Desktop Suggestions

[TomB]

I have a friend who works for m$ and own [2] OEM Vista Ultimate's as well as [2] unassigned OEM copies of Home Basic. The OS end of things should be covered just fine.

Thanks for the rest of the advice Tom, I'm leaning towards tkam's config although probably tweaked just a bit to trim things down. I'm also leaning towards just tossing the old box entirely and not planning to use any of it.

Sounds good - good luck!

[falkon]

I seriously doubt you could do it for $100 less with a C2D unless you go used. Probably closer to $30-50 if you use a decent motherboard.

I'd recommend a P45 chipset like this:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

I'd recommend a PSU in the 500-600W range. The Corsair VX line is excellent. For something cheaper, Antec is alright but quite a bit louder. Don't buy a combo PSU+case. The PSUs tend to have a high failure rate.

[Dash]

I would still seriously consider dropping the VC in the list for

Newegg.com - VisionTek 784090025494 Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Its not much price wise, but it is technology wise. 40NM FTW!

[Iron_Dreamer]

I was going to suggest a system, but Todd's is perfectly suitable. I've never been a Thermaltake PSU guy, but I hear they've gotten better.

[Dusty Chalk]

I don't know, Nate, I wouldn't necessarily rule out a system ($489, Intel Quad Core, 6G memory, 750G hard drive, Vista pre-loaded -- it's too bad they won't forego the operating system...but who knows, they might...doesn't hurt to ask...).

[Dusty Chalk]

If (dellBox.scratchAndDent)

{

System.out.println (scratchAndDentHdr);

System.out.println ("Scratch & Dent"); // what was I gonna write, "yes"?

}

[n_maher]

I've heard bad things about Dell's mini towers and their propensity for baking things. Thoughts?

[John E Woven]

tkam's is pretty much what you should go for, with the exception of the power supply. It only has 18 amps on the +12v rail, and the build quality is pretty mediocre.

Try this power supply instead: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

[Iron_Dreamer]

Yep, that is what I like to use. The Corsair 400-450-550W'ers are my go-to PSUs.

[Dusty Chalk]

NewEgg's DailyDeal today is a CoolerMaster computer case. Better/worse value than the one in Todd's invoice?

They're also having a 24-hour sale right now which includes other cases, power supplies, and whatnot. Dealsucker also had another case on it for $45, but I hadn't heard of the brand before...but it came with a power supply...oh, heck...it was this one.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Dusty Chalk

[Iron_Dreamer]

That does look pretty damn nice for the price!

[John E Woven]

Newegg daily deal: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

$44.99 - $5.00IR = $39.99 with free shipping promo code "HARDOCPCASE615FS"

Expires on 6/22

[deepak]

The Antec 300 is a good quality case and cheap.

$50 and free shipping at Frys: [url=http://www.frys.com/product/5520150?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG]FRYS.com

[Dusty Chalk]

No! You must DIY your own enclosure. Out of spare hangers, sawdust, and duct tape!

[DocHamm]

Definitely some good desktop deals out there. However, I've never bought a desktop, always build and that's the way I'll always do it unless I switch to Mac. Heck, that may be even sooner than I think at the rate MS is frustrating me. I'm giving them till Win7 is released to see what they do. It cost me $300 for Vista and Macs just got Snow Leopard for $29. Gotta love that in tough financial times.

[Dusty Chalk]

Forgot to mention (and now we're halfway through), but NewEgg is having a 48 hour sale with free shipping on many "entry level" (read: <US$100) cases. Use promotion code "EMCCASEFS" (without the quotes); link. (Let me know if the link doesn't work, I took my email address off of it.)

[n_maher]

I got the same email from them Peter but thanks for posting. I've got too many balls in the air right now and will have to revisit the desktop at a later date. It's lower on the priority list than others.

[Yikes]

So my home computer is dying. Well, it's more dead than dying but you get the picture. It's had a good life, some 8 years now, and just can't cope with even the most basic tasks anymore. After installing a fresh OS this weekend and having it struggle for an entire day just trying to auto-update it's become painfully clear that it's time to move on.

Basically what I'm thinking about doing is picking up a pre-assembled motherboard/processor/ram bundle from someone like mwave and installing it in a chassis myself. But I don't have the time or patience required to research this stuff much these days so I figured I'd throw it out there and see if anyone has any great ideas. The budget for this is extremely limited unfortunately but thankfully it doesn't need that much in the way of processing power, can be semi-noisy, and I've got the monitor and peripherals taken care of already.

And before someone suggests a MAC Mini I've looked into it and I'm not sure it's worth it to me to pay for that much size compression when it really doesn't matter to me. I'm pretty sure I can get a lot more power/$$ through other avenues.

Nate, I've recently shopped for either the DIY route or a Barebones system route, and I found this company. Magic MICRO Computers. PC, Barebones, Computer Systems, Parts Online looking at their Barebones systems I found it would be diffiecult to DIY one cheaper.

I'm in a rush this AM so I didn't read the entire thread, sorry.

Ethan

[n_maher]

Thanks for that link Ethan, they certainly present some interesting options that I'll have to dig through.

[Dusty Chalk]

Excuse me for laughing at you, then, but sounds like you need to buy a pre-built system.

[n_maher]

Excuse me for laughing at you, then, but sounds like you need to buy a pre-built system.

You're laughing with me, right?

[Dusty Chalk]

Or you could hire someone to put it together for you.

Okay, now I'm laughing with you.

[Yikes]

If all you need is a basic computer its tough to beat the prices offered by a place like Magic Micro. Their barebones systems have many configurations (motherboards, Processors, Drives, Video Cards and the like) and if you take the time it takes to DIY into account I think they are a good option.

If on the otherhand you have a lot of special needs then DIY makes sense.

[n_maher]

There's little doubt that I have "special needs" but thankfully not in the computer department.

[skullguise]

Hey Nate,

Have you tried MicroSeconds in Salem (Rt 28, across from Best Buy)?

Prices are OK, not quite as good as Mail Order of course; but they can put together a decent system with focus on what you'd need, and put it together for you so you don't have to do it if you don't want. I'm sure tey'd do some testing on it too.

FYI, haven't read the WHOLE thread, but I saw tkam's PDF quote. Very good system, but I'd spend a little more for an ATI 4850 based GPU; the others below just aren't as good.....overkill most of the time, but good for when you need the power.