PC Components for sale

[wbonnell]

I'm thinking of "upgrading" to a Sager np5660 laptop since it would better fit my lifestyle. Since I can't justify having two gaming machines, I would like to sell my PC and/or components. If necessary, I'll sell the parts on EBay, but I thought I'd check with you guys first(I also posted over at GoneGold). Here's what I've got. Oh, and nothing has been abused or overclocked.

-AMD Athlon XP 1900+ Retail
-Gigabyte GA-7VRX Mobo with embedded sound, nic, and raid controller
-512MB (2x 256MB) PC2700 DDR-Ram
-Reference GeForce 4 Ti 4600 128MB
-80GB 7200RPM UDMA133 Maxtor Hardrive (6L080J4)
-Soundblaster Audigy Gamer
-Antec Performance Plus 660 Case with 333Watt PSU
-TDK VeloCD 12/10/32 CD-RW

-and, if you're willing to pay for shipping and/or you live in the Austin, TX area, I also have a 21" Sony flat screen monitor (E540)

Send me an email with your best offer. Preference will be given to offers for multiple items. Heck, if you're looking for a solid but used gaming machine, this one is already assembled.

[astralhaze]

Damn, some very very nice components there. If I hadn't just upgraded I would definately take you up on it.

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by astralhaze
Damn, some very very nice components there. If I hadn't just upgraded I would definately take you up on it.

Isn't that a universal law? As soon as you make a large purchase, something better always presents itself? Or maybe it's merely man's never ending quest for material gain? :-)

[astralhaze]

Originally posted by wbonnell
Isn't that a universal law? As soon as you make a large purchase, something better always presents itself? Or maybe it's merely man's never ending quest for material gain? :-)

Well, that's the thing, the something isn't better in this case :)

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by astralhaze
Well, that's the thing, the something isn't better in this case :)

Does anything else depreciate quite like a PC?

[PilotMan]

Originally posted by wbonnell
Does anything else depreciate quite like a PC?

brand new cars

[Philliesfan980]

Hey why don't you splurge and get the Sager 8887. On board Radion 9000 (128 meg - amazing for a laptop).

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980
Hey why don't you splurge and get the Sager 8887. On board Radion 9000 (128 meg - amazing for a laptop).

Trust me- I've thought about it. But I've found a well equipped 5660 for less than 1.7k.

BTW, is the 128MB Radeon supposed to outperform the 64MB version? I've heard there's little to no difference...

[Philliesfan980]

Yeah, I haven't seen any benchmarks, but I'd have to guess that 128 megs outperforms 64 megs. Maybe not 2x times but I'd hope that its significant. It also comes with a 16.1 viewable vs 15.1 viewable.

I'm looking to get one of these (sager) laptops also. I'm interested in hearing what your specs are for your 1.7k one.

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980
Yeah, I haven't seen any benchmarks, but I'd have to guess that 128 megs outperforms 64 megs. Maybe not 2x times but I'd hope that its significant. It also comes with a 16.1 viewable vs 15.1 viewable.

I'm looking to get one of these (sager) laptops also. I'm interested in hearing what your specs are for your 1.7k one.

15" UXGA Monitor
2.4 P4 533 FSB
40GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
Radeon 9000 64MB
8xDVD/24X10X24 CDRW Combo

$1672:

http://pctorque.com/builder.php?type=7

[Philliesfan980]

Very nice system. But do you think it will be powerful enough for your gaming needs? Like you said you were ditching the laptop.

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980
Very nice system. But do you think it will be powerful enough for your gaming needs? Like you said you were ditching the laptop.

Well, if you've followed the game trading threads recently, you'll see that I've trade for or acquired a large number of "older" games. However, read what John Carmack has to say about the Radeon 9000 Mobility:

<i>
The M9 laptop part allows state of the art high end game development to be accomplished on a laptop platform for the first time really since we've moved to hardware acceleration. You know, on our current work at Id right now we're still pushing really hard to make Doom 3 run well on various high end desk top cards. So it's pretty startling to be able to fire it up on a laptop and see it run at a really pretty startling good pace.
</i>

[damnMikeBrown]

Just curious, what do you value the Georforce at? I'm looking to get a vid card for Star Wars Galaxies, but am still educating myself.

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by damnMikeBrown
Just curious, what do you value the Georforce at? I'm looking to get a vid card for Star Wars Galaxies, but am still educating myself.

The highest offer, I guess. Here's an idea of what it costs brand new. Of course, mine is almost a year old:

http://shopper.cnet.com/shopping/resellers/0-9743127-311-9481751.html?tag=st.sh.sr.pl.pr9481751

[Philliesfan980]

Well, if you've followed the game trading threads recently, you'll see that I've trade for or acquired a large number of "older" games. However, read what John Carmack has to say about the Radeon 9000 Mobility:

Thats awsome. Just the same, I think I'll just suck it up, and spend the extra 600-700 bucks (no, no I'm not rich) and upgrade it.

