Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Enker on December 14, 2009, 03:36:27 PM
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For my birthday present, I am getting my very own computer in hopes of extracting me from our main access to Freecell. I have a budget of $500, and would like a computer that can, at the very minimum, play AH with the fancyshmancy stuff off. Unfortunately, I have next to no understanding of what is and what isn't lower-middle of the line in computers nowadays, and was hoping you guys would be able to help me out. I plan on putting it all together, as I know that much. I was thinking about getting a cheapo case and PSU from the local computer surplus store, but I would like to get some newer stuff for the rest. Any suggestions as to what I should use? :salute
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first question is what if any components do you already have that you can reuse........ are you starting from scratch? do you need an operating system?
and dont buy a cheapo PSU thats the single most important item when it comes to quality
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I am starting entirely from scratch, and I had no idea what I was going to do with an OS. I planned to get Windows 7 with Christmas money. Just the case will come from computer surplus then.
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500 is rough.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 -mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 -cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017 -psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178219 -ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125295 - gpu
Oops almost forgot HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
You'd need a little over 500 but you can get it to just under 500 with rebates. Also this does not include CD rom or case.
For a case I do suggest the BETA or BETA EVO by NZXT. Both are 39.99. I got the Beta EVO today and it rocks, stays quiet even with 6 fans installed.
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I'll give this a try:
Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380)
CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091)
RAM x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134793 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134793)
Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150449 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150449)
Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153038 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153038)
Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136291 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136291)
or
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=A3135992&cs=04&c=us&l=en&dgc=BF&cid=7421&lid=197378&acd=10549103-3087823- (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=A3135992&cs=04&c=us&l=en&dgc=BF&cid=7421&lid=197378&acd=10549103-3087823-)
CD/DVD drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129049 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129049)
Monitor
http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=MACEP221WDLCD22 (http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=MACEP221WDLCD22)
Approximate cost - $600 including shipping.
You beat me to it Spikes but I'll put my hardware choices against yours...and you forgot the monitor :neener:
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Was not sure of his monitor or CD Rom situation, and your ram is DDR3 while your mobo is DDR2 :) Each of our specs have stronger points where the other has weaker.
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Was not sure of his monitor or CD Rom situation, and your ram is DDR3 while your mobo is DDR2 :) Each of our specs have stronger points where the other has weaker.
Rats...I forgot to change the RAM to match the mobo...had a different one chosen. Ok my mobo, your memory...good choice too. :aok
I just assumed "entirely scratch" meant he had zippo, zilch, nada, non, nothing.
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Rats...I forgot to change the RAM to match the mobo...had a different one chosen. Ok my mobo, your memory...good choice too. :aok
I just assumed "entirely scratch" meant he had zippo, zilch, nada, non, nothing.
Rgr that I understand. Any of the EP45-UD3"X" mobo's I can settle for, just picked the P only because I have it myself. :P
He might be able to pick up a monitor at a local PC store but that monitor seems great for the price@
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I've got 80 dollars saved up in the kitty, so I am covered in terms of monitor and CD-ROM, and until I get a monitor, I've got a 20"~ CRT I can use from the Mac OS days. Or, I might get that little projector on my list for Christmas. Thanks you guys, I think I've got a list for when we go shopping.
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Good luck Enker! Hope you find the parts, I take it you aren't ordering online?
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Good luck Enker! Hope you find the parts, I take it you aren't ordering online?
I will only order online if I can convince the budget-ers to do so. Otherwise, we will be putt-putting to Microcenter and Best Buy.
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I will only order online if I can convince the budget-ers to do so. Otherwise, we will be putt-putting to Microcenter and Best Buy.
Holy poop...uh...add somewhere near $80 to that final price if you're going retail store.
Not to mention the fact that some of those parts are not available at the retail level unless you find a corner computer shop that can get them for you...then add 20% handling charge.
