Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Golfer on May 26, 2005, 03:04:51 PM
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After many many years of this trusty ol Dell 8100. It's cutting edge 1.3GHz Pentium 4 and its whopping 32MB videocard. The massive 512MB of RAM...I'm finally retiring it.
New system is being built as we speak...
Dell 4700
3.2GHz processor with 800 FSB
1 GB RAM
256 MB Nvidia 6800 Video Card
80 gig hard drive
Windows XP
Soundblaster 24bit something or another card
30watt speakers with a Subwoofer
6 months Earthlink (adios AOL!) access free.
MegaMan noodle Extender Pump
No more 9-12 Framerates for me baby!
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Yeah, I never liked you anyway :mad:
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You're just jealous. The pump is the 5000 Magnum version as well.
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There they go again!! Dell pc is ~ripping people off~!!! again!!! sorry to tell you bro, but You got screwed! haha!
The 5001 super magnum pump -the pump of all pumps- is the newest technoligy out!! They sent you the outdated version!!
the 5000 magnum got recalled , they figured out it was working oposite of extend. lmao!!!!
p.s.
way cool on ur new pc anyway!! H5!
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Earthlink is that the satellite service ?
If so you are in for a nasty surprise when you game online with it.
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What stick/thr/peds are you using? Old analog or new USB?
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I just ordered about the same system, Golfer. The company I work for has some deal with Dell that knocked about $748.00 off of the system, so I bought it. I also ordered the 20 inch Ultrasharp flat panel monitor. Been playing AH on a friggin laptop and can't wait to play on something a little better!
Clip
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CH Pro Pedals - USB
Saitek X45 - USB
Earthlink is just an ISP alternative to AOL. AOL sucks. That is all.
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Originally posted by Golfer
After many many years of this trusty ol Dell 8100. It's cutting edge 1.3GHz Pentium 4 and its whopping 32MB videocard. The massive 512MB of RAM...I'm finally retiring it.
New system is being built as we speak...
Dell 4700
3.2GHz processor with 800 FSB
1 GB RAM
256 MB Nvidia 6800 Video Card
80 gig hard drive
Windows XP
Soundblaster 24bit something or another card
30watt speakers with a Subwoofer
6 months Earthlink (adios AOL!) access free.
MegaMan noodle Extender Pump
No more 9-12 Framerates for me baby!
some people dont like dell but then again you dont have to worry about weird hardware conflicts when trying to go the cheaper route!
navajo24 :aok
CO Uknighted JG 26 - 357th FG
co@uknightedstate.net
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Originally posted by navajoboy
some people dont like dell but then again you dont have to worry about weird hardware conflicts when trying to go the cheaper route!
navajo24 :aok
CO Uknighted JG 26 - 357th FG
co@uknightedstate.net
A lot of people knock Dell. This is going to be my 4th dell computer (going all the way back to the original Dimension desktop) and none have given me problems. I'm not a computer whiz so I can't get parts and put it together. There was only once I had a problem with hardware and their tech support diagnosed and sent out a new piece right away along with instructions on how to idiot-proof install it. This is my 3rd desktop. I also have an Inspiron 1100 notebook that has never given me problems and runs like a champ.
A big plus for me is the easy financing which you don't get forking over cash for parts that I don't even know how to put together.
All the parts only save you a few hundred bucks off the cost of the system anyway. Add in the no-hassle assembly and all i have to do is pop in a CD with the Aces High .exe file and I'm ready to go...can't put a price on that.
"At least it's not a Gateway!"
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While I build my own if I was buying a computer Dell is a pretty nice buy.
The reason I had asked about the Analog/USB question was XP doesn't particularly like analog. It looks like your gonna be all set up for lotsa fun! :)
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Golfer we use all dell servers at work... never even had a hiccup with the machines, the older dells they replaced were great and dell always provided great speedy support.
Your upgrade has encouraged me to upgrade my own... going to an athlon 64 3700 socket 939, 2GB corsair ddr 3200 mem, keeping my GF 6800 ultra, installing a WD 74GB 10,000 RPM HDD... for giggles replacing my 8X dvd burner with a 16X dual layer burner
old system isnt bad... plays everything well EXCEPT AH... (any knucklehead that says its my computers' fault AH doesnt play well after the upgrade is gonna get bish-slapped!) athlon 64 3200 socket 754, 1.5 GB Corsair ddr 3200 memory, maxtor 200 GB SATA HDD, gonna carry the 200GB drive over for apps, data storage. Ordered from newegg, should be here by tuesday.
