expensive case

[ric449]

It depends. Linux is famous for its learning curve, but if you spend enough time reading manuals you should be ok. The real problem is compatability. You can't run windows applications, so no games, off the shelf software, all software for Linux is on the Internet.

[jsawicki]

grrr that sux lol.

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by jsawicki I'm really not sure what to do. Im stuck and short of about 200-300 bucks over my budget every time. Is linux a good os to put on a computer or not?

I wouldn't recommend putting just linux as your only computer...dual boot, maybe. If you're exceeding your budget, post your specs and there we can see about reducing the overall cost.

kram

[jsawicki]

i guess the 170 dollar case and psu could be thrown out the door but the case looks so cool with the lights n everything

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

Considering your post about saving money (well Linux), you could get a cheaper case, and maybe mod parts of it with 'lights n everything.'

[Hi Ho]

Well why don't you tell us everything you plan to get. Then we could help cut costs.

[jsawicki]

ok here is kinda what i thought about.

CASE: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

HD: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...131-460&depa=0

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...153-008&depa=1

and i havent decided on my os yet.

[ric449]

Ok, with your budget the tsunami is out of the question. Theres no choice but to get a cheaper case, are you interested in cosmetics or performance?

480W of power is unneeded. Go for a cheap Enlight 360W PSU.

[jsawicki]

definitly cosmetics and the tsunami is just so awesome lol.
im thinkin about mac os x. what do you guys think of that?

[ric449]

You would have to buy a mac computer if you want OSX. If you think you are over budget now, don't even try looking for a mac to fit your budget, except maybe a preowned one.

[jsawicki]

so mac osx wont work on a custom build?

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

No, and it's not great for gaming either, although it's better than Linux (in some ways) for gaming. Apple shot themselves in the foot when they only allow them to make macs. You are going to need to get Windows, if you want to play games and custom build.

[jsawicki]

ok thats what ill get. what i need help with now is the hardware. what can i change to make this system good.

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

If you want to play games at the highest settings you will want a faster processor, and probably a gig of ram, although 512 will do (thats how much I have.) You also will want a graphics card, rather than the intergrated. How you have it at the moment it will not play games well. (I'm assuming thats what you want from the other post, sya if I'm wrong).

[jsawicki]

well the only 2 games i play are diablo 2 and warcraft 3 which dont require intensive video cards and stuff. keep in mind here, im on a tight budget. i need to lower the costs. not add video cards and spend 200 dollars more on a cpu.

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

OK then, have you considered going AMD? They will give you more performance in terms of budget processors of that price range (I think Celeron D's will be too expensive). I think a raptor is overkill, you will not notice the difference in such an old system, get a cheaper ATA drive.

[jsawicki]

well this isnt really an old system. ive had such a crappy expirience with slow hard drives in the past that i wana keep it kinda. the areas that need help are uh.... everywere but the hard drive, mobo, and cpu. (i got one picked out. let me know if it will work with this mobo) http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...112-190&DEPA=1

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

Panama Red ran a Celeron D 2.66 in that mobo, and so I'm assuming it will work. Overwise I would look for an LG, NEC etc CD-RW, or even a CD-Rom drive, and stick in a Enlight 420W to save cash on a PSU, although a 360W should be able to handle it. That processor should out perform the 2.2 you had as well.

[jsawicki]

i allready have a dvd burner which can go in there so no drives are needed.

[KoMoDo]

ok, some recommendations:
drop the case and get this CASE
drop the psu and get this PSU
thats already 120$ in savings, prolly abit more :-P
and, y do u need that fast of a HD ? its also kind of small, just get a 80gb WD 7200RPM and trust me itll be fast enuff, i think that system will bottleneck that hd abit.
once u do all those 3, u saved yourself around 150-200$, which is how much u wanted.
whats your budget anyways (sorry if i forgot/havent read, or maybe u just didn post it, only say u said u're ahead 170-200$, so those are my recommendations :-P) also, u can go AMD Socket A route with a good mobo and prolly a faster CPU, for less, or maybe just abit more, but well worth it.

tell me what u think, im off to bed now, since i got school tomorrow (live in Israel) and ill reply tomorrow. cya

KoMoDo

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

OK, that RAM has a CAS latency of 3, you might want to invest in 2.5, and maybe two sticks of 256mb so it runs in dual channel. I also think that you only need PC2700 for that processor, although you might want to stick with PC3200 for future upgrades.

