Chris said:
Hello Folks,
'I am in the market for a new system. My Whole life I've only used
HP, Compaq, and IBM systems. Howeve, now I'd like to go with Acer.
One of my friends who is a computer sales person said Acer is second
to none in reliability, quality, and price. He swears that once I buy
an Acer, it will be the last computer I will ever need to buy.
Ouch. Did your friend work at a used car lot, in a previous life ?
He has the touch. Computer companies that make "boxes", have
to cut corners on their cheapest systems, if they expect to
"out-cheap" one another.
So, I was pretty sold on that. I want to get an Acer. But, who sells
them and who sells them cheap?
I'm looking for a 3 GHZ system, with 2 GB of ram, a 250 GB Hard drive,
and a DVD burner. I play games and my wife wants to use the system
for desktop publishing and image editing work. So, I think I will
need the 2 GB of RAM. The operating system should also be a Vista. I
am using XP now, but my friend also told me I am in the dark ages and
need to upgrade to Vista immediately. So, I will take his advise and
do that too.
A current generation processor does 50% more work than an old one.
That means a 2GHz current generation processor, does as much work
as the 3GHz Pentium 4 you used to own.
The clock rate still sits in the 3GHz+ region, but the processors
themselves are more effective.
So, any advise. would also be appreciated. Also, if any of you have
any other brands I should consider besides Acer, I'm open to your
comments. But, Acer does sound light years ahead of the others.
Thanks,
Chris martin
The biggest thing I have against Dell/HP/Acer/Gateway, would be the
nature of the software provided. I want to buy my OS separately,
either OEM to save money, or retail version so I can move the
OS to the next computer I build and so on. The pre-built systems
seldom include a real Windows install CD, and the "recovery" feature
erases the C: drive. Which would be my last choice, as a way to
do maintenance on a computer. I want a few more options than that.
I want to be able to do a "repair install" if it is needed.
I'm not going to get into an argument about operating systems. I use
them, until nobody provides products for them any more. For
example, I have a computer with Win2K on it, and I cannot find
a video card upgrade with a Win2K driver. That is a hint that
my copy of Win2K isn't as useful as it once was, in terms
of support new hardware, new games (DirectX updates) and so
on. My current system has WinXP, and that still has sufficient
industry support for my usage.
Vista has some irritating features. There are some desktop operations,
with a long delay between when the user issues the command, and
how long it takes them to complete. The problem is not "slow hardware".
The OS uses "delayed procedures", on the assumption I'm furiously
using the computer for some other problem, while the command I
issued is running on its own. But I don't work like that. I
watch commands until they complete, for simple things on the
desktop. (If I'm copying a 1MB file to another folder, I want
it to happen *now*.) And consequently, certain Vista ways of
doing things, would irritate me.
You may want to review all the software you use, in case some
of it doesn't work well with Vista. If the answer is, you need
to upgrade to a later version of application software, to get
it to work with Vista, that is adding to the cost of your
upgrade.
I built systems from scratch, so I know what I'm getting. I select
the kind of OS I want, and so on. That gives me the maximum level
of control. So far, only one motherboard has eluded my ability to
tame it, and in general, the build process is uneventful.
This would be a run-of-the-mill system.
Q9550 2.83Ghz Quad core $270 (overclock a bit, to get 3GHz, or
spend $324 and get a Q9650)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $120
One good slot for a video card. Room for a PCI sound card. Has onboard
sound, if you don't want to waste the money on a separate card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
Gskill 2x2GB DDR800 CAS4 memory $50 (that is 4GB total RAM - system holds 8GB max)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219
My favorite CPU cooler (no push pins, used nuts and screws) $37
Try the Intel cooler that comes with your processor first. If you
don't like that cooler, get this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103046
Placeholder for a power supply. This one has two PCI Express power
connectors, for usage with a gamer video card. There should be
enough power for a decent card. 12V @ 52A max, single rail.
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Hard drive, DVD writer, mouse, keyboard, computer case without supply,
are all items you can "salt to taste".
I used this for my current system WinXP SP3 $138.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515
It isn't hard to bolt this stuff together. If you want to use
that Coolermaster cooler, you have to decide early in the build
that you're going to use it. The nuts fasten from the back of the
motherboard. The Intel cooler is much more flexible, in terms
of installation. The only downside, is the plastic push-pins
on the Intel cooler can deform, and may not work well if
uninstalled and reinstalled a few times. The cooler with the
nuts and bolts, is there to stay.
What you buy for a video card, really depends on budget and
games. If you bought an Acer, you wouldn't get to make this
choice. I picked this card at random, just so you could look
at a few pictures. You can find cheaper ones. HD 4850 with
an ICEQ cooler. $170. There are so many choices for cards,
you can spend hours reading this stuff.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814161245
Cooling air, blows out through the second faceplate.
http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/14-161-245-S03?$S640W$
The black connector at the bottom of this picture, is a 2x3 PCI
Express power input. The sample power supply I picked, has two
connectors that could be used for this.
http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/14-161-245-S05?$S640W$
Game benchmarks can be found here, so you can compare the
various cards for sale.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-2009/benchmarks,54.html
Total system cost so far, WinXP included. Still need a couple hundred
for computer case, hard drive, DVD writer, and other sundries. I'm
assuming your current monitor can be reused.
270 + 120 + 50 + 37 + 99 + 138 + 170 = $884
A video on installing the Intel processor, is here. This is
for Intel LGA775.
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/100617.htm
You can also build with Intel Core i7, which is slightly newer
and better product. It all depends on where you want the general
build price to end up.
The Newegg links above, were selected for convenience. You
can also price this stuff locally, if, for example, you want
to be able to go back to the store and get help with your
build. Or the folks in this newsgroup can help you also.
HTH,
Paul
