Buying vs Building PC Computers

[Edward64]

There were some other threads on buying a new desktop and deals etc. For those posters, I monitor the following:
Hot Deals - SlickDeals.net Forums
Dell Coupons, Best Buy Deals, Discount Cheap Laptops, Computer Sale
dell coupons, dell deals, computer coupons, laptop deals, Bargains - GotApex?

Thinking about getting a new desktop. Struggling between a Dell E7500 vs i3 (and maybe an i5 2-3 months down the road when they come down in price).

Here's the situation.

Buy from Dell for approx $550, E7500.
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

I would add a upgrade to 23 inch monitor and get Windows 7.

Buy a combo i3 kit from Newegg w/o monitor or OS for approx 400.
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Obviously the i3 is new, can overclock with the motherboard, more RAM, but adding a 23 inch monitor and OS would be approx $140 + $100 = $240 more.

Other considerations:

1. Don't have Windows 7 yet.
2. My current monitor is not big enough. I really want a 23-24 inch.
3. Would like to try over clocking but a secondary consideration
4. i3 and the LGA1156 is future proofing it some in theory, but I've found that in reality, 2-4 years down the road, I just buy a new computer (but reuse the monitor, I would keep until it breaks).

Thoughts?

Additionally, anyone that has done overclocking? I've read through alot of the forums but need help with the babysteps to make sure I don't fry my PC.

[bhlloy]

I love the i3 combo deal from newegg above and I am probably going to buy it today. That's a solid processor and mobo combination that should be a very good base for a system for a little while. My only concern is whether it's worth the 500 but I already have the components to make up the rest of the system (graphics card, monitor, optical drives) so can save a little there.

My current machine is a pretty high end Dell that I bought about 3 years ago and it's a complete POS now. Crashes, runs very hot and slow and just doesn't seem to have stood the test of time well at all. Plus all the propriatory crap and the way they organize the components and the case interior makes it impossible for an amateur like myself to upgrade. I won't be buying Dell again and will be building my own for the first time in 10 years or so

[Buccaneer]

And I think that's the difference. I built my custom PC a little over three years ago and it is still great - even running newer action games like Risen on high quality. I have not upgraded anything but I made sure I got quality parts and keep it clean (both physically and system), all for under $900 (sans monitor). I built it to last 4 years and I think it will get there. I usually buy from sysbuilder but also from provantage and newegg, I think.

[jeff061]

Overclocking is just so easy these days, starting with the original core 2 duo. You can sleep walk through a 500mhz bump with pretty much no risk. Spend more time and you'll get upwards of a 1ghz out of it. I would recommend springing for a different heat sink/fan and not using the stock.

If you know how to troubleshoot your own issues(wouldn't be calling Dell), then I'd recommend building your own every time.

[molson]

I would only delve into building a computer if I got into serious gaming. For normal stuff, it's just way too easy to send Dell a few hundred bucks for something that will cause zero problems for 2-3 years, and do everything I want it to do.

If I knew more about computers, and I actually enjoyed the process, my answer might be different.

[sterlingice]

The advantage that used to be there as recently as about 3 years ago has drastically lessened with a build your own PC. I still would probably never go buy one off the shelf because I like building them but the advantages just aren't there.

The gap between the components big PC makers are using and parts a la carte on newegg has been narrowing for some time now- what I mean by that is if you assume you bought a $500 box at Best Buy, maybe $100 of that is the mobo- a $100 mobo on newegg and the one in the premade box is pretty similar now. Sure, if you spend $250 on a great mobo, it's going to blow away the premade computer, but by the time you're done, you're comparing your $1500 computer to some $500 eMachine in the store, which just isn't a fair fight.

Remember PC magazine and their "Sweet spot"- that's where I tended to shop. I could never afford the bleeding edge stuff but why spend $500 on a cpu when you could spend $200 and get 75% of the performance? Those of us who built our own PCs because we got a better bang for our buck (i.e. when PCs cost, say, $800, we paid $800 for our components)- that's who are having the advantage eliminated for. I mean, I'd build mine just to build them but I'd get a bit of an advantage on my box- maybe an extra pci slot on an Asus mobo instead of some junky one, an extra 25% of hd space, a graphics card that had a tv tuner on it, etc.

