New machine

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Corren

I need a new machine and was given the following specs. Would anybody care to comment on the package or offer modifications?
Thank you

CPU Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz FSB 800MHz HT 512kB Cache BOX
MB Intel Rock Lake i865 +audio+LAN Intel 10/100+IEEE 1394
DDR400MHz 2x 512MB Dual Kit Kingston CL2 HyperX
HDD Maxtor 80GB SATA 150MBit/s 8MB Cache 7200rpm 9ms
DVD-R/RW+R/RW Pioneer A06
FDD 3,5" 1,44MB Sony
VGA Microstar GeForce 4 Titanium FX5900SP 128MBDDR V-in
Case P4 MiddleTower 300W PFC ATX + 2x FAN
Keyboard PS/2 Chicony 2961
Mouse Logitech Optical PS/2 with wheel
Speakers Genius K16 320W PMPO
USB Adapter Bluetooth Belkin
 
I need a new machine and was given the following specs. Would anybody care to comment on the package or offer modifications?
Thank you

CPU Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz FSB 800MHz HT 512kB Cache BOX
MB Intel Rock Lake i865 +audio+LAN Intel 10/100+IEEE 1394
DDR400MHz 2x 512MB Dual Kit Kingston CL2 HyperX
HDD Maxtor 80GB SATA 150MBit/s 8MB Cache 7200rpm 9ms
DVD-R/RW+R/RW Pioneer A06
FDD 3,5" 1,44MB Sony
VGA Microstar GeForce 4 Titanium FX5900SP 128MBDDR V-in
Case P4 MiddleTower 300W PFC ATX + 2x FAN
Keyboard PS/2 Chicony 2961
Mouse Logitech Optical PS/2 with wheel
Speakers Genius K16 320W PMPO
USB Adapter Bluetooth Belkin
Click to expand...

The case & power supply sound like low-end, generic junk. If you
don't mind the looks of the case and will never be inside it, the more
important issue would then be cooling, which can vary but usually is
poor on generics unless you start cutting out fan holes, and loud
unless you buy your own spec'd fans. Don't settle for a generic 300W
power supply, get a name-brand, at least 300W, preferribly >= 350W.

The keyboard is also cheap looking, test a few keyboards at a local
store else you'll never know what the key response is like.

The speakers are certainly junk. Perhaps you don't expect to do any
critical listening on the system, but considering the rest of the
system those speakers are out of place, a poor choice.
 
You need to answer a couple of questions to get good answers.

1) What is the intended use of this machine. Gaming being the main thing.
2) How important is price. Would you give up less than 10%performance to
save 25% in price?

Joe

I need a new machine and was given the following specs. Would anybody care
to comment on the package or offer modifications?
Thank you

CPU Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz FSB 800MHz HT 512kB Cache BOX
MB Intel Rock Lake i865 +audio+LAN Intel 10/100+IEEE 1394
DDR400MHz 2x 512MB Dual Kit Kingston CL2 HyperX
HDD Maxtor 80GB SATA 150MBit/s 8MB Cache 7200rpm 9ms
DVD-R/RW+R/RW Pioneer A06
FDD 3,5" 1,44MB Sony
VGA Microstar GeForce 4 Titanium FX5900SP 128MBDDR V-in
Case P4 MiddleTower 300W PFC ATX + 2x FAN
Keyboard PS/2 Chicony 2961
Mouse Logitech Optical PS/2 with wheel
Speakers Genius K16 320W PMPO
USB Adapter Bluetooth Belkin
 
Corren said:
I need a new machine and was given the following specs. Would anybody care to comment on the package or offer modifications?
Thank you

CPU Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz FSB 800MHz HT 512kB Cache BOX
MB Intel Rock Lake i865 +audio+LAN Intel 10/100+IEEE 1394
DDR400MHz 2x 512MB Dual Kit Kingston CL2 HyperX
HDD Maxtor 80GB SATA 150MBit/s 8MB Cache 7200rpm 9ms
DVD-R/RW+R/RW Pioneer A06
FDD 3,5" 1,44MB Sony
VGA Microstar GeForce 4 Titanium FX5900SP 128MBDDR V-in
Case P4 MiddleTower 300W PFC ATX + 2x FAN
Keyboard PS/2 Chicony 2961
Mouse Logitech Optical PS/2 with wheel
Speakers Genius K16 320W PMPO
USB Adapter Bluetooth Belkin
Click to expand...

1) Considering adding another (identical) hard drive and making a RAID-0
array, if your motherboard lets you. Else, buy a seperate PCI SATA RAID
card.

2) Get a decent keyboard, i.e. Logitech (my personal favourite, great
keyboards).

3) If you don't mind the crappy generic case then leave it, otherwise
get something prettier and with better airflow. Also, get a more
powerful power supply.

4) The speakers really will be naff. Your best bet is to hook your
onboard sound up to your hi-fi with a 3.5mm male jack -> male phono
adaptor.

Of course I am neither right nor wrong, I'm just offering my opinion.

Anton
 
4) The speakers really will be naff. Your best bet is to hook your
onboard sound up to your hi-fi with a 3.5mm male jack -> male phono
adaptor.
Click to expand...