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Wtg Golfer but wayyyyyyy overdone......
The required system specs still say:
Windows 98/ME/2K/XP
DirectX 9.0b or later
32M video card that supports hardware T&L
P850 or better
Joystick, sound card and speakers
muuuuahahahahahaaa
:D
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I wonder if Hitech is getting a discount for makin evryone go out and get a new computer every 6 months too be able too play AH?
Quote:
All the parts only save you a few hundred bucks off the cost of the system anyway.
Not true golfer,
I have 600$ invested built it myself.where there's a will there's a way and money doesn,t grow on tree's.
3.2 Pentium 4
1 Gig of 3200 400 Mhz DDRram
256 Meg ATI 9800(Liquid cooled)
X-Factor Gaming Tower
ASUS P4800-S MotherBoard
500 Watt power supply(the ATI burnt the other 1 up)
Got it all for 600$
And why would someone who has credit with dell have them install a Nvidia Video Card?
Nvidia uses ATI technology,and dell will install a ATI card.
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Originally posted by Clip121
I also ordered the 20 inch Ultrasharp flat panel monitor.
Is that the 2005FPW? I almost bought that the other day...20.1 inch LCD for $397 was very attractive. I did not becuase it only supports 1050 vertical resolution and even my current laptop does 1920X1200. That is fine for gaming but for general Windoze use is pretty bad for a 20.1
Let me know how it performs, I am still interested due to the price.
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And why would someone who has credit with dell have them install a Nvidia Video Card?
Nvidia uses ATI technology,and dell will install a ATI card. [/B]
WTF?
:rofl
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Thats what I am saying too! LMAO (Geforce 6800 Ultra user) Since when does NVidia use ATI technology... and WHY would they??? LMAO
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Originally posted by 1Klink
And why would someone who has credit with dell have them install a Nvidia Video Card?
Nvidia uses ATI technology,and dell will install a ATI card.
Uhhh.........Hmmm...... Uh....Don't think so.
Woof
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You better re-think that 1 G.I.
Look deeper and you will see.........
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some people dont like dell but then again you dont have to worry about weird hardware conflicts when trying to go the cheaper route!
LOLOLOL I am a supervisor in the business tech support division for Dell and I can say without a doubt that you cant even begin to imagine how many calls we get on "wierd hardware conflicts" every day! I just hope you got Business tech support on your system! I wont say why.......
(http://www.theartistschoice.com/scans/comm/brunner/thumbs/Headless%20Horseman%20002.jpg)
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Originally posted by 1Klink
I have 600$ invested built it myself.where there's a will there's a way and money doesn,t grow on tree's.
3.2 Pentium 4
1 Gig of 3200 400 Mhz DDRram
256 Meg ATI 9800(Liquid cooled)
X-Factor Gaming Tower
ASUS P4800-S MotherBoard
500 Watt power supply(the ATI burnt the other 1 up)
Got it all for 600$
And why would someone who has credit with dell have them install a Nvidia Video Card?
Nvidia uses ATI technology,and dell will install a ATI card.
Okay you spent $600. Great. I spent a few hundred dollars more. Someone else on this board spent only 100-200 more. I didn't drop $2000 on this system, in fact I just barely broke $1000. For giggles lets say I spent $400 more than you did for "the same thing". How long's it take to build a system? I'm going to be very optimistic and not-knowing and say 15 hours of working time.
If that's the case, I just paid the a team of experts who know exactly what they're doing because they do it for a living, in addition to the quality control checks they have $26.66/hr to build my computer and send it to me so all I have to do is hit the power button. If that's not fair I don't know what is.
I checked my email this morning and that sucker shipped! 3-5 days from now I'm going to be one happy camper!
Oh, after talking to several geeky nerdy types, the Nvidia 6800 is as good as it gets now. When I selected it in the Dell customizing portion of the website, they charged me EXACTLY what it costs for me to buy it from newegg.com. I checked a few other "options" including memory and they were right on the nose.