If you want a custom tweak here or there, you're going to need to build it because most off the shelf stuff still has limited expandability. If you want a performance box (say, Bucc spending $900 for a box) for gaming or graphics (non-Mac division), you should build it. For everyday use, the advantages just aren't there any more.

SI

[CU Tiger]

For our office hardware we go straight to Dell outlet and have been very well served.

I have done both at home, built and bought.

The unavoidable elephant in the room for me is always software. That $500 Dell has windows 7 preloaded as well as office and a few other notables, (As well as a metric shit ton of garbage) now I can build a better pc for incrementally less $$$ but when I add 4150 for windows and $100 for office etc. it just doesnt make sense.

I know there are "ways around" software cost but I still pay for my music as well....

[Schmidty]

Other than my laptop, I build all of my desktop PC. It's so easy, a caveman could do it.

[Edward64]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I used to build my own PCs (a long time ago) and am comfortable troubleshooting. Just haven't done any o/c. I'll reach out to jeff061 if/when the time comes.

I'm not a hardcore gamer and have been buying Dell desktops and Lenovo laptops. The last 2 Dell's were a 9300 Quad for the wife (a little under 2 years and still running strong) and a Dell E5200 cpu outlet special for the kids. My official Dell desktop is a Dimension 4600 but really is no longer functional (e.g. I use my laptop). In general, I am happy with Dell desktops and would consider them again.

I just got the "build my own" bug, especially seeing the i3 kit for $400 and reading the various tom's hardware and anandtech articles and reading up on the wonders of o/c.

I figure once I invest in a adequate monitor, nice looking ATX case, 500w+ powersupply, and LGA 1156 (e.g. I believe is compatible with i5 and i7), I should be in pretty good shape when 2 years when the i7 chip has come down significantly in price.

I agree about the software. My company does have licensing agreements on MS Office and I am allowed to download and install 1 copy on a home computer so that part is covered.

The Dell deal is appealing because of Windows 7 plus +$70 to upgrade to a 23 inch monitor.

I'll keep you all updated on the decision. Thanks.

[Calis]

I'll echo the statements that OC'ing is a breeze with the newer Intel chips. I'm running a Core 2 Duo E6750 which runs at 2.66Ghz and OC'ed it to 3.2Ghz about as easy as could be. Made no changes to voltage or any fiddling. Takes about 2 minutes to do, and then you can stress test it to make sure everything is ok.

You can easily go a lot higher than that with some changes to voltage and running a non-stock heat sink. Really nice chips.

I enjoy building my own systems, and imagine I will continue to do so. Nice to know the particulars of it and set it to be easily upgraded. I've had this one about 2 years, and I can see having it at least a couple more, or possibly several more if I decide to just upgrade it.

.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

The advantage that used to be there as recently as about 3 years ago has drastically lessened with a build your own PC. I still would probably never go buy one off the shelf because I like building them but the advantages just aren't there.

The gap between the components big PC makers are using and parts a la carte on newegg has been narrowing for some time now- what I mean by that is if you assume you bought a $500 box at Best Buy, maybe $100 of that is the mobo- a $100 mobo on newegg and the one in the premade box is pretty similar now. Sure, if you spend $250 on a great mobo, it's going to blow away the premade computer, but by the time you're done, you're comparing your $1500 computer to some $500 eMachine in the store, which just isn't a fair fight.

Remember PC magazine and their "Sweet spot"- that's where I tended to shop. I could never afford the bleeding edge stuff but why spend $500 on a cpu when you could spend $200 and get 75% of the performance? Those of us who built our own PCs because we got a better bang for our buck (i.e. when PCs cost, say, $800, we paid $800 for our components)- that's who are having the advantage eliminated for. I mean, I'd build mine just to build them but I'd get a bit of an advantage on my box- maybe an extra pci slot on an Asus mobo instead of some junky one, an extra 25% of hd space, a graphics card that had a tv tuner on it, etc.

If you want a custom tweak here or there, you're going to need to build it because most off the shelf stuff still has limited expandability. If you want a performance box (say, Bucc spending $900 for a box) for gaming or graphics (non-Mac division), you should build it. For everyday use, the advantages just aren't there any more.

