Customized computer?

[naruto=pwnage]

so here is the deal. as of the moment I have a 50Gb laptop in which I got for my birthday. I want to save up some money and have a computer custom madefor me. I was wondering if any of you experts out there know how much the kind of computer I want would cost.
here are the specs:
-a 200 Gb hard drive
-2Gb RAM
-2Gb memory
-competent graphics card
-hi speed wireless capabilities
-a competent internal DVD burning drive
-a relatively cheap flat screen monitor
-laser mouse
-keyboard

The point of this computer would be for all the anime downloads etcetera etcetera. leaving my portable laptop for schoolwork.
thanks, peace

[Assassin]

Just so you know, RAM = Random Access Memory.....that is to say that RAM is memory, so you don't need it twice on ur list.

As for cost, you'll porbably have to specify what kind of graphics card you want, the type of hard drive (if you have a preferrance), make of monitor, etc.

Off the top of my head, if you go for some reasonable stuff, and get a decent graphics card so you can play games for about another year or two, it'll probably be maybe $1300-$1500 (CAN).

Ofcourse thats based on some of the premade computers you can get at future shop/best buy and stuff, and thier specs as well as prices. If you buy the parts seperately and really do some searching, you mite be able to get a good deal, maybe around a grand.

Then again, i haven't bought a comp or parts in a long time, so i could be totally wrong.

[naruto=pwnage]

hmmm.. somebody was telling me that they were two different things. guess I'll have to correct them thanks. also, I'm most likely not going to make this myself. it will either be a hired professional or my friend. if I knew more about hardware I would assemble it myself. but unfortunately I'm not quite there yet. but thanks for the advice

[Board of Command]

Here's your parts list:

CPU: Athlon 64 3500+ OR 3800+ (do not get 3700+ or I will hunt your family down)
Motherboard: DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D OR MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum
RAM: OCZ Premier 1 GB dual channel pack (you have no need for 2 GB of memory)
Graphics: nVidia 7600GT (any brand works)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 200 GB S-ATA
DVD: LG GSA-H10A OR NEC ND-3550
Monitor: I can't make suggestions because it totally depends on which stores are near you
Keyboard: Whatever you want
Mouse: Logitech G5, hands down

Now, these are the most basic compotents. One major component that I left out is power supply. I'm going to include it in this section because it involves more writing than the other parts. It is absolutely crucial that you get a high-quality power supply. I suggest the Enermax Noisetaker 480W or Antec Truepower 480W. These are the absolute best units in the sub-$100 price range, and any other unit is a mistake. DO NOT GO CHEAP ON POWER SUPPLY!!

And last but not least, you sound like a noob so get someone that knows computers to help you build this computer. As much as I would like to guide you from start to finish, forums have limitations and a job like this requires hands-on work. Or you can take the tough road: self-teach yourself everything you need to know and build the computer by yourself. That's what I did...

[naruto=pwnage]

hey thanks alot! but with all that expensive hardware I'd rather not break anything. I think I will let a professional do it. do you know any stores likely to do that for me in Canada?

[Assassin]

I think most small computer stores will build one for you if you specify the parts you want. But you'll probably want to take along someone who knows this stuff to make sure the final product actually contains all those parts, and they're in working order.....you can never be too sure

[naruto=pwnage]

I'll be sure to remember all that. thanks for all the tips
[I have no idea what I'd do without GW,lol]

I just remembered: are desktop computers capable of wirless hi speed? [no idea why they wouldn't be..] if so, is that likely to be another part that I have to shop around for?

[Board of Command]

You get a wireless router and a wireless adapter card.

By the way, don't let stores do it for you. They often charge extra and try to sweet talk you into buying crappy stuff, i.e. stuff that nobody else wants. And not to mention, they'll charge you a lot for service alone. If you can find a friend who knows computers, it's better off just letting him build it for you.

And that list is pretty standard for a decent machine nowadays. I don't know where you live but that list will cost about $1000 here in Canada. If you haven't noticed, I didn't list a case. That costs another $100 or so. If you want, I'll give you a cheaper parts list. If you live in the states, you have access to Newegg which is probably the best computer store in the world. What exactly is your budget?

[naruto=pwnage]

well for starters I do live in Canada. the hamilton area. and my budget is just to try not to have to go over $1000 too much. I could go up to1500 if I wanted but it would just require more time and effort. I'm fourteen and only allowed jobs on the holidays. so I have to have reasonable expectations of the amount I get for the job I end up having.

[Deadfire]

well, it looks to me BoC give you a kickass list already, So giving you anymore advice about it would be not worth it.

What I can tell you there is a guide out on newsstands from PC Gamer called "The Builder's bible" or something like that. Pick that up and it will give you answers to basicly any question you have, it even gives you a step-by-step and how to do it.

