[gloco]

Hi All,

Looks like i'm going to take the plunge for a new PC, i'm willing to spend up to $1500 on all the parts (no monitor needed), Color Inkjet Printer optional. I'm sorta leaning towards a P4 this time, i'm currently using a Athlon 1.4Ghz CPU with 768MB of DDR2100 Ram. I'd also like to invest in a DVD recorder, what are the differences between DVD+R and DVD-R drives? I would like to stick to Plextor regarding the DVD drive, i found one that also does CDRW with DVD+R/RW for a little over $200.

If you have any recommendations regarding parts (motherboard, CPU, memory, video card, sound card, case, etc etc etc.) feel free to voice your opinion, i would like to weigh my options since i'll be using this machine for quite a while.

TIA!

 

[MagusG]

For a videocard I would go with a Radeon 9500/9600 pro.
Souncard: M-Audio Revolution
Motherboard: anything ABIT or ASUS, gigabyte and epox are good choices too, as is MSI.
Memory: Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, Kingmax, or Mushkin
Case: The Antec/Cheiftec/chenming cases are good. So are lian-li's if you got some money. Coolermaster makes some good ones. Check out directron.com for all your case needs.
Anything else?
-Mag

 

[wallijonn]

throw in a video card & soundcard. 1G of mem & the fastest P4.

 

[PeterG]

I'll second the case recommendation. AMD or Pentium is really a matter of personal prefrence at those prices (AMD is better for sub 200). For the video card, I would get a raedon 9700 pro. Any name brand memory is fine unless you plan on overclocking.

 

[gloco]

keep em coming, if you guys have links to the stuff your recommending feel free to drop em, that case looks rad. I plan on buying three HD's, two IDE's and one SCSI. I'm also thinking of buying a SCSI cd rom as well, i have a Plextor UltraPlex 40max and love it.

The machine i currently use is going to get passed off to my brother.

 

[MagusG]

Good call wallijohn, I meant to recommend the shuttle cases in my post. Excellent choice, small and quiet. Only downside is limited internal expansion, But these days with everything under the sun available in an external form and the plethora of USB2/Firewire ports on the shuttles. There really shouldnt be much of a problem.
-Mag

 

[MagusG]

Oh, and as for where to buy. Try newegg.com for most everything. Great selection, fair prices(sometime the best if not very close to the best) and they ship very fast(fedex saver from California to Georgia in 2 days). I've ordered from them twice in the past month and everything went very smoothly. If you want to try a site with a lot of exotic cases and also a great selection try Directron.com, I haven't done business with them, but they have a good reputation.
-Mag

 

[PeterG]

With all the stuff you're getting, you'll need a nice power supply. Get at least a 350 v one from a quality manufacturer (Antec and Enermax are good). Also, where are you planning on buying your parts? I use newegg, great and cheap.newegg

 

[Flasken]

hey, ant those shuittles waiter cooled`?

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by PeterG With all the stuff you're getting, you'll need a nice power supply. Get at least a 350 v one from a quality manufacturer (Antec and Enermax are good). Also, where are you planning on buying your parts? I use newegg, great and cheap.newegg

I was planning on using various sources via pricewatch, but would rather keep it to one vendor to make my life a whole lot easier, looks like i'll try newegg. Yeah, i'm definitely going to need a good power supply.

 

[PeterG]

Pricewatch can be a great resource, but be sure to check your vendors. It's alright to split what you're getting up somewhat but I'd keep it to a few different sources max. Newegg does have great service and when you factor in selection and shipping, they are often the cheapest.

 

[MacDEF]

Anybody seen that ShuttleX case for cheap?

 

[Uncledan]

sold in Canada for $350.

 

[Audio-Me]

Hey g-lo, pm me for advice, I'll tell you about a kick ass custom rig company that's cheap.

 

[bootman]

If you are going with the shuttle get the SB61G2 with the newer intel 865 chip.
You'll get HT and Dual DDR support.