BF2S Forums Getting New Computer

wait for conroe, heard its cheap and fast, 300 usd for 2.4ghz proccessor that can compete w/ fx60... but the 975x chipset aint cheap (240 bucks), but the 7900gt is the best card to get

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Good points, slo5oh.

1. If you're going to recommend the Opteron route, be sure to mention that many of them are socket 940. It can be easy for someone new to CPU purchasing to confuse the two. The Opteron 146 S939, sans coupon, can still be upwards to $220.

2. DDR500 won't see too much of a performance boost over low latency DDR400. But if you are going to seriously overclock (especially with the Opteron route), the 500 is probably your best bet. And if you are overclocking, then DFI mainboards are the winners. Just keep in mind that while your bandwidth will be nominally increased, some manufacturers use the same chips for both DDR400/500, only tinkering with timings to allow it to run at its set retail speed.

However, most people (particularly those on a budget), are unwilling to sacrifice parts lifespan for a few percentage points, unless said parts have already had a good, long run.

3. Mail-in-rebates are always questionable. Never count on them one hundred percent if you're on a budget.

4. The WD Caviar RE 250GB SATA-300 16MB cache has a 5-year warranty also, even in its OEM format. Both WD and Seagate make excellent products, and I have used both. Warranty on hard drives is something to take seriously, as they have among the highest failure rates of computer hardware.

But between the WD and the Seagate Barracuda (7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM), you could buy two of the WD's for two-thirds the price of the Seagate, with the added security of your data being spread over a pair of drives rather than just one.

5. I always recommend at least a 450W-500W PSU to the do-it-yourself individual, because people who build computers are likely to tinker around and put more parts into them. Particularly in the case of a pair of fatty video cards into one motherboard, with the added power drain of near-maxed SATA and IDE capacity. You never want to hit your PSU's limitations, as undervoltage can be just as dangerous as a surge.

6. On UPS's, yes. APC is another excellent name brand. Let me add one more thing: never plug a power strip into a UPS for higher device capacity. And if your UPS comes with monitoring software (if it's good, it will have it), install it and leave it on.

Finally, allow me to recommend a solid reference for anyone thinking about building a system of their own:

Upgrading and Repairing PCs (17th Edition) is a series in a long list of iterations that has been used by private businesses, for personal use and for college coursework for years. It's latest edition as been published just this March, and is an excellent investment for $38 (normally $60). In it you'll find answers that would cost you $300 and weeks without your computer due to fruitless tech shop visits.

Thanks for the karma points, people. By far my most 'famous' post here.

You deserve every point you got!  To clarify, I've been building and troubleshooting for my living since about 1995.  That said I still don't claim to know NEAR everything and find that I learn something new all the time.
1.  Agreed on the opteron, I just read about someone yesterday that accidently bought a 248 instead of a 148.  For the opty noobs, the 2xx series are all socket 940 (stay away), while the 1xx series are all socket 939 (good).  Oh and you can get the 146 for around $155 from tankguys, or better from monarchcomputer with a coupon (fatwallet).
2.  Agreed on the ddr500 probably being tested and rebaged ddr400, but that's the point.  You're paying a little extra to be sure your ram is capable of AT LEAST 250Mhz FSB.  My ddr500 was able to go up to 275Mhz without going to the limit of "allowable" voltage.  I usually try to stay 1 step down from the limit.
3.  I agree on the MIRs being questionable.  That's why I will never buy from tigerdirect again.  They hosed too many people on MIRs.  CompUSA hosed me once a long time ago on a ram/harddrive combo.  Long story, but since they ended up on different receipts I was denied.  I've bought probably a dosen seagate drives in the last 2 years from fry's all VERY cheap after MIR.  $50 for SATA 160s, $50 for PATA 200s, etc.  I've received every one of them without a hiccup.  I even manged to get an AGP gforce 6800 that after a $100 MIR and a $50 MIR was something like $61.  I did have to fight for that $100 MIR, but I got it.  That takes me to #4.
4.  WD, Seagate, even (I hate them though) Maxtor all have their supporters.  When the prices are all the same I stick with seagate, sometimes buy WD, and NEVER buy maxtor, that's  just me though.  Usually I find that the tests show similar drives all witin 1% of eachother.  That said the 10k rpm WD drives do scream, but I stick with 7200 rpm drives because I've seen the (realistic) life span on the 10k and 15k drives and don't care to put a new drive in my computer every year or 2.  Long warrany is nice, but I'd rather not have to use it if I can avoid it. 
As for raid 0, or 1, I think that's best left avoided for a serious noob that's wondering if they should even put the system together on their own.
5.  I see what you're saying on a big PS, but I think it as super overkill.  It's like buying drag slicks for a honda you're thinking about dropping a small block chevy into.  Anyone that's got the dough to buy 2 GTX cards or even a 2nd 7900gt isn't going to worry too much about another $50 to $80 for a super PS.  On a tight budget will never allow for 2 video cards and 4 raid 0 10k RPM drives.  That said, noobs need to know that a good 350 will WAY out perform a cheap 600.
6.  Funny you mention "never plug a power strip into a UPS", because I have in the past... you just need to be VERY aware of what you plug into it.  I only did it so I could add my cable modem and wireless router to a very nice APC 600 for my home computer that only had 2 battery backup plugs... I needed 4.

slo5oh wrote:

5.  I see what you're saying on a big PS, but I think it as super overkill.  It's like buying drag slicks for a honda you're thinking about dropping a small block chevy into.  Anyone that's got the dough to buy 2 GTX cards or even a 2nd 7900gt isn't going to worry too much about another $50 to $80 for a super PS.  On a tight budget will never allow for 2 video cards and 4 raid 0 10k RPM drives.  That said, noobs need to know that a good 350 will WAY out perform a cheap 600.
6.  Funny you mention "never plug a power strip into a UPS", because I have in the past... you just need to be VERY aware of what you plug into it.  I only did it so I could add my cable modem and wireless router to a very nice APC 600 for my home computer that only had 2 battery backup plugs... I needed 4.

5. Well said. I would put a $80 350W into a starter system long before I'd risk a 600W toaster oven for $20.
6. You can do that and get away with it, but it isn't really recommended by mfg. In some cases, I've seen it void warranty. So long as you aren't using the strip/extension to power large devices, you'll be fine. In my case, I have an 8-socket Belkin with RJ-45, RJ-11 and RS-232. It sits on one end (though it can lie flat) and is a little more bulky than a laptop.

I run my HP P1120, two computers, a scanner, the DSL modem, network hub and a Casio keyboard off it.