Any body a computer tech here??

[FishyMan]

I am thinking bought building a REALLY cheap computer that will mostly be used to store things.

I currently have a 500 MHZ computer, with a total of 90 GIG storage. and so you guys may understand what that means.

I don't ask for much but I want a computer to be up and running before school starts, so I hope I can salvage some parts off my old comp and put it in my new one. Thing is, the connections might not fit or work. I have not kept up with computer technology in a long while so maybe I should spend some time at Border's this weekend.

I basically just curious about what the NEXT or new technology in MEMORY, CPU would be. I'll be re-using my old burner, old dvd player and old sound cards and what not.

I'll compile a list and need your guys help as to what tower, mother board, memory etc.

THINGS I NEED NEW FOR SURE
1-TOWER (maybe atx?) unless there's new stuff out there. (i want potential for upgrades)
1-motherboard
etc etc..

i know this is a scratch. but thanks gusy.

[93EXaesthetic]

I am thinking bought building a REALLY cheap computer that will mostly be used to store things.

I currently have a 500 MHZ computer, with a total of 90 GIG storage. and so you guys may understand what that means.

I don't ask for much but I want a computer to be up and running before school starts, so I hope I can salvage some parts off my old comp and put it in my new one. Thing is, the connections might not fit or work. I have not kept up with computer technology in a long while so maybe I should spend some time at Border's this weekend.

I basically just curious about what the NEXT or new technology in MEMORY, CPU would be. I'll be re-using my old burner, old dvd player and old sound cards and what not.

I'll compile a list and need your guys help as to what tower, mother board, memory etc.

THINGS I NEED NEW FOR SURE
1-TOWER (maybe atx?) unless there's new stuff out there. (i want potential for upgrades)
1-motherboard
etc etc..

i know this is a scratch. but thanks gusy.

yeah im a comptech........i recommend buying a laptop..i think rebels is selling one in the fs subforum..lappies are perfect for school...you can write papers at starbucks....or your schools library....go home and print..........just a recommendation..i think it maybe time for you to move on with your old stuff.....damn 500 mhz..i think the original star wars cgi was done with that j/p....find a cheap used laptop thats what i use. But if you want to go with a desktop..scrap all your old stuff......except for the monitor......wait for a sale at comp usa..buy a good desktop with the latest features...and way faster than 500 mhz...for about 500 bucks.

[lil_dcb7]

check out newegg.com

they always got good shit there.

pcclub.com also has kits you can buy to build it yourself for cheap

[FishyMan]

ya haha i have a laptop already, but i still dig my desktop a lot more and i wanna just kinda build to have fun, well to just rejuvenate things..

ya 500mhz is sorry, but its tough and finally im gonan bite the nail and build one, ya im scrapping a lot of stuffs, even the AGP graphics. a tnt2 diamond =I =( haha.. u probably d k what that even is.

i wanna RICE out my tower. wanna get a BLUE LED light, maybe clear case.

1-dvd drive
1-burner
2-hard drives or etc.

and many PCI slots.(i d k if that still exists or not) thats how bad its been for me and comps. the only new thing i will need is

1-tower
1-mother board
1-misc like power supply, fans,

somethign like this

http://www.geeks.com/imageshare/C/30...3LED-N-box.jpg

btw, will the transparent turn yellow or ugly down the road ? if so im just gonna get a titanium or whatever one.

keke so mostly the LED is powered directly by the supply right? i dotn wanna have a power supply that'll run out of connections for my drives and etc..

so ATX? sorry for choppy stuffs..

[clarksterdotcom]

well my vaio laptop is crapping out on me.. im too lazy to build my own so im gonna go all out on this next desktop i purchasse..

alienware here i come..

EDIT: just configured what i wanted.. 2043... not that bad.. just got to get some more capital.. *wish me luck*

[FishyMan]

good luck

okay,

for sure i want CLEAR CASE and BLUE LED look..