SI

SI - generally I would agree with you. I haven't seen a real drop in component prices for a really long time and the gap between custom built and brand built is getting smaller and smaller. It's something we bitch about at work a lot.

That being said, I don't see anything out there currently that can compete with the i3 processor + gigabyte mobo barebones deal for $400. Anything around that price point from Dell or Gateway is using far inferior processor/mobo combo. At least as far as I can see (and yeah I know that the brand names come with software and in some cases a monitor, but that isn't a dealbreaker for me)

[Edward64]

bhlloy. Just noticed the other thread with the i3 combo deal. Sorry, didn't notice this morning.

[bhlloy]

haha no worries. I didn't explicitly mention which deal I was looking at and even if I had your thread has provided much more useful discussion

[Raiders Army]

We built our computer a little less than two years ago and haven't had any problems...until last week. It wouldn't send a signal to the monitor, so I thought it was the video card. It turned out that I just needed to re-seat the RAM, which I found out in a conversation with our IT guy at work and also seeing the error code on the motherboard.

It's nice to build your own computer. I like the freshness of it without the software, etc.

[PilotMan]

If you are looking to build the latest edition of Maximum PC features an all around PC for less than 650 bucks. The price was comparable to a 650 dollar HP Pavillion and the performance was close until the gaming comparison as the Max PC system had a dedicated vid card instead of an integrated one.

The PC featured a 500 GB HD, Radeon HD 5770 vid card, 4 GB of Patriot RAM, and an AMD Athlon II X4 620, which is a quad core for 100 bucks.

Not a bad rig at all.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

If you are looking to build the latest edition of Maximum PC features an all around PC for less than 650 bucks.

The PC featured a 500 GB HD, Radeon HD 5770 vid card, 4 GB of Patriot RAM, and an AMD Athlon II X4 620, which is a quad core for 100 bucks.

I saw that article. I don't know if its fair, but I just prefer Intel products as that is all I've ever used.

Tom's and Anandtech have their versions of beginner/mainstream rigs. Hoping that they come up with an update soon.

[PilotMan]

I like Intel as well, but I do have an AMD system too and never had any problems with it. Besides with the Radeon being the king shit video card right now, it's hard to lose out. I think that it comes down to more bang for your buck with AMD right now. Their processors are a bit cheaper, and yea, it's not an i7 but when you are buying a pc at this price level it isn't going to matter that much.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Additionally, anyone that has done overclocking? I've read through alot of the forums but need help with the babysteps to make sure I don't fry my PC.

As others have noted, overclocking is much easier/safer these days. But, should you have questions, you should be able to find any and all answers on this board: CPU & Motherboard Technologia - Forum Powered by Social Strata


Building is still a fun hobby, but it's hard to save the kind of money you used to a few years ago by building over buying. However, there are still firm rationale to build. I think anyone expecting to want to overclock and/or upgrade components is generally better off building. The average OEM case just isn't going to take on the heat from overclocking or upgraded video cards well, for instance.

Also, building allows you to be specific as to which components you want to spend money on, and which ones you can skimp on.

[Sun Tzu]

I like the i3 combo deal too, especially since I'm building my own rig in about a month...but there's one problem.

I don't need a $100 case, which is what this deal comes with. I'd much rather they drop the price on the combo, leaving room for me to get a nice 5770 GPU, and maybe bump the RAM to 6 or 8 GB, than give me a Lian case. I'm perfectly happy with a $40 on sale Cooler Master Case.

But anyways, I agree with the folks here who are saying build your own. You know what's in it when you build you own, as apposed to when you order through DELL and all these other brand names. Additionally, the latest trend is for DELL/Gateway/HP etc to ship you a mobo with a restricted BIOS. I have this problem on my new laptop. In the BIOS you can't make any changes (i.e. OCing, Voltage, RAM timings), which is especially disappointing when the CPU comes with hardware virtualization turned off. Some people have come up with aftermarket BIOS'es, but those cases are extremely rare.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I like the i3 combo deal too, especially since I'm building my own rig in about a month...but there's one problem.

