New Computer

[tlippy]

Just getting password entered

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

tlippy, did you just get a new PC?

I have been shopping around since I am tired of my 1995 Pentium 100 and 28K modem #ad
.

Since I am short on $$ these days, I plan to get a motherboard/processor package and case then add more components later. I found AMD Athlon 900Mhz packages for $210 or so, and another 70-90 for 128Mb of Ram. It is amazing what you can get for so little compared to not long ago. This struggling computer of mine cost $3,200 new and I've sunk another $200 into it in the last 2 years #ad
Just think what $3,200 would buy now!!!!!

I like to shop PriceWatch.com for best advertised prices then jump to dealers' websites directly from PriceWatch.

Vaughn

 

[MikeR]

Yeah,I know what you mean Vaughn. Right now,I'm surfing on my boss' computer at work... he's on vacation for the week and his office was left unlocked. I haven't been on the TDR much because my computer at home won't dial up anymore... . doesn't recognize a dial tone. I may go out and pickup a new modem tomorrow to see if it fixes the problem,but I need to add so many upgrades,it may just be cheaper to buy that new Compaq CPU I've been eyeballing.
Well,if you see me on here over the weekend,you'll know I got it fixed.

-Mike

 

[bigkid59]

Another source of computers and equipment that you guys might want to check out is Ubid.com. This is the internet auction division of PC Mall.
In February of this year I bought a new HP Kayak workstation from them. It has a Pentium II 450 processor with provision for installing a second one. It came with 64 M Ram, a 9. 1 Gig ultra scsi 7200 RPM hard drive and Elsa Synergy Graphics. This is a top of the line computer that originally retailed for $3200. It was discontinued in the fall of 1999 and I was able to pick up one of the four available for $854. Being set up as a workstation, it had a network card but no modem but that was easy to install. It also has HP's 3 year warranty.
Watch out for shipping costs. When I bought mine it was cheap, but they have since increased shipping costs considerably. They ship out of Memphis, Tn.
Hope you guys can get a computer that you like. I have been well pleased with mine and am now adding a HP cd writer/rewriter.

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92 D250 Auto Trans-Currently stock except for TCI special torque convertor. Now adding 16cm turbo housing, complete 4" exhaust, tachometer, pyrometer, and transmission temperature gauge. Injectors in the near future.
Also have 1984 Volvo D260 with inline 6 diesel made by Volkswagen.

 

[Iceman1]

MikeR, see if that modem has a second place to plug the line into. Mine has like an in and out type of plug in. Anyhow, it also quit recognizing dial tone so put the incoming line to the other port and it works. Sort of like back feeding the input. Hope that helps.

On the computer thing I run Dell. They are sort of pricey but haven't one bit of a problem. I looked at the Pentium 4 machines and just sort of drool. Biggest fall back here in the smaller towns is that we can't get the DSL lines. So stuck with the dialup modems. Have a good Day...

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1997 3500 SLT, Ext cab, 5spd, TST #11, GV Aux Trans, BD exhaust, Kelderman Air Ride, 60 Gallon fuel tank, Clifford Security, Reese 20k 4way 5th wheel hitch, Boost/EGT gauges, K&N air filter, Rancho RS9000 shocks, Brush Guard, DZee full length running boards.

 

[Cooker]

Vaughn,

If you would like some help on a PC puchase or putting a PC together from pieces, email me and I can give you some information. This past year I built over 10 PC's for friends and friends of friends and all were high quality, low dollar (I know hard to believe) machines. PC parts have gotten extremely affordable, IMO, compared to 3-4 years ago.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Cooker, that is what I'm thinking of doing. I see at Tigerdirect.com they have a Athlon 950Mhz processor/Soyo K7VIA Slot A motherboard and CPU fan combo for $199. They have 128Mb Ram on sale for $59, 30G Western Digital HD for $99, 8x CD writer @ $159, and mid tower/230W PS for $60, that is a pretty decent setup for around $600. I will reuse my current CD, floppy, and modem for now.

I don't know if the Soyo MB is quality or not. A PC friend of mine likes AMD and recommended going that way. Thinks Pentium name demands too much and Celeron is cheap (not high quality).

Anyway, I am thinking about pulling the trigger on this deal. I don't know much about Tigerdirect but I get their catalogs and they seem to be a quality vendor. With the stock & sales of technology stuff taking a dump lately, computer deals ought to be sweet in the coming months. If you miss one "deal" there will always be another.

It is amazing how cheap computers are anymore. I have my dad's old Apple II we got in 1982. For $2500 we came home with the computer and one 5-1/2" floppy drive. A 1Mhz uProcessor as I recall, and no HD. Computers have come a LOOOOONG way since then!!!

Vaughn

[This message has been edited by Vaughn MacKenzie (edited 12-31-2000). ]

 

[Archive]

Couple of things Vaughn -

First off ditch the Western Digital HD. I bought a 45 gig Maxtor for $199 with the new 100mhz technology. So you can get a 30gig 7200rpm Maxtor for $125 or so I would think.

Also the AMD processor has a 200mhz bus speed, is this $59 128meg ram 200mhz bus, or is it 100mhz?

Just a couple things to think about... ...