[accordaffair]

I would recommend an AMD X2 4800+ Dual-Core processor, for mobo maybe asus A8n-SLI. 2 gigs memory, hmmmm scsi ultra 640 about 1 terabyte hard drive space...what cha think?

[FishyMan]

damn is there really 1 tetra byte? im really low on funds and i dont need that extreme, i dont really game, haha i need to really find a mother board that'll fit my needs.

[mrfreddio55]

Well, I wouldnt worry about trying to salvage the sound card unless it was recently purchased. Most new motherboards these days come with onboard 5.1 sound cards. And if you get a motherboard with a nForce4 chipset, the sound will be quite nice.

PCI is a thing of the past. AGP is also being phased out, but its not entirely gone. Now theres PCI-Express. Graphics cards and other cards are all on these now. I'm not sure about memory, havent really researched that too much. IDE is being phased out too. However, you can still use your old burner and hard drive if you wish.

If I were you, i'd just shop around on newegg for a nice mobo/cpu/ram combo and a nice case and power supply. Heh, unfortunatley, those are the most expensive parts.

[bracersi]

Well it all depends on how much money you want to spend. If you are looking for a reliable computer that you can move relatively quick but not alot of cash then I have your list. amd sempron 2400+ - 3400+ will range anywhere from 50-150 bucks. A descent motherboard (MSI, aseus, gigabyte) anywhere from 100-300 bucks. You already have a 90 gig hard drive and that should be sufficient enough. Then go about getting 1 gig of virtual memory (ram) which could cost you anywhere from 85-200 bucks. It seems like you have everything else.
I tend to shy away from laptops cause they tend to be a little pricey and I don't find them comfortable to work with. But then again if your are constantly on the move and want your computer with you everywhere you go then I would suggest it.
Or if you are a major gamer (warcraft, half life,etc.....) then I would suggest what accordaffair said, which will be very pricey. Instead of the dual core though I would recommend the 64-bit processors. IMO the 64-bit operating system easier to work with.

[FishyMan]

Thanks guys for the tips. I am so in the past and I guess you guys are right about the NEW PCI stuffs, and AGP. The thing is, should I wait for that hump to get over and then buy or buy now knowing I am just a tad step behind from what will be released. (I know that I will never be able to keep up, but I want something that will fit well in the future.) If PCI express is indeed the next thing, I wouldn't want to buy a MB having AGP slots and old PCI etc etc.

Yes, all my stuffs on my 500MHZ is 4x AGP, and PCI (maybe even some old ISSA ??)

Anyhow, I am not looking to spend a lot, all I want is an increase in CPU, MEMORY, HD SPACE. I can settle w/o getting top end sounds or expensive graphic cards. (I'll mostly go ON BOARD for now on those.) Well maybe reuse my old nvidia tnt2 (haha)


So let me clarify. PCI EXPRESS is the next median for peripherals? Such as GRAPHICS card, Hard drives, burner and the works??

Does that mean, most ASUS boards NOW carry those or in the future? I have been looking around for a case, led fan, power combo online; mostly will go ATX. I'll check COMPUSA or local comp stores to get an idea and get a feel for things.


Processors I still haven't looked into that yet.

[YK86]

I build stuff for friends and upgrade my own stuff all the time and I tend to build stuff that suits that person's needs. Like for my mom who only does e-mailing and browsing, and my brother who uses the same pc for making cd's, I just picked up an all in one motherboard, celeron 2.0ghz cpu, Samsung 256mb PC3200 RAM, Maxtor 40GB HD, generic case with 300W power supply, dvd/cdrw. On board video and sound are just fine for her. This came in at $325CAD taxes in (about $270US) at the beginning of the year. You can get something simular except with a Celeron D 2.4Ghz cpu at current prices in my area.