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Originally posted by Golfer
You're just jealous. The pump is the 5000 Magnum version as well.
That's what I was jealus of, not the system :lol
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Yeah, I question that $600 quote for those specs, seems too cheap. I'd be interested to see an itemization per piece, and where that price was obtained.
I'm not saying that to be confrontational, I'd really like to be informed. I recently upgraded my system, and researched costs thoroughly before doing so. What I found for pieces like that was significantly more expensive.
I don't see things like drives, fans, operating system, etc on that list either.
I ended up buying a Dell almost exactly like Golfer's, because even though I've always rolled my own, in this case Dell's price for the system was LESS than what I would have had to spend for all the components. I was really surprised at that.
culero
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Looks like a good system.
What size power supply? Dont skimp this area.
450watt or greater.
Personally I like ATi vs Nivida (having used both)
Monitor? Nothing will beat a CRT for gaming.... Some flat creen Crt's come close but LCD just dont deliver the graphfic quality of a CRT.
Enjoy!
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Originally posted by Elyeh
Looks like a good system.
What size power supply? Dont skimp this area.
450watt or greater.
Personally I like ATi vs Nivida (having used both)
Monitor? Nothing will beat a CRT for gaming.... Some flat creen Crt's come close but LCD just dont deliver the graphfic quality of a CRT.
Enjoy!
What is CRT?
I had an upgrade for free to a 17" flat screen monitor because I've got nothing to lose. My 17" regular glass monitor works great and if I don't like the flat screen...I don't need to use it.
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Originally posted by Golfer
What is CRT?
I had an upgrade for free to a 17" flat screen monitor because I've got nothing to lose. My 17" regular glass monitor works great and if I don't like the flat screen...I don't need to use it.
Cathode-Ray Tubes are those "glass" monitors. Although LCDs (liquid crystal display, "flat") have come a long way in the last few years CRTs still out perform them for refresh rates, resolution, and color matching. The shame is that with the steadily increasing popularity of LCDs nobody is doing new research on CRTs, and the quality and quantity of CRTs is quickly declining. Unless you drop $2000+ for a really high quality CRT you can't buy anything but pure crap anymore.
-p.
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Quote:How long's it take to build a system? I'm going to be very optimistic and not-knowing and say 15 hours of working time.
Now that's funny.It takes 1- 2 hours if you know what your doin.
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In that 1 - 2 hours do you solder the ATI chip to your nVidia card or how exactly does that work?
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sorry i didn,t fully explain for some doltz.1-2 hours too install all componets in the case and have it on-line downloadin pics of your wife.
And for those nerds that ordered thier card from dell since you don,t believe me,go too best buy or circuit city and look at the box the Nvidia comes in,you will see ATI's name on it.
And as far as where i get those cheap but real good computer parts....Na Na Na......I,m not tellin.......
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Good Lord,
Is elementary school already out for the summer?
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Nvidia is a chipset maker that supplies to companies like MSI, Leadtek, BFG, Chaintek etc... ATI is a video chipset maker and their chips end up in ATI brand cards, Sapphire, Powercolor, Rosewill etc...
Unless there was some flaky deal that I have never heard of - you will not find ATI on a NVidia video chipset card or box, unless there is a comparison on the box.
BTW ATI makes excellent chipsets, I just happen to prefer Nvidia at the moment.
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Originally posted by HavocTM
Good Lord,
Is elementary school already out for the summer?
Bahahahaha actually, it IS!
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I should actually let my wife respond to him.
She would put her foot so far up his bellybutton that when 4:20 came around he would need assistance from a ventilator to get high.
Apparently 4:20 has come around several times today already.
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Personal attack
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Originally posted by 1Klink
sorry i didn,t fully explain for some doltz.1-2 hours too install all componets in the case and have it on-line downloadin pics of your wife.
And for those nerds that ordered thier card from dell since you don,t believe me,go too best buy or circuit city and look at the box the Nvidia comes in,you will see ATI's name on it.
And as far as where i get those cheap but real good computer parts....Na Na Na......I,m not tellin.......
Would you like me to hand you down a bucket on a rope so you can better remove the dirt from the hole you're digging?
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Over the line.
Buh bye!
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That's what i thought.
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That was very not cool.
