Hendryx December 9, 2002 Share Hendryx Member December 9, 2002 <raises hand> wait.... my hard drives never have anything on them in the first place... DJ, I have almost double that machine's specs (except the processor....2 ghz p4). 1024 mb of SDRAM (512 DDR), swap the CDROM drive with a DVDROM drive, and 2 hard drives, 40/80 gb. Only for about 1100. Yes, its possible. You just gotta find good suppliers (I know a guy who hooks me up with stuff pretty cheap). Sure, I don't have some 2 year / 60,000 mb warranty, but if I know what's inside the case, why do I need to worry? If something is wrong, I'd rather check the internet and talk to friends than sit 10 hours on hold waiting for some guy to come on to tell me to reboot it and call them in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playaa December 9, 2002 Share Playaa Member December 9, 2002 first off.....just doing this for fun....don't know if I can do it.... Barebone Kit 1.8ghz P4 - with shipping $173 (ignore the $50 dolla fan/modem/grease/shim got hookups for those for $20) so total of $193 right now 256mb PC1600 DDRAM - $64 (free shipping) Total $257 CDRW Drive - $40 + $11 shipping = $51 Total $308 heck we'll go with DVDRom (since I find them cheaper) at $19 plus free ground shipping from pirhanatech.com Total $327 40GB Western Digital HD $70 plust $10 shipping = $80 Total $407 Linksys Network card $5 at walmart Total $412 that monitor is killer....cheapest flat panel I've found at 15" was $249...however I'd rather have my $100 24" Hewlett Packard crt monitor than at 15" flat panel... so with flat panel Total $661 without flat panel Total $512 oh yeah XP license $40 dollars straight from Microsoft Store (XP Pro) add $40 to your choice of monitor.... as for the warranty....that's debateable on whether it's helpful...depends on who you talk to....I have NEVER found any large corporation's tech department to be helpful in any way....however, the average 1 year warranty for a bare bones system is $20 extra (at least from the place I usually order from) so add $20 more... all you hafta worry about is the parts that don't come on the bare bone.... so without the flat panel you save over $130....(but some ppl want the flat panel).... so there you go kids.....now you see the difference.....basically....not much (though for $130 bucks you could get a Geforce 4 Ti 4200 64mb version...) so what have we learned? that I have too much time on my hands and that it comes down to whether you have the skillz to take care of your own computer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playaa December 9, 2002 Share Playaa Member December 9, 2002 just so you know you CAN do better than that if you take the time my system is this: 1.4ghz Athlon XP 1600+ (cause I like Athlon better and it runs equal to a 1.7 P4) 512mb PC2100 DDRAM 80gig IBM Hard Drive (got a huge deal on it) 40x CD Burner 24" Hewlett Packard CRT Geforce2 Ti 64mb TV Out/DV In (I think, haven't messed with it) XP Pro (legal too...hehe) Dolby 5.0 Sorround sound system with a (get this) 4" subwoofer... total $596 after shipping... so take time and you get nice prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Premier December 9, 2002 Share DJ Premier Member December 9, 2002 i dunno where yur shopping at. Can you tell me the name of the road where these parts fell off the truck at? =P As for Hendryx....you basically are telling me you can get a better machine for more money. Hmmm. Let me rephrase but in a fortune cookie: More money pay, better machine buy. Hmmm.. I am overflowing with wisdom after that revelation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Premier December 9, 2002 Share DJ Premier Member December 9, 2002 Oh, plz tell me where yur buying those parts. I'd like to get a dvdrom for 19 bucks too and a 24" CRT for $100. That's a sweet deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playaa December 9, 2002 Share Playaa Member December 9, 2002 the 24" crt is straight through me (with like maybe $20 shipping through UPS) I've tried to sell them before on this board... and the $19 DVD is on Pirhanatech.com they have VERY cheap drives but they tend to run out of items in stock quite often so you have to have good timing... the main reason I got my system so cheap was I didn't pay a cent for my 24" monitor...that woulda put me up to the $700 range... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConGregation December 9, 2002 Share ConGregation Member December 9, 2002 What is the Windows XP pro for $40? Is that a an OEM license or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playaa December 9, 2002 Share Playaa Member December 9, 2002 no I know someone who works pretty high up in Microsoft so I get programs really cheap... I can only get limited copies though so don't go begging for one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConGregation December 9, 2002 Share ConGregation Member December 9, 2002 How about mild supplication? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gond December 9, 2002 Share Gond Member December 9, 2002 You can't get 2x the machine for the same cost...I've not seen many places where you can build your own for less than you can get a Dell etc. Example(using www.5oclock.com). 15" Flat Panel Monitor - $299 Intel P4 1.8Ghz - $159 256MB DDR-RAM - $87 48x CDROM - $28.50 (52x) 40x/10x/40x CD Rewriteable - $59 (48x24x48) 10/100 Network Interface Card - (On MB) 56k Modem - Why bother:) 40GB Hard Disk - $89.50 (wd, 7200rpm) Sound Card (on MB) Motherboard - $94.50 (audio & NIC) Case - $75 ATI 9700 pro 128 - $358 Office XP - $99 ======= $1,348.50 Dell price = $1,129 and that includes other software, a bigger HD, 1 year support, speakers, keyboard, mouse and some software. So, it depends on the individual which is better. I have no idea what MB is in the Dell. The RAM runs at 333 instead of 400. The HD might be a 5200rpm seagate (I only use WD). Overall, it's not a bad machine for the money. Just too many unknowns for me. If I was buying a machine for my parents...dude, they are getting a Dell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catalystgs December 9, 2002 Share Guest catalystgs Guests December 9, 2002 I got 2 copies of XP for $20 and a copy of Office XP for $10 through my college. Not a bad price, I must say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConGregation December 9, 2002 Share ConGregation Member December 9, 2002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ak2786 December 9, 2002 Share Ak2786 Member December 9, 2002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leo December 9, 2002 Share Guest leo Guests December 9, 2002 Dual Athlon