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General discussion

help buying new pc

May 31, 2005 9:34AM PDT

Hello,

I've been told that I have to choose the pc that I want within the next three weeks and I work full-time so I can't build it. I don't want a Dell or Velocity pc. I do want a SB Audgy 2 ZS 7.1 HD audio card and
either a 6800 ultra, 6800 GT, X850 or X800xl. I can't decide between AMD or Intel. My friend said that AMD will be able to operate 64bit OS when they become readily available. I guess Intel cannot. If that's the case then I would like AMD 64. My mom is giving me a $3,500 limit for the pc. I could cover any overhead cost if need be. I use the pc for everything. I'm not a psychotic gamer or anything but I do dabble. Here is the list of companies I was considering:

Sony, ABS, Monarch, ZTGroup, Voodoo, Alienware, Acer, Hypersonic. I haven't been able to find any other reputable companies. I really like hypersonic's design. Yes, I know design isn't everything but it beats Dell's design. Any thoughts would be really greatly appreciated.

Discussion is locked

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I would look into....
May 31, 2005 10:41AM PDT

alienware and voodoo probly

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(NT) (NT) go monarch!!!! or falcon northwest
May 31, 2005 11:13AM PDT
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(NT) (NT) Cyberpower
May 31, 2005 12:51PM PDT
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Careful recomending Cyberpower...
May 31, 2005 2:29PM PDT
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RE:
May 31, 2005 2:50PM PDT

I counted only 15 cases, and not all of them were bad. The other half of the cases complemented Cyberpower... I think the half that got dissatisfied obviously it's their fault, they bought cheap machines. Try reading some yourself, before you shift automatically think that the customer is the victim.

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upgradeable
Jun 8, 2005 3:55AM PDT

I want a system that is upgradeable though. No integrated graphics or sound card and only a intel pentium 4 chip. Does that narrow my options from a retailer? I've also decided against SLI cards

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RE:
Jun 8, 2005 4:48AM PDT

If you want upgradeability, don't buy from oems (i.e hp, compaq,emachines,dell,etc). Cyberpower uses most retail parts so you can upgrade even if you have integrated graphics/sound. Cyberpower offers pentium 4 machines. I would recommend a pentium 4 with em64t for the time being, but get the 955 chipset, so you can upgrade in the future as intel has no plans of abandoning the 775 platform whereas AMD already has plans for their second generation of dual-cores to use a brand new socket. So either get a pentium D for the same price as a regular pentium 6xx series, or get a 5xx series. With the 955x chipset, get a pci-express graphics card, the nvidia 6600GT is a very good buy for $174. No, it doesn't narrow your options from a retailer to get just intel. Intel is more often used in computer manufactures than amd, as intel always gives manufacturers a better deal than amd. There are lots of manufactures out there, just do your research.
ROger

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More re...
Jun 3, 2005 10:23AM PDT

Here's a site with more rant on intel versus amd...

http://web.archive.org/web/20041119093232/www.blackviper.com/TheRant/amd.htm

Also I asume nerdyboy's referance to ''Monarch'' is MonarchComputer.com If so it is excellent! As I live near their (Atlanta) store I get most of my build parts from them. So majax, for your $3500 bucks they will be more than glad to build you a killer machine. You can build it yourself at their site before you buy and price it all out! Here is the link...

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=CU

TOM

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P4 is on the way out.
Jun 8, 2005 6:28AM PDT

That will raise some feathers!
But AMD32 bit processors on the way out also.
Wondows XP 64bit Pro is out NOW.
Intel also has 64bit processors.
At this point in time the AMDs bench mark out better.
To Bad you can't build your own, it would only take a couple of nights(4~6 hours if you have never done it) to do so.
Compinies with most negtive posts in the last few months seen to be Dell,Alienware,Sony. The downside, if people are happy they don't seem to post.

For $3500 you can get 2 realy screaming PCs.
I desinged a streaming media server for an ISP a while ago with 1 terabyte of HD space and that came in just under $2000.
Look for a company that lets you choise the ALL the componets, not just some of them.
I agree with the other post I would love to build it for. John

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For $3500
Jun 8, 2005 2:48PM PDT

I could build 3 screaming pc's. skip

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The Pentium 4
Jun 8, 2005 3:09PM PDT

has 64-bit support so how is it on the way out. The dual-cores did not offer that much of a boost compared to single cores. Check tomshardware.com. The FX-55 still beat intel's ee, and amd doesn't have plans to get a dual-core fx.