I would appreciate an apology.
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Originally posted by 1Klink
Personal attack
Quoted until Skuzzied.
I for one won't miss you if and hopefully when you are banned from this board.
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Way to go Golfer. Just so you guys know, Golfer doesn't need this kind of help. He is already the most deadly pilot in the squad while enduring 9-12 FPS. Watch out when he gets anywhere over 24. BTW, hope to see you tonight for FSO Golfer.
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FWIW Golfer, as I said I bought pretty much the exact same system, and have had it a couple of months.
I'd say you're gonna be well pleased with the way it runs AH2.
The only knock I have is that it had all kinds of BS software installed (buncha naggin' "spend more $$$" crap) but it was all easy to trash :)
culero
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Originally posted by Golfer
Okay you spent $600. Great. I spent a few hundred dollars more. Someone else on this board spent only 100-200 more. I didn't drop $2000 on this system, in fact I just barely broke $1000. For giggles lets say I spent $400 more than you did for "the same thing". How long's it take to build a system? I'm going to be very optimistic and not-knowing and say 15 hours of working time.
If that's the case, I just paid the a team of experts who know exactly what they're doing because they do it for a living, in addition to the quality control checks they have $26.66/hr to build my computer and send it to me so all I have to do is hit the power button. If that's not fair I don't know what is.
I checked my email this morning and that sucker shipped! 3-5 days from now I'm going to be one happy camper!
If you were a little bit more computer tech savvy, you would have saved a lot more doing it yourself.
My new system:
AMD 64 3200+
ASUS KV8 motherboard
1 gig PC3200 RAM
Audigy ZS soundcard
ATI +800XT 256meg card
Pioneer Dual Layer DVD-RW drive
Sony 52x Speed CD-Rom drive
2x Western Digital 74GB Raptor Hard Drives
Antec PLUSView10000AMG full tower computer case
All for a whopping $798.56 and it only took me about 45 minutes to put it together. Of course, it would have broke the grand mark if I had gone with the 19 inch Viewsonic flat screen monitor but I see no reason to chuck out the 19inch Viewsonic Flat Screen CRT that I'm using now.
I was actually expecting my new system to cost me an arm and a leg but I found a lot of good deals on the Intertardnet.
ack-ack
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Hey Ack-Ack does that system come with MegaMan noodle Extender Pump :rofl And BTW Does That come with a USB or Gameport:lol :D
Crims
479th Raiders FG
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Originally posted by 1Klink
sorry i didn,t fully explain for some doltz.1-2 hours too install all componets in the case and have it on-line downloadin pics of your wife.
And for those nerds that ordered thier card from dell since you don,t believe me,go too best buy or circuit city and look at the box the Nvidia comes in,you will see ATI's name on it.
And as far as where i get those cheap but real good computer parts....Na Na Na......I,m not tellin.......
Hmmm...I think it's funny when someone claims to be savvy in something and then post something like this and make themselves look foolish.
ATI and Nvidia are arch-rivals. Nvidia does not use ATI technology nor does ATI use Nvidia technology. That's like saying on every can of Pepsi, you'll see a little Coca-Cola trademark.
You are probably confused that a lot of video card manufacturers make and sell both cards. So you probably saw a Nvidia card, let's say made by Sapphire and then on the next shelf another Sapphire card but this one an ATI one. So in your little mind, you assumed Nvidia uses ATI technology.
And for where you get those "cheap but real good computer parts", anyone can find those if they hunt around.
You're dismissed.
ack-ack
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Originally posted by Ack-Ack
If you were a little bit more computer tech savvy, you would have saved a lot more doing it yourself.
My new system:
AMD 64 3200+
ASUS KV8 motherboard
1 gig PC3200 RAM
Audigy ZS soundcard
ATI +800XT 256meg card
Pioneer Dual Layer DVD-RW drive
Sony 52x Speed CD-Rom drive
2x Western Digital 74GB Raptor Hard Drives
Antec PLUSView10000AMG full tower computer case
All for a whopping $798.56 and it only took me about 45 minutes to put it together. Of course, it would have broke the grand mark if I had gone with the 19 inch Viewsonic flat screen monitor but I see no reason to chuck out the 19inch Viewsonic Flat Screen CRT that I'm using now.
