Topic: Opinions wanted.

[mistybear]

A friend of Michaels is thinking of getting a new computer, these are the specs. and the link.

So please all opinions welcomed. 

3 GHZ dual core Pentium D CPU equaling 6 GHZ
3GB DDR2 Kingston dual channel  RAM   3x  1 GB sticks
8500 GT 512 PCI-EXPRESS graphics card
320Gb sata 2 hard drive
8.1 digital surround sound output
High definition output
Optical Out
Raidmax Ninja case
S video out
DVI output
Plus leads
DVD dual layer burner
6 USB version 2 ports.
Broadband ready with 10/100/1000 Lan

LINK

[Sandra]

3 GHZ dual core Pentium D CPU equaling 6 GHZ
3GB DDR2 Kingston dual channel  RAM   3x  1 GB sticks

I would leave it alone MB as whoever built it doesnt know what theyre doing 

A dual core 3ghz CPU does not equal a 6ghz, its 3ghz per core meaning that it can use one core for some programs and the other for other programs.
I assume that being a friend of Michaels that he wants a fast gaming PC, this isnt one.
I wouldnt consider buying any pc now that didnt have an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, the bottom end ones are cheaper and faster now than the top end D series are.

To run in dual channel mode it needs to be in pairs, so to run 3 gig in dual mode you you would want 2 x 1 gig in one same coloured pair of slots on the mobo and 2 x 512mb in the other coloured pair of slots.

Hope this helps 

[mistybear]

Thanks Sandra, it does.
I knew the ram set up was wrong, and should be as you have pointed out. And Michael said that the Pentium D was rubbish.

Personally if I were going to spend that sort of money I'd go for the Medion 8818, there is one on eBay.

  eBay

[Sandra]

The pentium D was a good CPU when it came out, however I think it will be the slowest of the D series as I assume its an 8 series and not the later and better 9 series, as they dont state which one it is.
I have a D945 in one pc and its fine for me but if my mobo would run a core 2 duo then I would replace it with one.

[mistybear]

This is an Intel Pentium D 945 3.4GHz dual core processor with an 800MHz FSB, (2) 2MB L2 caches and includes EM64T

I'm not knowledgable about processors, but I wouldn't trust a computer thrown together like that one. At least with a Medion or a HP you basically know what your getting and how it's going to run.

And they say that the graphics card will run SLI, but there is only one PCI-E slot on the motherboard, so you can't upgrade.

The 3 x 1gb sticks makes me chuckle though.

[gmax]

This is a brand new computer that is super, super powerful. A great gaming computer that is extremely fast, highly powerful, and will blow any other system away.
   There is more than one available
  Talk about misleading advertising!, i wonder how it would compare against an "intel quad core extreme" , no mention of what
brand the ram & psu are?, no doubt they would be cheap rubbish. I see the seller has already ripped two people off.You would be better
researching the components you want to use,then build the pc yourself or pay someone to build it for you.

[Sandra]

I am upgrading a freinds pc, hopefully next week when the parts arrive, with :

1 x ASUS P5W DH Deluxe SKT 775 dual-core Core2Duo Conroe ready Crossfire 8channel audio ATX    £86.54
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 (2.13Ghz) Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor   £99.14
1 x Xpertvision 8500GT Sonic edition 256MB 128bit DDR3 DVI TVO PCI-E   £43.13
1 x Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL4(4-4-4-12) E.P.P. Heat Spreader  £68.92

Deliver: Within 5 Working Days
(FREE) 
Shipping £0.00
Subtotal £297.73
VAT £52.12
Order Total £349.85

Shes got a good mesh pc case and power supply and a newish 250 gig hard drive and a newish 16X DVD writer with an old AMD 1800 cpu and bits.
So by using the good bits and binning the rest she should end up with a big improvement over what she had.
I dont think she realises just how much faster the new pc will be than her old one 


 

[gmax]

I just gave my pc a boost i had a AMD 64 3700 cpu, i replaced it with a "64 X2 4600",  2gig corsair ram dual channel, 2x 160 gig sata hdds
in raid 0 mode, i cant go much faster with a Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe board, but it will do for a while

[Sandra]

How much did that cost Gmax ?

I upgraded that pc last week and had to buy a 20 to 24 pin adapater for the PSU to motherboard connector as the extra USB headers are powered by the extra 4 pins, so that was another £5.
The pc ran fine without it but the extra USB ports wouldnt work.

Its the fastest pc that I have ever used once its fully loaded Vista, with no lag at all when opening folders or drives even while running an av scan.
It scores 5.3 on the Vista rating, mines only 3.1 with similar specs apart from the cpu which is an Intel P4 660 3.6ghz single core.
Vista scores according to the lowest rated component on the pc.

My friend is still amazed at how she can do multiple things at the same time faster than her previous pc would do one thing and is really pleased with it 

[gmax]

How much did that cost Gmax ?

I upgraded that pc last week and had to buy a 20 to 24 pin adapater for the PSU to motherboard connector as the extra USB headers are powered by the extra 4 pins, so that was another £5.
The pc ran fine without it but the extra USB ports wouldnt work.

Its the fastest pc that I have ever used once its fully loaded Vista, with no lag at all when opening folders or drives even while running an av scan.
It scores 5.3 on the Vista rating, mines only 3.1 with similar specs apart from the cpu which is an Intel P4 660 3.6ghz single core.
Vista scores according to the lowest rated component on the pc.

My friend is still amazed at how she can do multiple things at the same time faster than her previous pc would do one thing and is really pleased with it 

Ok, I forgot the "PSU", i bought a Zalman 460 Watt Quiet Power Supply ,

The "psu" new :$115.00
HDD's  160gig X 2, new :$170.00
The cpu,used, 64 X2 4600 : $220.00
The Ram, used 4X 512 Corsair Dual channel: $230.00
Geforce GT 7500 256mb, used $120.00
The M/B ,Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, used,$10.00, the guy thought it was dead
For external storage,new, Coolermaster  eSATA enclosure $59.00
Seagate new,320 gig sata HDD $99.00

All the used parts came from "Overclockers Australia" forum, they have a classified section.

[mistybear]

Thanks gmax, must have a look.

[Reno]

It would be a cold day in hell before i bought used computer parts at anything close to regular prices. I'm waiting for the 16 core processors to come out. They are saying within the next year they will hit the market. When that happens the quad cores should drop way down in price. Although, unless your running a server, i don't see the need for a 16 core machine. Until they do come out I'll hold off on upgrading.

[gmax]

It would be a cold day in hell before i bought used computer parts at anything close to regular prices. I'm waiting for the 16 core processors to come out. They are saying within the next year they will hit the market. When that happens the quad cores should drop way down in price. Although, unless your running a server, i don't see the need for a 16 core machine. Until they do come out I'll hold off on upgrading.

I don't find anything wrong with buying used parts as they came with the receipts, the cpu has a 3 year warranty, the Ram lifetime warranty. Buying the latest and greatest is bad value.

[Reno]

Brand new isn't the same as latest and greatest. You can buy brand new old parts. It just takes a bit more looking. I just have a thing against used. I don't mind refurbs off a reputable site, but I refuse to buy any computer parts off ebay. Warranties are meaningless if the person renames his business or shifts usernames.