MP 2.8 Ghz $600 (atek) 2 GB DDR RAM $100 (atek) 40 GB Western Digital 7200 ata 133 $89 (atek) 17" NEC Monitor $279 (staples) MSI GForce 4 Ti 4600 $249 (atek) Creative Labs Audigy SoundCard $0 (gift) (Made my own cooling system for overclocking, ripped apart an A/C...constant 12ºC $0 My Computer $Priceless 'Nuff Said... You want performance for a small price? http://www.atek2000.com/ I've been with this company for almost 10 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatGuyInALittleCoat December 9, 2002 Share FatGuyInALittleCoat Member December 9, 2002 d00d! Can I call and ask for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt_Jimmah December 9, 2002 Author Share Pvt_Jimmah Member December 9, 2002 Okay, need a little advice. I'm going with a Dell (since I don't have the expertise to build my own) and here are the specs and price. Please tell me if its a mistake: Dell Dimension 4550 Series: Pentium® 4 Processor at 1.80GHz w/ 512K L2 Cache Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM at 266MHz Keyboard: Dell® Quietkey® Keyboard Video Cards: 64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 MX™ Graphics Card with TV-Out Hard Drive: 120GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive Floppy Drive: 3.5 in Floppy Drive Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Mouse: Dell® 2-button scroll mouse Network Interface: Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet Modem: 56K PCI Telephony Modem CD or DVD Drive: 16 Max DVD-ROM Drive Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Digital Sound Card Speakers: Harman Kardon HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer Software Bundles: Microsoft® Works Suite 2002 with Money Standard WORKS Virus Protection: Norton AntiVirus™ 2002, 90-day introductory offer Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MusicMatch Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 2 Year Limited Warranty plus 2 Year At-Home Service Internet Access Service: 6 Months of MSN Internet Access Included CD or DVD Burner for 2nd bay: 40x/10x/40x Max CD-RW Drive Price: $938 with rebate Okay I believe this to be an awesome computer, but I just need opinions on whether this is a deal or not. Please respond! I dont want to make another $900 dollar mistake!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playaa December 9, 2002 Share Playaa Member December 9, 2002 Jimmah that's not a bad price for a pre-built computer....but if I were you I'd take out the little costs that you don't need or can get better elsewhere... one thing I can recommend....DO NOT buy the Geforce4 through Dell....you can get that so much cheaper from other stores and it's a piece of cake to install... biggest thing about that is you need to find out if you open your case will it void your warranty... another...DO NOT get XP Home...if you can't afford XP Pro I'd suggest just going with Win2K Pro (though others may disagree)....if that isn't an option I would call Dell personally because I had heard they were making it possible to buy an old copy of DOS as your operating system (since it's free and it still is a Microsoft OS therefore not going against any agreements with Microsoft) and then get Win2K Pro and install it yourself... does it have a monitor or am I blind? but overall...it's not a mistake...maybe someone here could build you a better system and ship it to you....ask around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gond December 9, 2002 Share Gond Member December 9, 2002 I'd drop the support down to 1 year. Unless your a total computer newb you will never use the support anyway. Then I'd also go with a 128mb video card unless the price goes way out on ya. Of course while I was on the Dell site I priced out the system I want with the new 3.06 P4 chip and hit $2500...guess I'll be waiting a bit on that puter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt_Jimmah December 10, 2002 Author Share Pvt_Jimmah Member December 10, 2002 Jimmah that's not a bad price for a pre-built computer....but if I were you I'd take out the little costs that you don't need or can get better elsewhere... one thing I can recommend....DO NOT buy the Geforce4 through Dell....you can get that so much cheaper from other stores and it's a piece of cake to install... biggest thing about that is you need to find out if you open your case will it void your warranty... another...DO NOT get XP Home...if you can't afford XP Pro I'd suggest just going with Win2K Pro (though others may disagree)....if that isn't an option I would call Dell personally because I had heard they were making it possible to buy an old copy of DOS as your operating system (since it's free and it still is a Microsoft OS therefore not going against any agreements with Microsoft) and then get Win2K Pro and install it yourself... does it have a monitor or am I blind? but overall...it's not a mistake...maybe someone here could build you a better system and ship it to you....ask around... Yeah I just found out that my mom can get me a Dell through Arby's (she works at the executive office for the president of the company) with a special plan that allows me to take out all I dont need, like a moniter which I already have two (thats why you dont see it), keyboard, mouse, etc, plus I can get up to 2.0 ghz for 200 LESS than on the standard dell site. The reason I added the Geforce is because only with that can I get the souped up DVD-ROM (even though I already have a Geforce four, I think I'll put it in Keeb's comp). It is only $20 for the card, which is pretty good. And as for XP, I hate that OS but unfortunately it comes with the plan. And to Gond: Since the two year warranty is only $30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrX December 10, 2002 Share mrX GC Alumni December 10, 2002 I'd suggest pricing out the 8250 series also. With that, the base processor is a 2.4 ghz and the memory is better, PC 1066 RDRAM. I just did a quick run thru of it, and think it's only about $120 more (it was $1050 or $1060 after rebate) than what you have there, and that $120 will get you 600 more mhz chip and memory that is a lot better for games. Some of the 8250 series are also in the $800-900 range, which is basically just taking away 256mb of RDRAM, which may be a trade-off to consider. Just my opinion, for CS what you have there will be more than adequate, but I like to have as much bang for the buck as possible, even if it's an extra 100 bucks or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt_Jimmah December 10, 2002 Author Share Pvt_Jimmah Member December 10, 2002 True, true... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now