PNY 2GB memory kit DDR2 800Mhz
Bestbuy
PNY 2GB DDR2 memory kit (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a~~cabcat0506000%23%230%23%2318~~cabcat0506001%23%230%23%23q~~f398%7C%7C504e59~~nf42%7C%7C41626f766520324742&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&ks=960&usc=abcat0500000&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&list=y&iht=n&st=processingtime%3A%3E1900-01-01)
Newegg
PNY 2GB DDR2 memory kit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178154)
That is just an example...beg, plead, sell pencils if you have to...retail is only good for accessories and emergencies.
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I will only order online if I can convince the budget-ers to do so. Otherwise, we will be putt-putting to Microcenter and Best Buy.
Bad idea.
Go Newegg over worsttbuy
Just show em the price difference. That should convince the buget-ers
I only use Bestbuy as a Convienience store. When I absolutely want/need something RIGHT NOW.
If I'm willing to wait a day or two. I get it somewhere else.
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If the have same item best buy will price match to most online retailers. saves shipping charges.
Semp
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If the have same item best buy will price match to most online retailers. saves shipping charges.
Semp
Shop carefully online and there is no shipping and no sales tax... :D
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Bad idea.
Go Newegg over worsttbuy
Just show em the price difference. That should convince the buget-ers
I only use Bestbuy as a Convienience store. When I absolutely want/need something RIGHT NOW.
If I'm willing to wait a day or two. I get it somewhere else.
Exactly! NewEgg is great with it's 3 day shipping...usually get it next day if I order it early enough, since NJ to CNY is a short hop.
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If the have same item best buy will price match to most online retailers. saves shipping charges.
Semp
They wont match Newegg prices. I've tried.
Least not any of the three near me.
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They wont match Newegg prices. I've tried.
Least not any of the three near me.
weird they matched their price on vc, cpu fan and 23 in monitor. then again i live in ca and newegg is just around the corner from me. but its their policy to match prices.
semp
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One last question, how would I know what to look for in a DVD drive if I use Spikes' recommendations? Meaning, is there some special sort of connector that I would need to have, or a particular plug type for the mother board? SATA/ATA/IDE? Or should I just use the drive in Gyrene's post?
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Newegg is the way to go. You may save a little by going to pricewatch.com.
http://www.pricewatch.com/
Sometimes Newegg.com will have a lower price there because of competitors.
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One last question, how would I know what to look for in a DVD drive if I use Spikes' recommendations? Meaning, is there some special sort of connector that I would need to have, or a particular plug type for the mother board? SATA/ATA/IDE? Or should I just use the drive in Gyrene's post?
gyrene's link to the drive is fine. You'll want a SATA drive for sure. Not too smart on burn speeds or anything but it is up to you if you want a DVD burner, or just a DVD player.
Edit: SATA's will look like this:
(http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200708/LGGSAH62N_sata2.jpg)
Or they will have that red cable and a 4 pin molex connector for power.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Molex_female_connector.jpg
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weird they matched their price on vc, cpu fan and 23 in monitor. then again i live in ca and newegg is just around the corner from me. but its their policy to match prices.
semp
Maybe they've changed policies. Its been a good long while since I even bothered asking.
I'll keep it in mind the next time I need something though.
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weird they matched their price on vc, cpu fan and 23 in monitor. then again i live in ca and newegg is just around the corner from me. but its their policy to match prices.
semp
Bestbuy will only match local competitor pricing...nothing from the net. I've never seen a local newegg retail outlet but I wish I had one nearby.
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lol this is the only adavantage of living in ca (los angeles to be exact) I live right next to newegg. nzxt, ch, fys. and bestbuy will match their prices. but the cons is I gotta pay taxes on all of them and they up to 12% in some places.
semp
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:rock
thanks guys.....I too am planning to spend xmas bonus on a new( better) puter....I currently am running a 7 year old dell 8300.
And altho money is tight....this 500 ( or so) set up is doable. Altho.....id like to run ah with all graphics on high...so any input is greatly appreciated!
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Well, you are REALLY stretching it with 500 and high graphics in the same sentence. My new comp was about 750 but I also got a higher-then needed GFX card. Yyou'd be better off spending 6-7.
