$1000 to build a tower

[whtupdoc001]

hey
My name is Matt I am just a virgin to this whole new thing. I am trying to build a top of the line tower. I have some concept but not all of what I need to get things started and I am up for any type of sugesstion. Hope to hear soon. Thanks Matt

[Neon]

Hi Matt, welcome to Poasters!

You will probably need over $1000 to build a top of the line system, but that amount should be sufficient for a solid mid-range system. Does that price include everything (monitor, speakers, OS, etc.) or just the central box?

Would you please elaborate on what tasks you wish to use the computer for? That will help determine which hardware you need.

[trav]

Would you please elaborate on what tasks you wish to use the computer for? That will help determine which hardware you need.

Yes, please do that, for example, if you are into gaming, you will need a fast processor (dont ask ME what lol, i would know!), a good videocard (ATI's 9800XT ((is that what its called?)) is sufficent), and a good soundcard (Creative's Audigy 2 would be sufficent)

[Mark H]

Matt,

Here is what I bought in August and it is pretty darn fast for most anything:

ANTEC| KSTN TOWER SX835II  ($80.00)
ASUS A7N8X DELUXE ($119.99)
AMD 2500/333 ATHLON XP BARTON Retail ($88.00)
ATI RADEON 9200 128M TV ($119.00)
Two 256 MB PC3200 Crucial RAM ($108)
WD 7200 RPM 120 GIG HD 8MB-CACHE  ($101.00)
PLEXTOR DVD ROM  ($33.99)
SAMSUNG CDRW 52x24x52 ($48.99)
ALPS Floppy disk ($7.00)
MS WINDOWS XP PRO w/SP1a ($143.00)

Total:  $848.97

You can get a CRT monitor for under $200 to add to the list above. Check out the prices at www.newegg.com.

The current price for the above is $784.98, which leaves enough room for a nice 19 inch CRT monitor.

Mark H

[Carskick]

That does look like a great system. Now, I'd probably upgrade to a 2800+, as they aren't too much more money usually. Also, a better graphics card would be a good idea if you are a heavy gammer, but other than that, that's a great system reccomendation.

[iansl]

I agree with Carskick. If you can spare the change, upgrade to a slightly faster processor and maybe spend a little bit more on a better video card. I have the 9200 w\TV out (or maybe that's standard), and it's hard put to make 17fps in a maximized XGA iTunes window, but that's the only performance downside. All in all, ifyou want a top-of-the-line system, you need to tell us exactly what you'll be doing (video editing/Photoshop/Gaming?) so we can bear down on what you need. If the $1000 is for the tower only, get a DVD burner (maybe the HP 400c) so you can make backups that way of that huge hard drive. I backed up my system, which isn't near even 1\4 full, and the backup file, zipped in WZ90beta3 and split, took 29 CDs! But that's another story in itself. :)

[Mark H]

I find a USB or Firewire external hard drive hard to beat for backups. It is fast, large and easy.

Mark H

[Carskick]

Here is a custom HP a410e that I built that would probably suit your needs.

AthlonXP 3000+
Windows XP Home
512MB PC2700 RAM (1 moduel)
120GB 7200RPM HDD
16x DVD-ROM
8x4x12x24x10x40x (DVD write/DVD rewrite/DVD read/CD write/CD rewrite/CD read) DVD+RW
Front: 2 USB 2.0, 1 IEEE 1394, 7-in-1 reader
3.5inch floppy
Integrated ProSavageDDR KM266 graphics
Integrated 5.1 sound w/front ports
Altec-Lansing 221 2.1 Speakers
HP Internet Keyboard, HP Deluxe Optical Mouse
Microsoft(R) Works 7.0/Money 2004/MSN Encarta Plus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
total :$844.99
        $-50.00 mail in rebate
------------------------------------
         $794.99 & free shipping

I put the integrated video card because you'd be better off buying your own and putting it in yourself. Not a bad price I think,

[iansl]

Sheesh. Aside from a DVD-ROM drive, Media Center and the video card, that's cheaper and better than what I have (discounting the faster RAM in my system). As you can see my my signature, I have a Radeon 9200 in my box, with 128MB of RAM. Not bad, except at iTunes maximized XGA rendering, where it can only do about17fps. I reccomend the free FreshDiagnose 6.40 for benchmarking.

[Carskick]

It's better than my HP, except it cost $200. I put my own video card in mine, so it's closer now.

[Hoot]

I would configure a rig right here and use the Biostar M7NCD Pro motherboard and then add a 9600 Pro ATI video card - you can easily keep it under $1000.00. Use a Wester digital 120 Gig HDD (PATA) and add a SB live 5.1 card, use the silver full tower case with a window and the 420 PSU (for now) that comes with the case. You can add a better PSU later and add a better video card later - but for now you will still have really good performance with that setup.


http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/custom/thunderbird333.asp?v=d