I don't need a $100 case, which is what this deal comes with. I'd much rather they drop the price on the combo, leaving room for me to get a nice 5770 GPU, and maybe bump the RAM to 6 or 8 GB, than give me a Lian case. I'm perfectly happy with a $40 on sale Cooler Master Case.

But anyways, I agree with the folks here who are saying build your own. You know what's in it when you build you own, as apposed to when you order through DELL and all these other brand names. Additionally, the latest trend is for DELL/Gateway/HP etc to ship you a mobo with a restricted BIOS. I have this problem on my new laptop. In the BIOS you can't make any changes (i.e. OCing, Voltage, RAM timings), which is especially disappointing when the CPU comes with hardware virtualization turned off. Some people have come up with aftermarket BIOS'es, but those cases are extremely rare.

the one thing that irritates me about my new HP laptop (although apparently it's common by all laptops that are mass-built) is that it has 2 slots for HD's, but when you go in and open up the 2nd one the connections aren't there on the mobo. Apparently to save money they don't bother fully wiring the connections for the 2nd HD. So despite having a spare 500gb laptop HD, and theoretically a slot for it in my laptop, I can't install it into my new laptop. Honestly, had I known that I probably wouldn't have bought this one.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

the one thing that irritates me about my new HP laptop (although apparently it's common by all laptops that are mass-built) is that it has 2 slots for HD's, but when you go in and open up the 2nd one the connections aren't there on the mobo. Apparently to save money they don't bother fully wiring the connections for the 2nd HD. So despite having a spare 500gb laptop HD, and theoretically a slot for it in my laptop, I can't install it into my new laptop. Honestly, had I known that I probably wouldn't have bought this one.

I feel your pain. I wish there were a way for consumers to build their own Laptops.

[sovereignstar]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I feel your pain. I wish there were a way for consumers to build their own Laptops.

Clevo

[Edward64]

Thinking about buying this HD with my build.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Because it is a bare drive, I believe I have to get the rails and the SATA cables?

Can anyone tell me if all rails are pretty standard (it used to be) or is it iffy depending on the case (thinking about a Lancool ATX case). Assume I can buy these pretty easily at Frys.

How about the SATA cables? Can I just ask for SATA 3 cables and know it will work on my motherboard?

Thanks.

My shopping cart so far:
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/Sh...px?Submit=view

Thinking about getting this Sundays Acer 23 ($150) or 24 ($180) inch monitor.

[bhlloy]

That's the exact drive I got and if you are still getting the i3 combo deal (your shopping cart is empty when I click on the link) the mobo comes with 1 sata cable and the PSU comes with the power supply cable for 3/4 sata drives. And it fits into the lianli case as well. No need to buy any rails.

[Edward64]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Probably will go for the i3 combo but always thinking in the back of my mind about the next great combo deal from newegg or frys. Read some articles on how well the i3 will overclock (to 4 w/stock cooler and mid 4s w/others) so that helps.

[Edward64]

Was showing the components I was going to buy to my son. He asked what about that thing you put the dvds into.

Didn't even noticed that was missing. Anyone with a suggestion on cheap internal dvd drive (no need for blu-ray) that is relatively fast and quiet?

[sterlingice]

I think they're pretty generic- one is usually as good as the next with DVD drives unless you want something a little odd like DVD-RAM or Lightscribe

SI

[Edward64]

Made the committment. Hopefully it'll get here by next weekend and I can start playing (... now to tell the wife).

1 LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811112238
Standard Return Policy $99.99
$94.99

1 ASUS P7H55-M PRO LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131623
Standard Return Policy $109.99

1 Thermaltake TR2 TRX-650M 650W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817153116
Standard Return Policy $94.99
$84.99

1 Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80616I3530 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115222
CPU Replacement Only Return Policy $124.99

1 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231277
Memory Standard Return Policy $104.99

1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148395
Standard Return Policy $59.99
$54.99

1 LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106289
Standard Return Policy $26.99
$23.99

1 DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #343620 -$102.99

Subtotal $495.94
Tax $0.00
UPS 3 Days $7.56

Order Total $503.50

[Edward64]

Got all my parts other than for monitor and have put my PC together.

Before playing around with overclocking, I wanted to run it through its paces and establish a benchmark.