 

[Cooker]

Vaughn,
Sorry, I prefer Intel. I prefer to overclock my Intel processors to get more bang for your buck. No, I have never had a problem overclocking when it is done correctly (selecting a normal bus speed, ie 100mhz or 133) and you have a good Heatsink and Fan on the CPU. The Intel vs. AMD is almost as bad as Synthetic vs. Conventional.
The PC I'm currently running is an Intel PIII 600 overclocked and running at 800mhz for several months now. The last one I built was a PIII 700 overclocked to 933mhz (FYI the chip cost $174)

As I tell everyone I build a machine for, I use the parts that I have had the best luck with, and the one I feel comfortable with. Surely everyone has a piece o sh** horror story about every product out there.

I agree with KatDiesel, a Maxtor hard drive is hard to beat. When using Intel processors, I've had problems with the Soyo boards. I prefer ABIT motherboards, although they may not be the best board for an AMD chip.

In my opinion, a brand name memory is better than the "house" brand and worth the few extra dollars. Yes, the "house" brand is made with brand name parts, but typically underperforms the name brand. Have negligible performance margin may be, I'll still pay a little extra for Corsair memory.

I'll try to shorten this,
CD-ROM = Teac
CD-Recorder = TDK (I personally prefer SCSI drives and in that case the Plextor)
Soundcard = SoundBlaster is hard to beat, but if you're not big into game playing any card will really do
Video Card = GeForce 2 MX (Annialiator sp?)

As far as checking out online electronic retailers try www.resellerratings.com

Also, AMD 200mhz bus is a bit misleading. I honestly cannot comment much on this becuase I haven't cared to follow AMD, but the memory doesn't operate at the bus speed of the AMD. Currently nobody mfg's 200mhz memory. And your perphials cannot operate safely at anything faster than AGP = 66mhz bus, PCI = 33mhz bus, and Hard Drive = 100mhz

Just my opinions,
Ryan

If you like more info you can email me so we don't bore everyone here.

 

[OO]

If you want to read some reviews about hard drives,motherboards, or anything else computer related check out this link. www.tomshardware.com

 

[BCFAST]

You guys are starting to speak Greek!! I logged onto Dell.com, plugged in what I wanted... all the prices are right there! I called 1800-Dell... talked to a nice fella in TX, did the deal with the hot-rod speakers, a 21in Trinitron monitor, DVD, and more speed that I know what to do with. . and was all done for $2k... and the monitor was $750!

 

[Switca]

Originally posted by KatDiesel:
I bought a 45 gig Maxtor for $199 with the new 100mhz technology.

When I started in this business, there were no PC's. The common disk drive (2314) cost a few grand and the disk packs were a few hundred each. The disk pack was 24" in diameter, about 10" high and help a full 20 meg (not gig, meg).

Our computer had a full 32K in it and we thought we were too cool for words when we upgraded to a full 64K.

100 meg data path? 200 meg data path? Hell, nothing thought that fast except a CRAY and who could afford one of those?

My laptop has more horsepower, memory and disk in it than the first 4 computer rooms I worked in...combined!

God, I'm ancient at 43!

And we had to get to the computer room, barefoot, in the snow, uphill in both directions!

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Gregor Switca
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96 2500 4x4 auto SLT.
99. 5 VW Jetta TDI
Nothing but diesel in my driveway.

 

[The patriot]

I dont know much about the computers. Before this one, I was using an old computer with an intel 486 DX 2 processor. Something like 450 Mb hard drive, and 20 Mb ram. It was a real challenge just to get a page on the net to come up in the time it took to brew a coffee.
Last year I got the "new" one. It was a leftover (Hewlwtt Packard), but it has a Celeron processor, 64 mb ram, 10 Gig hard drive,and has the zip drive . I payed less then $375. 00 for it.
The difference is light years form the old one.
Only bad thing is I'm still using the old monitor. #ad

 

[WOWZY]

I have a 500Mhz Pentium III with 100Mhz buss speed, 128 megs. How do I go about increasing my 100Mhz buss speed? Remember I'm computer illiterate.

 

[Cooker]

Wowzy,
Ok, there are a few things to consider before changing the speed of your front side bus (FSB).
1. Can your memory handle a higher than 100mhz FSB?
2. If you go beyond the 100mhz FSB the next logical step is 133mhz. The reason I say this is your perphrials (AGP and PCI slots, hard drive) are designed to operate at a certain speed. This speed is determined by FSB and the dividers on the MB or in the Bios. Typically most new MB's have dividers of 4 for the PCI (makes the 133 bus max. ) and 2 for the AGP bus (again to allow a 133mhz FSB). Perpherials can an usually will operate at speeds beyond there specifications (ie FSB 11mhz and PCI divider of 3 = PCI bus of 37mhz), but IMO you risk stability and the possibility of damaging equipment.
3. Can you change the FSB on the MB. I honestly cannot comment if this is possible on name brand PC's because I work very little with them. If your PC was made to order at the local computer shop it is more likely that you can do change the FSB.
4. Can the CPU itself be overclocked? Intel has been great to the overclocking community on a few of thei chips they have produced. The most of the celeron 300a o'ced to 450 easily, next was the celeron 366 which typically reached speeds of 550mhz safely, and lately many of their chips have overclocked quite well (ie the PIII 600e to 800 and the 700 to 933). Athough many Intel chips can be overclocked easily some just simply cannot. When purchasing a chip, there are way to find the one that have a better chance of overclocking.

Sorry to not address your question to specifically. As I said changing the FSB is typically done either by jumpers on the MB (on older PC's) or by changing settings in the BIOS (newer PC's). If you like more help please email me with more specifics of your PC and maybe I'll will be able to help you further.

Ryan