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Welp, we brought the budget into the 650 range. Unfortunately, Windows 7 busts that budget with the version that contains XP mode. That I need because we are NOT shelling out for Office '07 or '10 when we have a perfectly good '03. When looking for the DVD-RW drive, what kind of connection do I need to have for it to work with Spikes' system?
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You'll want Sata, You can go with IDE but that's old technology nowadays...and you can pickup a sata drive for the same price as an IDE on newegg.
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thanks! The 600-700 range is totally doable! ( yah xmas bonus!) too far above 7 incures wife ack!
Ive heard that anything "dell" is dell only and cannot be reused....true? Is the tower reusable? Is anything besides the 19" crt?
Im a f/f paramedic so a patient with his organs in the wrong places? not a problem....open a computer tower...."stranger in a strange land"!
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You can reuse almost anything but don't re-use the mobo or PSU, wouldn't try to re-use the case unless you have the tools to mod it, probably would not want to re-use the cpu and memory since they are old tech and you want new tech. If you want to keep the hard drive as a secondary for file storage, it will work as long as the new system has an IDE interface on it...the CD/DVD drive as well.
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thanks....Ill be ordering all new stuff. Now to sneak a couple new parts a payday until i have them all!
Will any mid tower work or am I looking for a specific type.....and i do realize im being lazy....I should just read and learn. But I rely on the kindness of strangers....did i mention that I work in a truck that is full of meds? hmmmmmm? lol
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Most Mid Tower's are good...you'll want good airflow but by the sounds of it you don't have money to blow.
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thanks....Ill be ordering all new stuff. Now to sneak a couple new parts a payday until i have them all!
Will any mid tower work or am I looking for a specific type.....and i do realize im being lazy....I should just read and learn. But I rely on the kindness of strangers....did i mention that I work in a truck that is full of meds? hmmmmmm? lol
You're on a budget, that's good and I know what it feels like. Having to piecemeal a system paycheck to paycheck can sometimes work out pretty well. I'm going to recommend you do this, check for deals before you buy...newegg, tigerdirect, directron and many other decent online retailers have deals all the time that can save you money...the most expensive components besides the monitor are going to be your video card, mobo and power supply...figure about $100+ for a good AMD cpu. Normally I wouldn't recommend it, but just from what I've read from several others...the AMD setup with a mid to high end ATI video card is proving to be more economical and somewhat better performance than a comparable Intel/Nvidia setup. If you shop carefully you could probably do a really nice system build sans monitor for around $700.
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thanks and considering that its after xmas and dad lost his mind again....sigh. I will be piece mealing this new puter.
But this is a learning opportunity... just wait to you see the NEXT one! lol
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did all my shopping and the total is..................a drum roll please............
669.43...with free shipping. So very doable.
on a side note...i gave my parts list to a "friend" who does puter repair and builds....his price...1500.
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Just make sure all the stuff is compatible! ex. motherboard/cpu sockets, motherboard/ram types.
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OK, I've looked at everything and everyone has given great ideas EXCEPT cooling. Heat and dust are the 2 fastest ways to kill a computer, besides giving a squirt gun to a 5 year old. Do the shopping, when building a computer you can cut corners but not on the cooling solution. Since it sounds like you're not going completely balls to the wall, you can easily run an air solution ( http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373509 ) , make sure you have good crossflow with intake/exhaust fans. Sorry to harp on little things, but I've been building Gaming rigs for about 15 years (A+, CCENT, MCP) and I've seen buddies build a great looking setup only to fry it by skimping on the cooling solution.
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Alright, I followed your suggestions, and got the hard drive, ram, and video card from Newegg, while I got the case, and XPS 600 with fans, motherboard, DVD-ROM drive, DVD-ROM Burner, and PSU already installed for $175 at a local computer store. (Not Best Buy or Microcenter. Local.) It was hidden in the back room, but when I mentioned that I was looking for a good base to learn on, the clerk brought it out. There, I got Windows 7 Home for $130, bringing the grand total to $516.75 all told. I ordered it on Sunday, and it should be arriving today. According to UPS, my hard drive, RAM, and video card are out for delivery, and I am in full-on excited mode. I want to fly or play a game, but I can't for fear of missing the truck. Same goes for music. For the last half hour, I have rushed to the door every time I heard an engine or a door shut. Thanks you guys!
