looking for a new computer

[robzilla]

i do play the odd game, but with work, the kids and hobbies, i don't seem to have as much time as before.
once you start looking at a system where you piece it together, how do you decide which motherboard to go with, they literally give you hundreds of choices that do the same thing......
same for the ram, video card....

[robzilla]

for the computer guys, what's your thoughts on this system from canada computers:

Motherboard Asus A8V Socket 939 with Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM KingMax 512MB DDR400 PC3200
Hard Drive WD 80GB 7200rpm 8MB Cache
ROM 16X Dual Layer DVD-Writer
Case Antec SLK2650BQE
Video Card ASUS V9520-X 128MB
Sound Card Onboard Sound
Keyboard Logitech Office Pro
Mouse Logitech Optical Mouse
Speakers Logitech S100 Speakers (Black)

is this mother board of decent quality? the system seems to be priced right, but is it of low quality?

thanks
rob

[midgetwaiter]

Via chipsets (the V in ths MB name) really suck. They can out perform others by small margins in certain situations but they tend to have odd incompatibilities and the windows drivers are junk. Try and find one with an Nvidia chipset (Asus A8N something).

The chipset is what runs the drives, slots, USB, memory and such. It is the most important component of the system.

That video card is pretty meh too. Because you have an AGP style video slot on that board rather than a PCI Express your upgrade options are currently limited and will completely disappear in the next 6 months. Not just a game issue either, the fancy interface in Windows Vista uses the video card a lot.

Ask them to change the motherboard to an ASUS A8N5X and get a Nvida GeForce 7300GS based video card. Should add somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to the system price but will be a bit more future proof. You can balance the cost by dropping the processor down to a 3200+ or so. Chances are you would never notice the processor difference but you would cut $150 of cost. Why they stuck a higher end chip in that junk MB I don't understand.

Originally Posted by robzilla

Motherboard Asus A8V Socket 939 with Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM KingMax 512MB DDR400 PC3200
Hard Drive WD 80GB 7200rpm 8MB Cache
ROM 16X Dual Layer DVD-Writer
Case Antec SLK2650BQE
Video Card ASUS V9520-X 128MB
Sound Card Onboard Sound
Keyboard Logitech Office Pro
Mouse Logitech Optical Mouse
Speakers Logitech S100 Speakers (Black)

[Bryan]

If you are looking for a computer for e-mail and internet and your knowledge about computers is limited ,and you want plug and play out of the box then go for a Dell. I recommended Dell to my parents and a few computer slow friends and they all love the Dell. The price and service can not be beat.

[Paverdude]

I love my new HP: 2 gig ram, 300 gig Hd, Nvidia gforce 6200, Intel 920 duel processing cores $1100.00 @ futureslop

[Bartman]

Do yourself a huge favour and don't buy another PC at all. Get a Mac. I have used PCs since 1976 and was in the PC business from 1978-2000. I bought a PowerMac in 2004 to replace my old PC and all I can say is that I will never own another PC that uses a Microsoft operating system again. I am so much happier with the overall PC experience (buying, set-up, day-to-day usage). I bought an Apple iBook laptop off eBay in January for my wife and even though it's several years old and I have the newest OSX version on it, it runs great. I could not, in all conscience, read that you want to go further down the road to PC hell without steering you to greener pastures.

[brizzo]

I'll just add my two cents about Dell and NCIX.

Personally, I LOVE my dell laptop. Best money I have ever spent on a laptop. All other pc stuff, even for work; we order everything from ncix. Seems to be the best pricing in all of western canada, and you really get what you pay for when buying a pc. Perhaps check out the ncix forums for some advice in building your own system

[reefburnaby]

Yes, you can build a machine for less than Dell and it would work just as well. I can build a $300 machine that can match Dell, but you really need to know what you are doing to do that. Its all in picking the right components.

Dell's customer service...is not reliable...like everything...you get what you pay for. The problem is that it is outsource to India...depending on which person you get...its good somedays...bad on others.

Dell got hit with the capacitor issue -- their Optiplex line was hit and it cost them dearly on the books.

One thing to keep in mind....CPUs don't amount to much these days. The slowest Sempron (2600 @ $80 each) isn't that much slower than a mid-level AMD64 3800 @ $380 each, but the price difference doesn't quite reflect that. There is a upcoming paradigm shift for Intel with a whole slew of new processors (dual and quad cores) and new socket for AMD (M2) to support DDR2. So....prices for existing processors will drop to get rid of existing inventory. If you can wait...I would wait for those sales to start rolling.

Some of the better stores in Vancouver are Generic Computers, NCIX, A-power, Frontier Computers and Anitec. Theres also tigerdirect.ca for mail order. Stay away from ATIC - better to shop at Future shop than ATIC.

- Victor.