios for some reason. I wouldn't try to sell it as an FX-55 or anything like that.

A 7800GT is $50 cheaper and performs about the same

I'd get the X-Fi instead of the Audigy2 with the money you save from the above switch.

I don't think you'll have problems with that memory and the board. You just have to play around with the DFI to get it working ;).
 
After doing more research and talking on other forums I have come up with this, it is what I am going to prepose to her:

• DFI LANParty UT NF4 ULTRA-D Motherboard
• Thermaltake Swing VB6000BWS ATX Tower Case Black
• OCZ EL Platinum PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400
• Sapphire Radeon X1800 XL 256MB
• Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB SATA
• Samsung SH-W162C 16X DVD+-RW 5X Dual Layer DVD Writer Black
• 1.44MB Black 3.5IN FLOPPY DRIVE
• Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtrememusic 24BIT Sound Card
• Antec True Control 2.0 550W ATX12V V2.0 Power Supply W/ Control Panel
• AMD Opteron 148 Processor S939 Venus 2.2GHZ
• Thermalright XP-90 Aluminum Heatpipe Cooler
• Microsoft Windows XP Home

• Samsung 915N 19IN LCD Monitor
• Cooler Master Neon Green LED 120MM Case Fans
• Sunbeam 12INCH Green Cold Cathode Light Kit with Backplate Switch
• LOGITECH Z-5300E SPEAKERS 5.1 280W
• Sunbeam Cold Cathode Fan 80MM Green (For Thermalright XP-90)
• Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3100 Rechargeable Optical Mouse and Keyboard
 
yeah i'd stick with the x1800xl, the programmable memory controller to me seems like it could pan out to be a very good innovation. guess we'll see though eh
 
Definately keep the Diamondmax 10's and possibly buy another and Raid0 those. They performance leap was crazy when I did mine. Only going dual has been able to somewhat match the performance I experience with this. I can't comment on using just one of these drives.
 
OK, I am going to talk to her today and see if she likes it, she probably doesn't know too much about computers however I think she wont be able to complain if she gets this machine. Her cousin bought a computer that was close to the same thing. Its nice when people have a big family, especially when they all want better computers then the last guy. :D

More likly then not the only thing that I will need to change is the color of the fans and cold cathode, however with that case and the green I think that it will look really good.
 
Errr, I'm confused on a couple of things.

First, you say you want to give her parts with a warranty, however you're going to overclock the system. That right there voids the warranty of the CPU, Mobo, and RAM (assuming you're going to OC from eclipses guide).

Secondly, you say she doesn't know much about computers . . . than why the high end system? If this is going to be used for the basics, and not [H] gaming, than why make her spend the money on this monsterous rig?
 
scwam said:
Definately keep the Diamondmax 10's and possibly buy another and Raid0 those. They performance leap was crazy when I did mine. Only going dual has been able to somewhat match the performance I experience with this. I can't comment on using just one of these drives.

I disagree. If you're going to RAID anything, put it in RAID 1 for backup. I set up a RAID 0 array for a customer and one drive died and I was screwed.
 
you didn't even mention what the client does.

for one this computer is gonna be about 2 grand, shes gonna see that and right away compare it to dell.

i work for a local shop we do the same stuff, but most people dont care or know what overclocking is, nor would need all those requirements.

figure out what the client does.

if its just buisness aplications she doesn't need that kind of comptuer.

your better of building the computer for as cheap as possiblethen making money on labor.

good luck
 
kirbyrj said:
I disagree. If you're going to RAID anything, put it in RAID 1 for backup. I set up a RAID 0 array for a customer and one drive died and I was screwed.
That is a wise comment. There are very few circumstances where I would sell a RAID-0 array to anyone.
 
jnick said:
First, you say you want to give her parts with a warranty, however you're going to overclock the system. That right there voids the warranty of the CPU, Mobo, and RAM (assuming you're going to OC from eclipses guide).

Overclocking only voids the CPU warranty and the memory (unless you underclock it with dividers, then it would be legit). Motherboards that are made to overclock are, obviously, made to overclock. :p Perfectly warranted use, unless you buy some board that has no features to overclock and you flash the BIOS to get those features, then you'd have a voided motherboard.

And why are you getting an Opteron 148? It's the exact same thing as a 3700+ and it's probably gonna cost more. If it's less then go for it, but they don't overclock any higher, only the first wave did. The 144 is the real stand-out as it's the cheapest 1MB of cache socket 939 with tons of room for overclocking.

And your dad helps you pick out the parts, and then he builds it...how exactly do you earn money in this transaction? Public relations? lol

Full Folding Ahead!

 
If there's a question of whether or not she knows anything about computers, you're designing complete overkill for a system for someone like this. First of all, stay at stock speeds on everything when you sell a system to someone else. If something goes wrong they're coming straight to you, and once you have a few systems out there that you built, this will become a problem. If anything happens, they'll start questioning your ability to build a stable box.

Second, if she doesn't know a lot about computers, there may also be a lack of knowledge in audio, (75% chance anyway,) so save some money on the audio board, and use onboard audio. Chances are she won't hear the difference, there will be less driver update hassle (as they can be downloaded from the same place as the chipset drivers,) and you'll save some cash for either her or you (depending on how you're pricing this thing.)

I'd also switch to a Venice core CPU. It supports all the newest SSE modes and all that, it's cheaper, and she likely will not know the difference.

With an AMD64 based CPU, you don't need fancy memory either. Get something like Corsair Value Select. If you give the system to her stock, there will be zero difference between the two.

For someone who doesn't know much about computers (somewhat apparent if they are outsourcing the project to you,) then this system will likely exceed all expectations, so don't totally overdo it. Plus if you're thinking of doing this for business purposes, leave a little room for upgrades. She'll ask you to upgrade something, and you'll get more business.

Anyway, I like the system you were thinking of builing, but that's what you'd want to build for a budding enthusiast, not someone who may not even be able to appreciate it all. So scale it back a touch, leave it at stock speeds, and put the extra money where it counts. (like drive mirroring for data safety (you don't want her to lose anything,)) and maybe bump the monitor up a bit, as a nicer monitor is readily apparent to someone that doesn't know much about the rest of the system.

Remember that price and stability are usually the most important factors for non-enthusiast users. That means safe data storage, stock speeds (if they're into it, they can overclock themselves, or ask you to do it specifically,) and keep the cost down by not unnecessarily adding things like Opterons and overpriced memory. (though you still want quality memory for stability.)

Anyway, that's my .13 (inflation and all that) :D
 
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