I was actually expecting my new system to cost me an arm and a leg but I found a lot of good deals on the Intertardnet.
ack-ack
Well you spent $800...I spent just over $1000. Worth it. The service/support isn't a bad thing for someone like me with no real drive to learn about computer hardware and the ease of use. Like you mentioned, I got the nice flat screen monitor too so that makes up the difference easily. I'm pleased and it's all financed so there's nothing out of pocket for me and I make enough money to pay it off with "excess" cash in about 4 months and keep living comfortably. I'm just a poor college kid man :)
Sounds like a good system AckAck. I've got a flat screen 17" "CRT" tv tube monitor, a regular 17" tv tube monitor and this new flat screen. I like the flat CRT the best I think but I'm looking forward to having the smaller monitor in terms of space wise...I'm really pushed for desk space.
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Originally posted by crims
Hey Ack-Ack does that system come with MegaMan noodle Extender Pump :rofl And BTW Does That come with a USB or Gameport:lol :D
Crims
479th Raiders FG
Unfortunately, the MegaMan noodle Extender Pump was a little too small for me so I passed on it.. Figured the girlfriend does a good enough job on her own.
Comes with both USB and analog game port but I've disabled the analog game port on the sound card since it's not needed.
ack-ack
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Originally posted by Golfer
Well you spent $800...I spent just over $1000. Worth it. The service/support isn't a bad thing for someone like me with no real drive to learn about computer hardware and the ease of use.
You're right about the support. We use Dell computers at work and other than the occasional VMU crashes from the ATI card, it's a rather stable and quality system. Anytime we've needed to contact Dell support, they've been great. There isn't really anything bad I can say about Dells other than they have really annoying commercials.
ack-ack
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I've also only ordered a 48x CD-RW drive. I reasoned that in all the years I've had a DVD drive on my computer...I've never once used it so why buy it?
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Originally posted by Golfer
I've also only ordered a 48x CD-RW drive. I reasoned that in all the years I've had a DVD drive on my computer...I've never once used it so why buy it?
The only reason I got a DVD drive is that my girlfriend accidentaly got me a copy of Silent Hunter III on DVD format. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered since I'd rather watch DVD movies on my TV than on my computer.
ack-ack
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Originally posted by Ack-Ack
If you were a little bit more computer tech savvy, you would have saved a lot more doing it yourself.
My new system:
AMD 64 3200+
ASUS KV8 motherboard
1 gig PC3200 RAM
Audigy ZS soundcard
ATI +800XT 256meg card
Pioneer Dual Layer DVD-RW drive
Sony 52x Speed CD-Rom drive
2x Western Digital 74GB Raptor Hard Drives
Antec PLUSView10000AMG full tower computer case
All for a whopping $798.56 and it only took me about 45 minutes to put it together. Of course, it would have broke the grand mark if I had gone with the 19 inch Viewsonic flat screen monitor but I see no reason to chuck out the 19inch Viewsonic Flat Screen CRT that I'm using now.
I was actually expecting my new system to cost me an arm and a leg but I found a lot of good deals on the Intertardnet.
ack-ack
That price include shipping and taxes?
I'd appreciate a headsup on where you shopped, I looked at that same stuff and didn't see it anywhere near that cheap. If I had, I woulda done the same as you.
culero
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In dollars... aprox cost..
I deal with a local guy for my cpu and MB all other stuff bought at local stores like best buy and the like. Look for rebates and sales.
CPU- 3.2 p4 cpu 800fsb - 160 to 200.00
mother board w/ most all the goodies - 100 to 140.00
3.2 p4 cpu & motherboard (bundles)300.00 <-- bought together and 350.00 for p4 3.4 ghz & MB
Ram-1 gig ddr duel channel 75 to 90.00
video card ultra 6800 gf ddr 256 mb - 150 to 170
video cards that get great FR and gf etc 128 to 256 ram 50 to 90.00
120 to 200 gig hard drive 50 to 120.00 <-- seen even cheaper
sb sound card audigy 2zs 75 to 90.00
modem- depends on what you have, cable , dsl, satalite, dial-up .. 30 to 75.00
Case w/ 400+ watt power source / fans etc.. 75 to 150 for very nice way cool looking case, Viper cases look bad arse they have fans everywhere, too cool looking!!