[jsawicki]

well im not sure if i really like that case or not. can someone give me a few links of a few choices of cases?

[KoMoDo]

ya, thats another thing, if ull go AMD route ull get a 400 fsb which means PC3200 ram, and then 2x256 RAM on 2.5 CAS Latency, gonna be(after mobo and cpu and fsb improvements) about twice as fast as what u have now :-P for less money.

KoMoDo

[KoMoDo]

ok, try these 2
CASE
(also, if u dont like silver, they also have it in black, blue and green.. look in newegg)

AND

CASE

[jsawicki]

well actually i will have around $780 to use and i think i could fit the tsunami and that other psu in the budget but if i take some money out of my savings i could have about 1k. Ill probably get a cheap video card and upgrade my cpu if i take money out of savings.

[WhatsThisBoxFor?]

If you are not a heavy gamer I think what you have at the moment, with a graphics card, maybe 9600, or a 9550 (both DirectX 9) then you should be good to go. There is nothing wrong with getting that case either. I don't think you will have to take money out of your savings, unless you really want the performance.

[Tin]

that is a nice case....but im still a Lian Li fanboy . i checked out one of those Tsunamis at a local computer store and its nowhere near the quality of a Lian Li. the Lian Li's panels fit good without any hang-ups, unlike the Tsunami which had a more rough feel to it as you were removing the panels.

[Hi Ho]

This system is within your budget, includes XP Home, the Thermaltake Tsunami, and a much better CPU. It is also much more upgradable because it uses socket LGA. I only put one 512 MB stick of RAM in because it will be easier to upgrade to 1 GB that way. The Raptor hard drive is overkill. The 80 GB SATA drive below certainly isn't slow.

Thermaltake VA3000 Dream Tower Tsunami VA3000BNA Black Mid Tower Case -RETAIL - $102.50

ABIT "AS8" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel LGA775 CPU -RETAIL - $114.00

ROSEWILL RADEON 9600 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "RW9600-128D" -RETAIL - $69.00

Enlight ATX 360W P4 Power Supply, Model "EN-8361934A1" -RETAIL - $32.00

Intel LGA 775 Pentium 4 520 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail - $169.00

Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail - $76.00

Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD800JD, OEM Drive Only - $67.00

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack SP1a - OEM - $90.00

TOTAL WITH SHIPPING: $751.50

[Yuanji]

yeah i wouldn't look into the raptors if ur going over budget. they aren't that good price compared to space. one of those maxtor diamond max HDDs might be worth looking into. if you could find it, i would get 2x256 sticks instead of 1 512 stick. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...121-258&depa=1
this is a MoBo worth looking in to. it has onboard video as well as a PCIE 16x slot which you can later upgrade into. i know most people here recommend ASUS brand MoBos but an Intel MoBo works just as well if you aren't gnna overclock and might be more stable. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...144-318&depa=1 this HDD will probably good for your needs. has a 8Mb buffer and 7200RPMs will probably be good enough for basic home use. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...135-106&depa=1 this one is also nice. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-477&depa=1 this ram costs 10 dollars more but you have 2 sticks to run in dual channel. get the LGA 775 CPU.

[jsawicki]

ok guys this is what i think im going to get. i know you guys keep saying that the raptor is overkill but when you look at the average seek time, its almost 1/2 the seek time of the 7200s. and storage doesnt mean a whole lot to me since i dont put a lot onto my computer. this is what i think im going to get.

CASE: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

HD: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

MEMORY: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

OS: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

VIDEO CARD: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...factory=BROWSE

the total comes to $863.46

this is the max im going. no further upgrades from here. if i need to, i can take out the video card and downgrade my cpu.