Noobish Question about Hardware Parts

Sope said:

Still prefer to build my own though, but it shows it's going to be more difficult than I thought to beat some pre-built systems on price v spec.

I gave up a long time ago on guaranteeing that a hand-built machine would always be cheaper than a pre-built machine for same specs. The reason....I build with higher quality cases, I build with high quality power supplies and use modular cabling to cut down on wiring mess, I can overclock and manipulate more with my BIOS's than the pre-built machine...etc. Even though they may have same CPU, same amount of RAM and same amount of hard drive space....does not make them the same machine.

I know too in the past that Dell's might say they have an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro card, but then you find out it's a Radeon 9700 TX...which isn't exactly the same....and it's made only for Dell and has less capabilities....so you do have to watch very carefullly.

I'm definately sold on the quality case and modular PSU idea.
Any thoughts on the Antec Sonata Plus 550 versus Antec 300 / Corsair HX520 combo? Review here

I think the other main decision I need to make is if it would be better spending some extra cash now to get an Intel Core i7 DDR3 setup or stick with a Quad Core DDR2 (I don't really have enough experience to know if I would appreciate or benefit from the difference now or in the near future).

Now I just need to arrange some overtime!

(PS. I haven't been seduced by a Dell deal - honest!)

Sope said:

Now I just need to arrange some overtime!

I need some yard work done.

You will have a nice machine with the C2D/DDR2.

You will be glad that you went I7/DDR3. Especially next year and the year after. And the year after that. I already consider my C2D/DDR2 as obsolete, even though it is smooth, very responsive and runs cool.

And there isn't anything completely wrong with the "Dell". A good value is a good value. Unlike others here, resale value is of paramount importance to me with any hard good that I buy. And used Dell's sell quickly. Let's say you spend $900 on a Dell -sell it in 3 years for $300. That $900 PC just dropped in cost to $600 and you now have an extra $300 to spend on the next one. You know, Core16 4xDDR6.

Sope said:

Any thoughts on the Antec Sonata Plus 550 versus Antec 300 / Corsair HX520 combo? Review here

The 2 machines that I built prior to my current Windows 7 rig were both Linux machines (1 file server, 1 desktop) and they are both running in an Antec Sonata II case. I've been extremely happy with that case. It's very quiet. I did have a problem with the Smart Power 450 that was in one of them, but Antec replaced it without any questions asked (they have 3 year warranty) and then upped me to a Earth Watts 500 on the return

Sope said:

I think the other main decision I need to make is if it would be better spending some extra cash now to get an Intel Core i7 DDR3 setup or stick with a Quad Core DDR2

Well, I've been building and using computers professionally for the past 12 years or so. I've got absolutely no regrets whatsoever with my decision to go Core 2 Quad on my most recent build. Personally, I would rather just build a new moderate machine every 2 years than spend more money and buy a top of the line machine and have to go longer between refreshes.

And there is nothing wrong with Dell. Out of 5 machines in the past 5 years or so....2 have been Dell's. They never let me down...honest.

True Story: My newest Dell, Dimension 8400, had a 3.2Ghz P4, 2GB of RAM, SB Audigy 2 and a Radeon X800XT. A coworker at same time bought and assembled an AMD 2.53Ghz machine and teased me about getting a Dell and how my performance was going to suck. You should have seen how flustered he was when every benchmark we could find to run, had me beating him.

Antman said:

I need some yard work done...................

Sadly my current PC is more suited to a museum than a secondhand sale!

I'm not the best at keeping up with tech.......but I am pretty hot on yard work.

I recently made the decision to go with core2quad over the i7, mainly because I already had the ram and mobo.Honestly a fast core2quad and ram will not be a limiting factor in the next 2years.It will be more likely to be a graphics card or hard drive.You should go with core2quad and use the extra cash for ssd.

pparks1 said:

Personally, I would rather just build a new moderate machine every 2 years than spend more money and buy a top of the line machine and have to go longer between refreshes.

Makes sense.

Ahh....decisions, decisions!

pparks1 said:

And there is nothing wrong with Dell. Out of 5 machines in the past 5 years or so....2 have been Dell's. They never let me down...honest.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be critical of Dell machines, I don't know enough about them for that (blimey, I don't want all the Dell owners to start beating on me with their benchmarks!), just that I haven't given up on the idea of a self build yet.

I didn't find that you were being critical of the Dell. I just wanted to say as a somewhat "seasoned" professional, I don't have that "all prefabs are crap" opinion of Dell computers.

billdo said:

............use the extra cash for ssd.

Great idea but expensive!

I'm rapidly learning why deciding on a budget and then sticking to it is an important consideration. The more options that are put in front of me, the more I'm tempted to go a little farther here, and a little bit more there, and so on until I'm over the hill and out of sight!

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I'm certainly more aware of the hardware options and issues that need to be considered now.

I'm thinking a quality case and PSU would not only be good for future upgrades but would also make the build easier.
Probably a Core 2 Quad system would be sensible for me.
4GB RAM with room to expand.
Best graphics card that fits in with the budget
HDD speed is also important.
Add in a decent DVD-RW and I'm done! (hopefully )

Now.........about that budget......................???????