But if you what a another build here is one i helped another person make




Thermaltake Armor Black Chassis
AOC Dual Fan Harddrive Cooler
Evercool HPD-815 80mm Ever Lubricate bearing CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
Thermaltake AMCOOLING KIT(A1165) Memory Cooling Kits
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 ATX AMD Motherboard
Thermaltake 500W
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester
Western Digital Caviar 500GB SATA 7200RPM
Samsung Black 20.1" LCD Monitor
Sony 16x DVD+/-RW Drive
Sony Black IDE DVD-ROM
Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS 7.1 Channels
Corsair XMS 2GB
eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB
Klipsch Ultra 5.1 Speakers

Enjoy

[darkshadow]

those klipsch are too expensive and too powerfull for somebody who is not die hard into audio ( most ppl wont turn it up more then 25%, so its a waste ), get a Logitech® Z-5400 Digital 5.1 310w system instead

[samsonlonghair]

If you want to build it yourself there are a number of good resources online. I wish the old TechTV site was still around, but there's nothing I can do about that.

This is a pretty good step-by-step guide, but it's old so the parts they use are out of date. Use newer ones than the ones in that guide and you'll be fne.

[Board of Command]

Thermaltake Armor Black Chassis
AOC Dual Fan Harddrive Cooler
Evercool HPD-815 80mm Ever Lubricate bearing CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
Thermaltake AMCOOLING KIT(A1165) Memory Cooling Kits
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 ATX AMD Motherboard
Thermaltake 500W
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester
Western Digital Caviar 500GB SATA 7200RPM
Samsung Black 20.1" LCD Monitor
Sony 16x DVD+/-RW Drive
Sony Black IDE DVD-ROM
Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS 7.1 Channels
Corsair XMS 2GB
eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB
Klipsch Ultra 5.1 Speakers

I think that is a little over his budget

[BioAlien]

go there,
http://www.sohodiffusion.com/configurpc.asp
(you must use Internet Explorer, it may work with FireFox, but it would be better with Explorer)

build your own computer, with what you want, for your budget, that online store in located in Canada(i think) they ship everywhere in Canada (including Quebec, FINALLY! lol) also in the U.S. and France

you must also know this since you are only 14

PURCHASING BY MINORS [Table of contents]

For the protection of our shoppers, it is our policy to not sell to minors. However, if you are minors and wish to purchase from our web site, have a parent or legal guardian make the purchase for you. Thank you for your comprehension.

you can also see the website in French (in case...)

[Board of Command]

Oh, one major change to the list I posted:

Get a Sapphire X800 GTO2 instead of a 7600GT. The X800 GTO2 can be hacked into a X850 XT...which is considerably faster than a 7600GT and at a much lower price. You must get the Sapphire GTO2 or the PowerColor GTO these are the only two cards that work for this hack if I recall. Also, the Sapphire GTO2 has a 100% chance of modding into a XT if I'm not mistaken.

The GTO => XT trick is probably one of the best bargains in recent history. I can't believe it slipped my mind when I posted that list

[darkshadow]

there is one big flaw in that ^^^, x850xt doesnt support h264 decoding, nor does it support SM3.0, so even if its a bargain, its not future ready

[Board of Command]

You'd take a 7600GT over a X850XT? Alright, knock yourself out...

X850XT can draw 30 more frames than 7600GT while having full AA and AF. If you'd rather take SM3.0 and hardware h.264 decoding over that, be my guest.

[darkshadow]

hardware decoding means watching movies in 1080p without a hitch, and since the 7600gt is not a bad card at all, then yes i would go for the 7600gt, i cant depend on game devs to include a sm2 codepath in every game, or that ati develops a special patch that enables sm2, but thats also why im getting a x1900gt :P ( dropped the 7900gt since its out of stock, and ati rules! )

dang there goes my jounin post

[Board of Command]

If you're running a high end video card, then your processor is probably able to handle h.264 no problems already. Also, why you're playing 1080p videos on a computer monitor is beyond me. And this is not your computer, it's a list for naruto=pwnage. I think he'd be happier with 30 more frames per second while saving $50.

Oh and I forgot, my 6600GT also has h.264 hardware decoding and SM3.0, so it's more future proof than X850XT?

And on the topic of SM3.0. I'm pretty sure the 6600GT is the first card to support it, and it has been out for almost two years. Look around today and you'll see that still very few games support it, and the ones that do support it all use SM2 by default. I got my 6600GT over a year ago and at the time the only games supporting SM3.0 were Farcry (via patch and tweaking) and Chronicles of Riddick (which nobody cares about). Today, there are still very few games that support it - not even Counter-Strike Source supports it. SM2 isn't about to fade out in the next week. As of now and maybe couple years down the line, SM3.0 will just be a little bonus for the games that do support it, as most won't.

[Deadfire]

I think that is a little over his budget

Thats why it's a example :P

Anyways you guys are right on the money, so I really don't need to but in anywhere