I want to spend no more than $1500 for a new system. Basically, I want a very stable and high quality system that I can occasionally play games on. What do you guys think about the specs I have drawn up, as far as price, compatibility, reliability and overall quality is concerned? Any feedback is totally welcomed and appreciated. Thanks.

Case- Kingwin KT-424-BK-WM
Motherboard- Intel D875PBZ
Processor- Intel P4 2.8 c
Hard Drive- Western Digital 36.7GB 10000
RPM
CD-RW- LiteOn 52x32x52
Ram- 2 Blocks 512 MB Mushkin 3200
Black Level 2
Graphics Card- ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128 MB
Keyboard
& Mouse- Logitech Cordless MX Duo
Sound Card- Sound Blaster Audigy 2
Speakers- Logitech Z640
Monitor- Any Suggestions for a 17”
Flat Screen?

norton ghost

Those are some really solid specs.

That system is ok, but if you can spend up to 1500, you will get a godly system. I would recommend....

-Pentium 3.0Ghz + CPU Northwood
-Asus P4P800 Deluxe motherboard
-WD 74 gig Raptor HD (or 2 x 36.7 Raptor)
-2 x 512 Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series DDR400
-ATI Radeon 9800 Pro

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Since I prefer AMD to Intel, I can't vouch for Intel mobos.
But I can say I have an Asus mobo, and have never been happier.
As far as ATI, is it a good video card for Pentium based mobos? With my AMD mobo, I have better luck with NVIDIA (just a general question on that)

When all else fails, beat the %*#$! out of it!!!

Good specs

Some notes:

1. Intel D875PBZ MB is reliable, however, Intel MB's are virtually never over-clockable. Is that a concern?

2. I'd also go with DDR 400 RAM

3. I'd also go with a faster processor with hyperthreading.

As far as monitor, I use an 18 inch MAG Innovation flat panel that is superb. You may find it for around $400.

overclocking is not of concern, as i imagine the mobo is plenty fast enough already. as for the ram, i believe the memory i chose as a spec already is dual 400 mhz. and how much faster really is p4 3.0 or 3.2 than a 2.8. i imagine not much faster. one last thing, a $400 monitor is way to expensive for me. something more along the line of a 17" $150 is more like it. more feedback please. thanks!

norton ghost

Dood you got it all wrong..............
I am an IT Pro, work on these thing everyday. And for $1500 you could get a much better machine. Try this:

Case- Kingwin KT-424-BK-WM
Motherboard: ANYTHING but INTEL; ASUS or
MSI recommended
HDD- WESTERN DIGITAL 36.7 GB SATA
CD-RW - not LITE-ON : SONY or MSI: a little
more expensive but worth it
RAM - 1 GB KINGSTON RAM : this is very
reliable w/ lifetime warranty
Graphics - NVIDIA G4 FX 5600 256MB
Sound Card - most MSI or ASUS mainboards
come with 5.1 surround
integrated
Monitor - ADI : very reliable

Keyboard, Mouse, and Speakers good choice

Also if you are looking for speed and reliability you must get a AMD ATHLON.
Hell for a $1500 system you could afford a 3.2 Ghz procesor.
I see people walk out everyday with a machine like this for Less than $1500.

All these SPECS based on self built machine, price would be much more for pre-built.

do you guys agree with HEY? the thing is that i hear different accounts all the time on what is the best. i hear athlon processors run hot and are less stable. i hear that intel boards are the most stable. ive heard about problems with kingston. i have heard ati radeon is the superior graphics card. and isnt a sound card superior to integrated? so.....id like some more opinions please. thanks!

norton ghost

Antlon processors do run hot and need alot of cooling(which is not a big problem), but y do you think that they do. It is because Antlons use so much more power to process things much faster. A Cooper Heat Sink and Fan would keep it plenty cool. Intel Boards are stable when they are new, but six months down the road who knows with INTEL.
I've never seen Kingston with a problem, besides it has a lifetime warranty just return it if it blows up. ATI is good cards but not the best. NVIDIA has the technology of both themselves plus the evermost popular Voodoo which they bought out. PCI sound cards do open more resources for your machine than integrated but for basic use it works fine.