Have run Prime95 for the past 1.5 hours and Real Temp is reporting 74/75c with a Distance to TJ Max of 30/30.

I'm using the retail i3 with fan and did not use anything else (e.g. Artic Silver). In reading some forums, some mentioned it was best to stay above TJ Max of 30. So this got me concerned as it seems I am at the line of safe temperature even before playing around with overclocking.

Anyone else have thoughts or comparable temps for an i3?

[bhlloy]

I have the same setup (obviously) and didn't get above 67 in a 2 hour test with Prime95. I would double check that the CPU cooler is installed properly and that your cables aren't obstructing the airflow from the fans. The CPU came with thermal compound that mean you shouldn't really need to buy Artic Silver. I bought a tube anyway but from talking to my guy at work, not needed.

[Edward64]

Question/clarification.

The CPU box had the cpu and the cpu-fan. The cpu-fan had some sort of "gel/paste" on the bottom (where it would connects with the cpu). I did not notice any "gel/paste" on the cpu itself. Is this correct or should there have been some other "gel/paste" that I should have applied?

The airflow looks good to me. I know the front, back and cpu fans are running through HWMonitor reporting their speeds.

[Edward64]

bhlloy. I did reseat the cpu-fan, did not notice anything unusual. There was the paste/gel at the bottom of the cpu-fan and now on top of the cpu.

Booted it up and Real Temp reported in the 20s during idle. Not positive but I believe yesterday idle was in the 30s.

Have started Prime95 and my temperature after 15 min is in low 50s which I'm pretty sure was better than yesterday. I'm off to a promising start and will report back later if it maintains a steady state of 60s.

Not sure if it was (1) due to the reseating or (2) I read about Artic Silver needing x hours to be fully "efficient"(?) and if the same thing needed to happend for the stock cooler paste/gel.

Thanks for your help and feedback so far.

[ozias]

Reseating helped, and the thermal compound will generally take a while to become "efficient".

A lot will also have to do with your rooms ambient temperature. If your room is 90F, then your computer is already at 32c. 70F and you're down to 21c. The colder the ambient temperature the better for your computer.

If you're in the 50-60's Celsius, give it a few days and the temps should drop. A much better heatsink and the temps should be able to go down 10-20 Celsius.

I have a e8400 with Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, and went from a 3.00Ghz all the way to 4.05Ghz and under a full load my temps would barely hit 50c. At idle it was under 33c. My room temp is generally around 70F.

The stock heatsink/fan combo will not work as good as aftermarket heatsink/fan, but for mild overclocks, the stock heatsink/fan will be fine.

[Edward64]

Ran Prime95 for about 2 hours and it hit a high around 54-55c so I think I'm good. Downloading 3dMark now to establish some performance benchmarks before o/c.

Anyone have recommendations on benchmarking software for business, gaming use?

[Edward64]

My Dell 24inch monitor came in. Using it with hdmi (is dvi really that much better?) and enjoying it.

Contemplating getting a dedicated graphics card but the i3 integrated is working fine with Civ4 and Dragons Origin.

Best of all, no dead/stuck pixels.

[mckerney]

It's an in store pickup deal only, but Micro Center has i7-930 processors on sale for $199.99 right now, while the i7-920 is $179.99. They're currently selling for $294.99 and $279.99 respectively on newegg.

[jeff061]

Microcenter has been killing on those CPUs for a long time now. Wonder how they are able to sell them so cheap.

[Edward64]

I'm enjoying the heck out of my pc.

Built the newegg i3 combo. Got a 24 inch Dell monitor. Bought a Galaxy gt 240 from Frys last week.

Am playing Dragons Age Origins and really enjoying it. Finished the werewolf, redcliff and haven storylines so far. Bought Rise of Flight and eager to get started on it but Dragons Age is taking up all my free time.

All in all, happy that I decided to build instead of buy from Dell. It did cost more but a much nicer rig. Only con is the case was full sized instead of mid tower and the top is vented which makes me nervous about what could fall into it.

Thanks for all the advice and help.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by mckerney

It's an in store pickup deal only, but Micro Center has i7-930 processors on sale for $199.99 right now, while the i7-920 is $179.99. They're currently selling for $294.99 and $279.99 respectively on newegg.