Cd rom rw/dvd 40 to 100.00,
a-drive- 25.00
so about $760.00 (8% sales tx added) +- low end <--can be lower
to 1260.00+- (8%sales tx added) this price is for no sales or rebates purchases~ straight out full pricing~ and for extras like fancy case, cdrom/dvd <--------
Build time from start to finnish. ei..... put parts together, install software , drivers etc..... 1 to 3 hours
cost would be even cheaper if you went with a 2.8 or 3 gig cpu
this hardware is able to be found in just about any store or online.
All this stuff could also be found even cheaper if you catch it on sale or rebated..
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Good going Golfer.
I have a Dell XPS Gen 5 and it rocks ! I'm using the ATI XT850 PE PCI and 2 gigs of 677 Mhz ram ....
Frames are not an issue any more since I installed Omega's latest driver .....
Have fun with it...
Regards
CHECKERS
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Golfer,
I ordered a system similar to yours last night and was shocked to see that mine shipped today as well! They didn't waste any time! I also got free 2nd day air so i hope to have it by tuesday or so. It'd be nice to be able to build my own as I see some folks have but I'm no computer guru either - I'll leave that to folks that know! I don't mind spending a few dollars more to not have to worry about it! Good luck with your new system!
Clip
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so in other words your gonna see my tracers blowing off your tail feathers at 114 FPS! woohoo! enjoy the new pc.
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Originally posted by CHECKERS
Good going Golfer.
I have a Dell XPS Gen 5 and it rocks ! I'm using the ATI XT850 PE PCI and 2 gigs of 677 Mhz ram ....
Frames are not an issue any more since I installed Omega's latest driver .....
Have fun with it...
Regards
CHECKERS
Gawd I can't imagine frames being an issue with a system like that to start with! :p
Clip
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Originally posted by Edbert
Is that the 2005FPW? I almost bought that the other day...20.1 inch LCD for $397 was very attractive. I did not becuase it only supports 1050 vertical resolution and even my current laptop does 1920X1200. That is fine for gaming but for general Windoze use is pretty bad for a 20.1
Let me know how it performs, I am still interested due to the price.
I will indeed let you know how it is, Edbert. I needed a new monitor, the price was hard to pass on so I went for it. Hopefully it will be ok - can't be a whole lot worse than the laptop monitor I'm using now anyway!
Clip
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Originally posted by Clip121
Golfer,
I ordered a system similar to yours last night and was shocked to see that mine shipped today as well! They didn't waste any time! I also got free 2nd day air so i hope to have it by tuesday or so. It'd be nice to be able to build my own as I see some folks have but I'm no computer guru either - I'll leave that to folks that know! I don't mind spending a few dollars more to not have to worry about it! Good luck with your new system!
Clip
Best of luck to you too then sir! I'm quite excited. I won't be back in town until Wednesday but when I get back it's going to be an early christmas :)
It's tuna fishing in the outer banks this weekend. Going 40 miles offshore to catch Dolphin, Wahoo, Tuna, Sword or Sail fish, Sharks...anything dumb enough to bite the hook.
If some of the frequent O'Club posters were fish...I'd have them all in the box in no time.
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Lucky dog! I love to go fishing offshore! I'm also leaving tomorrow - going to Commerce, GA to the Harley drags (drag races cause I know how u folks are!) but I should be back sometime Sunday night. Good luck fishing Golfer! lucky bastige!
Clip
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in the end its so much better to just build your self
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Originally posted by Golfer
AOL sucks. That is all.
:aok
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:cool:
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Most of the stuff was picked up at Outpost.com. I found them to be on average less expensive than Newegg.com. I saved on shipping because I was able to pick up the stuff directly from Fry's Electronics (Outpost.com is Fry's online store). Some of the knicknack stuff was purchased from crazypc.com like the air filters (good suggestion by the way). The CPU and Motherboard were purchased from Motherboardsdirect.com. They've got some really good bundle specials, just need to search the site some to get the entire listing of them. Video card and memory were ordered online from a local store near me. Hard drive came from Fry's (through outpost.com) and were on special with both an in-store rebate and a manufacturer's rebate, so that took a nice chunk from the price tag of those two drives. The soundcard I pillaged from my old system. No reason to get rid of a perfectly good Audigy 2 ZS sound card.
ack-ack
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Dood that video card is like $450 at outpost.com, and that motherboard with a 2800 processor and 256MB of RAM is $280at motherboardsdirect.com.
