new comp

[woo]

Something like these Barebone kits? :

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... ebone-Kits

[fishtank]

Hmm.. What about this?
That comp + $50 shipping + XP is around $750. I have no idea what parts would be cheap, low quality or not. Debating whether or not this is better than that Circuit City Gateway with Vista. That Gateway is beefy. I'm even considering buying an XP disc to install on that. BC's suggestion for macs is tempting, but I fear change.

[woo]

Yup, that Gateway sure is beefy alright but if it is just Vista compatible, I don't think some of the stuffs would work on it with XP unless it's XP compatible too. I tried changing Vista with XP and since it was just Vista compatible some things couldn't work. Also had to look for some drivers on the internet for XP drivers. Vista has alot of processors running and the annoying pop up alerts.

[Blind Cide]

Apple just put a slew of refurb minis up this morning. Go to the store and then look for the refurb Mac link in the lower left of the page.

[Army of One]

^^^ That's not bad, although I wish that one came with a Core 2 Duo and not a Pentium D...

[deano]

i dont think 256 megs of video is really that much anymore fishy, but the third option at least is a sli motherboard with 2 pci express slots, although the card is a lil underpowered....forget vista till the bugs are gone

[fishtank]

Wow, those mac minis are pretty slick. They remind me of a fully-loaded Honda civic. Very affordable also, but not quite beefy enough to convince me to leave the darkside.

This set-up comes to $666(satan!). Seems to meet my beef requirements. I know nothing of components, though. Motherboard, power sources, fans, etc. Would taking this route give me a higher-quality rig than what I would get over-the-counter at Circuit City? Parts are parts?

[woo]

I'd go with that visionman and put XP on it. You can change that to Core 2 Duo, too.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=2396

[fishtank]

I've done a lot of shopping around, and I'm getting ready to do the deed. I've decided that getting a "custom built" pc is the way to go, you can get a better deal, more beef, better quality, and can avoid vista. I'm hoping to solicit some free advice from experienced computer builders like DocSaw, Racer, Bolo, whoever. I've already picked Dazzle's brain a little, and Jerry has been super helpful. I'm thinking this thread might be useful for anyone thinking about upgrading.
I've narrowed down my list of prospects, but I'm having trouble making a final decision.

HIGH END CORE 2 DUO 6750 PC USING NVIDIA 8600GT 512MB I like this one alot, the price is great, and I like the CPU, it got alot of good reviews, and the 4gig cache is sweet.. I would probably have them add more memory, and possibly extra case fans.

AMD BLACK EDITION ALL PURPOSE COMPUTER USING 4GB OF RAM This one is jacked, but I've read alot of reviews saying that CPU has a tendency to run hot.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Black Edition 3.2Ghz OC System w/4G Ram & NVIDIA Geforce 8600GT 1GB This one has an under-powered CPU that has been overclocked to give it more juice. According to reviews, that CPU is great for overclocking, very stable and easy.The low-cost CPU allowed for that tempting 1 gig vid card, and snazzy case. I don't really care for those gawdy neon robocop cases, but that one is ok.

SLI/Crossfire
I've done alot of research on the double vid card option, and there are several comps that I've seen in my price range that have 2 8500GTs or comparable Raedon cards. After alot of reading, I came to the conclusion that 1 8600GT is better than 2 8500s, both in price and performance. Also, I'm not sure how much "hardcore" gaming I'll do. Right now, TT is the only game I play regularly, but that is probably because my present puny comp limits my gaming options.
I put this configuration together as the only SLI set-up I might consider. It's basically an SLI enabled machine, but with only 1 card, with the intention of getting a 2nd card in the future. The downside is that I had to sacrifice a better CPU and harddrive to compensate the costs of SLI motherboard and power source. The "configure your own" site option is fun to play with. 2 8600GTs would be pretty sweet, but I lose alot to get it, and I'm not sure how much I need 2 cards.

I'm having a tough time making a final decision, I'm hoping someone will say: "Don't get that, the motherboard is junk.", or "you should get that, blah, blah, blah", or "If you like that, check this out." or whatever.
Hopefully this thread is atleast interesting and informative even if you don't give a rat's ass what comp I get. Shopping is hard!

[t-34]

How about this laptop for 715.00Item Number Quantity Item Description

222-6941 1 Latitude D820, Intel Core 2 Duo T5500, 1.66GHz, 667Mhz, 2ML2 Cache, Dual Core

320-4609 1 15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCDfor Latitude D820

311-5685 1 1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM for Dell Latitude Notebooks

310-8713 1 Internal English Keyboard for Latitude Notebooks

320-4613 1 512MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache, Latitude D820

341-2982 1 100GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM for Dell Latitude DX20

310-7418 1 Standard Touchpad for LatitudeD820

340-8854 1 No Floppy Drive for Latitude D-Family Notebooks

420-4802 1 Windows XP Home, SP2 with media, for Latitude English Factory Installed

310-7284 1 90W AC Adapter for Latitude D-Family, Factory Tied

313-5043 1 24X CDRW/DVD with Cyberlink Power DVD Latitude DX20

430-1963 1 Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN (802.11g,54Mbps) Mini Card for Latitude

313-3673 1 No Resource CD for Dell Optiplex,Precision and Latitude Systems

312-0389 1 6-Cell/56 WHr Primary Battery Latitude D820

982-5768 1 Thank you for choosing 3 Year Economy Plan

980-0350 1 Type 7 Contract - Mail-In Service, 1 Year 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year

986-1907 1 Dell Hardware Warranty, Initial Year

970-4122 1 Type 7 Contract - Mail-In Service, 24x7 Technical Support, 2YR Extended

986-1908 1 Dell Hardware Warranty, Extended Year(s)

986-4409 1 Thank you for choosing a Limited Warranty and Service Contract

462-4506 1 Purchase is NOT intended for resell

310-8319 1 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

466-2909 1 WINDOWS XP STICKER, OPTI/PWS/LAT/INSP/DIM

310-8977 1 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forBSD Systems Boxes

Save $758 on Latitude D820 through the Small Business division! - $758.00

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Product Subtotal: $669.00
Shipping and Handling: $0.00

Tax: $46.83
Product Total: $715.83