need advice for buying a computer? p.svery new at this!!

[aqua74]

any advice for upgrading the following parts. especially the motherboard & videocard ?I'llbe spending abouth $650us dollarsfor this configuration.

Processor: INTEL P4 3.2 GHz Hyper-Threading Technology 1MB FSB800
Included Devices: Cooling Fan, Heat Sink
L2 Cache Size: 1 MB
Processor Instruction Set: Intel® NetBurst microarchitecture
Processor Socket: Intel® Socket 478
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Processor Class: Intel Pentium 4 w/ HT Technology
Processor Speed: 3.2 GHz




MotherBoard: QDI Superb 4FX SiS 648FX Socket 478 800FSB ATX
CPU:
Intel Pentium 4 Socket 478 processors up to 3.2 GHz with 400/533/800 MHz FSB
Intel Celeron Socket 478 processors up to 2.6 GHz with 400/533 MHz FSB
Chipset: SIS 648FX/963 chipset
Architecture: 5 PCI + 1 (4x/8x) AGP slot
Main Memory: Supports up to 3 GB DDR RAM (PC1600/2100/2700 or 2 GB PC 3200 )
DIMM Type: 184-pin DDR sockets
On Board Sound: ALC650E 6 channel AC'97 integrated audio
4 USB PORTS



Memory: 512mb DDR400 PC-3200

Bus Speed: DDR400 (PC-3200)
3.2GB/s Peak Bandwidth Rate
Capacity: 1x512MB
Form Factor: DDR DIMM 184-pin
CAS Latency: CL2.5



Video Card: RADION 9200-SE 128MB 256-bit 3D W/ TV OUT
Graphics Engine: ATI Radeon 9200 SE
Video Memory: 128 MB DDR
Engine Clock: 200MHz
Memory Clock: 333MHz(166MHz DDR)
RAMDAC: 400MHz
Bus Standard: AGP 8X/4X/2X
Memory Interface: 64-bit DDR
Max Resolution: 2048x1536
Connectors: TV-out



Hard Drive: 160.0GB 7200 RPM
Size: 160.0GB
Speed: 7200RPMs
Average Seek Time: 8.5 ms
Interface: EIDE Ultra ATA
Massive Buffer for superior performance



Optical Drive: IDE 16X DVD±RW/±R Dual Format Drive
16X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 8X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW
40x24x48 CD-RW, 16x DVD-ROM Read Speeds
Compatible with all CD/DVD-Rom Standards
Compatible with Windows 95 / 98 / ME / NT / 2000 / XP
Buffer Under-run Protection






Network Card:
10/100 Fast Ethernet Network Card (onboard)
Full Duplex Support
Broadband Internet ready!
56 Kbps V.92 Data Speed
14.4 Kbps Fax Speed



Sound Card:
Realtek ALC850 AC'97 CODEC (8 Channel) on board
Dolby® Digital 5.1 real-time encoder
Compliant with AC97 2.2 specification
DirectX 8.1 Compatible
digital S/PDIF in
EAX2 and I3DL2 Reverb
Enhanced Sound Software and Utilities

[HamDemon]

If you do a lot of gaming, I'd recommend getting an ATI X800 XT PE video card if you can get your hands on one, or a nVidia 6800 Ultra, which will set you back between $450-600, depending on which one and where you find it, and putting whatever money is left into more RAM, there won't be enough benefit for what you'd have to spend to upgrade your other parts right now.

[cubase]

And if you do not want to spend $450 – $600 alone on the video card. I would highly recommend the 'Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT'. This card is the undisputed king of the mid range market with a performance/price ratio that can't be beat! This card will play ANY came WELL and will only set you back $200-US.

In terms of the low range for video cards (we are talking spending not much more than $150 US), I would say a Radeon 9800 Pro.

What you have got so far, in terms of everything else looks about right. The only think that you will need to look out for in the near future is the RAM. 512 will do nicely at the moment, but don;t expect to live of it for much longer. So stick with 512, and in a few months time, get another 512 and make it 1024. That will really help out.

Other than that, it sounds like a neat system.

-Cub. =o)

[EvLwMn]

For a motherboard have a look at the Asus P4P800-E Deluxe here. I have built several servers and higher end workstations with this board and it's excellent. Unfortunately with the socket 478 cpu's you are very limited as far as motherboards are concerned because they are phasing them out to put the socket 775 in its place. Asus has a couple of excellent socket 775 boards out such as the P5GD2-Premium here and the P5AD2-E Premium here - but like I said, they are for the socket 775 cpu and only use DDR2 RAM. That sort of upgrade is way more than you want to spend.

Also have a look at the MSI 865PE Neo2-P Platinum Edition here. It is a very good board as well.