This ain't adding up.
culero
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CPU/Motherboard combo was $299 but got a 20% discount on it through work. The ATI card wasn't full price because it was a refurbed card. Just had to forgo the bundled software and the extra stuff like the remote and VIVO cables and some other video connects that came with it. Basically, a refurbished OEM card. Only paid $325 for it. Have since returned the Pioneer DVD burner though, got one from Sony instead.
ack-ack
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OK, makes more sense now (about $200 more ;))
Factor in the price of the sound card and operating system you didn't include in your price, and this starts looking more like a $1200-1300 system to assemble from parts. That's about what I'd estimated when I was looking, and why I bought the Dell (it was $1038 shipped).
Its real easy to say "Oh its always cheaper to build it yourself". Its what I've always done in the past, but not because it was cheaper, it was simply my way of getting the best quality possible for no more expense.
But telling people they can always have saved money and then citing examples where you used parts you already had, used special discounts you get because you work in the industry, and used refurbished parts etc etc is kinda, well, BS, dood :)
Its like me and cars - I was in the car repair business for 25+ years, so of course I fix my own car cheaper than I could take it to a shop....but you don't see me in here telling people they paid too much because they took their cars to a shop and paid retail for repairs.
Looking at a situation like this means you have to take "who" into account. I say that those here who told Golfer he coulda saved money shoulda built his own etc are wrong. I think he made the right choice.
culero (well, of course I do, it was my choice too LOL)
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Building a pc for the first time many forget 2 factor in the cost of software. U will spend atleast 299 for xp, while burning software will come included with the dvd/cd u purchase.
The problem with Dell, Gateway and many other companies is the OEM windows they sell with the pc. I've read earlier in this thread about hardware conflicts (irq conflicts) that come from the chop up windows version they have.
That is also the reason why they can sell the pc's so cheap. Nothing wrong with a dell if u are not one 2 open up the case. But if u are one that must know where the light comes from then don't buy a OEM windows version.
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There is NO difference between the OEM version of windows and retail except the cost of the license and in some cases add-on logo customizations... OEM version licenses are discounted to encourage Manufacturers/Assemblers to purchase Windows.
Source Jody Lockridge Microsoft programmer/analyst, Charlotte, NC
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Try changing your mobo with a oem version that came w/your dell, emachines or any company that uses a oem version.
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You cant do that with any version of windows XP without a reinstall unless you use the same motherboard model and revision.
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Originally posted by Clip121
..... I also ordered the 20 inch Ultrasharp flat panel monitor....
Clip
What is this 20 inch UltraStrapon, ummm wait UltraSharp ok nevermind. :D
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Get this technical crap out of my thread! If I don't understand what you're talking about I don't care :)
On the other hand...Fishing was AWESOME! Will post pictures somewhere else sometime soon.
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Now have my new puter up and running AH2 - wow! lol I seein things I never knew existed! :p Runnin in 1024x768 res with sliders all the way up, gettin 74 fps, even when flyin thru those wacky trees! And this monitor is sooo big, gonna take a while to get used to it. Had to push it back a bit on my desk!
Clip
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Oh boy! I just got back into town so UPS is making their 3rd/final attempt to deliver today. I can't very well sign for it if I'm not around, eh? I cleared my schedule today to rest up from the trip back yesterday so I can't hardly wait for that big brown truck to come rolling in. It's like christmas!! :)
Congrats on the system, my sliders on this CPU are barely off the bottom and I am lucky to scrape out double digit framerates in the MA.
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Dood
Youre "intel" from dell is just a amd pull back the sitkcer and you see LOL1!!!!11 6800 is ati too, i work for dell and you should see where they get these parts haha i'm not telling tho.......
you crazy I got my ati cheap from haha won't tell you that 'cause i'd lose my nda but it says g70 under ati hsf so your got ripped off bigztime!!!!!1 you wish you knew whozup but you don't know nada zilch zip nothing. go to computer store and you see look up part number on intel and it's really amd parts just like the ati that build yoru 6800 haha dell got yjoo!!!1!