The issue with the speakers is they say "320w PMPO", which is their peak
output. What really matters is signal range (how much of the audible
spectrum they can reproduce) and their RMS output. Example:
I can get a set of "1600w PMPO" speakers for like $20, yet my Logitech
speakers which are 400w RMS can blow them right the hell out of the water
in noise, because when they only advertise PMPO numbers it's because in
reality the speakers have a RMS output of like 10w and sound like crap.

--
AIM: FrznFoodClerk
email: de_on-lag@co_cast.net (_ = m)
website: under construction
Need a technician in the south Jersey area?
email/IM for rates/services
 
for all this, you want a way better video card if you can or will game. Get
a Radeon 9700 pro, 9600 pro. you want a powersupply at least 375 watt in my
opinion with good specs, meaning voltage etc. antec truepower 380 is a good
one, i use it in my antec sonata case.


I need a new machine and was given the following specs. Would anybody care
to comment on the package or offer modifications?
Thank you

CPU Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz FSB 800MHz HT 512kB Cache BOX
MB Intel Rock Lake i865 +audio+LAN Intel 10/100+IEEE 1394
DDR400MHz 2x 512MB Dual Kit Kingston CL2 HyperX
HDD Maxtor 80GB SATA 150MBit/s 8MB Cache 7200rpm 9ms
DVD-R/RW+R/RW Pioneer A06
FDD 3,5" 1,44MB Sony
VGA Microstar GeForce 4 Titanium FX5900SP 128MBDDR V-in
Case P4 MiddleTower 300W PFC ATX + 2x FAN
Keyboard PS/2 Chicony 2961
Mouse Logitech Optical PS/2 with wheel
Speakers Genius K16 320W PMPO
USB Adapter Bluetooth Belkin
 
You need to answer a couple of questions to get good answers.

1) What is the intended use of this machine. Gaming being the main thing.
2) How important is price. Would you give up less than 10%performance to
save 25% in price?
Click to expand...


You are the only person I seen to answer this question as it should be.

It is no good asking a person if they think a computer is right for
someone else, as you said it depends what you are doing with it.

A couple of weeks ago, someone asked me about a computer and what they
should get. some bloke at a large UK computer store wanted this person
to spend over £1,000 on a top notch P4 with loads of memory, high spec
video card and remote control.

I sat down with this person and what he wanted it for was audio mixing
and midi.

So out went the high spec graphics card (not needed)
A p4 3 Ghz is nice but not really needed a lower spec chip will do what
is needed.
Memory was needed, lots of it, and because he was doing audio a good
sound card.

At the end of the day, for £500 he have now got a AMD Athlon 2500XP chip
on a Abit NF-7M, built in Gforce 2 video card and can be updated, 1GB of
memory, a DVD writer (may as well, down to a decent price now) and 1
80GB and 1 128GB harddrive, I had a monitor here he can use, but he is
going to get a TFT sometime.

The only part that have cost a fair bit of money is his sound card,
that have cost him nearly £200, but this is his living.

The built in sound on the board will do for most people but not for him,
so for about £700 we got a computer that will do the job, is expandable
and got a decent sound card, which is what is needed.
 
for all this, you want a way better video card if you can or will game. Get
a Radeon 9700 pro, 9600 pro. you want a powersupply at least 375 watt in my
opinion with good specs, meaning voltage etc. antec truepower 380 is a good
one, i use it in my antec sonata case.
Click to expand...

Errr, an FX5900 beats a Radeon 9600-9700.
 
Thank you everybody, your ideas were surely helpful. I am sure I'll end up with a better machine now.

Corren
 
kony said:
Yes, a FX5900 is QUITE a bit faster than a 9600XT, not just a little bit.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? What are the clock speeds for the two cards? Got any
comparisons? I can't be bothered to look but I seem to remember that the
FX5900's core speed was about 100mhz slower than the 9600XT's.
 
Are you sure? What are the clock speeds for the two cards? Got any
comparisons? I can't be bothered to look but I seem to remember that the
FX5900's core speed was about 100mhz slower than the 9600XT's.
Click to expand...

Clock speed isn't everything.

--
AIM: FrznFoodClerk
email: de_on-lag@co_cast.net (_ = m)
website: under construction
Need a technician in the south Jersey area?
email/IM for rates/services
 
I'm curious why you're paying for a Bluetooth adapter...what Bluetooth
peripheral do you have? Or, are you just hoping to talk to the telematics
of some future vehicle you might purchase?

I need a new machine and was given the following specs. Would anybody care
to comment on the package or offer modifications?
Thank you

CPU Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz FSB 800MHz HT 512kB Cache BOX
MB Intel Rock Lake i865 +audio+LAN Intel 10/100+IEEE 1394
DDR400MHz 2x 512MB Dual Kit Kingston CL2 HyperX
HDD Maxtor 80GB SATA 150MBit/s 8MB Cache 7200rpm 9ms
DVD-R/RW+R/RW Pioneer A06
FDD 3,5" 1,44MB Sony
VGA Microstar GeForce 4 Titanium FX5900SP 128MBDDR V-in
Case P4 MiddleTower 300W PFC ATX + 2x FAN
Keyboard PS/2 Chicony 2961
Mouse Logitech Optical PS/2 with wheel
Speakers Genius K16 320W PMPO
USB Adapter Bluetooth Belkin
 
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