hmm...intel boards are great at first, but then can have problems down the road? i never heard of this, but its worth investigating. id still rather have a cooler running p4 processor unless someone can convince me otherwise. kingston is even bette than mushkin or corsair? keep the feedback coming. i appreciate it. thanks!

norton ghost

Like I said all you need is a copper heatsink to keep that baby cool, only if you want to. They send an AMD with a heatsink and Fan that applies to it. Copper would keep it about 25 degress cooler. In my opinion Kingston is better. By the way do you like HP or COmpaq computers? Just wondering. Do you like their performance?
By the way AMD's maybe a little hotter(w/o copper heatsink)but it doesn't effect them as much as P4s. AMD's are mad to be HOT.

do i like hp or compaq? sure, but i would never buy either. building my own is the only route i will take. but thanks for asking, hey. do u sell them or something? anyway, i want some more hard information on the stability of intel boards in the long run and whether or not amd is the better way to go or not. thanks. good solid info is appreciated for all who care to put their 2 cents in.

norton ghost

All I know is since I changed to AMD, ASUS, and NVIDIA, I've never had a more stable system. I've always used Kingston and until proven "it stinks" will not change.

When all else fails, beat the %*#$! out of it!!!

btw I have 1 case fan, PS fan, Asus case, and CPU fan (supplied with CPU) and it runs around 40-45°C

When all else fails, beat the %*#$! out of it!!!

Do you know anyone who has used a Compaq or HP for a period of time. The reason im asking is because most of those machine have INTEL BOARDS in them with either Celerons or Pentiums. There is you info!!!No i do not sell them I build machine the way customers want them or what they are planning to use it for. I use all the best name brand parts to build it.

HEY, dont get all huffy if thats whats going on with you. you can tell me whatever you like, but i dont know you persoanlly. as far as i now, you could be a loon. know what i mean? and we have all compaqs and hps here where i work and they are not all intel boards. so what about that info again? and.....what about all the millions of varying comments people make on what is best and so forth? so i have to remain open-minded. any others opinions? the more opinions the better. thanks.

norton ghost

Sorry dude if i made you feel that way. Newer models of HP and COmpaq do not all have INTEL mobos but that is mostly what they used to use. They decided to switch mobos manufacters. I am just trying to help you make a decision you wont regrete.

thanks, HEY. i appreciate the help. well, i hope you understand my skepticism when it comes to opinions over the internet. ill keep an open mind and consider what youve said so far. feel free to keep posting and persuading. i certainly dont want to regret when it comes to buying time. thanks again.

norton ghost

RE: #14

I have an HP computer with Intel 845GL chipset.
IT SUCKS! It is sloooooooooooooooooooow and crashes a lot and has VERY VERY POOR game play!
In fact it was SO poor that I bought a new mobo, processer, vid card, memory, and sound card just to speed it up.

Everything is always funny at first, until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious!

Won't touch it.

WANT to, but won't.

Jimi_l

jimi_1, ur jut the guy that i would like feedback from. i know ur an intel guy, but maybe u could offer up some objective opinions (im just gonna have to assume ur honest enough). read my original post again and tell me what u think. thanks!

norton ghost

I like asus mbs. I have intel and AMD systems. Can't say there's much difference other than AMD was Much cheaper. I never use onboard sound. My favorite is Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. Remember before you but an Audigy that it supports DRM in hardware. I'd hate to have my hardware refuse to play my mp3s all of a sudden. I like Antec cases and Zalman power supplys (quiet). And don't forget a set of cambridge soundworks spoeakers. Finally ATI prolly makes the best video hardware but Nvidea has a much more polished all around product (much better drivers). I'd stay away from all in woner cards.
Jim

Case board and processor are fine.

Kingston value RAM will perform just as well, is board certified, and will cost less.

I would run two 10K WD SATA's on a RAID set up (RAID 0 for speed or 1 for redundancy-situation dependant) OR go for single 75 GB 10K WD. The latter is probably less hassle.