Here's my potential system:

- 2.66 gig (I hear that the difference between 2.66 and 3.0 gig isn't much)


- 40 gig HDD 5400 RPM (I can always get a USB external HDD later)

- DVD-RW (The -RW is better than the +RW right?)

- CDRW

- 16.1 Viewable w/ 128 vid memory

- 512 Ram (thinking about going to 1024, is it worth it? for the cost)

- Windows XP / OFFICE home version (screw microsoft, but you gotta get them)

... I think this will be around 2.5k - 2.7k

Any suggestions?

[wbonnell]

- 2.66 gig (I hear that the difference between 2.66 and 3.0 gig isn't much)

You're right. Actually, right now the 2.53 is the best price point.



- 40 gig HDD 5400 RPM (I can always get a USB external HDD later)


Definitely get the 5400 drive!


- DVD-RW (The -RW is better than the +RW right?)


Not worth the cost right now, IMO. And, it's too darn slow and error prone. Besides, how much "legal" stuff can you do with one of these things?

- CDRW


- 16.1 Viewable w/ 128 vid memory

I've hear complaints that his monitor suffers from noticeable "ghosting" due to its slow update speed. According to members of the saberforums site, the 15" UXGA is the best Saber monitor


- 512 Ram (thinking about going to 1024, is it worth it? for the cost)


Not for games, but if you develop software (Especially Java which is memory hungry), for instance, I'd recommend it. Either way, you're better off configuring for only 256MB and then buying namebrand RAM yourself.


- Windows XP / OFFICE home version (screw microsoft, but you gotta get them)

... I think this will be around 2.5k - 2.7k

Any suggestions?

Did you realize that the sager laptop is IDENTICAL to Alienware's Area-51M? They're both manufactured by Clevo. We're talking about nothing more than the same laptop with a fancy paint job. And they charge six to eight hundred more. Nothing like paying for advertising!

[Philliesfan980]

Not worth the cost right now, IMO. And, it's too darn slow and error prone. Besides, how much "legal" stuff can you do with one of these things?

Actually I was going to get it to copy all my VCR tapes (memorable sports games, favorite shows, etc) to DVD. Besides the legal dilemma, I hear its a pain in the ass to copy "Copy Protected" DVD's anyway.

I've hear complaints that his monitor suffers from noticeable "ghosting" due to its slow update speed. According to members of the saberforums site, the 15" UXGA is the best Saber monitor

I'll have to keep that in mind. I think I have to get the 16 inch viewable for the 128 meg video ram though.

Did you realize that the sager laptop is IDENTICAL to Alienware's Area-51M? They're both manufactured by Clevo. We're talking about nothing more than the same laptop with a fancy paint job. And they charge six to eight hundred more. Nothing like paying for advertising!

You're saying that the Alienware's model is more expensive correct?


Dumb question, but I can always just get a EXTERNAL USB HDD correct? I mean even at the high prices of Compusa, I can get a Maxtor USB 120 gig hdd (5400 rpm) for 220. Or do this devices not really work for notebooks?

[wbonnell]

Actually I was going to get it to copy all my VCR tapes (memorable sports games, favorite shows, etc) to DVD. Besides the legal dilemma, I hear its a pain in the ass to copy "Copy Protected" DVD's anyway.

Exactly. However, CDR media is cheap, so you could just use a lot of disks...


I'll have to keep that in mind. I think I have to get the 16 inch viewable for the 128 meg video ram though.


Like I said, benchmarks show almost no difference. If video is a concern, wait for the ATI M10 due out this summer.


You're saying that the Alienware's model is more expensive correct?


far more expensive


Dumb question, but I can always just get a EXTERNAL USB HDD correct? I mean even at the high prices of Compusa, I can get a Maxtor USB 120 gig hdd (5400 rpm) for 220. Or do this devices not really work for notebooks?

an external drive works just fine. Of course, it will be slower.

[Philliesfan980]

Exactly. However, CDR media is cheap, so you could just use a lot of disks...

Yeah, but I can't play my CD-R disks on a DVD player, or can I somehow?

Like I said, benchmarks show almost no difference. If video is a concern, wait for the ATI M10 due out this summer.

Thats awsome. It will save some cash too, I guess I just have a hard time in my mind thinking that double memory doesn't equal significantly improved performance

an external drive works just fine. Of course, it will be slower.

Do you think by going up to a 7200 RPM External HDD it will compensate for the USB slowness to make it almost as good as a 5400 internal model?


Thanks again for all the help.

[wbonnell]

Yeah, but I can't play my CD-R disks on a DVD player, or can I somehow?


Sure, but remember that a CD doesn't hold has much data thus poorer quality and/or shorter film.

http://www.techtv.com/callforhelp/answerstips/story/0,24330,2200053,00.html


Thats awsome. It will save some cash too, I guess I just have a hard time in my mind thinking that double memory doesn't equal significantly improved performance


Or wait for the M10.



