Computer systems

[Direhit]

This section is dedicated to whole computer systems.

[Direhit]

Q: I want to build a new computer, but don't want to spend much money. How can I get one that will let me play today's games at a decent framerate?

A: Thanks to cut-throat competition between AMD and Intel, along with the relatively cheap prices of memory, you can get an excellent gaming system for a very reasonable price.

Case: Antec Sonata III (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024)

This case uses 120 mm cooling fans (has one installed), and comes with Antec's very own 500 watt Earthwatts power supply. These power supplies do not use the awful Fuhjyyu capacitors that the previous generation used, and can supply a steady 34 amps on the 12 volt rail, which is enough for almost any single video card.

$125

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128086)

This board is based on the Intel P35 chipset, and uses all solid capacitors. While good quality capacitors aren't going to leak on you any time soon, the use of solid state ones gives a bit of reassurance. Well built board, and they use a good quality PCB. The board already has an ethernet port.

$108

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo, E8400 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037)

This CPU is based on a 45 nm production, and runs very cool, even with stock cooling, at 3.0 GHz. Excellent overclock potential, if you want.

$185

Memory: Crucial DDR2 800, 2x2GB set (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160)

This is a pair of 2 GB sticks that give you solid performance and stability.

$89

Video card: MSI GeFOrce 8800 GTS (G.92, 512 MB) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127325)

Best bang / buck card right now.

$185

Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda, 500 GB SATA hard drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288)

Fast, quiet, and stable. Also, good reliability.

$89

Optical drives: Lite-ON SATA DVD-ROM drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106262)
and
Lite-ON SATA DVD burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263)

$52 for both drives

Sound card: Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeGamer (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006)

Unfortunately, in this day and age, now that Creative Labs has essentially destroyed the competition, they're the only ones left standing for people who want hardware EAX.

$98

Floppy drive: Sony 1.44 MB floppy drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16821103116)

Don't laugh. Floppy drives are still quite useful, especially when SHTF scenarios occur.

$14

Mouse: Logitech G5 laser mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104076)

Highly customizable, and gives excellent precision.

$57

Keyboard: Keytronic keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823131073)

Can customize the keystroke weight to your liking.

$26

Speakers: Logitech X-540 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006)

$97

So far, $1125, including shipping.

Monitor: Samsung 2253 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001268)

22" LCD, widescreen, and a fast pixel response time.

$270

So, for a total of under $1400, you can get a really nice system that can handle any of today's games, although don't expect to play Crysis at high resolutions with all of the eye candy. If you're able to afford a system that can do that, then you're looking at a system that's at least 1000 dollars more.

[Direhit]

Q: OK, the system you mentioned above costs too much for my budget, and all I want is something that will let me play the Source games with good detail.

A: From http://www.newegg.com including shipping:

Antec 4480 series case, including 380 watt Antec Earthwatts power supply: $90
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 ATX motherboard: $98
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5000 "Black Edition": $82
Memory: Crucial PC6400 2X1 GB package: $18
Heatsink / Cooling fan: Rosewill RCX-Z1: $18
Video card: Gigabyte GeForce 8800 GT, 256 MB memory: $130
Hard drive: Western Digital SATA, 250 GB hard drive: $60
NEC 3.5" floppy drive: $14
Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM drive: $21.00
Lite-On 20X DVD-burner: $30
Mouse: Logitech SBF-96 optical: $14
Keyboard: Keytronic unit mentioned above: $26

The motherboard already has built-in sound and ethernet, so you don't need to buy separate ones.

The video card, a GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB unit, can handle any of today's games, with reasonable eye candy.

$601.00, give or take a few dollars.

For a monitor:

Hans G 199DPB LCD monitor: $190.00

So, for under 800 dollars, you can get a very respectable system, especially since the X2 5000 Black Edition CPU's can be easily overclocked to 3.0 GHz, on air cooling (the CPU's are multiplier unlocked).

[Direhit]

Q: I don't even want to spend that small sum of money. I just want something that can run Microsoft Word, Excel, and so forth. Perhaps under 500 dollars?

A: In this case, then, you can get away with even cheaper components:

System #1)

Antec 4480 series case, including 380 watt Antec Earthwatts power supply: $90
GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2 AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G ATX AMD Motherboard: $68
AMD Sempron LE-1100 Sparta 1.9GHz Socket AM2 45W : $26
Crucial PC6400 2X1 GB memory package: $18
NEC 3.5" floppy drive: $14
Lite-On 20X DVD-burner drive: $28
Western Digital 250 GB SATA hard drive: $59
Mouse: Logitech SBF-96 optical: $14
Keyboard: Keytronic unit mentioned above: $26

$343.00, give or take a few dollars.


The motherboard already has an ethernet card, sound chip, as well as an integrated Radeon 2100 video chip.

For a monitor:

Acer AL1717 FB Black 17" 5ms LCD Monitor: $150

The monitor has some cheap speakers built in.

So, for under $500, you can get a decent grunt-level work PC, including monitor, and still have a reasonably good upgrade path.

[Direhit]

Q: Well, the cheap working computer you listed above is still too rich for my budget. What can I get that will still allow me to run Microsoft Office?

A: If you are too cheap to spend the above amount of money for a reliable system, then you may as well gamble and go for a used computer. I strongly recommend against this, since you are limiting yourself in terms of expansion (many of these computers are of proprietary construction). But, if you are still too cheap for your own good, at least I can minimize the chance that you will do something even more foolish.