I would switch the Radeon for an Nvidia FX 5700 or 5900.

I think Logitech speakers sound either "tinny" or way too bassey. If it were my personal machine I would opt of a set of Harmon Kardon (now JBL) speakers.

perhaps these

Cordless KB and mice seem to be more trouble than they are worth. I have never been very impressed with even big money ones.

LCD's are cool but keep in mind that they are built around one resolution. In other words if the max resolution (or advertised resolution) is 1280x768 for example, then that is what it will look best at. Anything else (like the more common 800x600 or 1024x768) may look blurry or grainey.

I like Lite On stuff and have had very good luck with both them and Sony.

PS
Any "IT PRO'S" in the audience who want to debate overclocking or benchmarks can save it because I don't care what this months gamer magazine or Tom's hardware or anyone else says. I go with what works in real life.

Jimi_l

thanks, jimi_1. appreciate the input. i still find it amusing how so many people differ from one opinion to the next. well, ill follow up some more in a bit. that is, if u all dont mind. thanks

norton ghost

AMD Athlon™ XP processor 2500+
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard
Crucial 1GB PC3200 DDR RAM
74GB WD740GD 10000rpm SATA HDD
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB

hey all,
for my openion, i have used an intel mobo since 1998 and till 2 day it is more than perfect.
i have also build a P4 machine resently using an INTEL board and intel processor and i see no problem with it.
but for asus or amd ,hell NO they overheat,why the hell will one buy something that has a problem of overheating the buy a very big fan or heatsink for it?
Just get the intel P4 3.2ghz and intel board and u will be fine.
any responce most welcome.
Bonzi

ok, sounds like someone here has good long-lasting experience with an intel board. i think ill go with the d875pbz board. i have some questions till regarding other hardware. the processor: how much more performance will one get with a p4 3.0 over a p4 2.8? does a 9800pro run cooler than a 9700pro? am i better off with an nvidia, like jimi_1 recommended? more opinions? keep em coming.

norton ghost

You can buy a 2500+ athlon on eBay for $70. Raise the FSB to 400. Now it runs at a 3200+! Even if you have a lot of money I don't know why you would do anything different, because you could put the money into a NF7-S mobo, 2GB ram, or a ATI 9800XT. Hell even water cooling if your so concerned about heat.

I have been using pentium mbs and cpus since 98 and just built p4 2.8ht fsb H/T msi intel mb 848pneo, Kingson 512mb DDR 400mhz ram.
what nobody here has mentioned is that Intel are the only boards that handle USB right with voltage, others are crap at handling juice suckers like all in one printers.
my cpu temp is never higher than 49 and I recommend Msi mb good site to get info and very stable board.This machine is wickedly quick

Why buy when you can build and learn

Ok, I'm an IT guy and I build a little of both machines all of the time. Work on them daily. WE have a P4 800MHZ FSB with dual channel DDR amchine here (2.8 GHZ), 512 RAM, and it runs no faster than our other machine - an original Athlon(not XP) 1GHZ, 512 RAM. In fact I ran some benchmarks between the P4 and my Athlon 1700+. I started my machine 20 minutes after hte other one, and it caught up to it (generating keys) after 30 minutes and was ahead - both had no extra services running in the background. I recommend the Asus Boards - they also own a budget company called AsRock - cost less, but come with some good stuff, and i haven't seen any problems out of them, i've bought about 15 of them for new systems over the last 9 months and had no problems.
I prefer ATI video cards, but I also use an Nvidia on one of my machines at home, both are good. I would recommend an All-In-Wonder, from what I've seen they are good for everything.
Dude, for $1500 I could build such a sweeeeeet machine!! Check out pricewatch.com. They generally have the cheapest prices. With your RAM I'd do hte 400MHz, make sure you get namebrand, Kingston or Corsair, as long as you got lifetime warranty, I've seen ALL brands of RAM fail. I'd also get a retail (3 year warranty) processor, I haven't seen any AMD's fail, but I've seen a few Celerons (newer ones) and one P4 fail.

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