Looks like that deal is still going on. Crazy. I'll probably stop by there sometime soon, check it out, and see what else they have. Is there something wrong with it?

[Passacaglia]

Okay, I'm heading to Micro Center today or tomorrow. Here's what I'm looking at getting. Anyone have thoughts?

Core i7-930 Processor Boxed -- $200
Micro Center - Intel Core i7-930 Processor Boxed 582759

X58 SLI LE LGA 1366 X58 ATX Motherboard - $200
Micro Center - EVGA X58 SLI LE LGA 1366 X58 ATX Motherboard 141-BL-E757-TR

Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7,200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - $45
Micro Center - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7,200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM 751230

OCZ 4GB DDR3-1333 (PC3-10666) Gold Edition Desktop Memory Module -- $130 each (not sure how many I want to get though)
Micro Center - OCZ Technology OCZ 4GB DDR3-1333 (PC3-10666) Gold Edition Desktop Memory Module OCZ3G1333LV4G

Radeon HD 5450 1024MB DDR3 PCIe 2.1 x16 Graphics Card - $68
Micro Center - Gigabyte Radeon HD 5450 1024MB DDR3 PCIe 2.1 x16 Graphics Card GV-R545SC-1GI

Power Supply -- No idea

Case -- No idea

22x DVD±RW Burner with Dual/Double Layer Support OEM - $20
Micro Center - Samsung 22x DVD±RW Burner with Dual/Double Layer Support OEM 762369

DP SoundWave 4 Channel Low Profile PCI Sound Card - $15
Micro Center - SIIG DP SoundWave 4 Channel Low Profile PCI Sound Card IC-400012-S1

Also, I've got a Windows XP CD laying around. Should I just use that or get Windows 7 on it somehow?

[cartman]

I'd go for Windows 7, if at all possible.

I'm not building a new computer, but doing a bit of a tech refresh/upgrade. I'm putting in a 64GB SSD as my boot drive, going from 2GB to 8GB of RAM, and installing Windows 7 64-bit.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Also, I've got a Windows XP CD laying around. Should I just use that or get Windows 7 on it somehow?

Definitely go for Windows 7, and you will need to install the 64 bit version if you want to see more than about 3 gb in Windows.

[Big Fo]

I just put together a PC for the first time, I think that's the same DVD±RW Burner I used.

FWIW here's the rest of the stuff I used:

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX

XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339

IIRC it won't do you much good to get more than 4 GB of RAM if you stick with Windows XP.

[Passacaglia]

Thanks all! How much RAM can I use with Windows 7?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Thanks all! How much RAM can I use with Windows 7?

Depends on the version.

Windows 7 versions
Starter: 2GB (either 32 or 64 bit)
Home Basic: 4GB (32 bit), 8GB (64 bit)
Home Premium: 4GB (32 bit), 16GB (64 bit)
Home Professional: 4GB (32 bit), 192GB (64 bit)
Home Enterprise: 4GB (32 bit), 192GB (64 bit)
Home Ultimate: 4GB (32 bit), 192GB (64 bit)

[samifan24]

Quick question for hardware folks: How do I know what type of HD I can install in my aging Macbook?

I currently have the factory 120GB HD that came with my Macbook, which I purchased in early 2008. I'd like to upgrade to 250GB or larger but don't know what other specs "fit" my Macbook.

My current HD is a Hitachi HTS542512K9SA00.

How do I know if my Macbook can handle a 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM drive? Will any old HD work? Thanks in advance.

[sovereignstar]

The only thing you need to worry about is the form factor of the drive. Most laptop drives are 2.5" though some are 1.8".

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

The only thing you need to worry about is the form factor of the drive. Most laptop drives are 2.5" though some are 1.8".

So RPM doesn't matter? I thought I heard once that putting a 7200 in when your original drive is a 5400 is really bad for the computer.

[sovereignstar]

Whoever said that might be retarded.

[Thomkal]

Pass,

What research have you done on the Radeon 5450? In my continual search to get a new computer, I was looking at the Radeon 5450 until I researched it at places like Tom's Hardware. Apparantly that card is good for things like home video and graphic editting, but not very good at all for gaming. So might not be a good card if your primary use will be gaming.