New System advice

[illyrianeye]

Hey guys,

I am considering into buying a new system for 3d work. I currently run on pentium 3 -600 and 768 ram.

 

Do you guys have any suggestions on ready made systems to buy?

I am looking to spend around 3000, more or less.

 

Thanks for any info

[Frosty]

For Pre-Built, look towards

Boxx>>http://www.boxxtech.com/asp/default.asp

Apple>>http://www.apple.com

or Alienware>>http://www.alienware.com/

A bit pricier than a Dell, but you get what you pay for.

You should also mention which software you'll be using. AMD, Intel and Apple each run better with certain software.

[illyrianeye]

Thanks, I have been checking out those sites recently, I'm leaning more towards boxx tech, or alienware.

 

I'm also thinking of exploring the option of building one myself, eventhough I have never done it before. What things should I look for in building it myself? any websites out there to help you out?

[watersage]

There are quite a few sites to check out the mechanix of building a system. Just google it several ways. When you figure out what you want, a good place to buy components - when you are truly confident that you know what you want - is: newegg.com. Price is about the best (for the US) that you will find. I have built 3 systems in the last 2 years from their components - had to return one processor and did so without any trouble at all.

 

Good luck

 

here is just one site for general info: http://www.mysuperpc.com/

[Jason Matthews]

Hi Beni,

 

I built my comp last year and used almost all my parts from newegg. They are awesome. Most of the parts have free shipping. I actuallly got my motherboard, case, and power supply from a company online. The best thing was that they put it together for me for free. For the most part, the motherboard and usb connections are the biggest pain to do. If you can get that done, the rest is cake. These are my specs:

 

ASUS P4P800 Deluxe motherboard

P4 3.0 GHZ HT, 800 FSB

2 GB Ram (kingston.com) (upgradeable to 4 GB)

Ati Radeon 9800 Pro (128MB, 256 bit)

Western Digital 80GB HD

Samsung 17" flat panel

550 Watt Power Supply

Case

 

All for $2200

 

Upgrade your RAM to like 4GB and you will be flying.

 

Good Luck,

-Jason

[illyrianeye]

hey guys, thanks for all the info. Newegg sounds pretty cool, and I think i can handle putting things together on my own.

 

The other question i had i guess was, how do you know which motherboard to pick? and how do you know whats compatible with what?

[Jason Matthews]

First fiqure out what system you want (Pentium, AMD, Dual Processor/Single Processor, etc.). The next step is to fiqure out all the components that you want, Ram, Video Card, Processor, and such. I would then check to see how much Ram you wanted to ultimately go up to. I personally thought that I would go up to a maximum of 4 GB of dual channel Ram, so I searched the websites and looked at the comparisons and reviews of the motherboards. Visit the manufacturres website, and there you go. Also, the one I chose has an Ethernet port, and audio driver built in to it, so that stops me from having to buy seperate audio and internet cards.

 

If you are still unsure, go to coputer building sites where you can customize your PC and that show what the components are. http://www.ibuypower.com has one of these pricing lists. What is nice about that is that it shows which products are compatable with which.

 

Hope it helps.

 

-Jason

[Cesar R]

I dont want to steal this thread, but I hav ea few Qs.

 

What is a good ram speed? PC3200 -> DDR400 right? is that the fastest now?

 

(because my G5 has PC2700 wich I think is DDR333)

 

what is the difference between an ATA and SATA drive?

 

and also, is the Opetron better then the Athlon64? what is the difference arent they both 64bit?

 

I build an athlon mp two years ago almost, and I had a pretty fast system, but I know that hardwar is probably slow compared what is out now.

 

thanks !