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What PSU is in it?
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According to the PSU, it says it is a Dell N650P-00 and the output is 650 watts. The sucker weighs 10 lbs, and makes the computer one heavy sucker.
When looking at this image (http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo280/Enker_photo/New%20Computer/computer003.jpg), I am guessing that the slots on the right are for the RAM, and the ones on the bottom are for the video card?
Full album is at http://s383.photobucket.com/albums/oo280/Enker_photo/New%20Computer/ (http://s383.photobucket.com/albums/oo280/Enker_photo/New%20Computer/)
I hope my desk will be good enough for building the computer, and will I need an anti-static strap? Or, is it just fine to remember to touch the metal parts of the case before I begin?
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Yes the black slot is for your video card, top right is for RAM.
I never bothered to have a static strap, just de-shockitized myself (I made that word) before touching anything.
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yeah was gonna say that cause I think your avatar causes way too much static electricity :uhoh.
semp
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Well, the UPS guy finally arrived at 6:30. I got my parts, put them in the computer, and didn't do anything. I really want to install this new-fangled Windows 7, but trying to do so without a monitor will be a major PITA. All I need is one little cord! :mad: But, I didn't hear the dreaded snap of static electricity, so I think I'm good. That is, unless I forgot to plug in a cord or two.
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Got a fancy new monitor to go with everything, plugged it in, and it runs just fine. Next on the agenda is to get an AV on it, Firefox with NoScript, Aces High, and what not. Unfortunately, there is one slight problem: There is no sound. Apparently, there is no sound device installed, so I can't hear a single thing. Would I need to get a set of drivers from the manufacturer's website, or could I put in a sound card? Also, could I switch the sound card that is on this computer, a XP-era Audigy ZS Platinum over to the Windows 7 machine, or is it far too old?
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id try drivers for the sound from the mother board manufacturer first. could always check for drivers for the sound card. Make sure they are compatitble with your OS. then you might have to disable the onboard sound on your motherboard in the bios if you use the sound card.you should consult a manual for your motherboard.
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Got a fancy new monitor to go with everything, plugged it in, and it runs just fine. Next on the agenda is to get an AV on it, Firefox with NoScript, Aces High, and what not. Unfortunately, there is one slight problem: There is no sound. Apparently, there is no sound device installed, so I can't hear a single thing. Would I need to get a set of drivers from the manufacturer's website, or could I put in a sound card? Also, could I switch the sound card that is on this computer, a XP-era Audigy ZS Platinum over to the Windows 7 machine, or is it far too old?
Your motherboard probably came with onboard sound and a cd-rom for driver installation. Install all the drivers if they're marked for windows 7. If not, go to manufacturer website and download w7 drivers from there.
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What if I have no idea what motherboard it is? Is it possible to find out just by looking at the insides of the computer, or from the boot/setup menu?
Edit: I think it is a Dell XPS 600, as the sales tag says XPS 600.
What I copied down from the Setup Menu was: Dell DxG051 Bios ver: A11
I'm looking at the Dell website, and I have no idea which driver I would want.
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Enker, use your service tag number to get the proper driver list. Win7 should have picked up that sound card...have you checked to see if it's not fully recognized or ???
Go to control panel/system and security/system then find device manager on the left side...that will bring up a window with all your hardware listed, look for a yellow question mark next to the something like "multimedia audio device"...that will tell you that your sound card doesn't have the proper drivers installed.
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Well, I found the required driver, downloaded it from Dell, and guess what happens. It isn't properly digitally signed. I re-download and try again several times. Still not properly signed. I then go to Realtek and get it straight from there. Not properly digitally signed. I then see that the speaker icon that was complaining about the lack of device no longer has the red X. I plug it in, and I can hear the computer beep! It finally works, just in time for FSO tonight. These 64-bit security methods are a bit of a PITA, but it works! Thanks you guys. :x