New Computer
Monday, July 28, 2003 by Gregory2001 | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
I am currently using WIN98SE which is not good for downloading too much. The main problem is DesktopX which (although I love it) kills me! Not to mention I can only do 800x600!
What do I want in a new computer? Memory, RAM, Disk Space, etc. Moniter size? I want it all so I can have it all! (Example:
"Warehouse" is beautiful but I can't use it because of the resolution.)
Thanks.
Reply #2 Monday, July 28, 2003 9:53 AM
Any pros/cons on just going to (for example) Dell and ordering one?
Reply #3 Monday, July 28, 2003 10:02 AM
Dell machines are good and their customer service is good. Generally you can get a monitor thrown in for about the same cost as building a comparable system yourself without a monitor. The trade-off is in the quality of the components like OEM video cards that don't perform as well as the boxed versions. The advantage is you get the whole thing ready to fly right out of the box.
They can be a good value and the bottom line is, any new system is going to dazzle you with its performance and it will come with XP so your experience is bound to be a positive one.
Try to get a processor of 2Ghz and 1Gig of RAM (PC2700 at least) and a good video card with at least 128Mb of RAM. Hard drive depends on what you store on your machine but 120Gig seems like a good size for most people.
Reply #4 Monday, July 28, 2003 10:06 AM
Reply #5 Monday, July 28, 2003 10:57 AM
(Just my two cents worth
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Reply #1 Monday, July 28, 2003 9:41 AM
Depends on what you can afford. I was recently forced to build a new system and I was only able to scrape up about $800 for it. I went with an AMD 2200XP and an ASUS MB, 1G of RAM which runs in dual-channel mode (do this if you can), and a nVidia FX5600 w/128Mb.
It's been great with everything I do on it so far. I was coming from a PIII-450 so the increase in performance is quite noticable. I decided to buy a good case and power supply this time and I think that was a really good decision. I got the Antec Sonata (piano black with front panel connectors and blue headlights) because it came with a really good quality pwr supply and wasn't that much more than the supply by itself. ($96 on sale) With a DVD burner, floppy, SCSI card and DVD player (had to get a black one
) it was right around $800.
I have a 21" monitor and wouldn't consider anything smaller but I do graphics for a living and the extra size makes a huge difference when you're working with files that are several square feet at 600dpi (the processor and memory make a huge difference too).
I haven't played with any of the flat screens because they don't calibrate well for CMYK. I'm stuck with a CRT until they make plasma screens more available (and affordable). But I'd recommend you get as big a monitor as you can fit on your desk. The 22" flat screen CRT's are awesome (View Sonic and NEC) or a 21" Sony. Then you can run at 1600x1200 and still see the text...