For myself, I don't game so graphics and sound weren't high priority but I do some video editting, web browsing, downloading (or atleast I used to...), dvd-burning, and wanted to watch movies I downloaded on tv so last year I built a P4 3.0C (Northwood cpu), 2 sticks of 512mb Pc3200 RAM, Asus P4P800SE MB, 2X80GB Maxtor, Radeon 9200SE 128MB AGP vid card (with s-video out for tv, vga and dvi outputs for the monitor), dual layer +/- dvd writer, and a nice case with 12" blue neons and 3 blue led case fans (top, side, rear), 400W power supply. The CPU, 2 sticks of identical ram, and MB allows me to Hyperthread which is great for multitasking. The on board sound is more than enough for me when I have my Altec Lansing 5 speaker system hooked up to it. I also bought a nice wireless keyboard and optical mouse combo and a 19" digital LCD monitor. I have it very mildly overclocked right now at 3.3ghz. I can't remember how much I paid but I sold my other used comp (just the comp) with identical specs the other day except with a P4 2.4C CPU, one 40GB HD and 2 sticks of 256mb ram for $500CAD (about $425US).

If you're more into gaming (which I know you said you weren't), I'd go with an AMD CPU, more RAM, and better video card and a sound card.

So I guess the questions you need to ask are:
What will I use it for?
What are my priorities?
How much can I spend?
Will I be wanting to upgrade alot of stuff in the near future?

EDIT:PCI-E is the new generation for video cards. AGP and even on board video will do just fine if you aren't picky about graphics. You might even want to pick up a motherboard with a pci-e slot but just use the on board for the time being if you're on a budget.

For hard drives, there are the standard ATA/IDE ones you are used to and also the newer SATA ones which transfer files faster and has thinner cables to reduce clutter in the case for better airflow.

Maybe this might help you a bit:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Desktop_buyi...tml?tag=dir.cc

[FishyMan]

Thanks.

I really don't have a strict priority but I want something that has potential for an upgrade, for example if I ever wanted to get a NEW Graphics card, I'll have the slot to do so. I saw some new PCI-E VIDEO cards that go for about $600, damn. That's like a new computer..

I just want a faster computer to do the average stuff, school, download, etc.. Nothing too serious, but at the same time I want something that can fit me for whatever the next 5-8 years will throw at me. (Such an example)

I currently am using OLD ATA/IDE for my DVD and BURNER, will the ASUS mother boards support it? That's where I am most unsure, but I guess I have to do my research and look into it. Also, i believe the old setup allows just 4 connections?

YK86.

I'm unsure bought the CASE, LED and POWER PART. I noticed that a lot of the places online come w/ a power supply and 3-5 FANS built in the case. This seems to be standard accordingly? I mean, I wouldn't want to buy something and find out later my POWER SUPPLY has insufficient connections.

LED FANS are good enough for me, but maybe 1-12" lgiht would be cool too.
Anyways, here's a scratch list. Let me know.

3-5 FANS (WITH CONTROLLER IN BAY) -I wanna keep it clean and have a controller for the same amount of fans as buttons. (But that's not important)
BLUE LED FANS
CLEAR CASE
SATA Hard Drive
P4 or AMD (i have yet to research)
1 GIG min memory with room to expand


well i know all this is just talk and jibber, i'll spend some time this weekend looking over some ideas after my final tomorrow..

[wed3k]

this is what you do...
tigerdirect/fry's cpu and mobo special
512mb is enuf for memory
use your existing harddrive or get a Special Edition WD HD

video card=depends if you want to play games or not

sound is built into the mobo but if you want a 5.1 surrond sound system, you will have to buy another seperate card and disable the onboard (20 bucks)

use existing keyboard and mouse. rice out your shit...everything should come out less than 600 bucks.

[lil_dcb7]

i think you should considder a video card regardless...

when i built this computer -the one im on- i didnt think i needed a video card because i wont be playing any games.

shit was i wrong.

my computer locked up alot and even restarted itself because the intergrated 32meg video would not be enough to support it.

you can get a 64 or hell a 128 for pretty cheap....