College Computer: Need advice

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PrometheuSBoxeR

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
288
Hey everyone,

I am planning out a computer purchase for the near future. The computer will be brought to college and be traveling around quite often. Everyone other weekend the computer will move in the car for about 10 minutes. That dosen't include any LAN's I may want to attend. So that in mind... I have a fairly good idea of what I want. As far as budget, I don't really have a budget. I don't pay top dollar for the best of the best. I am all about making a wise investment, especially since the technology in computers changes quarterly. I am only out for what will suite my needs best. However, I need your advice in case I missed something or should do something another way. If you give me a recommendation please back it up with some facts, they are always more helpful when making a big purchase.

Here is what I have so far, I am purchasing from two sites ZZF and The Egg. I need a complete system including: mouse, mousepad, monitor, and keyboard.

Case: Lian Li PC-61 USB Black
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112025
Price: 110.00
Notes: Lian Li always makes good products, since im moving the case around. I have weight and size in mind. Hoping this will fit everything and suite a nice case.

Motherboard: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540
Price: 164.99
Notes: ASUS seems to be number one in stability as far as motherboards go. I am not really much into the OC'ing phase anymore, otherwise I would have gone with DFI. This motherboard seems to have everything, and a good reputation as far as I know.

Powersupply: OCZ PowerStream 520W
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817711002
Price: 139.99
Notes: I know from reading things and hearing things, you definitly don't wanna skimp out on the PSU. I have owned this PSU before and it gave me no problems. I know its a good powersupply, however i'm worried it might be overkill... or something along those lines because it is a little expensive.

Memory: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR400
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227210
Price: 156.99 after 40.00 mail in rebate
Notes: This memory seems to be great ram. Definitly some nice timings, and good reputation. It seems to be one of the most purchase sticks of RAM.


Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3700+
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539
Price: 212.00
Notes: Probably one of the best single core CPU's money can buy as far as I know. Definitly bang for your buck. I don't have plans to run multi-threaded apps like Photoshop or Maya or anything that really would benefit dual core from my understanding.

Video card: Sapphire Radeon X1900XT
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102003
Price: 449.00
Notes: I always have used nVida's cards. I had a 6800GT, and then a 7800GTX. Before those I had a 9800XT. I loved that card beyond belief. I consider myself a heavy gamer. I like my games to look crisp and plays on the settings I want. I figure this is the best option. I definitly wanna go back to ATI.

Harddrive(s): WD Caviar 320GB
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136003
Price: 125.00
Notes: Looks like the best for price 16mb cache, SATA2 drive. Pretty standard.

Drivebay(s): BenQ 1655DW
Link: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=173833
Price: 49.99
Notes: From what I have read, this is as good as it gets. I need a good drive especially since I constantly am burning DVD's and CD's etc.

Mouse:
Mousepad:
Keyboard:
Monitor:
All still undecided.
 
don't buy your hard drive from newegg. they shipped mine in some bubble wrap and a few packing peanuts. reading around the forums, that seems to be pretty standard for them.
 
Yea that's how they send them...never had a problem with a drive from Newegg though
 
If it's going to be moving alot, along with college life, I recommend getting something like a dell with the 3 year, no questions asked warranty. Mistakes WILL happen, especially in dorms.
 
for a mouse, i'd recommend a razer copperhead.

for a keyboard, i'd recommend looking around for one of these. durable as hell (i've had mine for over 15 years), and a nice satisfying click when you type. just make sure your roommate doesn't mind the sound =P
 
defakto said:
If it's going to be moving alot, along with college life, I recommend getting something like a dell with the 3 year, no questions asked warranty. Mistakes WILL happen, especially in dorms.
Click to expand...

I will agree with this statement. A Dell (a laptop will be better because they are designed to be moved around) machine after being re-formated with the Windows CD will be extremely nice. I have a laptop and a desktop in my dorm. The laptop is FAR more useful than the desktop in terms of use.

My 2c.
 
ScotteusMaximus said:
don't buy your hard drive from newegg. they shipped mine in some bubble wrap and a few packing peanuts. reading around the forums, that seems to be pretty standard for them.
Click to expand...

thats all you really need to protect a hard drive. ive tossed a hard drive up 15 feet in the air it came down on concrete im still useing it today with no problems, oh and there was no protection around it :)
 
Why are you buying a desktop? Can you justify a desktop if you're going to move things around so frequently?

One thing is clear. Your Lian Li will get scratched up in no time. Also, that 3.5" drive isn't going to fare well from frequent bumps and jars. It's a failure waiting to happen. A laptop is much more suitable for your needs.
 
Seriously??? Either a laptop or shove that stuff into an SFF case. If you are going to be moving alot, take my word for it when I say that a full sized case sucks.

All of that will fit into an SFF case, and they are so much nicer for dorms.
 
boredguyatcomp said:
thats all you really need to protect a hard drive. ive tossed a hard drive up 15 feet in the air it came down on concrete im still useing it today with no problems, oh and there was no protection around it :)
Click to expand...

That may be however, it is outside of manufacturers specs for shipping. Which voids any warranties if they find out about it. If you shipped it like that, their RMA department can send it back and you won't be able to RMA it back due to improper packing.
 
For your purposes, a laptop would be best, although I understand that good gaming ones are hella expensive. Besides, a laptop might be useful to take to <gasp> class or the library.
 
I'd look at ZipZoomFly for some of ur stuff like DVD drives n hard drives n stuff :)

When I built my computer I saved about 200 bux from buying stuff there ;) And they offer free 2-day on most things

Btw, instead of buying a 3700+, get an opteron 144 or 146 or something, and overclock the shit out of it :D I'd have done that if I discovered this board before buying my sandy :(
 
I actually have moved all 3 of my PC's and monitors for the last 2 years. Trust me I know it sucks terribly, but its what I have to do. I have no other choice. The 9800XT was in a alienware which was made of solid steel. It literally weighted 80+ pounds. That led to the other one with the 6800GT and 7800GTX. My parents are divorced so I change houses every other sunday. When the PC is actually put into the dorm room, it will actually move less. Im not really concered with continuning with what I have been doing as far as now goes. I have done it for so long, and its almost natural.
 
As far as laptop concerns... They are very expensive, and I really wanted to game while at college. I enjoy playing WoW and other games. I don't see myself playing a game on a laptop ever. For the money you put into a laptop, the specs kinda suck IMO. Might the best option then be just to bite the bullet and buy a fairly cheep laptop on top of everything?
 
gaming + college is one of the most horrible things you can do to your 20+ thousand dollar a year education..

But if you're still interested, you may want to look up some of the new whitebooks coming out with upgradeable GPUs. Not bad, but still a whitebox.. with low battery life.. etc
 
Gaming and college is fine IMO. Thats like saying drinking + college = waste of your tuition money. From what I hear gaming if anything in college just saves money. I would definity limit my time though. I'm not about to spend 12 hours a day playing and blow off school.

Back on track:
I think im going to change out the mobo/ram/cpu.
I figure a Opteron 165 and some decent RAM with a overclock is well worth it in the long run. Dual core and all, probably a wiser choice. As far as motherboard and a 1900XT... I dont plan to go Crossfire or SLI so the ASUS was a waste. I am gonna probably go with the DFI Ultra-D?
 
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