Good luck

[HamDemon]

My suggestion was only if you wanted to spend the entire $650, cubase's was probably a little more logical

[Peter]

The video card is the weak point in the system...perhaps
the memory too...1GB would be better...I would not upgrade
the rest now...spend 300-400 for a video card, a bit for memory,
that should speed up the system a lot

[busylover]

One main thing to emphasize is the lack of homogeneity, the culprit being the video card

the rest of your system is quite up to date for now

Looking at mid/long term plans : IMO

1/ > you may setup a System based on P4/LG775 basis ( P4 540 may be found at $265, the 520 is highly overclockable) with PCIE x2/ SLI mobo (expensive but...), start with a single 6600GT PCIE and later on get a second 6600GT to build a hell of a performance rig....indeed 1024MB DDR is - IMHO - standard for decent fluency nowadays

2/ > Bang for the buck - If you intend to pour as much as $650 into your rig, u may put up a high perf System with an homogeneous set of the best 2004 Hardware (prices are average, you might find even lower price offers online)
[Provided 1/ AGP has some good times to go yet 2/ 6600 GT in AGP version are coming in ]

> Abit AV8 mobo > $ 110
> Nvidia 6600GT > $ 185
> Athlon 64 3500+ > $ 267
> Add some RAM > 512 MB 3200 Corsair > $103

Makes it on the whole $665

[cubase]

One main thing to emphasize is the lack of homogeneity, the culprit being the video card

the rest of your system is quite up to date for now

Looking at mid/long term plans : IMO

1/ > you may setup a System based on P4/LG775 basis ( P4 540 may be found at $265, the 520 is highly overclockable) with PCIE x2/ SLI mobo (expensive but...), start with a single 6600GT PCIE and later on get a second 6600GT to build a hell of a performance rig....indeed 1024MB DDR is - IMHO - standard for decent fluency nowadays

2/ > Bang for the buck - If you intend to pour as much as $650 into your rig, u may put up a high perf System with an homogeneous set of the best 2004 Hardware (prices are average, you might find even lower price offers online)
[Provided 1/ AGP has some good times to go yet 2/ 6600 GT in AGP version are coming in ]

> Abit AV8 mobo > $ 110
> Nvidia 6600GT > $ 185
> Athlon 64 3500+ > $ 267
> Add some RAM > 512 MB 3200 Corsair > $103

Makes it on the whole $665

Well folks, you don't get much more comprehensive than that! Nuff said! Nice one Busy

-Cub. =o)

[aqua74]

Thank guys that was fantastic advise!
My brother and me are very greatfull for ur advice.

Now for my own PC( mind ill be building this myself fot the very first time) im thinking of buying for $600 U.S. dollars the following chip(just the chip itself) :

Brand New
Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz Extreme Edition 800MHz FSB, 2MB L3 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology ,478

My question is does this chip give better performance than the previous one? Is $600 bucks a good price for it.

I'll be doing a lot of movie watching / burning; not so much gaming( if only RPG games) & web browsing.

Im also thinking of buying the following motherboard for $150:

MSI 865PE Neo2-FIS2R (MS-6728-030) Motherboard

Key Features
Form Factor ATX

Chipset Intel 865PE

Compatibility PC

Compatible Processors Intel Pentium 4

Front Side Bus Speed 800 MHz
Technical Features
Storage Controller Type(s) Serial ATA x 2, DMA/ATA-100 (Ultra) x 2

RAID Support IDE RAID 0, IDE RAID 1, IDE RAID 0+1, SATA RAID 0, SATA RAID 1, SATA RAID 0+1

Integrated Input/Output Ports USB 2.0 x 8, FireWire (IEEE1394a) x 3, Serial Port x 1, RJ45 Lan Port x 1, PS/2 Mouse x 1, PS/2 Keyboard x 1, Parallel Port (ECP/EPP/SPP) x 1, Floppy Port x 1

Expansion Slots AGP x8 x 1, PCI x 5

South Bridge Chip Intel ICH5R
Processor
Socket Type Socket 478

Max supported CPUs qty 1
Memory
Max Supported RAM 4096 MB

Supported Memory Standard DDR SDRAM

Number of Memory Slots 4 x 184 Pin DIMMs

Supported RAM speeds 400 MHz, 333 MHz, 266 MHz
Audio / Video
Integrated Audio AC'97 Audio Codec, C-Media High Definition Audio Codec

Audio Input Microphone Jack, 1 x Line In

Audio Output Sound Card
Communication
Networking Type Network adapter
Other Features
Other Features Hyper Thread Technology Ready, Dual Channel Memory Architecture

Chassis Type Not available


Dimensions
Depth 9.61 in.

Width 12.02 in.
Miscellaneous
Bios Features Plug And Play BIOS, PCI 2.2

Power Configurations ACPI/APM Power Management

It looks good to me but im just a newbe; u guys are the pros

Im willing to spend abouth $1500 for the pc excluding the monitor.
Already theres $750!

?How abouth the video card & all the rest of the goodies ill be needing for the remaining $750 ?

All ur advice will be very well appriciated?

ps. anybody knows were i can buy all this stuff alltogether- discounts-rebates- or free shipping?

[HamDemon]

You might want to look into a different processor, there is a huge premium on the tiny gains in performance on the Extreme Editions

Intel's P4 560 ( 3.6 GHz LGA 775 processor ) and AMD's 3700+ ( Clawhammer core, Socket 754) are both a couple hundred dollars cheaper, and not that much slower