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Do AMD chips use ac power?
Someone once told me that if I changed my power supply from 110vac to 220 my CPU will go twice as fast!
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I R teh ubaR!
Jo0 suxxorz?
Is that how it's done?
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Originally posted by Monster0
Building a pc for the first time many forget 2 factor in the cost of software. U will spend atleast 299 for xp, while burning software will come included with the dvd/cd u purchase.
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If you build your own PC Do not. I repeat DO NOT go out and spend $299+ for the full version of XP.
Instead pay $150 or less for XP Upgrade.
It is the exact same software cept when you go to install, it will ask for your old windows CD (Win 98,ME etc) All you have to do is instert your old windows CD and click OK.
If you dont have an old windows CD Borrow one.
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I bought XP pro from newegg for $80 with a student discount. It asked me for student info (which school and what not) but I didn't have all the information. Who knows their school code anyway??
If you're not a student...have one order it for ya :)
Stick it to the (microsoft) man!
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Originally posted by Golfer
I bought XP pro from newegg for $80 with a student discount. It asked me for student info (which school and what not) but I didn't have all the information. Who knows their school code anyway??
If you're not a student...have one order it for ya :)
Stick it to the (microsoft) man!
The company I work for has some deal with Microsoft so we get pretty sizable discounts with a lot of different companies. Microsoft included. Knocked $748.00 bucks off of this pretty new puter I have..... So check at work - may find your employer offers the same!
Clip
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Originally posted by 68DevilM
in the end its so much better to just build your self
I built myself using parts purchased from the county morgue and various underground sources. My joints are a little stiff and I don't smell too good, but it was so much cheaper than what the Big Guy charges.
-Abby Normal
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There are lots of people on this board that will say it is easy and cheap to build your own computer and that buying a Dell (or other prebuilt system) is a mistake. I have no doubt whatsoever that is true for many people, but I can guarantee it is not true for all people.
Let me tell you my story (for entertainment purposes- competent system builders will find it quite funny). Because my frame rate zoomed in on trees can fall to 1 - 2 fps (with detail sliders maxed) I decided to pay big bucks for a new graphics card: $383 (-$50 rebate) for an ATI Radeon All in Wonder X800XT 256MB. Based on published reports this card should be a minimum of about 3 times faster than my old card, a 128MB 9600XT.
I did everything right, supposedly. I uninstalled the old graphics drivers and I did not click on OK when Windows XP "Found New Hardware" tried to install its drivers for the new card. I used the shipped CDROM and that started a multi day nightmare. The CDROM install would hang part way through. After uninstalling and reinstalling, I finally downloaded the latest Cat 5.5 drivers and installed them and downloaded Microsofts' DX9.0c and installed it. None of the multimedia (ie TV tuner etc) features would work- the ATI diagnostics even saying DX wasn't installed properly and that the chip wasn't even a Radeon!
More importantly, my 3D performance in AH, under identical conditions as before, was actually one half as fast! I then uninstalled All in Wonder card and drivers and reinstalled the 9600XT. It's performance was now also one have as fast, and identical to the X800XT. I then did a system restore to before all this pain, and reinstalled the X800XT with the new Cat 5.5 drivers. The performance exactly doubled, but so did the 9600XT- ie I had paid $383 and gone through multiple days of pain to get almost exactly the same performance as I had before. Finally I removed everything, did a system restore again, put the 9600XT back in with its drivers, and installed DX9.0c. Result- slightly better performance than I had before: ie the free download of DX9.0c (upgrading from 9.0b) gave me about 50% better frame rate in certain difficult conditions that I had before.
So the bottom line: I did it myself and I paid $383 to get 1/2 the performance. Was doing it myself cheaper than buying a new Dell? Yes indeed, if I pay myself less than minimum wage for all the time spent on this.
So- don't feel bad about just paying the $200-$500 extra for a prebuilt system. There is a chance you are saving yourself from immense pain.
Now I gotta check Newegg's return policy- after all this pain I may pay them to take it back ;-)
[system info: 2.8GHz P4, Intel D865PERL mobo, 1.5GB 400MHz DDR2 dual channel RAM, Win XP pro]