There is a used / surplus store called Computer Geeks, that sells working computers, and gives you a 90 day warranty on parts and service.

http://www.compgeeks.com

They usually have obselete surplus IBM computers that are used, but in good condition,

http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=SYS

You can get a working Pentium IV-based system for under 200 dollars, but buyer beware.

You can also find used monitors for around 100-150 dollars on that site, but again, buyer beware.

[Direhit]

Q: But even two hundred dollars is too much! What alternatives are there?

A: You cheapskate. You are even giving bottom-feeders a bad name.

Your only other possibility is to go to a local college or university (you don't have to be a student, faculty, etc), and talk to the people who run the surplus / warehouse operations. You should be able to browse through their junk piles, and pick out various computers, monitors, and peripherals, such as mice, etc.

You should be aware, though, that the best that you are going to find is probably an old Gateway computer based on a Pentium III 500 MHz CPU, if you are lucky. Still, you should be able to find such systems for 20-50 dollars, and maybe a used 15" monitor for about 15-25 dollars.

If at all possible, ask the manager of the place if you can test out the equipment, so that you can save yourself some frustration. All in all, you should be able to get some sort of working computer and monitor for under 100 bucks, but again, you get what you pay for.

[Direhit]

Q: But even 100 dollars is too much! What can I...

A: You've wasted too much of my time already. If you can't even afford to pay 100 dollars for a computer, you have no business owning one.

If you are too cheap to even buy a surplus / warehouse computer, then the only other thing I can do is to give you this link to help you:

Click here to help yourself with your financial problems. (http://jobsearch.monster.com/)

Get a job. If you can't even afford to spend 100 dollars, then what are you doing wasting your time on the Catacombs? Shouldn't you be out there earning money?

[Direhit]

Q: I want to get a laptop, and see these portable systems built with desktop CPU's. Should I get one?

A: I am going to strongly recommend against buying such a computer for several reasons:

1) Desktop processors generate more heat than mobile processors. Also, there is physically less room for heatsinks and airflow needed to cool desktop CPU's adequately.

2) Desktop processors consume more power than mobile processors. To compound this problem, the power supplies included in such systems seem to be barely adequate for such a purpose.

3) The prices of laptop computers have come down so much, that you can get excellent true laptops that use mobile CPU's for just about the same amount of money you would have otherwise spent on a hybrid computer.

4) The companies that make such hybrid computers are not going to provide nearly the same level of customer service and tech support that companies such as IBM or Dell would.

[Direhit]

Q: Are there any computer retailers that offer Linux-based workstations?

A: Yes. Some companies even have partnerships with certain Linux distribution companies. Dell, for example, has a partnership with Red Hat, and sells workstation PC's with Red Hat Linux installed on them. Other companies have similar offerings, but you have to call them and ask them.

[Direhit]

Q: OK. I'm ready to build my system, and wanted to know if it's OK to use magnetized tools, such as a screwdriver with a magnetic tip?

A: In general, yes, it's OK. In fact, my cordless drill has several magnetized screw heads (slot and Phillips), and I've never encountered any damage due to my tool use. Such magnetic forces are very weak, and aren't going to cause problems, as long as you didn't buy the "Supermagnetic" tools.

Just try your best not to touch the magnetic tip of the tool to any other computer parts, especially to the motherboard, and the EPROM chips on the motherboard (BIOS). Even though the possibility of magnetic damage is very slim, indeed, you would do well to try not to give Murphy's Law any greater chances.

[Direhit]

Q: I am trying to put more PCI devices into my Dell computer, but everytime I do this, my system becomes unstable. I know that the parts are perfectly good, and that the drivers are supposed to be fine. Why doesn't this work?

A: Dell does not believe in giving extra power supply capability. If you look at the power supply rating, you may be surprised to see that most of their Pentium 4 systems use Dell's own 250 watt power supply. While this power supply is a decent quality 250 watt power supply, it cannot provide nearly as much punch as the better 300 watt power supplies, especially if you have several add-on devices.

You cannot simply change out a Dell power supply with an industry standard one. Beware here: Even though Dell's power supply looks like it has a standard ATX plug, and that Dell's motherboards look like they have standard ATX connectors, the wiring assignments are entirely different from standard parts. Thus, the odds are good, that if you plug a Dell ATX power supply into a standard motherboard, you could fry the motherboard. If you try to plug a standard ATX power supply into a Dell motherboard, then you could fry the Dell motherboard.

[Direhit]

I have a Compaq computer, and wanted to know where I could get replacement parts for it? The power supply (or insert any other part here) has gone bad.

A: You are on shaky ground here. Many Compaq computers use proprietary parts (especially power supplies) that do not conform to industry standards. While you could probably find an authorized HP / Compaq repair service place, if you're out of your warranty period, you're going to find it very expensive, and that the work done is not always up to spec.

Alternatively, you can try one of the various spare parts internet stores that pop up here and there. Buyer beware, since these shops often pop up, and then die away in a very short period of time.

[Direhit]

Q: OK. I'm almost done building a computer. Now all that's left, is to connect the Power LED, IDE LED, Reset switch connector, and Power On conenctor. I see that the Power LED and IDE LED connectors have different colored wires indicating polarity, but can't find the polarity for the Internal speaker, Reset or Power On connectors.

A: Only the LED connectors have a polarity, which is usually given as colored wire is (+) and the white (or black) wire is (-).

The Internal Speaker, Reset and Power On connectors (the speaker connector has a connector four pins long, the other two are only two pins long) have no polarity. It does not matter which way you plug them in, as long as you plug them into the correct pins.

[Unabomber]

Some updates on desktop systems.

I'm going to do some cleaning out over the next few weeks.