Do you think by going up to a 7200 RPM External HDD it will compensate for the USB slowness to make it almost as good as a 5400 internal model?


Make sure you get a USB2.0 drive.

[Philliesfan980]

Or wait for the M10.

I'm impatient :). Plus you know how hardware stuff works, it will not even be remotely priced correctly until about 6-8 months after its released. The only thing that I'm worried about is obsolence. Do you foresee a time in the near future (next 2-3 years) that we'll need more than the 64 meg of video ram to run stuff normally? (I don't mind turning some options off either, I'm not a graphics whore).

Bottom line: As long as I can play a nice smooth game of high heat 2004 (leave the flaming for that for another topic, lol) , Madden, and BF1942. As well as my favorite's ootp5, fof. I'll be a happy Camper.

[Hawaii Warrior]

Call me an idiot but how would you transfer your VHS movies to a DVD-R or CD-R? I have a ton of memorable sports games that I would like to make DVDs. Can someone please explain the process?

[Philliesfan980]

Call me an idiot but how would you transfer your VHS movies to a DVD-R or CD-R? I have a ton of memorable sports games that I would like to make DVDs. Can someone please explain the process?

Well , I'm not an expert, in a matter of fact I've never even done that process before. But it seems to me, you send the video out from your VCR into your VIDEO IN (svideo, or composite cable) on your video card. From there you need some kind of software that will encode the file to AVI or MPEG. From there you can burn it to CD-R or DVD-R/DVD+R. I think thats the nuts and bolts of it.

[Tarkus]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980
- 40 gig HDD 5400 RPM (I can always get a USB external HDD later)
In my experience there's a huge difference between a 5400 RPM drive and a 7200 RPM drive in terms of how fast your computer's going to access data. If it's an option I'd definitely get a 7200 drive.

Tarkus

[astralhaze]

Originally posted by Tarkus
In my experience there's a huge difference between a 5400 RPM drive and a 7200 RPM drive in terms of how fast your computer's going to access data. If it's an option I'd definitely get a 7200 drive.

Tarkus

Word. Does indeed make a huge difference.

[Philliesfan980]

In my experience there's a huge difference between a 5400 RPM drive and a 7200 RPM drive in terms of how fast your computer's going to access data. If it's an option I'd definitely get a 7200 drive.

True, I agree. But the only option for the laptops here (and everywhere else I've seen) are internal 4200 or 5400 RPM drives. The other option is just to get the standard 20 gig hdd, and then get a 120 GIG 7200 FIREWIRE external.

I guess the question comes down to what is going to have better performance: 1. External Firewire 7200 RPM. Or 2. Internal 5400 RPM? Also you get more storage for the buck with the external versions. 200 Gig WD 7200 Firewire is $399. (At pricy Compusa)

[Airhog]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980
Well , I'm not an expert, in a matter of fact I've never even done that process before. But it seems to me, you send the video out from your VCR into your VIDEO IN (svideo, or composite cable) on your video card. From there you need some kind of software that will encode the file to AVI or MPEG. From there you can burn it to CD-R or DVD-R/DVD+R. I think thats the nuts and bolts of it.

thats pretty accurate, you could squeeze them onto cd, but you would loose alot of the quality. Ive seen movies that have okay quality using mpeg at full screen that are about 10 megs per 1 minute. so a 60 minute show would run about 600 megs. Increase the quality a bit and 60 minutes is taking up a full 700 meg cd.
A dvd can hold much more of course, I would imagine to get decent quality, you would need about 1 gig per 60 minutes or something.

Also, another factor to consider is that some CD media is crap, and wont last more than 5 or 6 years. So if you really want to preserve your media, you are going to need to reburn it every so often, or look into expensive media that can last 25 years.

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980


Bottom line: As long as I can play a nice smooth game of high heat 2004 (leave the flaming for that for another topic, lol) , Madden, and BF1942. As well as my favorite's ootp5, fof. I'll be a happy Camper.

From what I've read, the P4 2.4 mated with an 64MB ATI Radeon 9000 Mobility plays BF1942 silky smooth. I suspect that BF1942's engine is more demanding than High Heat's.

[Easy Mac]

How much for the whole thing... I don't really need a car anyway, thats why I have a girlfriend.

[wbonnell]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980

I guess the question comes down to what is going to have better performance: 1. External Firewire 7200 RPM. Or 2. Internal 5400 RPM? Also you get more storage for the buck with the external versions. 200 Gig WD 7200 Firewire is $399. (At pricy Compusa)

Let's see. Theoretical transfer of usb 2.0 is 480Mb/sec. UDMA 133 is theoretically 1064Mb/sec (133 * 8). Even with the 10% boost offered by a 7200 rotational speed, the interal drive will always be faster.

BTW, when comparing hard drives, you need to be aware of access and seek times as well as cache memory size(buffer).